AN: Don't own Underworld. Do own Anya
The leader of the little band of ruffians was not at all what Anya expected. When they had reached their camp she had been surprised that the large black man, apparently called Raze, was not in charge. The man before her now was much smaller than Raze. The soft light of the fire illuminated his features, so she was able to see his face clearly. He had long hair and a scruffy beard. He looked at her pensively for a moment with clear blue eyes. He was actually rather handsome, she thought. She frowned at the thought. Keep your head in the game girl, she told herself sternly.
"And who might you be?" he asked her, his voice, surprisingly, melodic.
"I might ask you the same question, you are in my lands after all", she responded coldly. If he was surprised by her gender, he did not let on.
"Your lands, well that is quite interesting. Then I suppose I already know who you are, baroness." He gave her a small, mocking bow. "Take off your helmet milady" She only raised an eyebrow in response. It was a stupid gesture as he could not see her.
"I swear to you, I mean you no harm", his tone was sincere enough. She saw no harm in it; they were already at their mercy, so she removed it. Her hard dark eyes met his lighter gaze steadily.
"You are as young as they say. And a warrior to boot", his eyes showed a quiet appreciation.
"And you seem to know much about me while I know not even your name", she retorted, a faint annoyance in her voice. To her surprise he gave a low chuckle.
"I will, of course, introduce myself as soon as I make sure that you and your men are to be trusted."
"Trusted? You must be joking. Before your men man-handled us and brought us here we were not even aware of your little band's existence!" She was indignant that he would present such an affront to her honor. "I can, therefore assure you that we mean you no harm."
"Well in that case, please take a seat", he cleared a space for her on a nearby trunk. "Men, lower your crossbows, we'll take the lady at her word." They obeyed without question, although a few still looked twitchy.
"As pleasant as that sounds, we cannot linger", her tone dripped with sarcasm. "We are on the hunt for a werewolf that has been spotted in this area. I am surprised you have not encountered it." She was surprised. Werewolves were not exactly the type of animals that stay away from humans. Anya supposed they liked the taste.
"Oh we've encountered it alright", he said cryptically and a few of his men chuckled.
"You have slain the beast?" her tone was skeptical.
"No we have not", he answered truthfully.
"Then would you be so kind as to direct us to it? We cannot afford to have such a monster roaming so near the village" Anya was beginning to get annoyed by his answers.
"Certainly, I would be happy to oblige." She smiled expectantly. "Turn around and behold the beast", he said. She did so but saw nothing but Raze and a few of Lucian's men, she turned back around, anger in her eyes.
"Out with it man! I have not the time for games. If you know where it is then tell me directly, if not then hold your impertinent tongue!" Her black eyes flashed with indignation. How dare he toy with her? He laughed which really only infuriated her more. Anya clenched her fists and waited for his response.
"I have already told you." He turned his attention to his second in command, "Raze would you be so kind as to show the lady her beast?" The men surrounding her laughed outright. She turned to the large man, barely containing her anger.
"Of course", he rumbled. He looked to the sky, and for a moment, was bathed in the light of the full moon. When he turned back at her, his eyes had become an unnatural milky blue. Rows of fangs protruded slightly from his mouth and he began to convulse. Anya staggered backwards in shock. What is this devilry, she thought to herself. She wanted to demand an answer from the leader but could not look away from the man-beast. His face began to elongate and form into a menacing snout. He grew in size, and began to remove articles of clothing to prepare for his transformation. Seconds later he sprouted dark, shining fur all over his body. Raze stood before her, fully changed, and to her horror a werewolf.
"Who are you? What are you?" she managed to whisper. With an effort she tore her gaze from the monster before her and turned to their leader with eyes wide with terror.
"To answer your first question, my name is Lucian." Her eyes widened a little further at this. "And for the second well…we're Lycans", he said simply, a smile on his face.
"Ah. Well, thank you." She was at a loss for words. Thank you? What a feather brain, she thought to herself. Despite her best efforts to remain calm, her legs turned to jelly beneath her and she almost fell to the ground. Lucian tried to help her, but Anya, suddenly regaining her balance, punched him in the face. In a single motion, she retrieved a long, silver knife from her left boot and gave the startled Lycan a sound kick in the gut. She pointed the knife at him menacingly.
"Stay away!" she cried. She was crouched in a feral stance, ready to fend off the hellish beasts. Around her, Gedeon and the rest were producing their own hidden weapons in an attempt to defend themselves and their mistress. That move should have thrown Lucian to the ground, but it only made him stagger backwards a little. Before she or her men could do anything, he grabbed the wrist that held the knife and twisted it in such a way that made her scream in agony. Before she had time to blink he was behind her, her own knife at her throat.
"Lower your weapons." Her men did not hesitate and did as they were told. He pressed the knife to her vulnerable throat and spoke into her ear. "That was uncalled for, lady. You were not in any danger"
She gave a strangled laugh. "I suppose you and your werewolf friends are quite civilized then. Perhaps we can all have tea together sometime, I have always liked dogs." Lucian threw her forward and she staggered to the ground. She twisted quickly to face him but remained on the floor.
"What are you going to do with us, if not have us for supper Mr. Wolf?" Her eyes were defiant and she kept her chin high. He surprised her by laughing once again.
"I don't want to hurt you milady. Can you not understand that?" he sounded a little frustrated. Lucian extended his hand to help her up. She ignored it and got up herself, her eyes still wary.
"Then what, I pray, is your purpose here?"
"We are only passing through", his tone was a little too innocent.
"You're lying."He only raised his eyebrows at her. "I cannot stand it when people lie to me. I suggest that you tell me the truth, or I promise you, you will not like the consequences." There was steel in her voice.
"Lady Anya, is it?" She inclined her head. "I don't believe you are in a position to issue threats here."
"I believe otherwise" Her fists were clenched in anger. "My first and most important duty is to protect the people in my village. I will have the truth, or you shall face my blade Lycan", she practically spat the word.
Lucian rubbed his forehead in an exasperated gesture. "Fine" he said. But your not going to like it, he thought to himself. "We are actually here to enlist any slaves in your possession to our cause, our army has sustained a great loss of late and we desperately need more men."
It was her turn to laugh in is face. "Slaves? That's what you want? Well, I expect you'll have some trouble with that."
"Oh? I have always found slaves to be quite amenable to the idea of freedom"
"You should know. Oh don't look so surprised. I know who you are", she gave him a lopsided smile. "The famous Lucian, leader of the slave revolt in Castle Corvinus five years past. I have always been very much aware of your existence, Lucian. Just not of your nighttime…transformations."He smiled wryly at her.
"Would you care to take a walk with me Master Lucian? I want to discuss a couple of things in private", her request surprised Lucian. Wasn't she terrified for her life a minute ago?
"I suppose that's doable", he answered. The now human Raze began to argue but Lucian silenced him with his hand. "She is an unarmed human woman. I expect I can handle her, Raze", he said. "Just keep an eye on her men until I return." The giant of a man nodded in assent. Gedeon also looked concerned, but she nodded at him to ease his misgivings. She could take care of herself.
Lucian gestured for Anya to proceed into the forest. Without a backward glance she walked once more into the darkness of the forest, Lucian close behind her.
AN: Was this too long? I have been struggling to figure out the acceptable length for my chapters. I would really like some reviews. I would especially like to know if I'm getting to corny or cliché because I tend to do that. Anyway, thanks for reading I'll update soon! :D