Chapter 3: The Hard Run
A sudden pain washed over her as her
head throbbed with immense pain. Her mind filled with jumbled thoughts, but she
couldn't seem to understand. She could feel the blood rushing to her head,
because she was slung over something hard. Maybe
its a shoulder, she thought absently, as she felt her and the possible
shoulder she was slung over moving....
maybe walking....
Her ears then caught faint sounds coming from all around her. Voices, she thought to herself as her
ears became sharper. It was hard to hear anything with her head throbbing with
so much pain - it was hard to even think.
She opened her eyes slowly, and found that she was right about her being slung
over a shoulder. She could see the rest of the body, a very large, dirty, and
muscled body. She shifted her gaze to the man's feet, and saw that they were
also walking. Right again, she
thought to herself a bit smugly.
It was then that she realized something, and this realization hit her hard,
making her head throb even more than it had before, if that's even possible, she thought to herself bitterly. She
moved her hands and found them tied behind her, and felt something wrapped
tight around her feet. She then found that she had also been gagged. How am I supposed to use magic like this! I
can't cast spells without using my hands or without being able to use my mouth!
And I can't run away with my feet tied together! Panic and fear washed over
her, along with a few drops of bitterness. As
if my life could get any worse!!
She must have moved or made a sound because suddenly the man she was slung over
stopped, and yelled at the others nearby.
"She's awake!!"
"Put her down, then! We'll make camp here until the others arrive,"
came a harsh, gruff voice. She recognized that voice, and felt fear wash over
her entire body once again, but that feeling was easily replaced with another
feeling that quickly swept over her body - pain.
The man who had been holding her had just dropped, or more like thrown her, to
the hard ground below. Dust flew about her, while leaves and clods of dirt
moved away as her body shifted upon the clod dirt underneath her. She began to
feel the warm night air whipping around her, but although it was still quite
warm, she shivered. She tried hard to suppress the tears threatening to go into
her eyes and fall down her smooth cheek.
She was afraid to even look up, afraid of.... what? she thought. She forced herself to look up, and when she
did, her eyes held an angry glint. Many other eyes met hers; eyes that looked
at her in a way that made her feel sick, disgusted, and even more afraid. Her
eyes faltered, and turned away to look at the cold, dirt ground. How could I have let this happen! Am I
really this weak??? She took note of the leaves around her, and then
decided to take a look at where she was.
Maybe I can still escape.... no, I have
to escape, and I will. Justice always prevails!
She could see trees surrounding her, but it was too dark to tell exactly how
long the forest continued. The sky was a dark blue, the clouds shielding the
light from reaching the forest floor. I
couldn't have been knocked out for a long time, she reassured herself, because the moon is still only a crescent.
It's probably only been a day.... or two…
Her eyes slowly moved back to the men who were setting up camp. And they don't seem to want to make a
campfire.... probably because we haven't gotten very far...
Just as her hopes began to rise, her thoughts were interrupted as a disgusting
face appeared right in front of hers. His hot breath had a horrible stench, and
his teeth were rotten and yellow. His brown hair was messy, and his beard was
unkempt and filled with dirt. His stench made it over to her nose, which she
crinkled in disgust. His eyes roamed over her, a glint in his eye, but she
couldn't tell what it was. She didn't even want to know what it was.
He looked back into her eyes and smiled smugly, but with an evil and malicious
look. She fought the urge she had to move away, to move back, but she stayed
perfectly still, her face looking defiant. She looked him straight in the eyes,
making it clear to anyone who looked at her that she had royal blood running
through her veins. The man just stared back and snorted in response.
"Don't try anything, Princess. You wouldn't want me to let me men have
their way with ya," he said in a gruff, harsh voice, as he smiled
wickedly. Her eyes grew wide with fear, and she looked away. She shifted
uncomfortably on the ground; her blue eyes a mix of anger and fear. He noticed
her move, and laughed out loud. A mocking laugh.
His eyes looked over her again, her olive-skinned body covered with a silky
white nightgown, raven-black hair and deep blue eyes, and for awhile his gaze
rested on her chest. When he looked back into her eyes, he had a disgusting
smile on his face. "Maybe I should be the one to have a 'lil fun with
ya," he said, touching her arm. She let out a muffled scream from behind
the cloth that was gagging her and, trying to kick out with her tied feet, moved
back. But she only made a sound only loud enough for the other men to hear.
The man stood up and laughed as he looked down on her, sprawled on the floor,
her blue eyes filled with fear. He called over two men, and motioned them to
watch her as he began to walk away, his head held back as he continued to
laugh.
Amelia stared down at the hard, cold dirt ground underneath her. She could feel
their eyes on her, and she almost shook with fear. She hated the way they
looked at her, and the way they licked their lips as they stared. Almost as if
she were a piece of meat. She wanted to put her arms around her waist and hug
herself, but she couldn't, because her hands were tied behind her back. She
wanted her father, or one of her friends to come and comfort her, to take her
away, to save her. She was cold, hungry, and afraid, and the worst part was she
hadn't even put up a fight when they kidnapped her. What kind of warrior of justice am I? What kind of princess am I?
Her raven-black hair swayed in the breeze, hiding her face from the men as she
looked down at the ground.
Am I really this weak? she asked
herself as tears filled her sad blue eyes. She looked around and then turned to
stare back at the ground. Will anyone
even come look for me? Of course they will, I'm the Princess of Saillune! Oh, I
shouldn't have let this happen. How could I? What would Miss Lina or Gourry say
if she found out? What would Mr. Zelgadis say? W-What would father say? ...I
can't wait for anyone to find me.... I'll have to escape by myself. And I.... I
know I can. Justice is with me!
She looked around and saw that the men who were supposed to be watching her
were playing a game of cards, while eating and drinking. Laughing at each
other, taking swings at each other. Looking closer, she could see that one of
them was drunk. Idiots... Taking the
chance, Amelia went on her knees and stretched back as she tried to reach the
rope that tied her ankles together. Her fingers reached and reached, and she
stretched her arms as far as she could behind her, but she couldn't reach her
ankles. The rope around her wrists rubbed hard against her soft skin as she
moved her hands, trying to reach the rope around her ankles. After a few
minutes of trying, the young Princess gave up. Her wrists were red and chaffed
from the rope burn she had just given herself.
She was about to try again when she heard that same harsh voice call out, and the sound of feet approaching. She tried to turn to see what was happening, but was instead jerked up by strong arms. Screaming against her gag, she tried to fight back, but instead he just let her go and watch her fall to the ground. Laughing, the man picked her up again, hoisting her over his shoulder. She continued to scream against her gag, making muffled noises, squirming and wriggling to get free, until she could hear voices, and the harsh voice whispering to someone. Looking up, she could see shadows in the trees, followed by the sound of…neighing? That means…
As she began to understand, she saw the shadows of horses appear, and the men shaking hands in agreement. The man holding her began walking towards the shadows as their leader signalled them over. Terrified, she began to fight against her captor. The men all turned to look as she managed to struggle away from his grip, and as she struggled on the ground to find a way to get back up, she felt a sharp pain hit her head, and then darkness swam over her eyes. The last thing she knew, she was being dragged over a horse, the pain in her head worsening until she couldn't take anymore. And then, everything became blank.
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Two or three days later, Amelia
found herself once again in another forest, on a dirt ground in the dead of
night, surrounded by trees in a small clearing. The men who were supposed to be
watching her were once again playing cards. The last few days, she had been on
horseback, their hooves pounding against the ground as they galloped. She had
been fed, although a bit forcefully, and she had drank out of a few streams, but
she was still hungry. And she still had not been able to escape.
Amelia looked back at her so-called guards, and seeing that they weren't
watching her, she lay down on her back. Pulling her knees up in front of her,
she planted her feet firmly on the ground. She lifted her body off the floor,
arching her back up, only her head and feet on the ground. With her back arched
upwards, she then moved her hands towards her ankles. Her arms stretched
underneath her arched back, making their way to her ankles. Common, she thought to herself, common, common...just a little further...
...YES! Amelia would've cried out in
joy, if she had not been gagged, when she felt her hands reach her ankles. Her
fingers played around with the rope tied around her ankles, and after a few
minutes, was able to untie it. Her back ached from being arched like that for
so long, but even so, Amelia was filled with hope as she lay back down. In her
mind, she smiled, and she closed her eyes as she breathed in deeply. Now, I just have to wait for the perfect
moment....
Her eyes snapped open when she heard the harsh voice yell nearby, and trying to
sit up, she looked around to see what it was about.
"Idiots!!!" he snarled, looking at the two men who were supposed to
watching Amelia with a dangerous look in his eyes. "I told you two to
watch her!"
"W-We're sorry, Boss," said the bigger of the two men, as they both
stood up.
"Yer jus' lucky she didn't go anywhere, cause if she did, it would've been
yer heads!" He snarled, then turned to see Amelia.
He began to walk towards Amelia, and when he reached her, grabbed her arms.
Amelia yelled and tried to pull her arms away from him, but his grip was tight.
She almost kicked him, but remembered that her feet were supposed to be tied
together. She stopped fighting, because she didn't want him to see that she had
undone the ropes around her ankles, and with her arms still tied and mouth
gagged, she wouldn't be able to cast anything or even lay a punch on the guy.
And there was the fact that there were too many men around. If I kick him, the other guys will just
catch me. I can't kick away twenty strong big guys at the same time....
He pulled her up, and slung her over his shoulder, almost as if she weighed
nothing. Amelia was scared, her heart racing inside her chest. She was worried
she'd see something she wouldn't like.
Amelia felt every step he took, and shortly afterwards found herself thrown
onto the floor. Oh L-sama, please don't
let him or anyone else touch me! she thought to herself. She slowly opened
her eyes to see him go into his tent.
"Nobody touch her," he growled as he went inside a tent. "I want
all of you to watch her, but none of ye can put yer dirty scum-filled hands on
her. Reirs wants her to be untouched."
Amelia's mind raced. Reirs...who is he?
What does he want with me? Oh, I wish Miss Lina, Mr. Gourry, and....even Mr.
Zelgadis were here. She looked around, and saw the men staring at her,
letting their eyes linger at her curves. She didn't want to wait to find out
who this Reirs person was, and decided to find a way out. She looked around,
her eyes frantic when she couldn't seem to find a gap between any of the
men...but then...there! The gap was
large, but it wasn't as close to her as she wished it were. She'd have to run
fast in order to get through the gap before one of the men could reach and stop
her, but she felt weak from being thrown around all the time and not eating
enough food.
Amelia took deep breaths, and looked at the men again. They all seemed too busy
staring at her certain features, and others had started to play cards again.
She didn't want them to be looking at her when she got up, so she felt around
behind her. Dirt, dirt, big piece of
dirt, leaf, dirt, leaf, a rock! She closed her hands around the rock, which
was the size of her palm.
Time for some acting, she thought to
herself. She whipped her head around quickly in the direction she wanted to
throw her rock, and threw it as far as she could with her hands behind her
back. The rock didn't get very far, but it made a slight sound against a
slightly larger rock.
The men who had been watching her wondered why she had whipped her head around
so quickly, but when the closest of the men heard the sound of the rock hit
another rock, they immediately thought that she must have seen or heard
something. They all quickly began to move where the sound had come from. This
gave her just enough space for her to run past the 'wall of men'. Guess you get all the luck when you're on
the side of justice!
Amelia couldn't believe that they actually fell for it. She sprung up and began
to run, and passed right by one of the men who hadn't been paying attention to
anything. Another man was ahead of her, arms out ready to grab her, but she
swiftly kicked him hard in between his legs and continued to run. She could
hear their voices rise as they realized what had happened, and could hear their
boss roaring in anger not too long after she had left the clearing.
Footsteps followed her as she ran
as fast as she could through the forest, her hands struggling behind her trying
to undo the rope tied around her wrist. The once still and quiet forest was
filled with shouts, the undergrowth crushed beneath the many feet running
through the forest.
She swerved in and out of trees, and began wishing that she had shoes. Her feet
kept stepping on something sharp, like a twig or a rock, causing her to slow
down. She would've cried out in pain, if it weren't for the fact that she was
gagged. Amelia also had trouble running in her long nightgown, which was
ripping and tearing as she quickly passed by branches and twigs. Her breathing
was becoming heavy and sharp, and she felt herself growing tired. Can't stop...I can't stop! She hadn't
been getting much sleep the last few days, was hungry, and running was making
her tired fast. Her legs were aching, her muscles screaming for her to stop.
She could still hear the men pursuing her not too far behind her, and she
wished that her hands and mouth were free so that she could use some magic.
As she whipped through the forest, her hair flying wildly behind her, the
branches seemed to reach out to cut her. The twisted limbs of the trees seemed
to want to hold her back. Her mind raced as her hands worked at the ropes
binding her hands together. Amelia grimmaced in pain each time she felt her
skin get scratched or cut as she ran past the twisted limbs of the branches.
She could still hear their voices not too far behind her, and could hear the
sounds of their feet nearing.
Suddenly, she stopped. A low,
sharp branch stuck out of a tree, and an idea popped her head. She turned
around and carefully slid the sharp branch through the rope around her wrists.
It took a while, because her arms were tied behind her back, but as carefully
as she tried, she felt the branch cut her wrist, and warm blood began to
trickle down her arm. As soon as the branch was through the rope and trapped
with her wrists, she shut her eyes tight and pulled her arms down and to the
side as fast and as hard as she could. She felt the rope rip off her skin from
her wrists as she pulled away from the branch. The rope stretched and broke
apart, but left her wrists stinging with pain. Amelia let out a muffled yell;
happy that she had gotten her hands free but in pain because she had just cut
and chaffed herself.
Amelia then pulled off the cloth around her mouth that was gagging her, and
sucked in the night air gratefully. Free,
she thought to herself, enjoying the feeling of being able to use her hands and
mouth again. Time to see if they still work
properly, she thought, putting her hands in a position only one would use
to cast a spell. She then turned, and seeing the men only a few feet away from
where she stood, she yelled angrily, "Fireball! Burst Rondo! Diem
Wing!" She grinned when she heard the men yell even louder in panic, many
of them turning around to run back to their camp. It feels so good to use magic!
Her eyes roamed over the charred
trees in front of her, and she let out a sigh. I think I'm turning into Lina...
Turning back around, grin and all, she looked up at the sky, yelled
"Raywing!", and went soaring through the sky, not caring where she
was going, as long as it was away from them.
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The wind stung against the cuts on her body, and looking at herself she saw that her nightgown was torn in many places. Guess I'll go to whatever town I see first, she thought to herself. In front of her lay a vast painted landscape of trees, hills, and small creeks. Even in the middle of the night she could see the dense green of the canopy below her. The summer air filled her lungs, and whipped about her as she flew through the clear night sky. "Free at last," she sighed. Amelia made a little twirl in the air before she went back to enjoying what it felt like to be free, flying above the forest below her. She basked in the warm summer air as she raywinged herself as far away from her kidnappers. She was alone now, and could do what she wanted to do. She was high above everything else. She was....
...Free....
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*A/N: Sorry if the story seems a little typical at the moment. Hopefully, it'll get better. I'm pretty much writing this as it comes to me, but I have an idea as to how it will end. Now all I need to do is think up the middle *grins* Hopefully the story will live up to its expectations. Just be patient, young grasshoppers, I'll finish this story eventually. Oh, and sorry if I overdid Amelia and her whole 'justice' involvement. Maybe the word 'justice' was used once too many times.... oh well ^^
P.S. Thanks a lot to everyone who reviewed! It really means a lot! Especially since this is my first fic. Thankies!! Love, Vivi :)