“Get off your horses, throw down your weapons and stand in a line,” a guard said. They dismounted and placed their stuff on the ground before them, Sasha trembling and Keither shaking. Legon knew the look Kovos was wearing, the “I’m going to do some damage” look that he always got before a big fight. Kovos was a nice guy, but cross the line with him and, well, Legon just hoped his friend would keep it under control until the right time. He didn’t blame him. His own feeling of fear was slipping away and his body coursed with the energy that came with losing himself, letting go, and letting his fists or maybe that big cleaver do the talking. But not now.
One of the men pointed at Sasha and threw her some ropes. “You tie them up, starting with those two. Tie them to that tree.”
No surprise there; have the least threatening take care of the others so they only had to take care of her.
Sasha came up to Legon, who turned his back and allowed her to bind him. Her hands were damp with sweat and cold, her fingers barely able to form the knots. Legon knelt down next to the tree, never taking his eyes off the men. He wanted to aggravate them, wanted them to go for him. Soon Kovos was next to him and Keither’s hands were bound, but not to the tree.
“Good work, pretty. Now turn around and place your hands behind you. Do anything dumb and we’ll see if your insides are as nice as your outside, got it?” She nodded and turned. The man came up behind her and wrapped the rope tightly around her wrists. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear. She turned her head away and her breath caught when he grabbed her backside. She quickly walked to Legon and knelt down by him, almost like she was trying to hide behind him. He had expected them to grab Sasha. Soldiers were always grabbing women in town. It made him mad, but all in all it could have been worse.
“Our commander should be back before nightfall, so you four just sit tight,” he said and started to leave, but then turned back around. “Oh, I almost forgot… gag.”
At the command, one of the men came up to them and placed a large wad of stained and dirty rag in each of their mouths and tied it in. The rags had probably been used to wipe sweat from the soldiers’ faces and necks. There was a taste of salt, dirt, and several other things Legon didn’t want to think about. Keither gagged a bit. This was not good. If their commander was supposed to be back tonight then that meant they would have to try to escape from ten royal guards, not just four, and that this whole thing was a trap. A bead of sweat ran the length of his back, and he was feeling weak from the lack of sleep and food.
The sun was getting lower in the sky and the light coming thought the treetops was getting fainter. Soon they could hear the sound of hooves clopping in the distance and the soldiers arose, looking to see the new visitors. Five more soldiers rode into camp-the same five from town. The commander looked smug.
“Thought you could outsmart us, did you?” he jeered. They said nothing.
The men were off their horses and walking to them. The one that had killed Moleth looked down, surveying them. He stopped when he saw Keither. “Well looky here, if it isn’t the tough one that tried to best me in town.”
The commander looked at Keither, who was still hunched over and shaking. “I think they may need a lesson on how to treat authority.”
Kovos attempted to say something through his gag. One of the men kicked him hard in the ribs.
The men chuckled and the leader said, “There’s no teaching this one, at least not in the field. We can tutor him back in Bailaya.” They were headed to the capital, then. This was not good at all.
The man continued, pointing at Legon. “You won’t get this one either, but we may be able to teach the fat one,” he said, reaching down and pulling off Keither’s gag.
The one that killed Moleth laughed. “Permission to have some fun, sir,” he said in a dark tone. The commander waved his hand and stepped back.
The man pulled Keither into the center of the camp by his shirt, the whole time the boy mumbling incoherently. The man turned and hit Keither across the mouth to cheers from the other men and a groan from the boy. Keither hit the ground and was pulled back up to be hit again, this time cutting his lip. Legon felt Sasha bury her head in the back of his shoulder. She hated violence. Two of the men walked out and held Keither up, allowing their friend to have an unmoving target. With every blow Keither tried to yell, but with the blood in his mouth it was getting harder. The other two men were starting to join in now, hitting him in the kidneys and on his sides. The beating seemed to take a long time, and in the end Keither lost consciousness. The men dropped him to the ground and gave him a few kicks that Legon suspected broke his ribs.
The sun seemed like it was taking forever to set. The commander walked forward to address them. “Now we have a long journey ahead of us, and I hope this shows you what happens if you don’t do what you are told. We will leave bright and early in the morning, but don’t worry. If you need anything, two men will always be awake to help you,” he said with a gracious smile.
He started to turn and stopped at a look from one of his men. He turned back around, knelt down in front of Sasha, and said in low but carrying tone, “My men and I spend a lot of time on the road, and we don’t get the luxuries that most do. That means that they’re going to need something to do to keep them occupied. I hope you can sleep well in the saddle, because I can guarantee you won’t be sleeping at night.” Sasha’s eyes jerked up.
He laughed and his men joined in, starting to make cat calls at Sasha. He reached forward, pulled off the gag, and grabbed Sasha’s hair, pulling her up bodily from the ground. She tried to pull away. “Good. I like it when they have some fight. Don’t worry, honey, you get me first. I’ll be real gentle,” he said, pulling her screaming along.
Legon lurched forward, yelling though his gag. The man turned and smiled. “Oh, do you like to watch? Ok, you can watch.” He threw Sasha to the ground in front of him. The man placed his knee on her back and cut the cords holding her. More cheers came from the men. “Give it to her, sir!” He rolled her over and she tried to hit him. His hand came across her face hard, causing her lip to bleed. He was on top of her then, pulling up her skirt, trying to part her legs. He hit her again. Her eyes were full of tears. She looked up at Legon, pleading for him to stop this, but he couldn’t. He felt the rope cutting deeper into his wrists. This wasn’t happening. Where was the Elven side now when he needed it? He’d gotten her legs apart and pinned her wrists above her head with one hand, smiling wickedly as he felt up her shirt with the other. His hand went down to his pants that were now covered in Sasha’s skirt. He was fumbling around, grunting, trying to hold her down. He pulled down his pants. There was a look of triumph on his face.
“Are you ready honey?”
She tried to beg. “No please, no please, please NO!” The commander laughed.
Legon heard a slight hiss and felt a breeze, saw a slight blur by his eyes and then heard a gurgled scream from the commander. An arrow shaft rose from where his neck met his body. Blood sprayed from the wound, peppering Sasha’s face scarlet. Before the man could get his hands up to the arrow Legon felt a second breeze and saw a figure leaping from the trees, long hair flowing in the air, two long blades in his hands. The ropes binding him were swiftly cut.
The soldiers were running for their swords, but their ambusher was on them. The soldiers had left their captives’ possessions nearby, and Kovos and Legon lunged for their weapons. Kovos’ hands wrapped tight around the handle of his sword. The look on his face was that of an insane man. Legon’s hand found the handle of the cleaver, the new one for splitting animals, the one he hadn’t gotten a chance to use. There was no one to stop the rage this time, no one at all.