Chapter 7

After the attack and escape, the rest of ht women were surrounded with more armed guards, as well as hounds prowling around the moving prison. Relena stared through the bars with stone-cold hopelessness. Their fates were sealed; their lives were to be sacrificed to the gods. Their location was yet to be learned by the prisoners, but Natria had determined earlier they were on a back road between the mountains and Western Plains. That meant they had to be going north. There were a number of places that could go from there. They would count on Lucrezia to find out at nightfall. She knew the stars better than anyone else there.

The road had been overgrown by the crawling moss from the forest. The moss was infamous for growing quickly. Within one day, it could grow from the horizon to where you stood. Strangely enough, during the evening the moss would shrivel and be dry and stiff by morning only to start growing all over again. It produced a strange odor, allowing no other smell to float through the air.

The small animals scrambled in and out of the spools of the wooden wheels carrying the prisoners. Natria's mind avoided her present situation by letting her mind wander back to the mountains where they had t rained for so long.

She remembered the day they had been hand chosen to carry out the suicide mission. It was then fears appeared that no one knew existed.

I

"You can't send me back! I won't do it!" One of the young women who had been chosen refused the mission. Shin was in charge of the mission at the time.

"You will go! The training was meant for this and you will hold to your word!" he had yelled back. Everyone stood staring, waiting to see hat he would do.

"No!" she screamed. Tears streaked her browned face, darkened from the time training under a glaring sun. The yard was silent, all eyes concentrating on the two individuals. No one saw it happen. Shin stood by the woman, gripping her head in a ferocious hold.

"You have one last chance. You agreed to this knowing very well what could happen," he hissed into her ear. She struggled viciously against the vice-like grip.

"I'd rather die!"

"Have it your way." With a swift movement, the woman was still, her flailing arms going limp as her soul fled its physical confinements. Shin loosened his grip, the young woman falling to the ground, her neck bent in an awkward position. No one made a move to help or argue. Shin glanced around.

"Move the body to the woods for the wolves." Two women walked up to the unmoving form, and quickly prepared for its disposal. Shin turned to the onlookers.

"You all know the implications of joining the rebels. This is a reminder of the weakness we must fight and destroy. You agreed tot his," he swept his arm in a wide arc indicating the surrounding camp and weapons. It was true. The moment the rebels had been rescued from the wagons, they were given a choice, either freedom or revenge. Many wanted revenge on the people who had caused them so much pain. It was that need of vengeance that drives the slaves now.

Natria's head jolted, her head hitting the bar she leaned against as they rode over a large rock. She winced and cursed as her hand went up to touch the abused area. A small trickle of blood ran a small river down her cheek and chin. Glaring at the smudge on her hand she rubbed her entire forearm over the small cut. She gave up, finding the blood wasn't going to stop. It would stop on its own.

This endless ride had begun almost a day earlier and they were still moving. The sun was just over the horizon. Natria glanced at a young woman sitting across from her; she was mumbling something as she slept. Then her gaze made its way to Lucrezia. Her aloofness suddenly turned to interested curiosity when she noticed the stiff posture. Her hands were hidden from sight behind her back. Natria's eyebrow arched in question. Lucrezia's brief eye contact gave the message. They were going to try to make for an escape. For the time being, Natria tried to ignore Lucrezia's struggle with the bar. Natria cursed as they suddenly saw the beginnings of a huge fortress rise over the next hill. They were finally there and Lucrezia still worked desperately on the bar, her movements becoming jerky and faltering.

The rebels all shifted to look up at the huge stone walls; their prison was approaching. The lookouts stood tall in their towers. Shouts were heard as the huge iron doors came into sight. Huge metal spikes guarded the entrance. The faces that stood staring down were overshadowed by the sun that stood behind them. Natria glanced over at Lucrezia and found she now sat looking just as doomed as everyone else. Her eyes caught the other woman's and then glanced down at her bloody fingers and ripped nails. Looking further down she spotted Relena who also had tattered fingers. They must have worked away the sealant holding the bars in place giving hem enough space to slip through the space once the bar was removed. There was a reason why they chose not to tell the others of their escape plan so Natria did nothing. The loud creaking of the doors being opened rang through their minds as the wagons creaked and groaned through the entrance. The women seemed to automatically pull closer together as if waiting to be attacked from all sides. As they rolled into the main yard, Natria took in the various devices against the walls obviously used for extracting information. It was clear some were not to come out alive. It was then Natria saw another terror. Many of the soldiers stared at the prisoners with hungry gazes. They had obviously been without women for quite some time. All eyes traveled in and out of the prisoners. Natria's lips curled in disgust. One soldier was back among the shadows, leaning casually against the stone wall. His demeanor was withdrawn as if he didn't care for being there. His jet black hair was pulled back tightly into a small horsetail. Just as they passed him, his eyes flew to the passing cart. Natria snarled at him when his gaze found her strangely colored eyes. It was as if he literally unfolded himself from his position. Without a second glance, he leaped on top of the cart, startling the men and horses. Shouts rang out in confusion and surprise.

"Get that man off there. Soldier! What in the gods' names are you doing?" The young man ignored him and raised his arm, letting the sleeve fall back revealing a hidden switch. With a quick flick of the wrist a polished surface was released high above the fort walls.

The commander of a force outside saw the shining signal. They had arrived. Now all that stood between him and those prisoners was a 100 foot wall, two feet thick and a fort full of drunk and out-of-shape soldiers. He smiled as he anticipated the battle ahead of him. Wufei was inside and they were going to get him out along with the prisoners.

"Men! Ready arms!" All five thousand men raised their arms holding spears, pikes, swords, and axes. "Move out! Archers on my mark!" The commander was young, handsome, and looked incredibly ancient through his Prussian, bloodshot eyes. This hair was a rustle of brown hair, wild from the day's ride to this desolate fort. He had heard the rumor about the women slaves who fought with such ferocity that they were rumored to have the legendary Desperation Technique. If this was true, he would be one of the wealthiest men in the whole of the eastern border. Many would pay great amounts of money to obtain those who knew of the whereabouts of where the runaway slaves hid. It was said it contained gold to one's chin. Many of the goods were gathered from those who wished to help the slaves' movement as well as the legend says that a few of the first runaway slaves had found when trying to escape. It was abandoned thousands of years earlier. The treasure's location had been hidden for thousands of generations and many sought to find the treasure in the mountains. Some never came back down. They froze in the wintry snow and bone chilling winds.

"Forward!" Unlike other armies, this one disbanded and crouched among the shadows, hovering in one place for only a split second. The archers tracked their commander. They drew closer to the walls. They were not well disciplined inside; no one came to attack a distant fort.

"Ready the grappling hooks," he whispered the command, but it was instantly obeyed. "Ladders!" The men scrambled to the ladders and began to string them to the grappling ropes. The commander glanced around and saw they were almost ready. It was strange, by now, even a fort as disorganized as this should have sounded an alarm by now. He was confused by this.

"Ready for breach! Ready!" He didn't bother whispering now. A cry from above stopped the command. Looking up he saw a figure waving his arms, crying something out.

"Heero!" He yelled something, but it was lost in the wind. It was Wufei, which was quite obvious. Wufei saw he wasn't being heard so instead he signaled for them to stay where they were. He ran down the stairs and disappeared from sight. Moments later the huge gate began to roll back allowing the invaders' entrance. Heero ordered the men to move as he took two men as his cover. He slowly made his way towards the gate, skirting the wall. He slowly peered around the corner and saw bodies several unconscious or dead men. Without turning away, he signaled with his arm for his men to move forward. They moved smoothly into the fort, waiting for any kind of ambush. As they neared the courtyard of the fort, they found Wufei and the prisoners waiting for them. Every man that had stood in the yard was sprawled out over the ground.

Wufei stepped forward, the women eyeing the approaching men suspiciously. Before he could say anything, one of the prisoners, a woman, stepped up next to Wufei. Heero took in the surrounding yard. The cart carrying the women was missing two of the bars allowing someone to slip through. The prisoners must have gotten out.

"There are several of the men locked inside. You might want to send some men in to destroy them or burn down the fort would do the job," commented Wufei. Heero paid little attention to his friend. Instead he examined the prisoners who moved closer together. It would be best to persuade them that they were no longer prisoners, but give them reason to stay among the soldiers. As Wufei finished with his statement, Heero signaled to a soldier. He whispered quietly into his ear.

"Send word to the others that from here on out, the se women are not to be harassed. Punishable by flogging or death."

"Yes, sir." He left quickly to carry out his order. Heero slowly turned to the women. He put on a warm smile meant specifically to melt hearts.

"We've come to the rescue, ladies, and we've come to take you out of the forest safely."

Relena saw straight through this lie. He was hiding something. This man made her nervous and very conscious of her dirty appearance. These were odd feelings and foreign, something she hadn't experienced since childhood. That was why this man was so dangerous. S he had to protect the others, she had to protect herself.

"We can find our won way out," she growled. Lucrezia joined her in their defense.

"We can take care of ourselves. Thank you for your assistance, but it was unnecessary." The friendly smile vanished and turned into the true appearance of the man standing before them. He wore a cool exterior; his eyes were hard stones, giving away nothing.

"If you don't wish to take our offer that is your choice. But I warn you these lands are dangerous. The trees here are hostile and the ground splits open without warning. The evenings are bitterly cold and the night crawlers, poisonous."

"Some of these women know this region. We will leave on foot and travel towards the east and lose the Guard there," stated Lucrezia firmly. She turned and signaled for the women to prepare to leave.

"Oh, one thing before you leave." Relena and Lucrezia threw him weary glances." I also happen to know where the dark haired girl is residing, the one who was taken away in the dungeons."

This caught their attention. Relena stopped in mid-step turning to glance at the young man. Her eyes quickly connected with Lucrezia before turning to face him again. If Hilde was still alive then that left a danger for the others. Relena took a step forward followed by Lucrezia.

"How do you know this?" she said crisply. Heero merely shrugged and reached into his vest pocket for a small wooden box.

"I have a friend, acting of his own will who took her from the dungeons." Relena's eyes grew suspicious.

"How could he accomplish this? He simply walked out with a prisoner?"

"Basically, yes. You see, Duo is a half-demon. His particular lineage is of the mind. It is not difficult to manipulate a fickly minded soldier. He must have tried to make her talk by now. Whether he got her to talk, I do not know." This piece of information changed everything for the small band of ex-slaves. If someone was still loose within the enemy's clutches there was still great danger. Relena turned around to Lucrezia. This danger would have to be eliminated. With the brief eye contact with one another Relena turned to address Heero.

Heero opened the box and pulled out a small pinch of fine dust. He leaned his head back, looking straight up and finally dropping the dust into his eyes. He blinked once or twice and finally turned to look at Relena with red irritated eyes. All the while, Wufei looked on with hidden disapproval.

"You can lead us there?" she asked dully. He nodded as he wiped a tear that had formed from the irritation, falling from the corner of his eye. Relena made her decision and Lucrezia seemed to understand. They would not be returning after all. Lucrezia handed the leadership to Natria, who accepted without complaint, but her eyes held a deeper sorrow. Lucrezia knew she was to go with Relena and the thought did not scare her. They would probably not make it out alive again. Relena was now addressing Heero.

"You will lead us to Arion and find this Duo," she ordered firmly. Heero gave her a sly smile, knowing she had just signed away her freedom.

"As you wish," he said quietly. He turned slightly towards Wufei. "You will lead the rest out of the forest, do you understand?" he said with a hidden meaning. Wufei stiffly nodded and moved away to prepared his things. Relena watched the black haired man's movements suspiciously. Then her attention moved back to Heero.

"We will leave at once," she said matter-of-factly. Heero wore a bitter smile. She would learn quickly that he took orders from no one. That included a deadly ex-slave.

"We will leave when I see fit." Relena turned her sharp glare towards him in a snap. He continued. "The palace will be expecting a messenger pigeon announcing your arrival here at this location. We must secure the fort and send a false message. "Heero turned away as if it was the end of the discussion. Relena exchanged looks with Lucrezia feeling uneasy, as if she had just signed her soul to a demon.