Kassa woke on top of crisp leaves. She was under a towering Pine that covered her from enemy eyes. They had left the valley's, they had been lucky not to run into anything. The Empty Valley's of Blade and Bone held many secrets, ones it would be wise not to discover.
Stay here. A command echoed from Sembi, he hadn't spoken to me since a week ago. Then the stallion turned and galloped through the bushes.
"Wait!" A hopeless plea. He would come back. He had to come back.
I heard a rustling in the bushes behind me. Where am I? The icy breeze was no comfort. The puddle by my feet rippled. Feet thudded. I slowly turned around. I saw two men behind a tree. Blue bloods. Filthy, rutting blue bloods. They spotted me.
"Look who it is! A poor lonely little girl! What to do with you." He taunted.
"I'm not a girl, and you won't do anything with me!" I growled at him.
"Feisty little one are ya?" The second on spoke in a thick accent. I grasped my blade that was strapped to my back and held it pointed towards them.
"Awww, she thinks she can fight us!" The first one mimicking me in a high voice.
"Shut up!" My temper boiled.
"Shut up." The first on repeated high voice still intact. Then I swung. Blade met skin.
They pulled their swords out, and steel met steel. I had a deep cut on my face that dug through to my cheek bone, that was definitely going to scar. Suddenly... I was drowning. I don't know how it happened but water filled my mouth and lungs. I coughed. Again and again, as they dug their swords down my back and legs. Taunting me and planning what to do with me, their plans made bile rise up my throat. I kept coughing, the water no matter how much I coughed up kept pouring in.
Thud, thud, thud. Vibrations ran through my shaking legs. Then a snort. Sembi scraped his hooves on the dirt. The two men stood laughing at the stallion that towered over them like a brick wall. The Stallion roared. Men screamed and pleaded. Then silence except for the deep breaths of the magnificent Stallion. I'll protect you, don't be afraid. Sembi nudged me and I fell into him, my eyesight stained with thick black inc.