5. A Bad Night

To say that Kaprice was angry was a major understatement.

Kaprice immediately started struggling as soon as she felt herself being picked up. But someone pulled the sack tightly around her neck, and Kaprice found it more and more difficult to struggle without air to breathe.

Finally, just as Kaprice thought that she would pass out, the sack was pulled off, and she could breathe and see again.

Kaprice glowered at the two men who were trying to restrain her arms. She recognized both of them.

Cowell. Mindy's older brother. And Ghris, Lonna's older brother.

While they still had grips on each of her arms, Kaprice suddenly turned, throwing herself at Ghris and making the two young men lose their balances. All three of them tumbled to the sand, but before she pulled to her feet, she kneed Ghris in the groin and elbowed Cowell painfully in the gut.

She jerked herself away from the young men, stepping on a couple toes while doing so. "What the hell do you idiots think you're doing?" she demanded, eyes narrowed.

Cowell managed to pull himself to his feet with as much dignity he could muster. "Kaprice--"

She suddenly glanced around, realizing that they had dragged her a distance away from the camp. "What is going on here." she said, voice dripping with sudden venom.

Ghris flinched at her tone, but Cowell just gave her an arrogant look. "We're going to kill you."

Her mouth dropped open with disbelief. "You're not serious."

Cowell suddenly unsheathed his sword from his belt.

All right, so he was serious.

Ghris also pulled out his sword.

Uh-oh…

Cowell smiled at her. "Bowdyn has given us the job of getting rid of you."

"Getting rid of me?"

"Yes. The chiefs want you gone. It appears that you've worn out the their patience when it comes to their sons. Or actually, to be more specific, when it comes to Ryker. Athair is tired of your interference with him. But don't worry, Kaprice. We'll make the death painless and quick…if you do as we say," he said in a quiet, lilting voice.

Ghris gave Cowell an uncertain look. "Cowell--" he started to say.

"Shut up, Ghris. Let me handle this," Cowell cut him off.

Kaprice suddenly found that she was amused. "Quite similar."

Cowell looked confused. "What?"

"You and your sister are quite similar. You're both domineering, arrogant pigs." she said mildly.

"Bitch," he sneered at her. He stepped closer to her, but luckily he had lowered his sword. "You're just jealous that my sister stole Ryker away from you."

Kaprice stared at him a moment. Then she laughed. "Domineering, arrogant, and stupid pigs." While she spoke her taunting words, she was reaching into the folds of her robe for the knife that she always carried. Good thing she always tried to be prepared. All she needed was for Cowell to come a little closer…

She turned to Ghris. "Are you going to let this idiot boss you around?"

Ghris shuffled on his feet uncertainly.

"Shut up! How dare you--"

Cowell leaped for her, one hand tightly gripped around his sword. Kaprice also pounced, her knife drawn in front of her. Cowell's surprise at her weapon gave her the moment to slink forward and slash at his lower belly. Cowell let out a snarl of rage, and brought his fist flying across her cheek. Cowell then brought his sword up toward her, and she ducked, realizing too late that that move had just been a feint.

Cowell's knee connected with her upper chest, effectively knocking the breath out of her body. Before she knew it, she was on her back; Cowell still had one knee pressed down against her chest, and his free hand was wrapped around her neck, slowly squeezing. It was only when she tried to attack him with her fists that she realized that she no longer held her knife.

Cowell leaned down over her, sneering at her again. The hand around her neck wasn't cutting off her oxygen, it was cutting off her blood supply.

"Not so smug now, are you, bitch?" his breath was disgustingly close. She felt his tongue lick across her cheek.

"Cowell." Ghris finally spoke.

Cowell ignored him.

Kaprice tried to turn her head away, but his grip just got tighter. It felt as if all the blood was rushing to her head. Her vision was starting to get misty around the edges.

"Cowell." Ghris tried again.

When Kaprice felt Cowell's tongue slide in her mouth, she bit down on it.

Cowell jerked away from her with a cry of pain.

"Cowell! Stop it! This isn't what Chief Bowdyn sent us to do!"

Cowell suddenly released her throat, and Kaprice scrambled away from him, coming to stand dizzily on her feet. She gagged at the taste of Cowell's blood in her mouth.

When Kaprice's vision cleared, she wasn't sure if what she was seeing was real or just fuzzied images.

But then Cowell grunted, putting a foot to Ghris' shoulder while pulling his sword out of Ghris' chest. Ghris' dead body then limped to the floor.

Cowell turned back to her. His eyes contained a crazy, almost animal-like look, and his sword glinted with wet blood.

Her eyes widened and she started backing away. "You're insane," she said, an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

"And you're dead."

She needed a weapon. She needed her knife. Or better yet…Ghris' sword.

"You--you killed Ghris!" she said, still in shock. Killing another member in your tribe was forbidden. It was as bad as betraying your family. Or worse, depending on the situation.

"And your next," he said in a flat voice. He continued to stalk toward her with his slow, almost drunken gait.

Almost there.

"You don't want to kill me." Was it just her or was her voice just a tad bit higher than normal?

"You're wrong. You have no idea how much I do want to kill you."

All right then.

She was just inches from the body. But she couldn't just lean down and grab the sword. She would be a dead body by the time she straightened.

Kaprice fell helplessly to her knees on to the sand. "Why? What have I ever done to you?" she asked him quietly. She bowed her head over her lap, but watched him continue to close the distance between them from the corner of her eye.

Six steps. Five.

"You're so damn proud. You walk around camp as if you own it. You don't! You don't even have a damn family."

Four.

"You're nothing. Nothing. You're not even worthy enough to be part of the sand that we step on."

Three.

"Oh? Well, how about being part of this sand!" Kaprice dug her hands into the sand and flung two handfuls of it at Cowell's face.

She easily ducked Cowell's blindly swinging sword, grabbed Ghris' sword, and bought it around in a swinging arc. She felt it bite into some flesh, but not enough.

Cowell swung his sword again and this time she wasn't able to duck it because of the momentum of her own swing. The sword blade sliced across her shoulder.

She brought her sword back around and she heard Cowell gurgle when it hit.

Then she watched, her breathing ragged, as Cowell lurched to the ground, a bloody hand covering a deep wound in his side.

She staggered back, sword falling out of her grip and her eyes wide as she watched the life flee Cowell's eyes.

Oh, no. What have I done…

This was it. Cowell hadn't been able to kill her, but he might as well have anyway. Two dead bodies, one freak, and no witnesses. The others weren't going to believe a word she could say in defense.

They were going to kill her.

Her dark thoughts were then pierced with screaming.

"You killed them! What have you done! They're dead!"

Tears were streaming down Mindy's face and she paced about, obviously hysterical.

Where had she suddenly come from? Kaprice must have been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't hear Mindy approach. Why was it that Mindy was always appearing at the worst times?

"I didn't! I didn't kill both of them…"

Mindy leaped back, as if afraid for her own life when Kaprice stepped forward to defend herself. Then, still screaming, she turned back and ran to camp.

And from behind Mindy, she saw another person she hadn't noticed before. Ryker.

Ryker's face had the most fierce, angriest look on it.

It was so condemning that she took an actual step back. "Ryker, I…"

She was able to face the others' looks of hate, scorn, and anger. But she wasn't able to face Ryker's. Not when he was the only one who had ever cared for her; not when she had once returned his love three years ago.

She turned away and ran, completely forgetting about her wounded shoulder, desperate for the solace of her own tent.

And that was her third night of Dawne.

A.N. - ah-hah! So we had a bit more action in this chapter.

To pronounce 'Ghris' just say 'chris' with a g sound. Sort of like: grrr-iss

To pronounce 'Ryker': RYE- cur

And if you're finished and looking for a thing to do, check out Rosefyre's fanfics. They're original and good.

And thanks, rosefyre, for double-reviewing for me. I really appreciate it!

Thanks for reading. I'd love it if you stayed a little longer and left me a review.

~krizsta