Hey everyone! Yes, i'm back! Now, you didn't ever think that i wouldn't finish what i've started? lol, thank you so much to my reviewers, you really prompted me to get this chapter up. And a HUGE thanks to my beta, Sugar Thief (who is by the way an AMAZING writer, you should read her stuff!) for all of her patience w/ me!!!!! So sorry that this is a kinda pointless chapter, but i hope that you like it! and hopefully since i have so much time on my hands this week i will get more up! But it all depends, my e-mail has been down, thence discontinuing my correspondence w/ my beta, and it still it down, but hopefully it will all work out. Well, until next time! Be sure to tell me what you think! And what, with this new and improved fanfiction.net (my complements to the webmaster) it makes it so much easier to edit chapters! Thanks ya'll! Enjoy!
Ella let out a great groan as she mumbled sleepily. "Mandy..." she whined as the soreness of her back began to set in. "Mandy...where are you?"
Her hands flew to her eyes in a vigorous attempt to rub them, but the cut of the ropes that wound around her wrists bound her tightly to the coach floor. "What the..." Ella's eyes suddenly snapped open and darted wildly around the carriage "Wha...wha..." she stuttered as the memories of the past several hours began to set in. "Oh no, oh God!"
Ella's shoulders spontaneously rose from the ground as she tried to sit up, but all she got was the crack of the ropes which flung her back onto the floor of the stationary carriage. "Ow!" Ella grunted as she landed with a great thud. All the words and memories were rushing into her head like a great avalanche, crushing all other thoughts. "No, he couldn't have, it was just a dream, this is all just a dream!" she whispered while trying to pinch herself back into reality. But the pain of the ropes on her wrists wouldn't let her forget that it got no realer than this.
Amidst all of her thoughts and worries, Ella couldn't ignore the fact that her stomach was groaning and at the same time her bladder was beginning to feel uneasy. Deciding to take things one step at a time, she glanced up at the window and could see the blackness of twilight peeking through the rouge curtains. The steadiness and silence around her told her that the horses were no longer moving her traveling prison. Needing to relieve herself at once, she began walloping the coach door with a foot that had been loosely tied in hope that she could kick her way out. After nearly one hundred blows, and a very sore toe, the door flung open. The brisk night air rushed in, sending chills down her spine.
Ella sighed, as the problem of her lashings now loomed before her. Her eyes flitted around the coach, looking for something that could aid her in her attempt to cut her bindings. Think, Ella, think! There has to be something in here that can help you!
But Ella had reached the inevitable fact that there wasn't anything sharp enough or strong enough for her to use. Exasperated, she banged the top of her head on the wall that it rested upon. Her answer was a small ding and a pain surging through her head. Her brain was aching, but she was curious to know what the small chime had been. She knocked her head upon the wall again, however a little more lightly. Once again she heard the Chink! of metal hitting metal.
Contorting her body, and twisting her neck so that she could feel the top of her skull, Ella's hands came upon the minuscule tiara the Char had placed upon her head the previous morning. It had been so small that she had not even detected its presence once, and it had been firmly attached to her head the whole time.
Ella's fingers closed around the diamond studded crown, and she wrenched at it with all her might. A few tugs later and it was out. The gilded edge came to a sharp point, and Ella prayed that it might cut through the many layers of twine. If she could only get out she could finally relieve her aching bladder. If she could finally get out, she could possibly escape.
This new hope warmed Ella, and filled her with determination. She bit down hard on the tiara, and pulled it from her hand. Craning her neck, she made back and forth motions with her head, and to her great relief, it seemed her method was working.
After nearly a quarter of an hour, Ella's left hand was free. She yanked the makeshift knife from her mouth, and swiftly cut through the rope that pulled at her chest with ease. Five minutes later, her right hand was freed also.
Ella sat crouched over her ankles, shivering in the night air, as the tiara sliced through each cord in the rope. Her left ankle was nearly freed now, and after that all that was left was her right ankle, and then she was – Ella had a sharp intake of breath at the thought – free. Well, almost anyway. While she wasn't very familiar with these particular woods, Ella knew she could find her way out. She had made it home from finishing school by herself, and she was confident that she could make it now.
Her left foot was untied. The tiara was now vigorously going back and forth over the rope. Back and forth. Back and forth. Abruptly, Ella's ears perked up as she thought that she had heard a man's voice. No, she thought It's probably just the wind. But she quickened her pace nonetheless. However, it soon became apparent that it was not just the wind.
A pair of men's voices were rapidly coming her way, and here she was, about to escape. Ella's heart raced at she tugged at her bindings. Fool! She thought. You should have never left the door open! Now they will for sure know that you are trying to break out. The metal of the crown was cutting that last few piece of string when Ella heard the fateful words.
"Eh, 'Enry, looker there! What's that door to the carriage doin' open? Say, isn't that the place where the master's daughter is staying?" A grimy voice began.
"I say it is Joe! Don't think that lass has escaped eh? Best check, just to make sure, God knows the rewards the master would give us if we caught his daughter!" A second voice chimed in.
Ella stuck her head out of the stagecoach in horror, and saw the men approaching. Slicing through the last of the straps, she began to untangle herself from the great mass of ropes.
"Oui! You there! I say, you there? Where you goin'? Hey! Stop it right now!" The two men broke out into a run along the deserted forest path, past the long line of resting horses.
Ella wasted no time. She flung herself out of the carriage just as a grubby man, the quicker of the two, hurled himself at her arm and caught her wrist at the last moment. Ella, panicking, turned to the man, and with all her might shoved her fist straight into the henchman's nose. Releasing her wrist, the first man doubled over as blood poured from his nose. The second man quickly replaced the cursing lad's position, however, as he was following closely behind.
"Hey! Stop it, you! Stop right there!" the largely built man shouted as Ella fled to the privacy of the trees. The man, now quick on his feet, chased after Ella rapidly. She ran as fast as she could, but try as she might, she was losing distance between the man and her.
Ella was feet away from the protection of the woods when the man flew at her from behind, grabbed her legs, and sent them both tumbling to the ground. Ella groped around the dirt, trying to escape, but it was useless. The man seized her by the waist, and effortlessly drug the screaming and kicking Ella back towards a camp filled with drinking men, roaring fires, and a wicked father.