Xenovia
A crunch of grass. The crack of branches and leaves. The howl of the evening wind. These sounds were calling out to Xenovia from all around, stirring her from her slumber. Her limbs felt so stiff and sore, and refused to move at her command. Neither her arms nor her legs would budge. She tried to shift around, but the world itself felt like it was spinning all around her, as if she were on a ship on the open seas. Xenovia decided to open her eyes in an effort to assess the situation but found that she could see nothing.
What happened? Where was she? And what about-
The stranger from the woods?
In that moment, Xenovia realized exactly what was happening. She let out a sudden scream for help, though her cry was muffled by a thick piece of cloth wrapped around her mouth. And true to her fears, her hands and feet weren’t moving because they had been bound with rope, and the reason she couldn’t see was due to a blindfold. Why, she was being kidnapped!
“Settle down,” she heard a gruff voice say.
“No!” she shot back, trying to kick at her kidnapper. “Let me go!”
The man let out a sigh of irritation and shifted his carrying position of her, letting her torso hang down a little further against his back to give him a better grip of her kicking legs. Xenovia tried to wriggle free, but her efforts proved futile.
“Where are you taking me!?” she demanded.
At this, the man went silent. So, Xenovia took a deep breath and yelled her next words at the top of her lungs.
“Release me!”
“How can you still be this loud?” he asked, sounding almost amused.
Xenovia could feel anxiety fighting to overtake her, but out of pride she kept her tears at bay. It seemed Helga had been right, she wasn’t cut out to be a hero after all. She was nothing more than a silly princess who couldn’t even protect herself, let alone be expected to protect others.
Nevertheless, she refused to give up on her life. If death was all that awaited her, Xenovia would at least meet it on her own terms. She focused her attention on the forest around her, listening for anything that could give her a clue to their approximate location. According to what she had gathered thus far, it seemed they were still within the Flower Forest, though they had likely traveled a considerable distance. At least two or three hours worth of walking if she had to guess.
“I guess this will have to do…” she heard her captor say as he suddenly came to a halt.
Xenovia became still as he placed her down on the ground in order to reach for something in his coat. Without stopping to question his motives she tried to slither away on her stomach in an effort to escape, hoping it might be dark enough by now for him to lose sight of her. But he grabbed her just in time and yanked her back towards him.
“Watch yourself, princess. My patience does have a limit,” the man growled in a low voice.
Wait, he knew she was a princess!?
Xenovia kicked and screamed as he worked to fasten a rope around her waist, but she froze as soon as her feet left the ground. She could hear her captor climbing up a tree, with her body being dragged along with him.
Was he…camping up in a tree for the night?
Her stomach churned at the sensation of being dangled in the air without being able to see how high she was. Eventually, she felt the man grab her by the back of her jacket and hoist her up the rest of the way. Then he sat her up against the back of a thick tree branch and used the rope around her waist to secure her there, preventing any falls. Then to Xenovia’s surprise, he removed her blindfold. The sun had nearly set, so her eyes didn’t need much time to adjust before she could see again. The first thing she noticed was their shelter. As she had guessed, it was a large tree that sat at roughly twenty feet high, with the branch off shoots near the twelve foot mark. In the center of the branches was a large surface area of wood and bark tightly blended together. It was a natural shelter hidden beneath the trees leaves, almost like a cave made out of wood.
At once, she turned towards the stranger who had taken her prisoner. He was sitting against a high rising branch opposite hers. His handsome face glowed in the light of the evening twilight, making his cold, silver gaze look even more surreal. The stern expression on his face reminded her of the situation at hand and the very real danger she was in.
“Since you are no doubt confused by your current predicament, I will do you the courtesy of explaining how things are going to go from here,” the man said, keeping an unbreakable stare on her.
“As the princess of Luxo, you have become an important hostage during this time of war,” he began, talking in a tone that lacked any feeling at all. “It is my duty to bring you back to my kingdom in the land of The North and present you to my king. From there, he will decide how best to make use of you.”
Xenovia scowled at her captor. “Vile scum!”
She heard him chuckle. “I really thought you would have run out of stamina by this point.”
She quickly tried to break her hands free again, wanting nothing more than to strike down the enemy before her. He seemed amused by her struggles, entertained even.
“You would do well to conserve your energy for now. We still have a week of travel ahead of us.”
A whole week of travel!?
“Untie me!” Xenovia demanded angrily.
Suddenly, the man came close to her. She flinched at his approach as he bent down to face her.
“For your own sake, I suggest you learn how to cooperate. While I wish you no harm, I have no qualms about reducing the amount of food or water you’ll receive.”
Xenovia felt her heart sink. Indeed, her very survival was now in the hands of a man who planned on turning her over to her father’s worst enemy. The idea of bending to his wishes out of fear nonetheless put a foul taste in her mouth. So, right as he stood back up, she used her feet to kick his legs out from under him. Xenovia watched with satisfaction as he fell on his back across the tangled mess of branches with a grunt.
“You little witch!” he hissed, glaring at her with rage.
She returned a smug grin, though the gag made it difficult to portray. He only rolled his eyes at her childish display.
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