A Journey of Two

Volume I, Part I [The Prisoners]

"Get away from them!"

The knife surrounded her throat and the girl hugged herself, trembling in fear. The scout turned around, not moving the blade. An old hag trotted towards them, boiling with rage. Her cry was meant to be intimidating, and yet Laceaga could hear the raw fear behind the failed attempt.

"Them...?", the scout asked the girl with a raised eyebrow.

"Aunt," the girl pleaded, her arms protecting her stomach like two snakes watching over their eggs, "please, don't do anything rash. It's okay."

"Like hell it is!"

"So, maybe you will tell me where is the Cuthintal?" Laceaga said, sending a sideways look to the old woman.

"He wants the spice..." the girl explained.

"The...? Ah. Well, too late, elf. She drank it."

The girl looked at her aunt, sheer horror painting her every feature.

"Vanya!"

Laceaga took a step back, giving some space to his captive. 

"You... drank it?"

"We didn't know what it was! We still don't! I'm sorry, it was a mistake, we..."

Laceaga pointed his knife towards her belly with a calculating look on his face.

"I could always disembowel you." The seasoned scout frowned when the young woman started crying at his words. "But it could get messy, and I prefer not taking risks. Full package it is."

"Please, I'll do whatever you ask me to, but don't hurt..." she never finished that sentence, and instead started quietly sobbing.

"Of course you'll do whatever I order you. Now, human, stop your wailing and start walking. We're leaving."

The old hag -Vanya- tried to intervene again, but her niece stopped her.

"Please, Aunt. Stay put."

"No, you stay put. You're not going anywhere with that brute."

Laceaga took a rope from his belt and turned towards the old woman. The younger human, in an unexpected act of bravery and stupidity, took his hands in hers, trying to get his attention.

"Let's just go. Please. There's no need to hurt her. I'm the one who drank it. You have what you want. So, please, let's just go."

The scout stared at her for a few long seconds, his expression unreadable.

"If you think begging will solve every conflict you have to face, you're wrong."

Faster than any human would be, the elf tied Vanya's wrists and gave her a light push that forced her to sit on the grass.

"You have no right to take them, you beast!"

"You're lucky I don't have a gag." He turned to the girl. "Now, human, keep quiet, be obedient, and you'll be saving us both a lot of time. Your choice if you come with me tied up while I drag you through the mud, or walking on your own with no future scars on your wrists."

"Can I at least free my...?"

"No. Start walking."

Human and elf entered the forest, leaving the cottage and the old woman behind. The girl walked in silence in front of him and the elf with the scarred face only spoke to give her directions. It wasn't until they had almost reached the end of the forest, in the area where the trees were thin, and the salty air of the sea could be smelled, that Laceaga asked the question.

"Tell me, human." The girl didn't turn around, but he could see the tension appear on her shoulders. "Am I taking one prisoner, or two?"

She hesitated. And then, the forest disappeared, and their feet touched the sand. She saw the ship, and what to her surely looked like an army.

Resigned to their fate, she spoke the truth in a broken whisper:

"We are two."

To becontinued...