I do not think at this point that I have any more tears to cry. I never thought tis a possible thing, but as I lay in a wagon with my unconscious and injured closest friend, I could just whimper and silently pray to the gods and goddesses that my friend be okay and that we make it through this.
Every bump and rock in the road made our bodies slide and crash and by the time we had stopped my shoulders and head were hurting a lot! I just wanted my papa to come swooping in and get us. Or maybe even Loche to come and yell at the men who took us and then take me back to our marriage chambers. The bed was large and comfy and I remember him holding me tight as we slept. Who would think I would spend the day after my wedding like this!
Loche and I should be doing things that married people do. Like kissing and walking around holding hands and maybe going to the meadows. Sharing sweet bread! Instead I was in a covered wagon with my bloodied best friend sliding all about and hitting the awful sides of the wagon, hard!
Why must life be this hard? I could not even hold on to Dale for comfort or speak to him, or even heal him. I was completely immobilized by those awful ruffians! I also had no more tears left to cry at all and tis was a terrible thing to realize. I just wished that I could heal Dale and then he would be able to help us get out of this terribleness!
As I heard loud and terrifying commotions, I pressed my cheek into Dale's cold clammy skin. He was so very pale and his blood was now covering both him and myself. He was bleeding much too much.
The carriage suddenly halted and we slid to the front of it, pain blooming at the top of my head as we made impact with the hard wood. Before I could even register my awful pain, the cloth that they had covering the wagon was being ripped off and the hot sun met my eyes. I winced and closed my eyes at how bright and warm it was.
Before I knew it, I was being pulled by my ankles, towards the opening of the wagon, where I was so rudely thrown in. My entire body was hurting for how they threw me around like I was a sack of yukata roots ready to be boiled! The man pulling at me was messing with the bindings that kept my feet stuck together. It felt nice to be free of my bindings and I flexed my ankles happily.
"Don'tchya get too happy fae."
What did he mean by that? My legs jolted at the sudden feeling of something cold and metallic against my ankles. Then I heard an odd ringing or a jingling. Before I knew it, I was being pulled out of the carriage and standing. I was standing. As soon as I tried to take a step, I fell over, something was preventing me from taking a full step! How dare..whomever did this to me...do this to me!
My nose filled with dust and I sneezed a few times, as I hit the ground. Not only was I sneezing, but my body hurt. Again! My captors are terrible captors, how could they let me fall? Aren't I supposed to get water and food? They are not like fae captors...
I was being yanked up painfully and let loose a strangled cry. I still could not breathe pretty well due to the cloth stuffed in my mouth, my nose was doing all of the work.
Someone had a tight grip on my shoulder and nudged me rather harshly. "Small steps fae or else you'll eat dirt again and we don't want you damaging that pretty face, ya ere." I did not like the way this man spoke to me, but I did look down to see what was on my feet and was mortified. Shackles linked together by chains. I had never seen such instruments before, and they looked horrible and hurt.
I listened to my captor, slowly putting one foot in front of the other, anger getting the best of me as I almost fell again. The chain was so short how on earth was someone supposed to walk? As I focused on walking, I was not really focused on my surroundings until the growls and whistles started.
Looking around the space I was in, I shuddered. Many men with wooden tables filled with items like weapons, food, meats and jewels lined the small pathway I was in. I even saw some poor animals were in cages. The space was very narrow due to these wooden tables being so close together and I felt like crying as all eyes were suddenly on me.
Well not me, but my body.
It upset me and made me want to put on a cloak and hide in the bushes. They were staring at me as if I was meat or sweet bread. I am none of those things. Loche likes to kiss me and likes my body I am sure but he does not stare it like this. Like he wants to hurt me, maybe just kiss me very, very angrily. An angry kiss. That brought a bit of happiness to my thoughts...
Before I knew it, I was being pulled to halt. "Unbound er mouth and throw her in the cage."
Cage? Looking around I saw another large table that was filled with hideous swords and weapons and other things that I knew nothing of. Next to the long table of odd items...was a cream small tent.
He pushed me inside of the tent and I gasped upon hearing the cry of animals. Cages lined the small tent. Some big and some small.
The smaller cages had little birds and mouse like creatures. The beautiful multicolored birds that I saw on my trip here! Oh my, poor birds, hidden and caged up.. These men are awful.
"Hurry up."
I was shoved again...and tripped.
I hit the ground with another thud, and I tried to ignore the pain as best I could.
"Su Anya?"
At the sound of my title, I struggled to get up, then was brutally pulled up to a standing position. I blinked through my tears, looking around for that unfamiliar voice.
Some larger cages at the end of the tent had larger animals...and a woman. A woman?
As the man took off my shackles and unstuffed the cloth in my mouth, I was finally able to breathe clearly.
"Put 'er in there next to the other one."
I was being shoved over to the cages...the large ones where another woman was. The man opened the gate and I fell into the large cage.
"Ow!" I cried out as I was thankfully able to break my fall with my hand. The loud clash of the bars closing made me cry out in fear.
I need my papa, I need my sisters. I need Loche! He will surely yell at these awful men for hurting me and Dale! His angry face is the best to get rid of people.
As I whimpered and tried to sit up and gather my thoughts, I felt a finger or a hand on me and I whimpered, turning my throbbing head to see who was trying to grab at me. Was it the scary animal?!
What I saw was not an animal...but a fae! From her pointy ears, to her brightened eyes, and clothing. She was fae!
"Su Anya?"
She had short dark hair that reached her earlobes. Sun kissed skin and freckles lightly dusting her cheeks. Her eyes were purple I am sure, even if they are brightened. Her dress was torn and tattered and it seemed to hang off of her curvy and plump body.
"Yes...I am Su Anya Estelle," I smiled brokenly in our native tongue at her as her eyes suddenly widened and tears welled up in her beautiful eyes. Oh no! No tears. No tears. Agh, Estelle get it together.
I have to be a Princess, even though my body hurts and I am probably bleeding somewhere I think. Or maybe I am not? Some parts of my body hurt so bad I cannot feel them...
"How are you here?"
I grasped her hand through the bars. "It does not matter. What matters is that my husband, Prince Loche is going to save us."
Her eyes widened before she began to sob. Oh no, oh no! Why are we crying still? What am I too do? Do I cry like this? Just at a drop of a seed?! When I cry Dinah tells me I have no reason to cry because I am a princess and Juni offers me sweet bread so I do not cry.
"Please. I promise we will get out. Have they hurt you?"
She shook her head, wiping at her cheeks. "N-no Princess. They m-mock me but that does not matter. I am a bit hungry though."
She is hungry?! "H-hello! We need food!" I spoke up, watching the few men around laugh and continue to talk amongst themselves. How dare they. "M-my husband will not be happy about this!"
One of the men limped over to us and then threw green seeds at me and then my new fae friend! How dare he. "Your husband does not care about you, fae scum."
I glared at the man, fighting off tears once again. Of course Loche cares about me. We are married and he has kissed me before. He is going to save us. I know he is. Us...Dale!
Turning a bit in the awful rusty chains, I almost yelped at what was next to me. Not Dale. Not my closest friend.
A slobbering, large animal I have never seen before. He was hairless and had long ears and sharp, sharp teeth. He was growling at me. Poor animal. He was a bit scary looking, but no animal deserves to be kept in a cage...
Looking past the poor animal, I saw Dale crumpled and unmoving in his cage. Loche needed to hurry. Or maybe Cael or even Harkin! Someone, anyone!
"A-are you sure you want your husband to come? Is he not terrifying? We can escape if we try together."
Oh no! She thought Loche was scary. Ok yes, he is scary but not that scary. "He likes me, I like my husband. He will find us and we will be safe! What is your name?"
"Petal."
"Tis a beautiful name!" I gushed, smiling at the sweet woman. "How old are you? How did you get here?"
Her face that was momentarily content and maybe happy soured. Oh no! "I am twenty summers. I ran away from my husband..."
Oh no. Why would someone run away from their husband? Is she from here? Or Faenor? I had so many questions! Or maybe she men's they were frolicking in the meadows running and playing and then she was captured? I could not imagine Loche and I frolicking in the meadows.
"Oh No! Tis him!"
I looked around in fear just from her voice. She sounded absolutely petrified. Her husband? How did he find us? "Where? Is it your husband?"
She had backed up in the cage, pressing herself against the back of it and shaking in fear. She was shaking so bad her shackles were jingling.
All I saw was the men who had taken me, with their backs turned. They were talking to someone but I could not see! Who was it?!
"Petal, please tell me what is going on!"
"The dragon man! I have been here for seven days. He has come here every day and gives money. H-he wants me. Tis not my husband, but him!" She cried out as I watched one of our captors bring a man inside the tent.
He was large. Like one of those soldier men who Loche spends his time fighting with. He did not have any hair either! As if by choice. He did have a beard though, and eyes that resembled blades of grass.
"We have more fae. You can have three for the price of one."
The man's eyes met my own and he looked me over, his eyes going to Petal and shifting to his dragons. Oh my, oh my!
I struggled through the bars to grab Petals hand. I am not sure what this man has planned for Petal... but I am terrified for her.
"Just her."
The captor snarled. "You want that hefty one when you could have that one right there? Why not both?! And that male over there can do your labor for you. Come on, boy! Two fae to warm ya cock and one to make ya money!"
I tried to ignore those horrid words as best as I could, as I held on to Petal who was now sobbing as the men came closer.
"Just her," the man repeated again as our captor with the limp got closer to Petal's cage. I watched him take a small jar out of his pocket. It was liquid? He put it on some cloth then moved closer to Petal's cage.
"You do not hurt her! Prince Loche is going to throw you all in prison!" I yelled at the men as our captor rocked my cage forcefully before opening Petals.
"Su Anya!" She screamed out in terror, tears leaking down her cheeks as I tried to keep hold of her hand. Our captor was pulling her out by her legs.
"No! You monsters! I will give you gold! I-If you let me go back to the castle I can give you jewels! Please let her go!"
The man who wanted Petal grabbed her while the other man pressed a cloth to her mouth. My new friends body slowly stopped jerking about and her yells lessened.
"You w-will both pay for this!" I yelled out in horror as the man then took his cloak and covered Petal up before hoisting her over his shoulder. Like a sack of yukata roots.
"Loche! Juni! Cael!" I screamed helplessly into the darkness as the man who held Petal glanced at me for a few seconds before shaking his head and making his way out of the tent.
The captor who had forced that odd cloth onto Petal's face was now coming towards me. I pushed myself against the cage, fear swelling up in me as I prayed to our gods and goddesses that he would not come near me. Hope that Loche would appear with his attitudinal dragon and he would roar so loud he would scare the man away!
"You talk too much fae scum. Time for you to sleep."
He began to open my cage as he laughed heartily at my fear.
Someone help!
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Uh oh. Estelle's in trouble🥴
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