The Stolen Prince

chapter five.

        CHAPTER FIVE

They wanted the boy.

That much became evident to Wren within seconds of them stripping the blindfold off her eyes.

She squinted at the sudden light and took in her surroundings as quickly as her eyes could scan the room. It was furnished and well-maintained. A perfectly preserved piece of luxury.

She was in the castle, Wren realized. She was not in a cell, she was not imprisoned. She breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Where is he?" The towering man asked gruffly, his tone one that demanded respect.

He must be the leader, Wren deduced. The rest of the men were a few feet behind him, perfectly in a line, while he paced before her like a caged animal waiting to be released.

"I don't know." She said, meeting the eyes of the man who'd ordered for her to be taken back in the alleyway. "I don't know anything about him."

This seemed to anger him. He paused with a slowness that terrified her.

"Are you foolish enough to lie to us? Do you think it'll get you anywhere?"

"I'm not lying, I swear it. On my life, I swear it. He never even revealed his name."

"Then why were you with him? Why were you fleeing with him?" A guard in the background stepped up to the front.

Wren felt so small, handcuffed on the ground before a group of guards. Men trained to kill and question without mercy. Her arms were bruised from their touch. She shuddered to think what they could do if they were trying to cause damage. She wondered if they might torture her, just for the sake of getting information.

She didn't know what the guards were capable of anymore, or if they even followed a code of honor, at all. No one else seemed to. All rules of civilization had been lost a long time ago. Everyone had disintegrated into feral animals, playing by their own rules, doing whatever it took to get ahead.

If they thought she was lying to them, they very well might kill her. She was certain they'd done worse things for far less.

"Answer us, girl." The leader said aggressively, his sword glistening at his belt.

She eyed it fearfully, and they took notice, pleased at the power they held over her.

"You don't have anything to fear if only you give us the information we require." A guard in the back said to her. His face was young, his eyes held kindness. Perhaps they had not broken him yet. "We need to know anything that could help us get him into custody. Any trace of where he might go, or who he might be aligned with."

The leader silenced him with a piercing look, but

"I met him twice. I learned nothing about him in that time. Besides the fact that he's a lying thief with no regard for anyone or anything." She said

"And that's precisely why we want him." The guard said.

Wren knew very well that they'd plastered his picture throughout the Kingdom, hunting for him on account of his crimes. Though she wondered at all the thieves on the streets, why they were making such an effort for one boy.

"From the looks of it, he seems to work alone. I got the distinct impression that there's no one on earth he cares about. No one but himself." She told them honestly.

"Do you expect us to believe that he'd risk himself trying to flee with you, yet you claim he doesn't care about you?"

"Did you miss the part where he let you take me?"