Broken Away

The Encounter

Chase groaned as she flexed her foot. The bandages were finally off. It had been three months since they had escaped from the Montague Palace. Eric had managed to find a doctor in a neighboring village. To avoid gaining attention, they had set camp in the woods, miles away from the village. Eric was able to remove Chase's casts and bandages with his medical knowledge. They had found a clearing that was decently large.

Throughout the few months she has spent with him, Chase was surprised by Eric's skills. He was able to build them a small tent fit for one using leaves and vines he had found laying around. On the other hand, Chase knew nothing about this type of skill set. She was more used to fighting and observing behavior. Eric knew nothing of this, and found it impossible to learn when Chase had tried to teach him. Likewise, Chase could barely pick up how he had managed to craft a shelter out of mere leaves. One thing they both found easy was finding food. Eric often took Raven out to scout the area for edible plants and nuts. Chase easily found multiple berries in a bush that lasted them a few nights.

A fire crackled in front of them as Chase and Eric sat next to each other on the sharp ground. Although daytime made them sweat, nighttime made them shiver. This made it much harder for them to figure out how to survive. Chase had suggested the idea of shifts to watch over the fire. Unlike Chase, Eric valued his sleep. Even though he hated the idea, he agreed to shifts. They couldn't risk an ambush, or worse, a forest fire. Not only would a forest fire be damaging to the forest, it would harm the village and be a huge signal to where they were.

Eric nudged Chase, "you should go to sleep," he said, "I'll take the first shift."

Chase looked at him, diverting her gaze from the fire, "are you sure?"

"Of course I am, I wouldn't have offered otherwise."

Chase chuckled before picking herself up, "alright, I'm just going to scout around us one more time."

"Chase?" Eric said, looking at the burning logs in the fire.

"Yeah?"

Eric looked up at her, "I love you."

Chase smiled, her cheeks tingling, "I love you too."

She turned around and walked off, a tear slipping down her cheek. Chase had finally found someone that didn't turn their back on her when she needed them most.

Chase jogged to the edge of the forest where they had let Raven stray around. If anyone had spotted her, they would just assume she was one of the village's horses. Before she could make it to their horse, Chase felt something wrap around her neck before pulling her entire body backwards.

Chase scraped at the rope around her neck as she was dragged across the floor. She felt strong arms wrap around her before lifting her up to where her legs could barely reach the floor. Chase kicked her feet out, hoping they would make contact with her attacker. She soon became distracted by a pinch on her arm. When she looked at it, she found a needle sticking in, the syringe slowly inserting all of its liquid into her body.

Chase felt her arm go numb. The numbness spread through her entire body. Her struggling legs went limp.

"Nice try, Chase," Reni said as she shoved her syringe in her satchel.

Chase should've known. Reni specialized in anything to do with medical or poison. Additionally, wherever Reni went, Arik followed.

"Arik, let me go," Chase said.

"I doubt you could stand anyways, Never. Let's go fetch the snake, shall we?"

"Snake? What are you talking about?"

Arik held Chase by her ponytail, inflicting pain onto Chase's scalp, "the predator to your prey, Chase."

Chase winced as she felt herself be dragged by her hair. The pain searing through her head. After a few minutes, Chase spotted the clearing that was still lit up by the fire.

Chase's eyes widened as she spotted Eric standing their, Lexi's arm around his neck protectively. Her other hand was on his chest as she whispered into his ear.

"Eric?" Chase whispered.

Eric laughed, his voice cruel and deep, "did you seriously believe all of that? Your obvious weakness is your emotions. It wasn't that hard to get you to trust me. Lexi planned it long before you arrived at camp. She's smarter than you, Chase. You got outplayed."

"Y-you said you loved me?"

"The only person he loves is Lexi." Isla stepped out from behind a tree. She was holding Raven by a rope, something the horse would usually despise.

"B-but he said he—"

Eric laughed once more, "did you suddenly stop comprehending things? I never loved you. And I never will."

Chase let out a yell as she wrenched herself out of Arik's loose grasp and ran towards Eric. She punched him in the eye, causing him to hiss and keen over clutching his face. She moved onto Lexi, but Lexi stopped her hand by wrapping her fingers around it.

"Let's get this straight, you were always weak. You will never be loved. You deserve nothing. Eric is mine. He was never yours. He will always be mine, just like the spot as the King's lieutenant."

Arik grabbed onto Chase's shoulders and slammed her against a tree. Before tying her up to avoid her breaking loose again, Reni injected her with more liquid, this time on her neck, right below the bruise that was starting to form. Chase closed her eyes, falling into a deep hole that she didn't know if she would ever emerge from.