I Am Who? - Book 2

Chapter 7 - Captive Again?

I struck the ground heavily, knocking the wind out of me. Lying on the ground, I panted for air and tried to make sense out of what had just happened. Around me, the air was thick with shouts and roars of pain, and I could feel the ground shaking beneath me. It was too loud to hear myself think, but my mind wasn't in the right state to puzzle through all the sounds anyway.

My eyes were trained on the arrow protruding from Krova's chest. There was no mistaking what it was, but lying there, I began to pray desperately that I was mistaken and that it didn't mean what I thought it did. I had to be wrong, because if I weren't, then it would have been better if Krova had slit my throat.

A booted foot poked me in the ribs, and I tensed, barely breathing with the hope that I would see what I anticipated. Roughly, the foot turned me, and I sucked my breath in as I stared up at the unfamiliar face above me. Merciless, pale eyes held my gaze, and there was a smear of dark troll's blood on his cheek. His identity was unmistakable, however. I had seen too many of his kind to be deceived.

"It's her." He shouted. "Finish it, and let's get out of here. The forest is a dangerous place at night, and you lot know as well as I that where you find a few trolls you're sure to find."

He knelt in front of me, a cruel smirk on his lips. His clothes were dirty and something I would expect a wandering bard to wear rather than an imperial soldier as if he wanted to slip by unrecognized by the locals. If one took the time to look closely, however, it was obvious that he was every inch a soldier from the set of his shoulders to the placement of his feet on the ground beside me.

"It took me longer than I expected to find you." He said, harshly grabbing hold of my wrists. "Following you cost me several good men, too." His grip was cruel. "If only they weren't so keen on having you alive, I'd abandon safety precautions and skin you alive here."

"Who are you?" I said more to give myself courage rather than to hear his answer.

In all honesty, even if I didn't know what the gist of his answer would be, it really didn't matter what he said. From what he'd said, he was going to carry me back to someone, and while he'd said I needed to be alive, that didn't mean he couldn't let me get as close to death as possible. He was a clear harbinger of my impending doom.

"I am Grimmel, captain of King Erik's Southern Regiment." It was obvious the title was supposed to mean something, but in my mind, it only verified the truth of all my fears and meant nothing more than a second captivity.

"What are you going to do with me?" Surprisingly, my voice was steady.

He snorted, roughly jerking me into a sitting position. "Take a wild guess. We certainly didn't come all the way up here to save you from these creatures." He smiled. "King Erik wants to see you. Apparently, you have some unfinished business."

A bitter taste rose in my mouth. Why was King Erik so intent on bringing me to justice? Was he so upset over the fact that I had helped Kotaro—his own son, nonetheless—that he would stop at nothing to end me? All my running and hoping had been for nothing. I was going to die after rotting in a dungeon without knowing who I truly was.

"You know, we never would have been able to track you if you hadn't sought out a guide to climb Krimoa. In fact, we'd almost given up hope." Grimmel snorted, tying my wrists together. "But then we got word that an old man and a girl were seeking a cheap guide to take them up the mountain—the very same cursed mountain that every sane person has been avoiding like it's a plague. Didn't you stop to think such an unusual request might draw some attention."

"And what reward do you get for bringing me in? The chances of your return are slim at best, so you can't be very valuable to his majesty if he sent you up here." I said.