Author's Notes:
Sorry for the very late update! I'm in the process of moving and somehow broke my wrist. :|
Honestly, this is what happens when you don't exercise enough and suddenly force yourself you can totally lift large boxes of stuff and build furniture. Noooope! But I'm all better now and can finally hold a pen and write decent again. Woo!
Chapter 13: Mistaken
The "Outrealms", is a country away from the wars and politics of the mainland. Its land offers mountains, deserts, springs, forests, and various seasons for its precarious location. Any person who was not a local would be easily deceived by the land and risk being in danger.
I lived here for several years.
Hunting. Gathering. Sparring with the men. I've done it all living here in the Outrealms. Now, I'm being tested.
Chhhhhhshhh
The leaves behind me shuffle as I take my enemy through the thick of the brambled branches and thorn traps. The bushes here grow large painful thorns below deceitful soft leafy tops. My enemy must be cutting his knees trying to catch up to me as I jump through the branches of the trees above.
"Ahhhhhghhhh YOU DAMNED WOMAN!"
Heh, he must be frustrated. I won't let him get to me.
Branch after branch, and he's still behind. Either he has amazing endurance or somehow the pain has been numbed down. I see in front of me sunlight beginning to shine past the trees. We're no longer getting deeper into the thick of forest, he's followed me through the center and to the edge. My body is burning and stinging from the adrenaline reaching its limit.
Tch! He's still minutes behind. Set a trap. Remember the training with mother…Lesson #1: Use everything at your disposal.
I drop down to the ground floor and began tying a quick trip trap between some trees. Once he trips, I can shock him an paralyze him enough to get away.
SHHHH SHHHHH SHHHH
The hunter runs through the trees and while covering this eyes with a hand from the peeking sun, he fails to look downward and trips on the trap as planned. Going through with the last line of my thunder spell I notice a sudden cloud of dust in my face.
"Ack….ahhh cough cough hahhhhh"
The bounty hunter grabbed a fistful of sand and tossed towards my direction, suffocating me of my cast. Trying to wipe my eyes and gain air I suddenly notice my legs quickly bound. A weapon of some sort of two weights connected by a rope was thrown at me and tied my limbs together.
"Woman, of all the trails I've hunted down…you were the most clever. I never had a task as hard trying to track down a bounty as difficult as you. No wonder Plegia has such a huge reward on your head. A shame I can't just kill you. You've given me a hell of a trouble."
"What are you talking about? Why would Plegia want me?!"
"Er, what does it matter? You match the description. You're coming with me."
I try to reach for the knife in my boot but suddenly the last image I could remember was his fist before everything got dark…
Unnnnn…..my head. It's throbbing….why is everything shaking and swaying? The air is moist and salty…loud crashes of waves smack against a wooden body….
Where am I?
I jerk my head and it's rewarded with aching pain on the side of my face. Must be a bruise from being knocked out. Getting up to a sitting position I noticed my wrists and ankles are bounded to the wall with shackles. My knife is taken from my boot. He must've noticed it when adding the shackles.
The room was small, closed off with a barred wooden door and an iron gate overhead seeing the sky above. Patting my face to inspect the level of swelling I suffered, some smeared black clay wiped onto my hands. Apparently he didn't bother to wipe or clean my face while I was knocked out, I shouldn't show my real face just yet…
Looking around the room, it's bare with nothing to use to pick the locks. My body looks unharmed and touched, I'm glad. I may think and act like a boy on more than one occasion, I'm still a woman with my own dignity.
The room moves ever slightly with the waves, I don't hear anything else above me besides the clashing waves. We must be far away from land to not hear any sea gulls…just how long was I out?
Crawling and pulling on the shackles searching through the room, I discovered my chains were not long enough to reach the door on the opposing wall. The chain roughly allowed one meter. Pulling and twisting the bearings, the chain gave off a loud clanking noise.
Ruughh ruuuuhhnn
I immediately cease my movements realizing there was movement on the other side of my wall. It could be the person who trapped me here. Freezing up and unable to breathe, my body paused all forms of movement until I heard light tapping.
Tap ta-ta
?!
Tap ta-ta
If it were the hunter, he would've just barged into my room to inspect my actions. Most likely, this unfortunate person behind my wall was a victim. I return the wall with my own taps in the same rhythm.
"Helloooo!? Hello, can you hear me?"
A single knock returned.
"Why won't you respond?"
A single knock.
I place my head firmly against the wall and tapped multiple times to measure the density. Bold, low thumps could be heard but nothing could be heard from the other side. The wood must be too thick for sounds but solid enough for the vibrations of our knocks.
Dizzy and defeated, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep again.
A light breeze drifts through the leaves of the tree I'm lying against.
On my lap is a heavy head with tufts of blue hair. Sifting my fingers through it ever so naturally, my heart begins to ache.
I see past my feet at the bottom of the hill a beautiful blonde head of hair set apart in two tails. She's diligently weaving with her delicate fingers a wreath of daisies, smiling and blushing towards the knight sitting beside her.
Drip drip
My tears flow off my face, lifting my left hand to wipe them I brush against something unusual and look down. Next to the stirring head is my swollen belly.
"AHHH I'm pregnant? HOW!?"
Startled, I've accidentally kicked my knees and rudely knocked the person off face planting the ground.
"Nghhnn…Robin…when a man and a woman love each other very much they—oh hey ow!"
He was interrupted mid jest with a smack at the back of his head.
"Ahhh ok ok, I didn't know an afternoon nap on my wife's lap would be so dangerous."
I smile and calmed down at the word "wife", why does it feel so nice when he says it?
-Knock-
I watch his back as he rubs his face.
-Knock Knock-
He turns to me…devoid of a face.
KNOCK KNOCK
"Hahh hahhhh!"
Gasping for air trying to recover from the nightmare.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
I tap on the wall to let my neighbor know I was alright. Must've been out for too long.
Tap ta-ta
Their signature tap of approval.
I wonder what kind of person would be hunted down and locked in a cell next to me. The person must've pissed off the hunter quite a bit to be locked up this way.
It must have been a few days being locked up. My lips are cracked, belly bloated and twisting from hunger. The first day wasn't so bad missing a meal, nausea took care of my appetite. Day two and three were painful and exhausting. Screaming and crying for food was useless. Getting angry and delusional the next few days at my captor. What's the point of catching us if we die in these cells from filth and hunger!?
Luckily today we had rain. I drank and washed myself in whatever was able to trickle down through the ceiling grates. My body will survive as long as I stay hydrated, but it is too weak now to fight should I get the chance.
Sitting back down, slumping against the wall trying to dry my hair I try to remember my home in the Outrealms. It seemed so long ago I was bickering Laurent to spar with me instead of run his experiments. Now I'm here stuck in a cell destined to some unknown location.
Tap ta-ta!
I respond back to my neighbor ta-ta tap!
Usually these messages were to make sure if one of us were alright. Sometimes they seemed more of a motivational effort to keep each other alive.
Clank
Hmm…that's different…
Thump thump thump
Is someone coming?
"Hey missus, we'll be arriving soon to Plegia. Sorry to not feed yer' or anythin' but yer' did me mate in at the Outrealms. I'm er shorthanded now, can't risk managing yer' cleverness alone."
I see the rough and bearded hunter. He's staring at me through the barred window of the door. He looks perplexed and annoyed as his eyes are fixated on me.
"Aye, can't present ye' with yer' face like that. They'd think I be tricken them Grimleal."
He opens the door and comes towards me with a rag from his pocket. I back far away from him as possible and knocking on the wall frantically behind me with the chains. I know that if he realizes who I am, he may or may not try to kill me. But I'm in no state to fight back.
Please, I can't be found out now. I've survived this long. Please, anyone!
The next thing I knew, a large deafening sound of cannons could be heard with the room shifted violently to the side. Several footsteps landed on the ship and shadows of men walking across the deck could be seen through the ceiling grate.