In Another Life

A Reluctant Return

I drew up my hood against the constant chill of The Parisian air. How I would have loved to be back in the countryside right now, sitting in the sun or in the shade of a copse of trees with a good book, but warm nonetheless. Grudgingly, I reminded myself that I had a job to do if I wished to remain living in my country home, and I made my way towards the nearest pawn shop, my satchel filled with incredibly expensive jewelry I would never again need.

The streets of Paris were particularly crowded and I don't know whether that or the fact that I was feeling particularly impatient, but one or a combination of the two that sent me down a side alley with an irritable huff. The proximity of the buildings caused the area to be shady and therefore even colder than before. I shuddered despite myself.

What a lovely neighborhood. I thought to myself sarcastically. I jutted out my chin, hoping it would encourage people to leave me alone, and marched toward the street at the end of the alley, the pawn shop already in sight. I heard steps behind me, but the distance between us was so far that it didn’t concern me; it was likely just someone else avoiding the street traffic. Instead, I began to daydream, perhaps there would be someone handsome that I would meet on the road back home, maybe I had a neighbor I didn't know of and his horse would run loose and I would just have to return him. I used to have horses, three of them, actually. I could've ridden for hours, my family had a huge estate in Bordeaux and I used to spend entire afternoons wandering around the grounds. But alas, that was a different time, a different life.

The footsteps behind me became louder, snapping me out of my reverie. I tried to ignore them, and continued on my way, not looking behind me. The end of the alley was only a few steps away, I would be safe soon. Safe? I scoffed at myself for being so paranoid, this was probably just someone using the same street, I couldn't expect to have the whole space to myself simply because I felt safer that way, that was....illogical.

The open street was in sight, its cobblestones nearly under my feet, when I was seized from behind one arm coiling around my waist, the other covering my mouth. There was a deep, raspy voice in my ear,

"Scream and I'll cut your throat." His hot breath filled my ear, fear traveling in chills up my spine as I felt the cold metal of what I could only assume to be a knife being pressed to my throat. It wasn't hard enough to draw blood, only enough to know it was definitely there.

"Are you going to scream." His breath was like humid tropical air, wreaking havoc on my ears. I quickly shook my head no. I don't think I could scream if I wanted to, any words I could have used died in my throat.  Slowly, the gloved hand peeled itself off my mouth and I let out a shaky breath.

"Right this way, Madame," said my assailant in mock politeness, which was really unnecessary, as I had no choice in where I was going, considering he still had a knife to my throat. We began to make our way back to where I had originally come from, and I noticed a small carriage waiting where there hadn't been one before.

I'm going to die, I thought grimly as I was being led towards the carriage. And I'd be lucky if they made it quick. I dreaded thinking about what they would do to me, a pretty, young woman who looked as though she still had her honor. These were the sort of malevolent men novels were written about, and I was playing the noble part of a damsel in distress. The irony of the situation was that I always detested those women, most of the time they just whined and complained and waited for someone to save them.

By the time I had finished moping and wondering what fate had in store for me, we had reached the carriage. From the way I was being held, someone passing by might assume we are just two young, well I'm not quite sure how young my captor was, two people who enjoyed each other’s company, and were out for a stroll around Paris. The carriage doors were thrust open from the inside, and I was met with the sight of an average looking man, who sported a rather sinister grin.