by Lauren Wood
The coach had been somewhere in the woods, between their home and where her parents lived. They had been stopped and attacked by a group of men. She didn’t even know if Colin was alive or not. She felt them pick her off the ground; she could feel the horse under her.
There was a man on the saddle behind her. He held her tightly. She flinched as their skin touched.
“What are you doing?” She cried to the person who was on the horse with her.
“Shut up now. Once we get the money you can go back home.” The gruff male voice said.
All she could think was, wait until they find out he’s not the king’s son and we have no money. Well not the money they were thinking, Colin and her had some, but not enough. If he is even alive, she thought.
Sarah began to cry lightly, hoping that he was okay.
Chapter 5
Colin came too slowly. His head hurt badly. “What happened?” He tried to clear his head and remember. Then his eyes shot open, he looked around for Sarah. “Sarah, where are you?” He called out.
He looked around; there was a dead guy on the side of the road. It was the driver who had picked them up. The wagon was gone, he didn’t know if it had been stolen, or the horses simply ran off with it. Colin panicked looking all over for Sarah, calling out her name.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been out for either. He looked up in the sky; it must have been for a few hours now. He rubbed the back of his neck once more. There was a big lump forming where he had gotten hit in the head from behind.
They had ambushed the coach as it had stopped for a minute. The driver had claimed he needed to take a quick break. Colin wasn’t sure if it had been a planned attack or not. Something about it seemed so orchestrated.
But where was Sarah. He looked around for her frantically. They had to take her, his mind screamed out. But he wasn’t ready to admit it. He knew that it was the case, before his heart finally accepted the answer that his mind had already known.
He hung his head; they most likely took her off to kill her after raping her. Colin’s body shook with a deep rage. Clearing his mind he began to think of those skills he had used so long ago.
Those two men he had stopped from attacking the king he had tracked them around for months. He had followed them, without them even being aware of it. This time he would have to track these people quicker, but he knew the skills were still in his mind.
Colin knew that this time love would drive him to this. He would save Sarah and his child if he had to lay down his life to do it.
Clearing his mind he looked around again, looking for telltale hints. He noticed first the tree branches that had been bent as a person rode through a narrow area of the forest. It was a different position than most people would go, so it could be someone who was in a hurry to get away with something they shouldn’t have. In this case that would be his wife Sarah and their unborn child.
He moved along the forest floor quickly and silently. Colin had his claymore on his side; thankfully, they hadn’t searched the wagon and found his weapon. He quickly picked up all the old tricks he remembered from doing this as a child. Plus the fact that he had advanced that skill over the years.
The king had often complemented him on his skills of tracking people. He had become known as a great warrior among the men. But mostly he had become known as the man who could silently sneak up on just about any enemy they had faced so far.
Colin knew in order to do this though, he would need to keep his mind focused and not get upset. He kept thinking about Sarah and hoping her and the baby were okay. He could feel his anger threatening to boil over every few minutes.
But that would lead to mistakes, and if he messed up too much, Sarah and the baby might die. Whoever had taken her would have to kill him in order to stop him. However, he didn’t want them hurt in the process. He loved Sarah so much, and his unborn child. He was looking forward to being a father so much.
He didn’t know how far they might be by now. As long as Sarah was safe he would be good. After about three miles he saw smoke coming up through an opening in the forest. It wasn’t far away; it could be a cabin where they have Sarah. He would approach carefully and quietly.
Colin moved up to some covering and spotted a small cabin in the distance. There was one horse tied up near a small barn near the cabin. It was very big, so there wouldn’t be a ton of people in the cabin. He looked for an area to sneak nearer it to see if he could look into one of the windows.
As he studied the layout he saw a perfect spot to get a glimpse inside the cabin. He moved up and looked inside. He saw a man sitting with his back to him, and there across the room was Sarah. She looked okay, upset and scared, but nonetheless okay.
He took a deep sigh of relief. He couldn’t see any blood on her, so that was a good sign. Colin made sure that she didn’t see him outside the window though. Her look of surprise would surely let the guy inside know he was there.
Colin tried to think of the best way to move in and then it came to him. I’ll just go knock on the door, once he comes and answers, I’ll get him.
He moved in, hoping this would work. Since Sarah looked untouched he had come to the conclusion that someone thought he was related to the king. They were going to hold her and ask for money. Well this one guy, but Colin had a feeling that it wasn’t just this man involved in this plan.
Perhaps even the driver was part of the original plan, but they just saved some money and earned a bit more. There had to be more than one? He wasn’t sure why that thought had come to him, but it was just a nagging in the bag of his head for now.
So if he walked up and knocked on the door, perhaps this guy inside would think it was their partner. Colin got to the front of the cabin. Obviously there were no hideouts in the forest, or Colin would have been shot with an arrow already.
This was a small operation of that he was sure.
He put his fist up to the door and knocked.
“I’m coming.” He heard the man state inside.
As the door opened Colin was ready, the man didn’t know what hit him. Colin wanted to make sure he didn’t kill the man, to find out if there were more people involved. Because he planned to track each and every one down and make them pay for this.
Colin knocked him out and tied him up. Quickly he untied Sarah and asked her. “Did he hurt you at all?”
“No but he said something about money first before releasing me.” Sarah told him.
“Did he mention who might be behind it?” Colin asked.
Sarah shook her head no. “Its fine I’ll find out when he wakes up.” Colin said looking over at the man.
He smacked the man in the face. “Wake up, come on you have a few questions to answer.” He said as he hit the man.
The man shook his head. “Stop already. What do you want?” The man asked.
“You said once you get money you’ll return her, who is your partner?” Colin asked his face filled with anger.
“I didn’t say that.” The man tried to deny.
Sarah looked at Colin. “I know what I heard.”
Colin hit the man hard again. A drop of blood appeared on his bottom lip. “Who is your partner?” Colin asked again. “If you don’t tell me I’m going to kill you.”
“You’ll kill me anyway.” The man said.
“I might, or I might let you go. Even send you on the way with a little bit of money. It is better than nothing, right?” Colin told the man.
He saw the man think of the offer. “How much money are we talking?”
“How much were you going to ask for her?” Colin asked him.
“They said to ask 200 silver for her.” The man said.
“That’s it?” Colin queried.
“I know I thought it was low too.” The man said.
“How many partners do you have?” Colin asked.
“It was just the couple, her parents; they were the ones who set this up.” The man said.
“I’ll give you 100 pound
s and I’m going to leave you tied up here.” Colin said. “After we take care of her parents, I’ll come back. If you are still here, I’ll let you go on your way. If you are gone, make sure we never see you again. Do you understand me?” Colin said.
He was furious. Her own parents had set her up to be kidnapped to make money? Colin didn’t know what was worse, him growing up with parents he didn’t remember. Or her growing up with parents who had her kidnapped to make money, how must that feel?
Colin looked over at her. He saw the shock on her face.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.” Colin muttered to her.
Sarah shook her head. “Don’t make excuses for them. I’ve known for years they were no good. But this goes beyond everything I could have imagined possible from them.” She admitted.
He was planning out the best way to go about his plan. Colin didn’t know if she would be up to seeing her parents. Maybe he should take her home first, and then face them by himself.
“You are not going to see them alone now.” Sarah said interrupting his thoughts.
“Alright, but please just be careful of the baby.” Colin said, kissing his hand and touching her belly. “You’ll ride in front of me.”
They got on the horse and Colin started the way to see her parents. The whole time his anger built up, he just wanted to kill them. However, there was part of him that was forming another plan much better than the original one of just slaying them.
“Go along with me when we get there. We will end their hopes in one quick moment.” Colin said to her as they got closer to her parents.
She nodded her head in agreement. “Okay, I’ll do whatever you say.”
They got there and he helped her off the horse. “Do you feel okay?” He asked her, seeing that her face was a little white.
“I’m okay, just a little queasy.” She admitted.
He knocked on the door and saw the shocked look on her father’s face to see them standing there.
“Oh I know you weren’t expecting us right? Just let us in, because I don’t think you want your neighbors to hear what I have to say to you.” Colin stated firmly.
Sarah watched as her father turned red and then white, he backed away from the door letting them inside. As they walked in her mother came walking into the front room.
“Oh you made it, nice to see you.” She quickly caught herself.
“Save it mother. We know.” Sarah said.
Colin grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She shut up quickly and let him take over.
“I want you both to know that I came here with every intention of simply killing you. However, I thought of something much better.” Colin began.
He saw Sarah look at him a question in her eyes. From the corner of his eye he saw her father try to move for a weapon. Colin quickly drew his claymore out of the sheath. “Stop right there, or I will kill you.”
Sarah’s father stopped. Colin moved him to the middle of the room. He went and grabbed the weapon and handed it to Sarah.
“So you know I am not the king’s son. When you kidnapped my wife today and held her for ransom, you kidnapped an orphan’s wife. That’s right I have no money. Nothing, no connection to the king you thought you now had in your family. I’m not even related to him in anyway, he raised me like his son though.” Colin stated. “You’ve used your daughter.” He said pointing his sword at Sarah’s father. “And you abused her for years.” He said moving the sword in front of her mother. “The truth is I should kill you both. But I don’t want your blood on my hands. However, I can’t say the king will feel the same way when I tell him this news. So if I were you, I would leave the area, never contact us again. If I hear you tried, I’ll hunt you down and kill you for sure.” Colin said.
He looked at Sarah out of the corner of his eye. “Is this okay with you?”
“Yes that is fine.” Sarah agreed.
“Now go, get out of here. You get a head start, that’s it. Once we leave I’m going straight to the king.”
Sarah and Colin watched as the old couple scampered out the door. She could only hope that they would never be seen again.
“Come on, let’s get home. After we talk to the king, I’m going to hold you all night long. I thought I lost you for good today.” Colin said.
“I didn’t know if you were alive when he knocked you out.” Sarah hugged Colin tightly.
“Shh, I’m fine and so are you. Let’s go.” Colin grabbed her and went out the door.
THE END
KISS BY THE FORBIDDEN VAMPIRE
The light of the moon rippled on the surface of the black water as Nera kneeled by the river bank and washed her clothes. The water was cool on her white skin, and she enjoyed the sensation and the low bubbling, sloshing noises as she dipped the clothes and took them back out.
When she was finished washing, she beat the garments with loud slapping against a large stone in the riverbank to get the heaviest of the water out of them. She would hang them to dry as much as possible in the night air and then tomorrow she would have to find somewhere that would see the sun but from where they were unlikely to be stolen from. She slapped the clothes down hard once more, but suddenly she was aware within the loud smacking noise there was another noise, something moving nearby. She turned to face the oncoming threat too late, and she was bundled to the ground by two heavy men who carried a net between them. There was nowhere for her to go, and she was quickly wrapped up in the net until she felt so constricted that she could not move.
“Got her,” one of the men laughed triumphantly.
“What are you doing?” Nera demanded angrily.
“Be quiet,” the man said, “You are going to start a new life in the court of His Majesty, Crown Prince Hassan.”
“What are you talking about?” she spat at him. The two men laughed and ignored her.
“Bring up the wagon,” the second one called out to someone unseen.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked as they lifted her and bundled her into the bed of a tired looking wooden wagon that was dragged to where she was by an older looking man with sad eyes, whom Nera took for a slave straight away, and in doing so felt she knew the fate these men had in mind for her. They didn’t answer her. She struggled against the ropes and threads of the netting but seemed only to become more entangled and enraged.
They traveled overland and soon met up with some more men with wagons. In each wagon, there was a woman, sometimes more than one, lying or sitting and sad. Some were in netting like her, and some showed the bruises of resistance on their arms or faces. None of the women would return her gaze, and none of the men would answer her questions; they would look at her appreciatively and say something like, “The Prince will be happy with this one!”
It was clear that all of the women were attractive and would be used for the personal pleasure of the Court. This was not a new occurrence, but it had been a while since she had heard about it, and never this far from the Capital.
Nera looked around as they moved into some sort of caravan and saw that they were taking the coast road. No doubt there would be a boat waiting for them at the harbor and then it would be a few days in the crossing of the sea. If she didn’t escape before they put her on the boat she wouldn’t be able to try again until they landed- and over there she would have no idea of the land or how to get back home.
At the ship, they were all loaded on as they had been on the wagon. Nera’s net was torn slightly as she was carried aboard but it was such a small rip, and in a place that made it almost impossible for her to get at that she didn’t get excited about it. They were all put in a large hold with burning lanterns hanging from wooden beams and from hooks hanging from the ceiling. It was so bright in there that it hurt her eyes in contrast to the darkness of the night outside. Some of the women were crying, but no one said anything to their captors.
A stocky man with a whip coiled at his hip came into the hold and looked over them all.
“Very
good haul,” he said salaciously, “His Majesty will be pleased.” Then to the assembled women he said, “You should all be very proud of yourselves. You have been deemed to be the most beautiful women in your region. The great honor or becoming part of Crown Prince Hassan’s harem will now be yours!” He spoke as though he expected a ringing round of applause, and she laughed at the silence that greeted him instead. He looked over them all once more and then left.
One of the men who had captured Nera then came forward and said loudly,
“You now have a few days to reverse your sleeping patterns! You will not sleep tonight but will be permitted a few hours come sun up.”
“What is this?” Nera found her voice say before she had any control over it. The man looked at her and walked over. “Prince Hassan likes to sleep during the day, so from now on you too will like to sleep during the day.” He pointed a dirty stubby finger at her, and she was afraid of saying anything more to him.
“What will he do to us?” another woman called out, the fear evident in her trembling voice.
“Shut up!” the man barked at her, “You are not permitted to speak!”
Nera looked at the woman who had spoken and saw her convulse in tears. Some of the other women looked about to one another in confusion, but Nera knew what she had been so fearful about. She had heard the rumors of the Prince’s appetite for human blood; something that up to this very moment Nera had believed for even a moment. She had always thought this was some propagandist story to scare his rivals and enemies, but, now they were putting these women on a sleeping during the day routine she was not so sure. Could it be that the Vampire of folk tales and stories actually existed?
The crossing took several harsh days, and there were many times when the wind was up, and the boat would toss and tilt in the squall so much that Nera feared she would never see dry land again. When not killing themselves with work to keep the boat afloat the crew used all of their time into adapting us to the reversed routine that we would now be living. It wasn’t hard to stay awake with the level of fearful adrenaline that ran through all of the women’s veins, but there were severe punishments meted out for those who did not sleep when the sun could be seen through the boards above us. One woman was thrown overboard as a lesson to the rest of them, but Nera thought this act had the hallmarks of something planned and staged- that they had brought one extra woman on board just so as to make an example of her to scare the rest of them.