Guest: I'm sorry you didn't really like the beginning, but I'm glad you enjoy the story now that it's developed! Addy is indeed a character with a funny sense of humor, but she is quite childish for her age and has to grow up. But she's a girl with fears too, a little heads up for this chapter C:

Anna: The duchess is a reference to lady Julia. But you are right, Julia is not a duchess, she's a merchant's daughter! So why is everybody calling her duchess all of the sudden? It will be explained in the next chapter!

MoonCastersFlyingCircus: Thank you! Yes Elmont should get off his lazy ass and save the ladies! Hurry up stupid knight D:

MidnightShadow07: If you have any more songs please let me know! It helps so much when I write with music! C: You can put it in a private message or right here if you like!

And you have a good eye! But I can't spoil the story yet! What I can tell you is that there's a lot of other things going on besides the kidnapping ;)

Jedi Kay-Kenobi: Thank you! I really wanted them to sound crass C:
I agree that Elmont should save the ladies! But I'm afraid it might take a chapter or 2 ;)

Oh Owen, Elmont's gonna whoop your ass for this.

Warning! No sexual themes but rape is mentioned!

Addy is only human, and right now she is scared shitless. No cheeky remarks in this chapter I'm afraid.

I apologise for the delay, a lot of things are going on in my personal life. The reason why this chapter is quite short is because I cut this chapter into two pieces. So you can expect the second part this weekend!

It was almost night when I heard the splashing of water. A lonely moon peeked over the clouds that had formed in the sky. There were no hills. Just dark, tall and dreary woods. The big trees sighed and bent when the wind picked up. The river was wide but not that deep as I could see the rocks beneath it when we had passed over it.

The group had silently agreed to seek cover in the woods as 2 people stood by the river keeping watch.

The clump of trees offered a little shelter, but it didn't keep us safe from the wind. Hence I saw Isabelle shiver when she was pulled off of a horse and pushed to the ground.

I didn't dare ask to sit next to Isabelle when they placed me a good 10 feet away from her. This whole ordeal had turned me into a scared little girl, trembling in fear.

No fire was made this night due to the wind. I prayed to God I would fall asleep so they wouldn't ask me any questions. But I couldn't. I was wide-eyed in fear. My eyes almost fell out of their sockets.

We didn't get anything to eat and soon my stomach started to protest.

One of the men started to pull out a loaf of bread and handed it to the others. As they ate their bread I stared in fascination. I don't know how they did it, but they still made a mess of eating a simple piece of dough.

When I saw one of the men walk up to Isabelle I panicked, but he only seemed to talk to her.

I couldn't hear what he was saying.

But he left her alone soon enough and headed my way.

When he finally stood before me he gave me a once over. He was a thin man but I didn't let it fool me, my eyes never strayed from the sword hanging from his belt.

'Ye dun look like royalty te me.' He said after a few minutes. He got down on his knees as he narrowed his eyes 'Ye wanne know wha'? She keep' tellin' me,' he continued as he nodded his head towards Isabelle 'Ye be. Bu' I dun trust ye.'.

Before I knew it a blade was pointed between my eyes and I was leaning backwards. He grinned a teeth-less grin as he waved his knife before my eyes. 'So ye be'er keep still. Mort o'er there ain't like me. He ain't being shy o' cuttin' away yer wee fingers one by one if ye try anythin'. '

Apparently my look of horror was enough for him as he let out a roar of laughter before stomping away.

My eyes flashed towards Isabelle, but it had gotten too dark to see. The moon had taken shelter behind the dark clouds. And the only thing I could do was stare into the darkness, twitching whenever I heard one of the men sigh or scratch his back.

There were no stars tonight.

Or the nights after.

'Let's 'ave stop shall we?'

'My toes about to fall off!'

'Shut yer whinen'.'

''Sides, dem horses need te drink.' The man I recognized as Mort yelled.

'Fine fine. We rest here. Copper on watch!'

'Aw, what?'

'Do it.'

The men let out a sigh as they sat on the rocks near the river. We had made our way upstream and since they had to spare the horses some of them had to walk.

Before I knew it I was yanked off the horse and dumped on the rocky ground. Jon let out a laugh as he crouched next to me.

''D ya know why his name be Copper?' He whispered as he nodded to the man on watch 'His father be a smith. Beating 'im every day since 'e been born. That's how 'e got the leg.'

Copper's right femur was a little bent, it had probably been broken and not fixed properly. I saw him stumble and limp every so often.

' 'E got 'nough of it 'e did. 'E went to oven's an' poured 'ot metal on his father's crown while he be sleepin'. Not a pretty sight tha' is.'

Shouldn't he be called 'Metal' then or something?

'Load o' wubbish!' Another man said, I think he only had 3 teeth by the looks of it. 'I 'eard his leg got hit by a copper mallet!'

Jon snorted as he patted my head twice and let his hand rest on it.

'Wha' do you know? Ye only jus' got 'ere ye worm!'

The other man held up his axe and pointed it at Jon as if to warn him. ' Wha' did chou just say!'

I cringed as Jon gripped my hair and pulled my face closer to his.

I must've looked frightened because his smile started to grow.

'Why don'chou tell 'im princess? I believe 'e didn' 'ear me!' He said as chuckled and he gave me a sloppy kiss on my cheek.

'Enough of that. Bring her here.' A calm voice interrupted Jon. Jon glared at his back as he let go of my hair but grabbed my arm in the process.

Even though I was dropped on the rocks again, I was relieved to see that princess Isabelle was sitting next to me.

Jon ruffled my hair as I flinched away. Isabelle grabbed my hand soon enough. It wasn't much but it did comfort me somewhat.

Jon's hand however was grabbed by the leader standing in front of us.

'What did I tell you,' He hissed as his other hand seized the stained shirt Jon wore. 'Nobility we keep in one piece, do you understand?'

Jon scoffed but I saw a twinge of fear in his eyes.

'I assure ye, just some fun with the bird.'

The leader pulled on the shirt so that his face was almost pushed against Jon's. I was certain Jon could see his reflection in the other man's eyes.

'If it was a useless snivelling broad I wouldn't care what you do. You could've taken the wench back to the woods if you preferred. But if you harm nobility she ain't worth the dirt on our shoes. So I suggest you find another place to relieve yourself of tension. Do you understand?'

Jon's eyes were wide when the other man grabbed his knife and pointed it at his eye.

'Or I will pop out your eyes' he mused in a soft voice 'and next is your tongue and genitals. Stem and roots, do you understand?'.

Jon nodded hastily, squeezing his eyes shut as the blade pressing against his left eyelid.

My eyes darted towards Isabelle, but her face betrayed no emotion. How did she stay so calm? I was hyperventilating by now.

'Yes' Jon stuttered 'I apologize. I'm sorry.'

'Yes yes, that much is obvious,' the other man sighed, seeming to contemplate whether he should poke an eye out or not. I hoped he did, but would that save me or Isabelle from getting murdered or possibly raped? I wasn't sure.

The leader seemed to have made up his mind about it and pushed Jon away with great force. Jon stumbled backwards, looking at his superior with an alarmed look in his eyes.

'Go refill the water bags you useless runt.' The leader sneered, not taking his eyes off him yet.

'Yes of course. I 'ope I'll be o' better service te you. '

The leader only let out a grunt in return, watching him closely.

When Jon finally decided to leave he turned his attention to us. He was smiling so brightly that even Isabelle's hand couldn't keep me from shaking

After a lengthy and a very uncomfortable pause he took a step forwards and widened his arms as if to welcome us.

'Forgive me for not talking to my little hostages!' he said jokingly while he pressed the tip of his knife against his index finger.

'I have not introduced myself have I? How rude of me, my name is Owen. Leader of this lot.' he nodded his head towards the men at the last sentence.

'I can assure you my father will pay you handsomely if you return us safely.'

That was the first time I heard Isabelle speak that day, her voice was calm but her eyes were blazing.

Owen waved his hand through the air as if to wave her statement away. Like it had been a fly or something.

'Yes yes, you have said so before. It's not your daddy's money I'm worried about.'

Isabelle squeezed my hand one more time before letting go of me. 'It is most likely you will get caught if you keep us here any longer, they are searching for us. If you return us to the nearest village unharmed-'

'Yes, you have said so before. Not to worry, I will make sure nothing will happen to you or your niece if you don't cause trouble and follow my rules.' He said before pointing his blade towards us, all humour drained from his face.

'Now.' he started and I desperately tried to reach for any part of Isabelle that my hand could reach. Luckily she grabbed my hand with both of hers and kept it there. That man was scaring the hell out of me.

'Rule number one: No trying to escape. You can take your chances, be my guest. But we will hunt you and find you, I can assure you of that. And maybe you won't be so lucky when it's Jon who finds you, not me.' Owen let out a short laugh when he looked at my face.

'What's wrong bird? Not expecting that?'

I couldn't answer. But I think he didn't mind so much.

'Did you think,' he mused while he knelt before me, pointing the knife in my face 'that since I made sure you weren't raped and murdered by Jon just now, I was sure to like you? I did that out of the goodness of my heart?'

Did I? Maybe.

'Silly little goose,' he chuckled while scraping his knife over my left cheek softly 'If you were but a peasant girl I'd let him do as he pleased. Maybe have all the men have a go at you, I would not care less.'

I felt tears prickling behind my eyes but I couldn't let myself look away from him. His knife pressed underneath my chin.

'You would scream, so they would cut out your tongue even if you begged. And when they-'

'Stop it! I'm telling you to stop it!' Isabelle interrupted him, having enough of my torture.

Owen had no expression on his face when he turned his face towards her.

'You are scaring her. You better stop it right now.'

'Or what?'

I noticed that even though Isabelle tried to seem brave she was still trembling.

'I will make sure your head will decorate one of the walls in my room.' She replied icily.

Jesus.

My eyes widened as I managed a small smile for the first time.

Apparently Owen found her threat hilarious. It caught the attention of the rest when he kept laughing so loud and long. He laughed until there were tears forming in his colourless eyes.

Finally he stopped and looked almost admiringly at Isabelle. He wrenched our hands apart and grabbed Isabelle's hand and splayed it on the somewhat flat rock in front of us.

'That will cost you a finger nail.' He stated softly while still smiling lovingly at her. He put the tip of the knife on her cuticle and I felt Isabelle give a jerk beside me.

My fear long forgotten, I grabbed both his wrists tightly. Isabelle's eyes darted to mine in horror. I wasn't sure it was because she was scared or because I did something stupid. Perhaps a little bit of both.

'Knock it off!' I said, shocked by the sound of my own voice. It had sounded way too scared to sound anywhere near commanding.

His hands did not move from their place but he did let out a chuckle. 'She talks! I thought you were a mute for a while. I suppose it is a relief to not see you blubbering for a change.'.

His words were true but they still stung somehow. When I didn't let go he regarded me with anger.

'Let go.'

I didn't. I couldn't. I kept my fingers wrapped around his wrists as tightly as I could.

'Damnit pigeon, you are choosing a bloody bad time to grow a backbone. Let go.'

I shook my head, my nails digging into his skin.

With full force he gave a yank and pulled his hands free. By doing this he had to let go of Isabelle and she quickly pulled her hand back into her lap.

Owen gave a sigh and wiped away a stray of hair from Isabelle's face. Isabelle's finger was bleeding, but luckily it still had a nail.

'Perhaps it is too soon to be cutting off things you don't need. Your father won't pay me any less because of that. An arm of leg sure, but a nail you can miss.' He grabbed Isabelle's face harshly and pulled it close to his 'But if you even give me cheek again I will assure you I will give you the same treatment I told this niece of yours about'.

Isabelle nodded, still not fully aware of her bleeding finger.

'Good! No running away, No cheek, No talking to anyone especially each other and all will be fine and dandy. Breaking any of these rules will make Owen very upset, alright pigeons?' Owen said while he stood up, his head tilted to the side as he pointed to his ear.

'Yes.' Me and Isabelle reluctantly murmured, being upset ourselves.

He smiled one last time at us before he yelled at the others to get a move on.

I didn't get the chance to comfort Isabelle because I was hauled to my feet again. This time I was sat on the horse and not dropped over it.

Perhaps that was a slight improvement.

If that's what you call it.