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"Please let me go!" Hannah yelled out at the top of her lungs from behind the wooden bars of the rolling cage in which she had been placed. The Giant foot soldier that walked alongside the cage growled at her and banged on the bars. She jumped back as he gave a guttural laugh.
Frightened, she crawled back into the corner of the cage and wrapped her arms around her knees as she looked around at the mess of fetid wet straw that surrounded her. As she did, she tried not to ponder the fate of the two Golden Men that she had seen in the cage during her and the Legate's first encounter with the Giants. Hannah rested her head on her knees as the cage continued to rattle on and wondered if maybe she was just getting what she deserved for betraying the Legate over to Julian.
The Giants' caravan lumbered to a stop a short while later. She looked around but wasn't sure of exactly where they were. In truth, she hadn't been sure of their location since after they left the cliffside path, for she was unfamiliar with much of the territory outside of the Caves of the Veneficas. She did know that she could see the lights of the White Palace glowing in the West after the sun had set and could also tell that they were steadily traveling closer to it.
The Giant foot soldier flung open the cage door and grabbed Hannah roughly by her hair as he dragged her out. She tried to scratch at his flesh but his skin was too thick and her nails useless against it. "Let go!" she shouted.
He did just as she said and dropped her onto the grassy ground. She landed on her elbow, crying out as she injured it slightly. The Giant then leaned over and barked at her in his unknown language.
"I don't know!" she shouted back, her fear and pain making her lash out.
Frustrated, he let out a huge roar right in her face and as he did his breath reached her nostrils immediately, smelling of rotting meat and decay. In a reflexive move, she grabbed a small packet of powder from inside the bodice of her dress and threw it into the Giant's eyes. As he began to howl and claw at his face, Hannah decided to make a run for it but was caught by the Giant's leader before she could even gain her footing.
He picked her up and slammed her slight body against the cage, his large hand restraining her across the abdomen as he said something to her.
"I don't know what you're saying!" she shouted back. "I can't understand you!"
"Wa... ter," he croaked. "Where wa...ter?"
"Water? I-I don’t know! I've never been here before!"
He growled, bearing his teeth at her.
But Hannah's fear was beginning to get the better of her and she started to cry. "I don't know, please, just let me go!"
He shook his head and pointed towards the west. "No. Go there. To Mother."
"No, no, see my mother is dead, she doesn't live in Odalia. I don't want to go back there. Please, let me go!"
"Mother there."
"No, she isn't. I swear! But my-my father is an important man in the Lycanian military! Let me go and I'll tell him to reward you!"
"No. Mother."
She began to weep. "Please..."
The Giant Leader grew weary of the girl’s pleadings and angrily tossed her back into the cage. Once back inside, Hannah curled into a ball and wept.
A Sword Of Wrath, Book I: Blood And Dust Page 27