Chapter Fourteen

"Mandy!" I screamed through the noise. Mandy woke up. The urgency in my voice must have been intense but I supposed so. I didn't want to be with ogres again.

The ogres were fast. Faster than horses, faster than centaurs, faster than a hart. And it was a big advantage in outrunning us. What could a tired hungry girl and a fat cook do to outrun them? Still, I was optimistic. The forest clearing was near. We could hid there.

"Don't run. Come to us…" an ogre said. Horror struck me as I realized the impending doom nearing me. An order. My body went rigid for awhile then started to make its way to the ogres. Mandy didn't notice. She kept running.

"Mandy!" I screamed.

When she looked back, but she was too far away. She looked horrified, as I am. And she was shouting something. Probably the countermand. But, misfortune struck and the wind snatched her words and blew it away from me. I didn't hear it. I was going to be captured again. And this time, maybe, no one would be there to save me. My legs gnawed and neck savored by this boorish ogres. Tears started to fall as I resisted madly. Each moment caused me dear. The curse was more unbearable right now; it was much more worse than before. My legs felt like it was being pricked by a million sharp needles. My muscles were being pulled and stretched tirelessly. And all the while I was spinning, not knowing which way to go: to the ogres or to Mandy. A rhythm was there. Back, away, back away…forward, backward, forward, backward…

I spotted Mandy running to me. No, I said firmly to myself, Mandy won't be captured.

Run Mandy! Run and get help! Don't worry! I can save myself!" I managed to choke out amidst the pandemonium in me. I was depending on my experience with ogres. And I have full confidence that I could, once more, enchant them. Mandy will be okay. If she were to be captured with me, then no one would be out to send help. Mandy will be safe and me too. I hope.

Meanwhile, I was still with ogres.

One step.

Two steps.

Stop, A voice said, I was going mad! stop and resist. It continued. Be safe.

No, another stronger voice argued, come to them and you will be free of the pain and torture of the curse. Come to them

I obeyed the second voice.

The ogres were smiling at me. They were showing off their big, sharp and broken teeth. One came and punch me in the stomach. I started to lose consciousness.

"Save me, again—Char—" I said softly and weakly before I fell into the bleak oblivion.

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"Wake up, Breakfast." Where have I heard that before? I wondered while I obeyed. Oh, yes. Ogres.

There was an ogre looking at me hungrily. I could tell. He was drooling. So did ten of his companions.

"How will we eat her SsLEen?" one asked in Ogrese.

"I get her neck." SsLEen, the one who woke me up, said greedily.

Not again. This had happened before. And it was not very comforting to hear ogres claiming your body parts. I shuddered.

"How do we cook her?" a female asked with her eyes bulging with excitement.

"Raw. Bloody and juicy…and still fresh and the heart still beating…" another offered while rubbing his palms together and smacking his dirty lips.

"No, FoOSn. Done to a crisp. So then we will savor the sound when her bones crunch inside our mouths." The female said.

"Let's not eat it first. My stomach is still full from the herd of deer we ate as a feast yesterday." SsLEen said.

They were going to eat me! And now they are deciding how to cook me!

"Let's ask it." FoOSn said, "It'd cook itself if we told it to." He laughed. It happened before. They knew my secrets. "How do you want to be eaten? Medium, raw, crispy…answer." He then asked me in Kyrrian.

I pressed my lips together. I gave up. After all, I have an answer. "I don't know. I don't know what kind of cooking makes me taste best."

"Let's boil it in water! Like soup…" A young ogre said while jumping around. The others looked disgusted. It seems that these ogres like hard food than soft.

"Barbecue it! Remember the day we ate those horses! We barbecued them and they were excellent!" Some ogre said. Now, I was going to be burned alive. And they knew I was obedient.

"Barbecue…" SsLEen smacked his lips, "Yes…"

"SsLEen, what about the others? We do not like barbecue like OhSSan, here." Another female said while indicating the barbecue loving ogre.

If I am lucky, these ogres might quarrel, like before, and I could escape. I could run as fast as I could and climb up a tree. I don't mind staying there. As long as there is no ogres. But this ogre tribe is smart. Or their leader, SsLEen, is. He wasn't stupid like SEEf and his horde.

"Let's cut her up tomorrow. Five parts. One part raw, one part barbecue, one part medium, one part crispy and a very little part for TsSIn here who likes to have soup." TsSIn jumped again. The other ogres nodded in agreement. SsLEen was different. He wasn't greedy and stupid like SEEf. He knew about his tribe. "The barbecue part will be the largest. For me." He added. Or maybe he was greedy.

It was time. I could enchant them once again. I knew I could. "Ogres, friends," I called out in Ogrese while imitating their oily way of talking, "Why do you tie me up? It's you friend, Ella. Your best friend."

They all stared at me. Dumbfounded.

"And I cannot be your meal. We are allies…"

They stared. I could hear the wheels in their heads turning. Then they laughed.

"Why do we bind our friend Ella? We are stupid!" And they just realized it. OhSSan came and untied me. I could escape! My hopes went up as high as the clouds.

"Stay with us so you may feast with us." SsLEen said. My hopes fell down and hit the ground.

I stayed with the ogres for a long time. Though it is easier than the last skirmish with ogres, it was still hard. If I were to stay with them for an hour, I should talk to them for sixty times. After every minute, they regain their senses. My voice shouldn't become hoarse. If it does, my enchantment won't work. I need to have oil for smoothness and honey for sweetness. My throat was beginning to sore. If I lose it now, I would be at their mercy again. Then, they would argue about how to cook me. Being with them is dreadfully hard even if you do know how to tame them.

"Let's hunt." SsLEen said. I panicked a little. What if I were to tire and lose my voice? What if Mandy was to come here?

"Ogres, friends, let's stay here and rest. The day is departing and your stomachs are full. You just ate a dozen fat ladies and a dozen deer. If you hunt, you will have upset stomachs. And stomachaches. No, there must be no hunting. Sleep and dream of tomorrow's meal. When you wake up, dozens of six-month old giant babies and dozens of fat ladies. I will give them all to you. And, I will take care of everything while you sleep. You trust  your friend Ella, right?"

"Yes." They dully said. Then, their eyelids started to flutter. They started to make the hard ground their bed when I heard gallops of horses' hooves. They were wide awake! My plan was foiled!

"Ogres, do not be worried. This are friends. They are the ones to help me get your babies and ladies. Sit up and don't move." They didn't move.

I then went at the entrance of the ogres' cave and looked up at my rescuers.

-Thanks to shimmering rain and Rose-Star988. Thanks a bunch to Ironic Paradise, Eowyn, Fufie and Dragon Queen who has already reviewed more than once! And I know the heart is messed up. I'm well, depressed. It looked good in Word and I don't understand why it whacked in there.

Poor me…I worked so hard *sniff*

Whatever! Anyway, I guess I won't update for awhile because our finals are up. Math is first in line. Algebra. Wish me luck!

-Nayie

-Claidi