Chapter Three: When the Shadows Closed In
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5mI1mE7Hl
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9WUxJrPZp
The forest felt darker than before, as black as a coffin. Aurelie didn't want to think about those thoughts, considering she was in a queue to be in one, lying six feet under. Aurelie's ragged breaths seemed to echo throughout the forest, loud and giving exposure to her location.
The large roots seemed to catch at the end of her gown, even as she desperately held her dress with her hands, trying to run without any resistance. The trees seemed to close in around her, their branches reaching out like skeletal fingers in an attempt to ensnare her as she ran. Somewhere in the far distance behind her, she could hear the armored men running, chasing her.
She couldn't make out their words, but she could hear their booming voices reverberate through the woods. She bit back a whimper as she tried to veer off course in hopes of losing them for good. She sought refuge behind an exorbitant woronok tree, serpentine branches and peaked leaves offering her protection and hiding her from the enemy. She choked back tears, not wanting to give off her location. All she could do was wait and pray. Holding her crucifix that was around her small neck. The rope and wooden holy idol offered her some peace, but nothing could completely take the weight of a chase from an enemy kingdom's soldiers off her shoulders.
A twig snapped not far from her, causing her head to snap in its direction. She clamped her hand over her mouth, holding her breath as she tried to listen, pausing for a moment as the world seemed to go completely still; the only sound she could hear was her thumping heart.244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavl7lc20lu
The bustling wind began to blow, whistling through the leaves, throwing her hearing as she closed her eyes, trying to focus, but what she hadn't realized was that the enemy was using the wind to its advantage; encircling the tree until the perfect moment when he seized her with a death grip, hauling her to his chest.
Aurelie screamed, fighting his grip, as he held her by her arms, making them immobile. Through her veil, she noticed another soldier, who emerged from behind the tree close by, grabbing her veil and tightening it around her face, reducing her oxygen slightly, while wrapping another cloth around her mouth over the top of her veil, muffling her screams of terror. She fought, twisting, kicking, but the men might as well have been walls of stone. In their grip, all the strength she thought she had was stripped away. She was no longer Aurelie the priestess, voice of the goddess. She was that girl again—small, helpless, frozen as fire and steel tore her family from her. Powerless then, powerless now.
"Quiet!" a voice hissed, making her voice hitch in her throat, "I'd slit that little throat of yours, but the captain will want to see you alive." The man spoke in her ear, his searing breath full of triumph.
'Captain?' she thought, her heart practically thumping out of its cage as she was lugged through the woods, taken to God knows where. Hyperventilating through the airless mask of the veil and dingy cloth over her mouth, she was slowly being deprived of oxygen. Her eyes slowly fluttered shut as she fell limp against his hold. In her final moments of that memory, she prayed, a prayer of hope that someone, anyone might hear the inaudible cries that she could no longer voice.
༺♱༻
Their father helped the girls redress, washing up from the excursion on the lawn. The girls were dressed in their usual matching pieces. They preferred it that way. Aurelie and Relia dressed in two sage green frilly shifts that barely came to their ankles, with their white underskirts giving their dresses that cupcake appearance. Their mother didn't want the girls to ruin their dresses, so, as usual, she put their dress aprons over the top—a plain white apron that frilled over the arms along the straps.
"Relia, remember to listen to your sister, okay? Do everything she tells you." Their mother warned that she knew her daughter tended to ignore her older sister,244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjafCEV5jj
Relia nodded, "I promise." She swore, making her mom smile in return, hoping that her daughter was telling the truth. Aurelie took her sister's hand, waving to their mom and dad, and they took off, leaving the house, skipping their way to the village.
The market square wasn't a far journey, as it was just a twenty-minute walk, but Relia wanted to speed it up. She tried to take a shortcut. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGw1LRc2ln
"Aurelie! Through here!" Relia pointed, her small finger making an implied line towards the Northern forest, "If we walk through the forest we can skip the path!" She looked up at her sister for approval, but she did not get it.
"No, you know what Mom says about those woods..." Aurelie shivered as she glanced at the woods, taking note of the terrifying appearance. She continuously abhorred those woods; just the thought of them made her want to hide under the covers. All the kids in the village would taunt her for it, labeling her as a feeble girl. She looked away, looking down at her sister, "Let's just stay on course, please, Relia." She said, Relia looked up, a twisted smile playing on her lips,
"Catch me." Relia sneered. When Aurelie gasped, "No, wait!" Aurelie gasped, reaching out to grasp her sister, but it was too late; Relia was already charging towards the woods with full force. Aurelie felt her legs lock, feeling stiff as a board full of fear as she watched in terror, as Relia charged towards the woods. Aurelie tried to move, but her limbs wouldn't allow her, as she felt her hand that clenched the basket unclench, dropping the basket to the ground, watching unable to move as Relia made it to the entrance, not skipping a beat as she looked back for a moment at her sister before racing into the woods.
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAEfMfoLIQ
"Heavens.. no.."
༺♱༻
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFYtG2TcEL
Aurelie had awoken in a carriage, the polar opposite of the carriage she had arrived in. This carriage, from what she could see, had a completely dark interior and was far less luxurious. She was currently on the floor, her legs and arms tied. She didn't want to move and face their wrath with their knowledge of her alertness. She decided to pretend to be still asleep, in hopes of avoiding their attention.
A boot came in contact with her back, "We've arrived, wake up." He demanded, 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvY6lgCdmRO
'So much for pretending,' she thought to herself as she opened her eyes. A pair of hands hoisted her up from the ground, lugging her over his shoulder like some prize pig, causing her to gasp, the rag over her mouth muffling her sounds.244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5blfb8MIE
"Quite an unusual find in the woods, aye?" One of the soldiers teased, "Definitely haven't brought anyone like this one back, guess Captain will get some enjoyment." He teased, but Aurelie didn't understand their joke. Whatever they were discussing, though, made them both erupt in fits of laughter.
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEVcQCb4K9
"Little thing, you'll want to be docile with our Captain, he is not one to show mercy, even to little ones like you." The man carrying her said, causing Aurelie's heart to drop.244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUH5LreGafl
She wondered if this was where she would die, pondering the images she was seeing: the dark, mossy cobblestone bricks beneath them, and the shiny armor on the man's legs and back would be the last things she saw. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWovdkZkIc
They continued their journey towards the castle until they arrived at the gates, where other voices began to sound.
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmI9mU0nIAo
"Ah.. what do we have here, lads?" One spoke up, "Another catch from the forest?" He spoke, his voice sounding as if he were scanning Aurelie's figure, wondering what wicked soldiers had brought back from their excursion into the forest.
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoiWhKGzRIH
"Ay, indeed," The man who was holding her spoke up, "But mind you, gentleman, this is a far different breed than the others. This one here is a little prissy lady. I'm wondering if she's one of the soldiers' wench." He speculated, "She was found near their setup tents, spying as we were dealing with one of those savage soldiers." The man explained, making the others bark out a laugh,
"Well.. She'll make an interesting accessory to the Captains collection in the dungeon," A new voice started, a sound of screeching metal rang, "Better get her in, I'm sure the Captain has been waiting on your arrival." He spoke, then they began walking again, Aurelie being jostled around in the soldier's reckless hold.
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVX0q33fDBr
Aurelie tried to make out her surroundings, but the darkness was so thick that all she could see was the ground, as that was all she could see when she was face down over the man's shoulder. She could see the mossy cobblestone path that they followed, making her grimace. The castle that stood before her wasn't much of one; instead, it seemed like the remains. A graveyard to a once mighty and strong kingdom now stands broken, with visible signs of decay.
Heavy clattering iron armor echoed as they began making their way inside the so-called castle. Aurelie knew it was pointless to struggle with her legs and arms tied; she felt like a lamb, waiting to be slaughtered.244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjowWbWSb74
The dim torchlight illuminated the ground beneath them, flickering, letting Aurelie see. The floors were entirely different from those in Lux. The stone bricks placed were lifted, separating from one another and uneven —a stark contrast to the luxurious appeal of the Lux Palace. From between some of the cracks, she could see what appeared to be a thick red substance. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL53EN1SFhT
'Wine..?' She thought, hopeful, but she knew it wasn't spilled from a bottle, conceivably spilled from another captured victim like her. The thought sent shivers down her spine.
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4E8SXJNtl
Aurelie lifted her head, squinting to see past the thick white lace of the veil, trying desperately to make out the world around her. If this was the last thing she saw, she wanted to take it all in and note every detail.244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGe4SnrGEqC
As the soldier juggled Aurelie in his hold down the crumbling hallway, towards the stairway, the torchlight illuminated the details of the forgotten kingdom. Hanging vines of ivy seemed to string above her, like skeletal fingers around them. Arches surrounded them through the corridors, carved with symbols from this foreign kingdom, as their stone was visibly gnawed and scarred through the ages, with cracks seeming to drive through each of them. The smell of mildew and another scent she couldn't reasonably specify, but to her imagination, she assumed it would be the smell of decay. The intense aromas that wafted over her made her feel sick, as each step the soldiers took was steady, echoing through the halls like a steady heartbeat.
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1a0GC3x0Dg
As they descended the stairs, Aurelie couldn't help but feel her eyes begin to water, feeling helpless and forced to watch the world around her being stripped away as they faded into the dark, long, spiraling stairway. The smell as they descended deeper made Aurelie's stomach curl, as the scent of decay seemed to grow more pungent as they headed toward what seemed like the source—rot, despair, and droplets of crimson on the stone beneath their feet. Above them, torches lined the walls, burning weakly, barely illuminating the world around them. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFUIzStvt3
Finally, their flight came to an end, as they were officially at the bottom of the castle. The dungeon seemed less artificial, more organic, as if it were something ancient and alive. She felt shivers fall the small of her back as she began to whisper prayers beneath her breath, muffled by the cloth. Her pleas and cries went unheard by the God above, as it seemed.
"That won't save ye, girl." The soldier carrying her spoke, his accent and tone rough to her ears, "You're prayers cannot be heard from this place." She could hear a smirk in the tone of his voice. The hollow, cold tone in his voice made her feel like crying a bit harder, her tears streaming like a river down her cheeks, dampening the veil. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXAwTifuYB
"Consider yourself already dead." He finished, and in unison, they stopped moving. The soldier beside them opened something, and a long, complaining moan of metal sounded in the echoing dungeon. They began to move, but only for a moment, as Aurelie was removed from the soldier's hold, outwardly shoving her to the ground, as she crashed against the hard stone with a thud. She couldn't help but scream, the agony and despair catching up with her all at once. A sharp pain coursed through her; she must've hit something sharp on her way down. Her white habit was stained with the murky water that was beneath her, puddled on the stone floor, soaking her dress as she writhed.
"What a sight, so helpless aren't you little dear?" The one guard smirked, staring down at her with some malicious intent, as he knelt beside her, "Shame you have to go like this, just so unfair, isn't it?" He smirked, his hand coming to her veiled cheek, "Well, shame to see such a strange little peeper like you down here, but... No bad deed goes unpunished right little saint?" He smirked, his hand caressing her clothed cheek uncomfortably, making her try to escape his touch, but he held her cheek firm in his palm.
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUh5Xtzua7X
"Agnos, Enough playing. Captain is waiting." The other soldier spoke up, making the soldier who carried her, 'Agnos', tense up and remove his hand from her cheek. "Guess you're right, shouldn't be touching Captains possessions now." He smirked, "Enjoy your stay, little deer, and save your prayers." He rose to his feet, walking with his partner to the metal gate, shutting it as he stared at her with a menacing stare.244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGWrqjPZTc
"Oh, and don't be alarmed if you hear other neighboring screams. You aren't alone down here." He smirked, making Aurelie tense, as she feared for the lives around her. Possibly, other neighboring kingdom victims that these soldiers brought back to show off.
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWScAl7scJ2
When the two soldiers left, they took the light with them, as the torchlight seemed to fade into the distance, along with the growing distant sound of metal clanging.244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4GKo5jTaa
Aurelie was left entirely in the dark; drips from the cracks in the stone gave a soft, steady sound, followed by groans that seemed to echo from down the hall. Each groan rose and fell, weary and broken, the noise of someone long acquainted with pain.244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkSFDQCwab
Aurelie clenched her eyes shut, as whimpers and pleas escaped her throat, horrified of what was to come of her, wondering if she'd even make it through the night.
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9FUF1ndfm
Then—movement.
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBVEw2hiMM
From where the torchlight could not reach came a sound: not the shuffle of chains, nor the moan of another prisoner, but the slow, deliberate creak of something stirring. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled. She was not alone. A voice carried from across her cell,
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB97khNCpxr
“Aurelie…”
A whisper soft as breath, yet impossibly certain.244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNg4KRSnbJ
Her heart lurched. No one here should have known her by that name.244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWKQNgkF3A
Her eyes looked up, struggling to see in the darkness, until she caught sight of the armor, with its insignia on the chest plate.
The fearless lion and daggers; She'd recognize that engraving anywhere
'Light in the shadow of steel.'
Her eyes widened, realizing.
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5laO47ZxXl
'Charlie!'244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgcDuBHiBu
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpDzdMJE7J
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETbMyg0y6N
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchdmq13J8f
