2

When Ares awoke again, it was later in the day. The party was no longer in the coach but on a wagon going over-land. She was lying precariously towards the back of the tailgate, being jostled around with the other men. There were two horses pulling the covered wagon and she heard their hooves make a clip-clopping sound as they walked the stone road.

She pushed her self up, only barely. Her hands were bound behind her back and her legs, she found this time, were also tied. For a moment, she panicked and tried to find where her jewel had gone. To her relief, it had twisted to her back, so that the chain hung almost out of sight, whereas the actual jem was hanging behind her. She sighed, pleased that her source of power wasn't stolen. She then quickly, and silently, made the jewel vanish from her neck, to the safe that contained her ring, that she kept hidden with her craft.

"Where are we?" she asked softly. One of the men glanced at her, and then went back to looking out over the road. The White-haired man looked behind him, when he heard her voice and said gruffly, "No place, Child. Now go back to sleep." She furrowed her brow at him, and pulled herself up into the wagon more. Ares laid her head down on the straw and planks, and fell asleep.

Some time later, Ares felt her body be moved abruptly, and she opened her eyes to see a dark sky. There was the faint glow from a camp fire by a tree and she was able to see past the man's shoulders to see two men sitting by it. She recognized one as the elderly man and the other as the brown-haired man. She fell unconscious into the man's arms when she felt a bolt of pressure sweep through her head.
She woke to the feeling of movement beside her. There was something going on in the dark. When she opened her eyes, she saw one of the two men used for labor pulling the blanket off her. Then she felt his hands move all around her sides, and chest. Her eyes went wide. She tried to wiggle away, but it was made difficult by the bonds on her feet and hands. She was too slow and didn't have time to get away before the man straddled her and held her down.

She let out a yelp and tried to scream, but her covered her mouth. She started breathing harder, and fear crept its' way into her mind. She tried kicking, but her ankles were bound together, and he was on top of her.

How was she to get out of this?

Finally, she had an idea. She used her Craft to undo the bonds on her feet, and almost managed to undo her arms, but her concentration was averted when she felt the man move his hands down to her waste. She reacted in fear, and managed to kick his back with her knee, driving it in. He lunged forward, and hissed in pain. Then she kicked him again, and just nearly had her arms free. She managed to use more Craft to give her strength and push the man off of her. By this time, she screamed loud and long as she scrambled to get up. The man grabbed her ankle and pulled her down. She screamed again.

Startled awake by the commotion of the shrieks of the girl, Lord Darius sat up and looked about in the dark. He groped blindly for his cane and when he found it, pushed himself up. He then stumbled on Roselv as he hobbled toward the noise. Roselv woke up, after the kick, and followed the old man. There was another scream. He went faster, trying to see. He lit a tongue of Witchfire in his hand and stumbled to a halt when he saw the witch on the ground, disheveled, and free of her bonds. Then he looked over to see one of the labor men dragging her towards him by her ankle.

The man looked up instantly when he saw the light, and his eyes went huge. His movements were slow however, and his responses sluggish, which proved he had been drinking a lot earlier.

When the witch saw the men, she scrambled as hard as she could towards them, seeking help.

Roslev was about to laugh in mockery at her and allow the man to continue, but Lord Darius spoke up.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked very sternly. His old gruff voice had that dangerous edge to it again.

The drunk man winced.

"This girl is not to be touched by any of you!" he almost yelled, but his voice began to quaver a little. He coughed once before continuing. "She is not our property. She will be left alone until she is sold. Then her masters can do whatever they please. But she is not to be touched." by this time, the other labor man had come over to see the commotion.

Lord Darius turned sharply, and muttered to Roselv before he left, "Get them away from her, and bind her again." Roselv turned his attention to the two on the ground. "You." he said, turning to the other laborer. " Take your friend, and get him out of here." he commanded. The witch sat trembling on the ground. Roselv looked down to her with disgust, and spread his lips in a terrible grin before kneeling down to her. She croaked something that sounded like a question.

"Am I to be sold into slavery?"

Lord Roselv snorted before replying, "Deary, you are a lost witch. You will never see your family or what you knew again. You are to become property, used in whatever fashion your owner commands." With that he grabbed her face in one hand and pulled in closer, so he could look into her eyes. "You're lucky that the Old Relic has a soft spot for children, or else you'd be a broken bitch now." And then he pressed his lips to her's and gave her a mocking, threatening kiss. She gasped when he let go, immediately spitting onto the ground between them. Roselv laughed maliciously, while he used Craft to materialize rope.

He laughed as he tied it around her hands, making it tighter than it was before. She snarled at him once, before he backhanded her and she fell to the ground. She went still again and he was able to tie her legs together with more ease. Then he hauled her up and swung her over his shoulder, moving her closer to the camp, so they could keep a watch on her. He dropped her, causing her to fall a foot or so, near the tree stump.

She landed with a thud and a yelp, but didn't move any more than that. She lay her head down on the ground and silently cried herself to sleep.

A/N- I hate this chapter, just thought you should know...