Warning: Mature content ahead.
There is hope after despair and many suns after darkness.
It was a beautiful day. The land was covered with snow from last night's heavy snowfall. The sun was shining. It was literally a winter wonderland and Pepper desperately wanted to explore it. She told Jarvis and Magdalene, she would be late for lunch. She knew Lord Stark had gone to a nearby town and was expected in the evening. So she set off with Buttercup.
She headed towards the area to the north of the keep, which was uncharted territory for her. They had been riding for 2 hours when they came to a thicket of trees. Pepper dismounted and let Buttercup graze as she searched for mushrooms. She hummed to herself softly. Then she heard a twig snap and Buttercup whinnied. She turned to see a big, grey dog growling viciously at her, fangs bared. The hounds are here.
Pepper slowly backed into the bushes behind her. Then a large hand snaked around her waist and another around her mouth, cutting off her scream. She struggled as the hands lifted her off her feet. She bit the hand in her mouth and then saw stars as she was shoved roughly to the ground. The dog started to bark loudly. She turned her face and saw the hand coming towards her face, hitting her squarely in the jaw. Then everything went black.
x-x-x-x
Tony whistled merrily as he watched the drawbridge lower. He was looking forward to seeing Lady Virginia. Perhaps today he could persuade her to have a nightcap with him and play chess till dawn. The idea made him smile. As he rode in, he saw Jarvis and Magdalene in the courtyard. Something had happened. Jarvis came closer as he dismounted and said, "My lord, Lady Virginia, she hasn't come back yet."
Tony's blood turned cold. "When did she leave?".
"At 11 in the morning, Milord. Buttercup came back without her, an hour ago. We searched nearby but we couldn't find her-"
He didn't wait for Jarvis to finish his sentence, he mounted Balthazar and whistled for Tigliath. Man and beast rode out of the keep together in haste. It was 3 pm, so there was still light in the sky but dark would fall soon and he couldn't search for her then.
x-x-x-x
It was 6 pm. He had ridden for 3 hours, searching for some sign of Lady Virginia. He despaired of ever finding her. Where could she have gone? He crossed a small hill and rode down its valley. There was a thicket of trees but what interested him was the number of footprints in the snow. He dismounted and analysed them.
A small pair, that seemed feminine, led to a bush and then stopped. There were two other distinct pairs, one of a heavyset man as his print was deep in the snow. There were also paw marks, that of a dog. There was a scuffle, judging from the indentations near the bushes and broken branches in the bush. And then only two pairs disappeared into the undergrowth. They must have had horses and rode away from here. With Virginia. He broke out in a cold sweat. They had taken her but why? A random kidnapping?
The dragon whispered in his ear, Let's find her first and ask questions later. Then we will make them pay for taking her.
He saw that the two sets of horse prints led away from the thicket, towards the north. He mounted his horse and rode in that direction. He could see smoke rising in the near distance. He rode for 3 leagues, towards the source. He could hear the sounds of men and dogs. A camp. But of what? He silently ordered Tigiliath to stay in the undergrowth. He dismounted and tied Balthazar's reins to a tree.
The camp was set up in the old ruins of Tristam. It had been the house of a great lord. Only a few walls still stood and they provided good shelter from the snow. A large fire was lit in the center of the site. There were 2 men sitting on a broken down gate, cleaning swords. A large dog slept near them.
He stepped out from the forest and shouted " Hail fellows". The dog started barking. The men looked at him with suspicion. One of them stood up and pointed a sword at him. He growled, "Who be you stranger? State your purpose."
Tony said, "I am a ranger in these parts. Just scouting the area. I mean no harm. Just wanted to greet fellow travelers like myself. I can share my knowledge of the area if you like."
He stepped closer. The second man stood up and smiled. He gestured to the other man to lower his sword and snapped his fingers. The dog lay down again.
"Tell us, bearded one. . What lies in the land around us?"
Tony gave a brief outline of the surrounding area. The men listened to him with attention. Then the snarly one said, "Thank you for the information. It will be handy for us when we set out to hunt."
Tony politely asked "What are you hunting?"
They both chortled sneakily.
From the fire, a tall figure came into view. The men tensed and Tony knew this was the Leader of the camp. A lean, lanky, bony man, carrying a large pike and wrapped up in a large black cloak. Tony could smell the odor of dried blood emanating from him. His mouth was covered by a pink stained kerchief. He looked at Tony with dark, cold, soulless eyes and said in a hoarse high voice, "Who do we have here?"
The sword man grunted "Ranger. He was explaining the lay of the land to us."
The Leader stared at Tony unblinking. "Is there something you wanted, ranger?"
He decided to take a chance and see what happened.
"I am searching for a guest of mine, who I think, got lost in these woods. She is a young woman, tall with light red hair. Her horse returned home without her. Have you seen anyone like that around these parts?"
The men stared at him while the Leader smirked in a most obscene manner. He replied "Funny, we have a guest that fits that description. Follow me."
Tony followed the Leader cautiously as they passed the fire place. He saw two more men, one polishing a set of armor, the other grooming a horse. Two dogs were playing with each other in the snow.
They say they are hunters but i cannot see any furs or skins or even meat anywhere. What is going on?
Then he saw a large iron cage mounted on a wagon. It was tall enough for a man to stand in. The Leader noticed him staring and gave him a sly sideways glance. "To keep what we catch."
Before Tony could process his words, they came to a small patch of land enclosed by trees. A fat man sat on the ground. Under a huge oak tree, a smaller man was peeling potatoes slowly. The fat one was shouting, "Hurry up, you loiter-sack, we needs to start cooking dinner."
The smaller man stood up and Tony drew a short breath. Virginia. He must have said it out loud because both she and the fat man turned to him. She gasped loudly.
The Leader said maliciously, "This be your friend?".
Then Tony noticed the shackle around Virginia's ankle. A long steel chain ran from the shackle to a loop embedded in the tree. Another shackle was around one of her wrists, again chaining her to the tree.
She is a slave. This is a slave camp. Virginia is a slave.
Suddenly it all became clear. Her fleeing from him on the frozen lake, why she was dressed as a man, why she had nothing on her, why she had tried escaping when she woke up. She was a slave on the run.
He shook his head in disbelief. She hesitantly took a step towards him but the chain around her leg tightened and held her back. She looked at him with a mute plea in her eyes, as if urging him not to judge her. Her right cheek was swollen and there was a dark bruise on her jaw.
The Leader came by her side and she stiffened. He pulled her head back viciously, by her open hair. She didn't make a sound, she just swallowed hard. He asked Tony, "I'll repeat my question... is this the friend you are looking for?"
Tony felt his chest start to burn with rage. He could hear the dragon roar in his ears. The fiend was hurting her. He withdrew his sword and assumed an attack stance, ready to tear the bastard to pieces.
"Let her go, you monster!" he yelled.
The fat man stepped forward and withdrew his sword. The Leader snarled, shoved Virginia to the ground and picked up his pike. They both faced Tony down, weapons raised. Then he heard the dogs barking. The remaining slavers of the camp entered the area. Now Tony was completely surrounded by men and dogs.
Before he could swing at the nearest attacker, the dragon whispered, STOP. You know this is evil. It must be destroyed. But be smart. You cannot take them all on and survive unscathed. You are not prepared for this battle.
Tony silently agreed. It is right. If I die, Virginia will be doomed. I need to save her. I need to be the Iron Knight to win this.
He took a deep breath and lowered his sword. The Leader stared at him warily. Time to put on an act.
"Hark! Let's calm down, fellows, for a minute. I do not want to fight you. Why should I? You are earning a living, you are doing what you have to do. How can I interfere?" He said winningly.
By now, all had lowered their swords and were staring at him. He put his sword back in its scabbard and smiled charmingly. This made the Leader relax.
"Anyways I hardly know her and I definitely did not know she was a slave. I would have turned her in myself, for a reward. So sorry for disturbing your peace. I shall take my leave. Happy hunting."
He looked at Virginia, who had staggered to her feet. There was a look of sadness and even worse, defeat in her eyes.
She bit her lip and then looked down at her hands as if she couldn't bear to meet his gaze. Tony schooled his emotions, so that his face was blank. The leader laughed and the men started to get back to what they were doing. Tony walked quickly towards the entrance of the camp, without looking back. He mounted Balthazar and whistled at Tigliath to follow him. He rode with haste as he had to reach Stark keep in an hour.
Darkness had fallen and the camp was settling down for dinner. Pepper sat under the great tree, hands bound behind her and watched the Leader assign watch duty to Pees-every-where dog and Never-takes-a-bath slaver. Here she was back again in this hell on earth, chained to the same tree as she had been when the slavers first captured her. She wondered whether Lord Stark had told Jarvis and Magdalene about her.
He must have, they must share his disgust. He looked right through me as if I wasn't even there. He was disgusted because he thought I was a lady, a noblewoman. He must regret his generosity towards me. Remembering his reaction filled her eyes with tears.
I cannot cry, I must be strong. He was just a man. It does not matter any more.
She sighed deeply and watched as the men gathered around the fireplace, waiting for the Fat One to dole out stew. Her stomach growled with hunger. She knew she wouldn't get any stew. She closed her eyes, only to smell the stench of dried blood close by. She stood up quickly. The Leader was here and looking at her.
Pepper was terrified of the Leader. She had seen his unspeakable cruelty towards other slaves. He seemed to delight in torture. His mouth was always covered but his beady eyes glimmered evilly in his pasty white skin. They bore into her skin like she was a writhing piece of flesh for him to abuse. And somehow he always smelt of blood.
He came to her side, with that frightening looping walk of his. He caught her throat in his hand, fingernail gently scraping her neck. She turned her head forward and didn't look at him.
"Virginia, my sweet." He whispered in her ear. His sibilant voice made her shudder uncontrollably. She tried to move away but the hand on her throat was firmly holding her in place.
"Why did you run my pet? Hmm? We took such good care of you, didn't we?" He bit her ear through his kerchief and she jerked violently. "Such a bundle of nerves. I have some news for you. Look at me Virginia."
He caught her jaw and forcibly turned her head, so she was looking at him. He was too close. The smell of blood grew stronger. His kerchief was around his neck and his thin wide mouth was visible in his gaunt face. It was stretched in a thin lipped smile.
"Virginia" he spoke slowly, barely opening his mouth, "We have a buyer for you." She felt her blood chill at this. Being sold would be the end of her.
"It's an old friend of yours, at least that's what he said. He's been searching for you. The warlock Stane."
He's found me. Pepper gasped and struggled to break free. The Leader reacted by pushing her back against the tree with one hand, tightening his grip on her neck with his other hand. She couldn't breathe from the fear.
"Now, now, my sweet. I know you are excited to see him but you need to be patient. This happy news calls for a celebration, don't you think." She froze at this sentence. The Leader's eyes were glittering with an unholy light.
"We had to be careful with you because we were trying to attract a buyer. But now we got one and he doesn't care what state you are in, as long as you are alive." She stared at him in horror as he grinned at her, fully exposing two rows of filed and pointed teeth in his wide mouth.
"Don't worry, Virginia ... you will live through it." and he laughed hoarsely.
