Chapter Three

~Thalia~

The next morning we woke to stifling hot heat. All signs of yesterday's rain was gone but the small trickle of water continued in our shelter. Knowing the sun would burn we decided to begin when the heat cooled and continue our journey through the night.

We filled all our water skins with as much water as they would hold from the trickle of a stream. When the sun began to descend we left our makeshift shelter and began our long trek across the desert.

* * *

Every night we walked and when the sky lightened we searched for a shelter. The desert gave way to grass and then too dense woods and we began to travel again in the daytime.

~ Adora ~

Our previsions had been reduced to two lumps of stale bread and a handful of dried fruit when we stumbled upon a river. We had forgone any hunting, neither of us had the energy to hunt and track an animal, and because our water had depleted to only one bag each we didn't want to stop.

At the sound of water I felt my knees go weak in relief, we could now get a decent rest.

After filling our water skins we rested in the shade eating the rest of our previsions. Thalia fell asleep soon after, but even being exhausted from the travel could not shake the sense uneasiness that filled the air.

The trees sung softly with the wind and the desire to sleep came upon me. Instead I stood up and grabbed my bow. Thalia will be hungry, I thought to myself as I headed into the trees. But really I knew something was coming and I could only wish that I could understand the words of the wind.

~ Thalia ~

The snap of a twig brought me quickly form my sleep. My hand reached form my dagger but found nothing. Laughter filled the air and I quickly sat up. Fear coursed through my veins, seven tall men surrounded me. At five foot nothing everyone was tall, but these men were huge. The man (obviously the leader) that stood in front of me kicked at my feet and said something I didn't understand, but motioned with his hands that I should stand up. With the glimpse at the long swords that each man held I stood up.

I may act childish at times, but I wasn't stupid. These men could rip me apart without breaking a sweat.

They all wore identical outfits and aside from the leader. I could tell what any of them looked like. They wore loose black outfits their leggings tucked into boots made of nothing I'd ever seen. They wore deep green headdresses clasped to their heads with a golden band and cloth that covered there faces showing only their eyes. Only the leader let the extra cloth hand around his neck.

He looked like no one I'd ever seen before. His face was well shaped with a strong jaw and a long strait nose and his eyes were a cold icy blue. I shivered and felt my gut twist. Something told me he had killed many people and hadn't felt any remorse and maybe even enjoyed it. Then he began to speak.

I blink in surprise at the string of words left his mouth and a language I didn't understand. My face must have portrayed my confusion for his dialect changed yet his face portrayed his amusement.

When I didn't respond he changed again, and again, and again. His expression quickly changed from amusement to annoyance, and I quickly became annoyed.

"Obviously, I don't understand anything your saying. Why don't you go away?" I bit out crossly.

Surprise and confusion glittered in all of the men's eyes. A man stepped forward and spoke to the leader and the leader nodded the turned make to me.

The glint in his eye did nothing to easy my nervousness and I unconsciously took a step back.

And then he spoke again, " My, my, my seems you aren't what I thought. Tell me, little girl how are you managed to find yourself so far from anything."

I gritted my teeth and refrained from answering.

"I know you can understand me. Do not ignore me. Who are you?" he growled.

~Adora~

I froze at the sound of voices. I wasn't sure what was going on but I couldn't hear Thalia. I moved slowly towards the river where I left Thalia. I stood behind a cluster of berry bushes and watched.

Thalia's fist was clinched so tight her knuckles were turning white. She was barely holding her temper in check. Then one man spoke and she lost it.

"Don't mess with me child." He warned.

In the blink of an eye she had a dagger in her hand and cut towards the man. The dagger was poorly aimed and barely scratched the man on his cheek. Six men moved forward. Their leader grabbed Thalia's wrist and twisted it until she was forced to drop the dagger. He pulled her closer to him and began speaking to her in a low tone. Her expression changed to pain and terror, then anger. She said something else to him, which made him laugh and the anger on her face deepened.

I stepped back trying to think of away to save her when my foot contacted with a stick and snapped it in half. Within seconds two men burst through the bushes. They both looked surprised. One ripped my bow from my hand and the other grabbed me and forced me towards their leader.

~Thalia~

I looked towards the men as they came back. My fear was right. The sound had been Adora.

The side of my captor's face bleed very little where my badly aimed dagger had nicked him. He griped my writs painfully in one hand and held my dagger in his other. The glare he was giving me made me almost wish I could hide, but I was too angry to be sufficiently frightened.

He turned towards Adora twisting my bruised wrist even more.

He spoke again in his language and I groaned as Adora answered back..

He laughed. I began to feel weak. The old head wound began to bleed and my head began to pound as the world began to spin. He threw me towards one of his men and barked a command. Things began to move faster and darken and my knees gave way. The only thing holding me up was the man behind me. My captor's face swam before me. Frowning he reached out and moved my shirt of one of my shoulders. He muttered something I didn't understand and then gave the other a command. Then things went completely black.