Orenda

Kidnappers

Hello again everybody! Thank you for reading, and enjoy the chapter!!!

TW- trauma, porcelain masks, violence

-- Ivy

"You'll regret this, darling," Tyler spits at me as guards yank him away towards the dungeons.

I shiver at the threat, knowing that Tyler is extremely capable of going through with it. A large hand graps my shoulder and squeezes, making me jump slightly. "Relax," I recognize Adam's voice behind me. "Are you okay, that was a pretty intense fight out there."

I nod, "I'm okay," I reply.

I don't really know what happened, because the fight was certainly intense. But I do recall slamming him into the sandy bottom of the ocean and trying to pin him. Sadly, I'm a pretty small person. I wasn't big enough and I didn't weigh enough, especially underwater, to keep him pinned.

Thankfully, Adam had predicted that. Just as Tyler flipped us, his slammed into Tyler and pinned him. He was much stronger than Tyler, and able to hold his ground until the guards arrived.

I'm pretty good in a fight, able to act on instinct and use my wits instead of my strength to beat people. When you're my size, you don't go into a fight trying to use brute force. But, depending on the type of fight and what's happening, I don't always deal as good with the after. In my opinion, the after is the worst part. It's the moment when my senses come back and I realize that someone just tried to attack me.

Adam turns me around to face him, looking concerned. "That was a pretty big fight, did you know him?" he asks.

I nod again, "Yeah, I did. He and Technoblade weren't on very good terms," I answer, struggling to keep my voice steady.

"Let's leave," Adam puts his hand on my arm and looks up over the crowd of people.

"I- I'm okay," I protest, looking around.

"You're shaking. We're going to go," he responds decidedly.

And with that, he leads me up a staircase made of dead, crystalized coral. I don't say anything, lost in reliving the battle. I notice the coral because it feels odd on my bare feet, making them sting slightly.

"Alaina. Alaina, can you hear me?" I refocus my eyes to see Adam in front of me, kneeling so he's closer to eye level.

"Yeah..." my mind is still elsewhere.

Like I said, I don't deal very well with after fights. I think it's something about the fact that I really really despise hurting people, and that's what happens in fights. And maybe my brain just overloads a little bit, because actual fights are extremely rare.

"Alaina look at me."

I meet Adam's gaze numbly, before I force myself to snap out of the mood. "I'm okay," I say, shivering slightly. This time, it's just because I'm cold.

"That's good, we should go to your room. It's not safe here," Adam takes my hand and stands up, pulling me quickly down the hallway.

I walk beside him, feeling the need to put more spring in my step. Fear laces through me, and I have a bad feeling about something. The back of my neck is prickling, and I feel like someone is following us.

"Adam..." I say hesitantly.

He glances back at me, "Yeah?"

"Do you feel like someone is following us?" I ask, casting a fleeting look over my shoulder.

Adam turns around a corner and pulls me with him, backing up against the wall and pulling a knife out of his sleeve. "I had a suspicion, stay here," he replies, before disappearing back around the corner.

I press my back farther into the wall, breathing as quiet and slow as I can. I pause for a moment, straining my ears to listen for footsteps. I quickly pick some up, but I think they're probably Adam's. The footsteps sound closer, but I'm relaxed.

I step out of my hiding place, "Was there-"

I'm cut off abruptly as a hand closes around my throat, lifting me off of the ground. "Yes, there was," the man says. I can't see his face, because there's a plain white mask covering it.

I stare at him, my hands prying at his as I attempt to free myself from his iron grasp. And then, he drops me. I fall to my knees, coughing and holding my throat. A blur flies over me, tackling the intruder to the ground.

I stumble to my feet and force myself to regain my composure, knowing that I need to get away from the fight. But I'm not fast enough.

Adam is knocked to the ground by a viscious kick in his chest, and I run to him. I grab his arm and pull him out of the way of the fight. He looks at me, dead serious. "Forget about me, Alaina. Run."

I look at him, my eyes wide with fear. I don't know what's happening, and it's scaring me. I feel weak in this moment, but I push it down and harden my eyes. I nod, standing up. "Stay-"

He interrupts, and I notice that his eyes are filled with concern. "Go- now."

Without another word, I turn and run. My footsteps pound down the hall, echoing in my ears. I can hear everything louder than usual, and I don't know why. Another set of footsteps penetrates my hearing, and I step quickly around the corner. I press my hands against the wall, certain that our masked intruder can hear my breathing.

The footsteps sound closer, and slower. I know he's found me, and I prepare myself to attack.

One. Two. Three.

At the end of my count, I whip around and immediately a body slams into me. I stumble back, curling my hands back into fists and lunging at the man. He knocks me into the wall and pins me, fast. For some reason, my fighting instincts don't seem to be kicking in.

"Hello princess, I've heard a lot about you," he says, his voice hinting danger.

My neck prickles, and I look up into his eyes. My gaze is filled with fear, but it's mostly fake. I'm actually coming up with a plan, and I prepare to execute it. My idea is crude, but it's all I've got. I wait for a moment, biding my time.

The man leans in, and I realize that said time is running out. As hard as I can, I thrust my knee in between the man's legs. He lets out a hiss of pain, and his grip loosens. I hit him in the chest with both hands, pushing him back. He stumbles out of my way, and I take a run for it.

I make it as far as about three or four feet before a hand snaps around my wrist and yanks me backwards powerfully. I slam into a hard chest, and an arm pins me. "Not funny, princess," the man spits, clearly livid.

I close my eyes and exhale, annoyed with myself. "Really, you thought I was joking?" I reply dryly, cringing inwardly at my irritating, automatic sarcasm.

Sorry for the cliff hangar, it's a bit of an odd place to end a chapter! I kind of get the feeling that you guys are going to think Alaina is portrayed as weak, so I'll offer a bit of an explanation:

Alaina has had a traumatic childhood(which we'll get into later), and it reflects when she fights. She is a very good fighter, and extremely strong. Her emotions are pretty jumbled because of her past, and everything happening.

Anyways, hope you guys have a great day and I'll write you later!

:)

-- Ivy