"No! Don't hurt her!"
Her mother screamed as the bandits dragged her child away. She fought with everything she had, digging her feet into the ground, but they were far too strong. They had slammed her father into the wall of their home, choking him. Tears streamed down her face while the bandits beat him to death. The girl and her mother coward in the corner and whimpered. When the life faded from her husbands eyes, the mother grabbed her daughter to run. The bandits simply laughed at their pathetic attempt. While one pushed the mother to the ground, the other grabbed the girl by her wrist. She cried out when they began to drag her out the door.
Her mother stared wide eyed as one of the men walked towards her. She scrambled backwards, falling to her feet. As the tip of the man's sword nicked her neck, she gazed at her daughter who was still being carried away. Her cheeks were wet with tears, her eyes glassy.
"I love you..."
As the girl opened her mouth to respond, her mother screamed. A sword, slick with blood, pierced her chest. Her daughter's screams became even more desperate, as she called out her mother's name. The bandits tied a cloth to her head and gagged her, silencing the girl. And as she struggled against them, she pleaded for death. Because she knew that death would be a bigger mercy than what they had in store for her.
~Years Later~
"Hey! I need a refill over here!"
The girl sighed, put on a fake smile, and walked over to the group of bandits. They all sat in a circle, drinking and boasting about their skills. As she filled the man's cup, he grinned darkly.
"Thanks for the help sweetheart. Maybe you can help me in my tent later..."
His narrow eyes scanned her up and down. She shivered. The other men began to laugh obnoxiously.
"Ha! No one would want to spend a night with you! Your about as charming as a Skeever!'
They snorted and laughed at the man, who scolded angrily. As soon as they started swinging punches, the girl snuck away. The torches that lit up the camp casted strange and eerie shadows, but they didn't scare her anymore. She wasn't afraid if anything. Her fear had diminished over time, leaving numbness in it's place. As she walked, a man whistled. She, like always, ignored it. They had been treating her like a slave for so long, it seemed normal to her
When they first dragged her into the camp, she was still crying and kicking, trying her best to get free. When they finally let go of her wrists, a pair of shackles were put on them. They left her tied to a tree for atleast a week, as she yelled in frustration. They finally let her loose after the anger had seeped out of her body. Until she stopped crying and kicking. Until she felt nothing but emptiness.
She stopped making things difficult. Instead, she gave in to the abuse. She stopped trying to fight the bandits who had slaughtered her family. Instead, she listened and obeyed to their every order. She even stopped trying to escape her captives. Instead, she gave up both her past and her future.
The girl made her way across the campground, avoiding as many people as possible. With one last glance at the bandits, she slipped into an empty tent. The voices outside seemed to quiet as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. When she could finally make out the shapes around me, she leaned down by an unmade bed roll. Behind the bed, laid a small dagger. It shined in the little moon light that seeped through the tent. As she lifted the blade, she could hear the men rising from the table. They obviously had too much to drink, singing a folk song that sounded like a drunken version of "Rognar The Red".
She slipped back out of the tent and hid behind it, The dagger slid easily into her pocket, solid and cold. As the voices grew louder, she watched for the silhouette of the bandits. As they finished their song and stumbled into their tents, the girl made her way back to their circle. She grabbed the empty cups and gathered the remaining scraps of food. At the same time, she strained her ears to listen to the snores of her captives. By the time she was finished cleaning, each of the men were sound asleep.
She pulled the dagger back out, gripping it tightly. The thoughts that clouded her mind each night would finally be over. She would never have to go through the torture and abuse anymore. The nightmares of her parent's death would finally end. For once in her life, she felt something more than emptiness.
With that in mind, she snuck into each tent with the dagger poised and ready. This was it. Her chance at freedom. Her chance at happiness.
Her chance at revenge.
And one by one, she slit the throats of each and every bandit.
They never saw it coming. She was so weak, so submissive. They never thought that she would be their downfall. But it was too late for them. The girl had outsmarted them all, and got what she used to wish for every night.
Blood stained the girl's torn clothes, but she didn't seem to care. She dropped the dagger on the body of the last bandit she killed, then headed towards the river. As she washed the evidence away, she caught a glance of an image in the water. It was a girl. A girl with dirty brown hair and blood soaked clothes. But even though she looked like a disaster, she was smiling.
As the sun began to rise, she grabbed what little supplies was left in the camp and ran, no destination in mind. She didn't care where she ended up, she just wanted to be gone.
Eventually she found herself at the gates of a city. After a brief hesitation, she pushed through the doors. The city decent size, filled with buildings of all sorts, along with trading stalls. The stall that caught her eye first was full of jewels of all sorts. One particular one fascinated her. It was a jewel of a blue color, sparkling beautifully in the sunlight.
The girl reached out to touch it, when suddenly, the hand of a guard was on her shoulder.
"Your not from around here," his eyes narrowed under his helmet. "Just who are you?"
The girl froze. Her name was not something she used anymore, and it wasn't something that she wanted to give to a complete stranger. Her gaze drifted back to the blue gem that gleaned out of the corner of her eye.
"Sapphire." She said. "My name is Sapphire."