Here's the next chapter, this story does take a little bit to pick up so bare with me. :D Enjoy!
I do not own Twilight or any of the wonderful characters that Stephenie Meyer created. This story is rated M for mature themes. Please do not read if you're easily offended or bothered by violence.
***Chapter 2***
When dawn eventually broke and they had moved along again, Bella realised they were far from any place she had ever seen; the scenery changing drastically with every step.
Not only was it colder here, but the forests that surrounded her had become older and denser and the singing of the birds were different than the ones she fell asleep to in Creolle. Catching a glimpse of beady eyes through the trees she shivered at the thought of one of the predators she was imitating actually following her.
It was as it got darker and night fell that the hairs on her neck stood on end, the feeling of being watched was overwhelming. The chills of what night meant to the captured women didn't help and it spread through her veins, worsening her already frazzled nerves.
It was this night that she was lucky enough to see two Barbarians head off together. They went deeper into the trees in hopes of finding their perfect spot just as their comrade had done the past night. They knew no fear. Not only had they brushed off his death as an animal attack but in their minds they were the fiercest things out there.
For now.
Just like the previous night she waited until they had stopped to draw closer but her mistake was listening to what they were laughing boisterously about.
"No, please, please donna' hurt me, I'll do anything...ungrateful she was, any lady would be lucky to lie with a man like me and here this country whore is pleading to be let go…" one Barbarian – with shaggy red hair covering his eyes – grunted around his guttural laughs. The other, who had a long scar from the top of his bald head to his disgusting chin, shared in the joke with his own pleading voice of the woman he had taken the night before.
Her anger boiled so quickly until all she could see was red and she could not contain the small growl which escaped her lips. Unfortunately they heard her despite their loud laughter and tucked themselves away before turning to face the threat before them. Only this was no threat they thought, just another woman to add to the collection in the wagons.
"Well, well…what have we here?" The Barbarian with the scar questioned his companion, a feral leer gracing his distorted face.
"It seems we have ourselves a runner don't ya' say Arius?" Shaggy Hair replied and Bella felt herself recoil as their gazes went all over her body from head to toe, as if they had seen her without her coverings.
She was not so far gone in her hatred that she didn't notice how they glanced at her blades and split in two directions, slowly surrounding her while they taunted and sneered at her. Their error would be to underestimate her and her error would be losing sight of even one of them. They finally halted once they had her circled; Scar Face in front of her and Shaggy Hair at her back.
Drawing a deep breath and calming her nerves she lashed out when Shaggy Hair lunged for her arm, his bare hands as deadly as claws. Curving around in a quick spin she swung upwards and managed to cut a deep slash into the inside of his forearm. A howl of pain escaped his lips as she ducked just in time. Scar Face's sword – that would have surely severed her spine – whistling past seconds later.
Spinning again on the heel of one foot she grunted with the force behind her blow as she used both daggers to slice at his unprotected shins. Bella succeeded in cutting so deep that he stumbled backwards and fell to the floor with an anguished cry. Rising up just in time to see Shaggy Hair's dark eyes as he flew at her; broadsword finally unsheathed and aiming for her heart.
Parrying the gleaming metal sword Bella stepped to the side with enough speed that his momentum had him stumbling forward. Putting all her energy into her strike she thrust one dagger into his back when he tried to stable himself. The power behind it made the thin blade sink in hilt deep. She dared not look at his face this time as he made the same wet sounds the other had made before he died the previous night.
Her fleeting aversion was what made her miss the sound of his comrade as he grasped her around the neck from behind. His sweaty, musky scent clogging her mouth and nose as he pressed his face to the side of hers. Her fingers slipping hopelessly off the dagger still buried in Shaggy Hair's back as he slumped to the ground dead.
"You little whore! You will pay for what you've done." He spat in her ear as she struggled against his bone crushing grip. His spare hand ran over her most intimate parts as his other grasped her wrists in what felt like iron manacles.
She sobbed in pain as he crushed her closer. Pins and needles shooting through her fingers when he painfully squeezed her arms, her last weapon dropping to the ground with a muted thud. Desperately she writhed against him in hopes of slipping out of his grasp but whimpered in revulsion as she realised all that her squirming had done was make him aroused. Throwing her to the ground and falling on top of her, his weight was almost suffocating her more than his putrid breath as it fanned over her face.
"How's about we have a little fun first?" He sneered as he gripped her chin between his fingers, most likely bruising the skin there, his other hand still roaming along her thighs. "I think I more than deserve it you filthy wh-"
He never got to finish that sentence as he was flung off her as if had been dragged back by an invisible rope.
She scrambled back the instant he was gone, cradling the sorest wrist of her left hand to her stomach as she glanced at the fight in front of her. A tall man now stood in her place fighting the battle she should have been finishing and Bella watched in silent awe as he skilfully sliced away at Scar Face's body with a deadly sword of his own.
He was always quicker and managed to step away before the Barbarian even had a chance to grasp even a piece of his clothing.
This stranger had definitely trained in the art of combat and he was a fine specimen of a man Bella had to admit. He had a head full of unruly brown-blond locks that just covered his ears and it was in a mess but seemed to suit him. As he fought those smooth strands flew in the breeze created by his lithe movements.
Standing taller than the Barbarian – who was at least a head higher than Bella – she noticed his musculature was not as defined compared to the other man but it gave him the ability to move with the grace of a pouncing lion.
She couldn't discern much more than the fact he only wore a simple black tunic and shin-high travelling sandals, not only because of his fast movements but because it was getting darker as clouds moved across the moon.
In the glimpses she did get, she saw him as he finally managed to get the upper hand and sliced the man's throat from ear to ear. The only thing from stopping her from looking away at the gruesome sight was the fact that the stranger was now staring at her.
"Are you harmed?" He questioned quietly, his gaze flickering to the wrist she had cradled against her chest. Bella was still stunned and could not find the voice to answer; she had no idea what had just happened other than the fact that this stranger had saved her life.
"Well? Answer me woman?" He snapped. A glare now in place as he inched towards her, still in a daze she jerked back which the stranger noticed immediately and halted his movements.
"Please…I only want to help." He pleaded and his demeanour was calmer as he dropped his sword at her feet and held his palms up in a placating gesture of good faith.
"Are you hurt?" He questioned again, this time his voice was almost pleading with her to answer him. As if he knew her. As if he cared about her.
"No. I am fine." She replied in a tiny voice that did not sound like her own, inwardly cursing the scar faced man for doing this to her.
"Do not lie to me." He implored. "I only want to help and I am unable to if you do not tell me what is hurt." His words surprisingly made her feel slightly guilty at the lie when he so obviously did want to help.
"My wrists are sore a bit and so is my chin from where he held them." Bella answered, her voice cracking on the last words. "Nothing that time cannot heal." She murmured looking away uncomfortably as his gaze turned dark and fierce.
When the man remained silent she chanced a look back and almost yelped in surprise to see him kneeling so close in front of her. So close in fact that she could feel the warmth coming off his skin; it made her want to curl against him as if she were a cat.
Shaking the peculiar thought from her mind she glanced at him warily as his fingers brushed her chin, gently lifting her head up to examine the marks she was sure were visible. Her head returned down when she felt him remove his fingers and she could have sworn she heard a low growl come from his chest. Inspecting her arms next, he turned them over and ran his palms around her forearms until he was satisfied that they were only bruised and not broken.
"What is your name?" He suddenly asked and the unexpected lightness to his voice startled her. The change had been sudden from his dark mood of only a moment ago, his thumbs absently rubbing soothing circles on the skin of her sore wrists.
His eyes shone a bright, vibrant green that was discernible even in the darkness. They pierced her very soul as he waited calmly for her reply; staring into her eyes as if he could pull the answer out of her head himself. He obviously saw the battle that raged internally and he halted his questions for the moment.
Should she trust this stranger? Or should she flee while she still could?
"I promise I will never harm you." He soothed her nerves as he somehow answered her unvoiced questions. His voice flowing like velvet and honey against her ears, the smooth tones sending shivers up her spine that had nothing to do with shock.
"Are you cold?" He asked anxiously after feeling the small bumps rising on the skin of her arms. Her blush was instant in her embarrassment so she nodded even though she wasn't the slightest bit chilled anymore and watched as he disappeared behind a tree. Returning seconds later with a black cloak which he placed around her now shaking shoulders.
The moment he had moved away, the impact of what nearly happened had melted all the way down to her very bones. She continued sobbing even as the soft material that held the man's heady scent rubbed against her sore skin.
"Hush…it's okay. No one will hurt you again I promise…it'll be alright." He whispered as he brought her into his arms. Holding her against his strong chest Bella noticed the difference between this stranger's arms and the Barbarians' from before. Whereas the other man's arms felt like snakes against her, this stranger's hold felt like she'd come home. A place she had never had despite her villa and as she melted into his embrace she couldn't help but consider his words.
Pulling away, and still sniffling, she decided to put a little bit of trust into this man who had, after all, saved her life and showed such concern for her wellbeing. "Bella." She said in a small voice. "My name is Bella."
The man smiled and rubbed his hands up and down her cloak-covered arms as he drew her closer again and she went willingly.
"Mine is Edward. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Smiling a little despite herself she was torn from the quiet moment by the screams that were once again coming from the caravans and the men.
Bella knew what was happening this time and somehow the two dead Barbarian's in front of her didn't make her feel any better. Flowing to her feet Bella remembered her plan once more and she shrugged off the man's cloak. Handing it back to him as she picked up one of her fallen daggers.
Kneeling next to each of the Barbarians she covered up the markings from both Edward and herself as best as she could. Feeling his gaze on her she glanced up to see him looking at her questioningly, almost soundlessly she told him she would explain everything later.
After recovering and cleaning her daggers she headed towards the tree that she had left her satchel in. Swiftly retrieving it Bella turned and followed Edward to where he had left his own belongings.
Bella had a strong feeling that her life was about to be changed quite drastically and she hoped she had made the right decision to consider trusting him.
They carefully walked from the bloodied bodies and the screaming just far enough that they wouldn't be seen or heard but not so far that they wouldn't be left behind in the morning and they made camp.
Bella realised just how hungry she was after only eating a little of the dried meats and fruits she had brought with her. Edward had made a small fire and started roasting two small rabbits, the smell making her stomach almost claw at its surroundings.
They sat in a comfortable silence while it cooked and then while they ate and it wasn't until they were putting out the fire and curling up on the forest floor – nestling into the cloak that Edward insisted that she use – that anyone said a word.
"How did you find me?" She questioned.
She was most certainly not stupid and knew this man could not have been walking through the forest at just the right time. He had to have been following either the same people as she was or he was following her for some reason and the latter thought made her curl into a smaller ball in uncertainty.
"I've been following you ever since you left Creolle." He replied, his voice subdued and at this she sat up and turned towards him. This was the news she probably didn't want to hear. He could be far worse than the savages that rested a short distance away or – by some miracle of the gods and from what she had seen before – he had truly been trying to help.
"Why?" She questioned quietly, her muscles coiled as she judged the distance to her weapons to either flee or fight depending on his answer.
"Because my sister had a vision…well, I should actually say that she's had several."
Feel free to leave me comments or thoughts, all will hopefully be answered soon. :D
Have a lovely week!