Chapter 11

Dafne didn't find out what diversion Resa had planned for them to make their escape until it actually started happening. It turned out to be several snakes which Resa had sneakily placed around the kitchen to be discovered. Dafne learnt later that Dustfinger, aided by his pet marten a skilled snake catcher, had collected them for Resa. The snakes were already dead, eliminating the possibility of anyone being bitten. But the maid who first laid eyes on one wasn't to know that crucial detail. She took one look at the unmoving scaly body and let out a scream.

"Snake! Snake!"

The occupants of the room quickly flew into a panic despite Orlanda's voice booming over the top of them calling for everyone to remain calm and where they were. Dafne, who was none the wiser to this part of Resa's plot, joined in their alarm. In the midst of the confusion, the other snakes were found, creating greater chaos as nowhere was now assumed safe. It came down a horde of terrified maids seemingly boxed in by a posse of serpents.

"Everybody out!" Orlanda finally bellowed.

In the stampede to exit, Resa caught hold of Dafne's arm. Dafne took one look at her friend's determined smile and realised that she had been the orchestrator of this incident. Her heart pounded from excitement which had previously been fear. She and Resa flowed with the tide of maids heading out the front door. They hadn't been directed there but that's where their panic took them, perhaps assuming the whole house was infested with snakes. All the better for Dafne and Resa, outside was where they wanted to go.

It was very late afternoon. Dusk was falling, swallowing up the village in gloom. Prior to Resa's successful diversion, the maids had been in the middle of preparing dinner. The oncoming darkness was advantageous as Resa and Dafne slipped away from the mass of women. None of the maids seemed to notice them leaving. They were still frantic, some near hysterical, about the believed danger they had just escaped from. Their chatter more than masked the sound of the duo's footsteps as they began their flight to freedom.

Resa let go of Dafne's arm to allow them both to run better. But Dafne stuck close to her as she followed Resa's lead. She seemed to know which direction to go. She didn't hesitate or slow. They reached the point where the village became dense forest and plunged ahead into the wilderness.

They made a lot of noise as they stumbled over rocky uneven ground littered with vines and fallen branches. Too much noise Dafne thought. Despite how successfully they had managed to steal away, how long would it be before it was realised they were missing? How long before Capricorn's men came after them. Each snapping twig underfoot felt like it was signalling their location to the ones who could be tracking them right at that second.

But they kept going. This was their shot at freedom. They had to go forward, forward into a forest that was becoming darker and darker though the chances of success were looking brighter and brighter, brighter until an actual form of light hit them, the shine of a torch. It came from behind them, accompanied by a voice Dafne recognised,

"Stop! Dafne stop!"

She had already stopped, instinctively freezing as the torchlight struck them. Her heart beating wildly from the fright it had caused her, she turned around,

"Silvio."

It had grown so dark she could only make out his outline. He was rushing towards her, the torchlight jerking due to his movement. Dafne felt a wave of relief and happiness. He had decided to join them. Why else would he be here, having trailed them into the woods?

Silvio grabbed hold of her arm. Now that he was closer, she could see the worry on his face flushed from the exertion of pursuing them.

"You need to come back to the village with me," his voice was tense and fast.

Dafne's heart sunk. She had been wrong about his intentions in chasing after her. But now that he was here, she had one last chance to persuade him. There was no way she was about to return to the village like he wanted.

"I'm not going back," she placed her hand encouragingly on the arm which held her, "Come with us instead."

To her mounting dismay, Silvio shook his head vehemently,

"No," he said, matching her refusal with equal stubbornness, "It's too dangerous. It's too dangerous for you too. There's no way you're going to make it."

Dafne glanced at Resa. She could sense the other woman's anxious impatience. They couldn't linger here. If Silvio had been able to find them, others could too. She didn't have time to try to convince the boy to change his mind. She had to accept his decision as he had to accept hers and regretfully part ways.

"Yes we will," she said, sadly working to prise his fingers from her. They refused to budge, "We will make it. I just..." she sighed heavily, "I just wish you would come with us. But since you don't want to, I guess this is goodbye."

Silvio flinched to hear her say such a thing, tightening his grip as she went to pull away. He was surprising strong for such a gentle boy. A boy who wasn't being so gentle at the moment out of desperation,

"Don't say that!" he wailed very close to her face, "Please change your mind. Basta and the others are coming after you. They aren't that far behind me."

While Dafne had known all along that pursuit would be inevitable, her anxiety increased to have it confirmed. How far behind were they? How many of them? She tried to listen for any noise to indicate the men's approach. All she could hear was the sound of Silvio's ragged breathing mingling with her own due to their proximity.

She heard the rustle of Resa moving towards them and waved her to halt. She knew her friend was coming to pull her away from Silvio to resume escaping, something they needed to do without delay. But the issue of Silvio was hers to resolve. She had been the one to divulge their escape plan to him. She was the reason he was here, impeding their progress.

"We need to keep going then," she told him firmly, "If we're captured, we'll be punished. You don't want that do you?"

"No of course not," Silvio said with alarm in his voice.

It was bittersweet for Dafne to see him concerned at such a prospect. It showed he cared about her as she did him. But if he cared, why not go with her? Why the opposition? Why ask her to return to the village to face an unpleasant fate if he cared about her wellbeing? Silvio went on to answer this unvoiced question,

"But Basta said Capricorn would be merciful if you came back of your own free will."

Dafne stared at him in surprise.

"Basta said that?"

Silvio nodded eagerly,

"Yes he said you would need to beg Capricorn for forgiveness," he looked at her hopefully, "That wouldn't be so hard would it. So please come back with me."

Dafne shook her head. Unlike Silvio, she didn't trust the validity of Basta's words. Capricorn and mercy didn't go together. The man didn't have inch of compassion. There was no way he would spare them from punishment. She was sure of that, even though she couldn't imagine what it might be. She didn't want to. Escape was the other path she would take willingly. The only way she was going back to the village was if she were dragged against her will.

Still, she wondered why Basta had fed Silvio such rubbish. It had obviously worked in making Silvio believe he was doing the right thing by trying to convince her abandon escape. Had that been Basta's plan? Had he sent Silvio ahead of the hunting party as a kind of diplomatic bloodhound to locate them and negotiate surrender?

If this was the case, she wasn't sure about Basta's motives in using Silvio in this way. He must have known that the chances of her and Resa conceding to return were slim to none. So why bother? Such a move didn't seem characteristic of Basta either. He had no qualms about using force to achieve a result. It made more sense for him to simply capture them and pull them back to the village by their hair. Why had he gone to the trouble of manipulating Silvio? The whole thing was highly suspicious, all the more reason for them to get going.

"I'm not going back," she reiterated her position to Silvio's distress, "Nothing is going to change my mind. So let go of me Silvio."

"No," the boy cried, holding her even more fiercely, "Please Dafne, there are snakes and it's so easy to get lost, especially in the dark. You'll end up dying out here if Basta doesn't find you. It's better to just go back."

Dafne began to struggle,

"It's not better. I'd rather die than be a slave!" she had lost all patience with them, desperation had set in. In her eyes he was becoming nothing more than a roadblock than the boy who had befriended her, "Now. Let. Me. Go!"

"I said no!" Silvio shouted with unyielding stubbornness, "I'm not letting you go until Basta gets here. I'll tell him you surrendered to me. Capricorn will take that into account and go easy on you."

Dafne shook her head in slightly crazed disbelief. No he wouldn't.

Up until this point, Resa had complied with Dafne's unspoken request that she handle Silvio on her own. But now that it appeared she couldn't, her friend went to take charge, moving to shove Silvio away from Dafne. Silvio saw her coming and hauled Dafne and himself out of her reach.

"Stay back! You can run away if you want but Dafne stays with me."

Resa shook her head, her expression hard.

"I said stay back!" Silvio warned her again more shrilly as she started to move towards them again, "I'll... I'll hurt you if you don't."

Dafne didn't believe that. Silvio's faltering voice gave away his lack of conviction. He wasn't the kind of person who could inflict harm on someone without hesitation or care. But he was a danger to their pursuit of freedom even if he didn't lay a finger on Resa. Every second he held them up was a second lost in increasing their distance from more dangerous pursuers. He needed to be dealt with now, and fast.

Dafne realised that words would do nothing to coax him to release her. The only option was to physically counteract his hold. She was reluctant as he was to hurt someone, especially him, but if elbowing him in the stomach and winding him made him let go she had do it. He wouldn't be expecting it either. He was too preoccupied with watching Resa.

Sorry Silvio, she thought as prepared herself to make the necessary blow.

But then she froze. She could suddenly hear the sound of undergrowth snapping underfoot. It was coming from the direction they had come. Her heart was gripped by fear. It had to be the men. It had to be. She could make out several shifting beams of light through the trees. Animals didn't carry torches. Animals didn't have coarse voices like the one belonging to the man who confirmed the vicinity of both parties,

"Hey, is that them up there?"

A bolt of panic-inspired adrenalin shot through Dafne. She tore out of Silvio's hold while the boy was distracted by the appearance of the men, almost tripping over in the process. She stumbled towards Resa. Her friend reached for her but Dafne found herself being wrenched back,

"No," Silvio cried as he locked his arms around her, "Don't run. Don't run."

Dafne struggled as wildly as she could.

"Let go Silvio! Let go!" she screamed, not caring for discretion because the men were already hastening over. Their voices sounded triumphant but she wasn't listening to what they were saying. She was too consumed with trying to free herself. But Silvio was holding onto her for dear life. Resa rushed in to help free her, tearing at Silvio's arms to disengage them but with little success. Silvio's grip was too powerful.

With a foreboding feeling the men would reach them very shortly, Dafne called Resa off,

"Go!" she said, causing Resa to freeze and look at her worriedly, "Quick, before you're caught too."

Resa was unrestrained. If she ran now, she still had a window of escape. She could get to Dustfinger and he could guide her out of the forest to freedom. If she stayed to help Dafne, she would forfeit this opportunity. Dafne loved Resa too much to let her sacrifice her own chance at escape. But Resa's loyalty was too strong. Instead of abandoning Dafne, she went to tug at Silvio's arms again.

"No!" the firmness in Dafne's voice caused Resa to pause, "Just go! Go find your family."

Resa regarded her with pained indecision. Dafne used all her might to curve her mouth into an optimistic smile.

"I'll be fine. Go."

Resa studied her mournfully, giving the tiniest of nods, the tiniest parting sombre smile. Then she rushed into the darkness of the surrounding woods, to continue attempting what Dafne was being denied by the prison of Silvio's arms. Dafne wanted to burst into tears but she fought the urge. Why hadn't Silvio let her go? She wanted to go with Resa. She wanted to be free.

Maybe there was still time.

"Please Silvio," she pleaded in a choked voice, "Let me go."

"I'm sorry," Silvio said in a voice which sounded just as upset, "I can't. It's for the best Dafne. Just come quietly okay."

Dafne's melancholy at her helplessness suddenly blazed into rage. She would not come quietly. She was not going to give in just because Silvio was stronger than her. If she wanted to escape, she would damn well do it.

With as much strength as she could, she kicked him in the shin. Silvio let out a cry of pain and surprise, his hold weakening. Dafne seized the moment, finally breaking free. She began running in the direction Resa had disappeared. She hoped she hadn't made it too far away as Dafne would become completely lost without her friend's guidance.

She felt a twinge of guilt about Silvio and went to glance over her shoulder to take one last look at the boy and say "sorry Silvio goodbye".

The horrible sound of guns being cocked made her stop in her tracks completely.

"Where do you think you're rushing off to little mouse?" Basta rasped.

Dafne turned to view the guns pointed at her and sneering gleeful faces of the men holding them. Basta was the only one who didn't have a weapon levelled at her. His expression was more hardened in seriousness.

She flinched as Cockerell fired a round into the air,

"Gotcha sweetheart!" he taunted.

Dafne's shoulders slumped.

Her escape attempt was over. She had failed. And she was in very big trouble.

To be continued...