When I came to, I tried to move, but my hands were tied together above my head with a strong rope. My wrists hurt from the rope and my shoulders hurt from my arms being above my head.

"Oh good, you're awake."

I looked to my left and saw that Shirayuki was in the same predicament I was.

"Do you know where we are?" I asked.

"No, I only woke up a few moments ago myself. Are you hurt?"

"No, the only pain I feel is in my shoulders and wrists, but that's to be expected." I wiggled my hands around to try and get free, but it was no use, the bonds were too tight. I knew that if I pressed on the base of my thumb hard enough, I could break a small bone in my hand, that would allow me to get my hand free. However, I didn't want to do that just yet, not till I had more information.

"Well, well, look who finally woke up. " spoke a taunting deep voice.

Shirayuki and I turned our attention to the entrance of the small cavern, we were in. It was a bulky man, who had a nasty scar across his face and black balding hair. He was dressed like a bandit, but his posture said, that he had some sophistication about him.

"What do you want with us?!" I demanded.

"Oh it's not me that wants you, the Boss is the one who wants you." The bulky man stepped aside and into the room to reveal a more normal sized man. He carried himself like a noble as he approached me.

"I am the former Lord of Sui. You lovely ladies are here, as part of a plot against Prince Izana."

I had heard about what happened between Prince Izana and Lido & Sui, but I didn't think they would be stupid enough to try and get revenge. As someone who had sparred with him, all trying to get revenge was going to get you, was more pain.

"You see, when I heard about the failed attempt of Lido's plans, I stepped back and bided my time, making sure my plan was perfect. I knew the prince had to court someone eventually, so I waited… "

"That's all fine and dandy, but why did you take both of us?" I snapped.

"Your red headed friend here was just a bonus. I'm sure that once her hair grew out, I could fetch a nice price for it."

"You bastard! You're going to regret ever touching us!"

"Continue to talk like that, Lady Rin, and you'll get what's coming to you."

I decided to shut my mouth. Even though I knew anything they did to me would come back and bite them, I also knew I had to be at my best if Shirayuki and I were going to escape.

"Itsuki!"

"Yes, Boss?"

"Send this letter to Prince Izana. Tell the messenger to deliver it to his hands personally; I want to hear about the look on his face when he reads it."

"Right away, Boss." Itsuki took the letter and promptly left the room.

"I must say, Lady Rin, you are much lovelier, then I thought you would be." The Lord admitted, as he walked up to me and placed his hand on the side of my face. "It almost makes me hope, that the Prince refuses my offer. Then I could make you mine and still get what I want."

His touch disgusted me. It made me want to vomit, so I did the next best thing, I spat in his face. After the shock of my action wore off, he took out a handkerchief and wiped his face.

"I wouldn't be yours, even if you were the last man in the world, you pampered, thumb suckin', crud bucket!"

Pain shot through my face when he slapped me. My feet weren't restrained, so I responded by landing a blow with my leg to his groin. He doubled over in pain.

"I dare you to try assaulting me again, you pig faced baboon!"

"Boss!" Itsuki had returned and helped the Lord stand back up straight.

"I'm fine!" He shrugged off his lackey. "Bind her feet!"

Itsuki did exactly as he was told. Once he was finished, the Lord harshly grabbed my face with one hand and glared at me.

"What's the matter? Were you looking for an easy prize? Sorry, but that's not me." I mocked.

"We'll see about that." he forced a kiss on my lips, then walked away. Now it was only Itsuki, to guard us.

"You shouldn't provoke the Boss like that. He might ask me, to teach you a lesson," he warned, as he leaned against the wall.

I surprised he volunteered the information, but it gave me an idea. His volunteered information indicated that he had a bit of soft spot, either for me or women in general.

"So, what's a big, strong, handsome man like you doing working for a man like that?" I seduced. I had seen enough whores swindle men out of their money, just by using their words, so I had an idea of what to do.

"You think I'm handsome?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Of course! You must have women, falling in love with you, all the time."

"Not really."

"I'm surprised, your face has so much character and that body… it's enough to make a woman swoon." The only reason, I was able to pull off a convincing act, was because I pictured myself saying these things to Prince Izana someday.

"T-Thank you."

Awe, I was making him blush. I had him exactly where I wanted him.

"You haven't been with a woman, have you, Itsuki?"

"N-No. Work has u-usually kept me too busy."

"Come here, Itsuki. I want to tell you something."

He obeyed and came closer to me.

"Do you want to know what women really want?"

His face went red as he nodded.

"Come closer."

He leaned in so that I could whisper into his ear.

"Women want to be treated like a treasure. Something to be valued and protected. You do that, and you could have any woman you wanted."

"H-How do I do that?" he swallowed hard and his breathing was shallow.

"I would be ever so grateful if you would loosen my bonds just a wee bit. They're hurting me."

"I-I don't know."

"Please...you wouldn't want to give me back to my lover injured, would you?"

"I s-suppose not." He reached up and began to loosen my bonds.

I blew on his neck, for some added seduction. I didn't know why it worked, but I had seen the whores do it, to drive the men wild, before leading them away.

The only reason I know is because the pirates I had been with, had tried several times, to get me laid. One had even shoved me into a room with a whore. I confided in her that I was a woman and that I wasn't interested. In return for my honesty, she told me about some tricks, I could use if I found myself in a sticky situation. Since we had a whole hour together, she was able to go through a lot.

When Itsuki had finished loosening my bonds, he gazed at me.

"Thank you, that's much better."

"Anything for you, Lady Rin."

"Then, would you be a dear and get me a drink of water? I'm parched."

"Of course. I'll be right back."

Once we were alone, I quickly freed my hands and feet then helped Shirayuki.

"Where did you learn to seduce like that?"

"You don't want to know. Let's go, before he gets back."

"Alright."

We snuck around and avoided several guards on the way. I did take out two so that Shirayuki and I could dress in their clothes. I made sure both men were a little bigger than we were so that the clothes would fit. Shirayuki was small enough in the bust that the baggy shirt would hide it, but I had to quickly try and bind myself.

Once our disguises were complete, we freely wandered till we found the entrance. Finally, we were outside. I made the excuse that we were going to patrol the perimeter and as soon as we were out of sight, we went into a full sprint. After running a good distance, we stopped and took a break.

"Shirayuki, do you have any way to let Prince Zen know where you are?"

"I had a walnut stone, but it was in my bag that was left behind."

I looked up in the sky and saw that the sun was setting. I walked over to a sturdy tree and inspected it.

"How good are you at climbing trees?"

"I'm decent."

"Alright. Get in the tree." I didn't mean to order it, but I didn't feel like I had time to be nice. If we had been pursued, we needed to get off of the ground.

Shirayuki quickly did as I asked, then I followed her up the tree.

"How far do you want me to go?"

"About half way up."

Once we reached our mark, we both did our best to get comfortable.

"Tomorrow morning I'll climb to the top and see if I figure out where we are."

"Don't you think the Lord of Sui will come looking for us?"

"I'm sure he's searching everywhere right now, but they rarely think to look up. No one expects nobility to be able to climb trees. Try and get some sleep, I'll wake you if anything happens."

"Alright."

I waited till Shirayuki was sound asleep before I allowed myself to doze. I made sure, I didn't fully fall asleep because I didn't want my nightmares giving us away. Thankfully, the night was uneventful and the sun finally began to grace the morning sky. I woke up Shirayuki and then climbed to the top of the tree. It was a far distance off, but I could see Wistal due north. I climbed back down to Shirayuki, then we both climbed down to the ground.

"Were you able to figure out which way we need to go?"

"Yeah, north."

"But doesn't that take us back to where the Lord of Sui is hiding?"

"Yes, but we're going to have to try."

Shirayuki nodded.

"Before we go… I need you to promise me something."

"What is it?" She looked at me with concern.

"If they find us, no matter what happens I need you to keep running. Don't stop till you find Prince Izana or Prince Zen."

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine, they can't kill me, if they want their plan to work. Plus, I have a sword now. They won't be able to recapture me easily."

"Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

"Trust me, Shirayuki, I have a better chance of being found if you are able to tell the Princes where I am."

"Alright."

"Now let's get going."

The two of us walked for a while and it wasn't long till my prediction of being found, came true.

"You really shouldn't have run off like that. Now I'm going to have to think about what to do for a punishment."

I drew my sword. "Shirayuki, run!"

"Right!"

I heard her take off, as I made sure no one followed her. Several men surrounded me and the battle began. Swords clashed for about an hour, but because I wasn't used to fighting this many opponents, I eventually was defeated. They roughly dragged me back to the mine, I had been kept in before.

"This time, I'm going to make sure you don't get away." The noble stated.

He tied my hands individually, but still above my head like before. My feet were bound again, only, this time, it was tighter. I winced at the pain, as he tightened them. Then there was a slap across my face, then another to the other side.

"Itsuki!"

"Yes, Boss?"

"Break her spirit."

"Yes, sir."