Arabel could feel her lungs burning as she ran. The howl of the slave master's dogs shook her to the core as she searched the dark woods desperately for some kind of hope in the shadows. Her feet ached, sticky with blood, but she couldn't stop to assess the damage to them after she had been forced to kick off her fancy shoes.
Her silken dress snagged on the branches and thorny bushes. It felt like the forest was reaching out with it's monstrous hands to hinder her escape from the slave masters. Her dress ripped as she pulled free from the forest's grasp, but her expensive dress was of little concern to her now.
The moon's light shone through the branches of the trees giving her just enough light to avoid some of the more dangerous roots and holes in the ground that could be her potential downfall. The rush of blood pounding in her ears deafened the howls, and she could feel heart threatening to beat out of her chest or worse, explode. Arabel wasn't sure how much longer she could run, when suddenly she caught a glimpse of the amber flames of a campfire. She ran towards it and fell forward into the warm hopeful light of the campsite.
The two men leapt to their feet drawing their swords to fight their unknown assailant, but quickly relaxed as she tried to lift herself from the ground. Through her panting breath she managed to croak out the word help, and they seemed to understand as the dog's howls were getting closer.
"Are we going to help her?" The taller of the two men asked. His face was hidden by the shadow of his hood.
"Hey, that's up to you, but I ain't sparing my coin if it comes to it." The tall one pulled back the hood of his cape revealing his long blond hair before swinging it off his shoulders to place it around her.
"You're a real knight in shining armor there Tristain." He said over his shoulder. The man named Tristan shrugged, sitting back down by the fire as the blond man helped her to her feet and over to a spot on the ground beside the fire. "Sit, sit." She obeyed his orders and he crouched down beside her examining her face quickly. His fair skinned face was marred with old scars, but his features were friendly and warm. He grabbed a piece of charcoal that had dropped from their fire and crushed it to a blackened powder that he began to rub on her face with his finger in different patterns. She winced away from his touch. "Stop moving." He commanded gently. He pulled loose the few combs that had been holding her hair in place and they worked together to undo the braids quickly to let her hair fall around her face.
"What's your name?" He asked, pulling the hood up over her head and sitting back quickly examining his work. He then grabbed a scrap of her dress that was dangling loosely and tore it free. "Sorry, but I may need this." She nodded then answered.
"I'm Arabel."
"Well, Arabel my name is Ezlan." He sat down beside her stretching out one of his legs casually, but despite his casual stance she could see his fingers inching towards the hilt of the dagger strapped to his leg. He turned his face towards her and quietly asked, "Are they slave masters?" She nodded silently as they both looked towards the thundering howls of the ever advancing dogs. "Well, luckily for you, they are beyond their boundaries and I'm always itching to drive my blade into any slave master who steps beyond those bounds." He pulled his dagger from its sheath. After considering the blade for a moment he grabbed hold of her hands and folded them around the hilt. "Just in case." He said softly before letting her go.
The hounds appeared from the shadows into the light of the campfire, their thunderous growls seemed to shake the very earth they walked across as they escorted their owners to stand before them. Both men were tall and well muscled men wearing tan trousers and white shirts. Their eyes were empty of any sympathy for the world and it chilled Arabel to the core to see such lifeless eyes. Arabel looked to the ground praying that they wouldn't see her face. The dogs were pulling them towards her baying for blood. Their chains clanked as they tugged with great force their drool flying through the air landing on the ground before her. She did everything in her power to keep herself from screaming in fear.
"I see you caught our rabbit for us." One of the men said smiling as he began to move closer. The campfire's light cast dark shadows across his face making his pale face look far more sinister than when Arabel had first seen him earlier that night under the bright lights of the mansion. Ezlan looked at him quietly.
"I don't know what you're talking about sir."
"Don't try to play us for fools, our dogs are marking the girl." Said the man handling the dogs. He gave them more slack. Arabel could feel the heat from their breath on her face as their jaws snapped menacingly towards her.
"This girl happens to be my sister." Ezlan said confidently. "Though while she was collecting some kindling not long ago she did find this scrap of cloth." He said, tossing it at their feet. The man picked it up and examined it for a moment.
"Girl, where did you find this?" Arabel rolled up her sleeve before sticking her arm out from the depths of the cape, pointing back the way she had come.
"She's mute." Ezlan explained. "But it looks like she found it back towards where you had just come from." The men looked at each other silently.
"How about she come with us to show us where exactly she found it?" The pale man said, taking another step towards them. Ezlan jumped to his feet drawing his sword.
"She won't be going anywhere with you. Besides, you've crossed into King Therin's territory. Selling or collecting slaves on his land is punishable by death so if you would be so kind and leave our campsite we can all pretend this meeting never happened." The men laughed.
"No can do. We paid a nice amount of coin for that girl and we have every intention of bringing her back."
Arabel looked over as Tristain stood up drawing his sword. The air was tangible as the men made it evident that they weren't leaving without a fight and she felt her body shake. Ezlan and Tristain were ready to hold their ground to protect her and it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She squeezed the hilt of the dagger until it felt like it was burning in her hand.
"Now, come on boys, why don't we just make this easy? Just hand her over and we'll head out. There's no need for any bloodshed." The man controlling the dogs said.
"Not an option." Tristan said coolly.
"Suit yourselves, boys." He said releasing the dogs. Arabel threw up her arms to protect her face. There was a yelp and a whimper as the dogs fled into the forest.
"The dogs!" The pale man shouted, turning his attention to the yelp of the fleeing dog. It had been the opening that Ezlan needed to drive his blade into the man's gut. Arabel screamed and buried her face in her hands. The fight continued around her until one final scream was let out into the night and all that was left was the heavy panting of the two men who had stood to protect her.
"Are you okay?" Ezlan said standing over her. She could see blood on his face and on Tristain.
"Ezlan, help me with the bodies." Tristain said with an air of sudden authority. Ezland turned around and she caught sight of the slaver's bodies being dragged away into the shadows. She felt the panic swell in her throat and as her emotions began to threaten to drown her they broke through and she began sobbing. She was crying so hard that she had barely noticed the two men as they sat on either side of her. There was a soft sigh and each of them draped an arm around her shoulders to give her an awkward side hug.
"It's okay, let it out." Tristan said softly. "We understand." Their strong arms and soft voices were what she needed as the day's events shattered her heart into a thousand pieces. She tried to speak, but her body shook with sorrow and she could only scream into the night.
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