Reign ✔

XV

Sleeping on the stone-bed gave me its consequences. I couldn't sleep well, tossing and turning was all I did. My eyes were shut, but it was in vain. My back was sore, and I felt really uncomfortable. At that very moment, I missed my bed back home, which was burnt. The thought bought the painful memories back with it. And somehow, they let me sleep.

There were dark patches beneath my eyes, I could tell, when a sudden, loud noise woke me up. I didn't even have some ten minutes of peaceful sleep. But when my eyes opened, I sensed tension. Elizabeth was not in her bed. The fire was out. And there were noises from the surroundings, dangerous noises.

I was scared. So scared that I cuddled with myself, holding my body in protection. My brain wasn't working properly, and my eyes refused to stay open. Of course, a girl like me needs some sleep too. But something - no, someone - told me that outside this small shelter, things were not right. It was a male voice, prompting me to go out. I wondered who it was, but nevertheless, I walked out, slowly.

And the voice was right.

Everything outside the small shelter of ours was not right.

To say I was scared would just be an understandment. But to say I was going to faint would have been more appropriate with what I actually saw outside, in between the woods. And what I saw outside was a horrific nightmare for me.

It was dark, lit by only some rays of light. And there were about twelve tall men, dressed in black. Their mouth were covered, only the eyes exposed. With the way they were dressed, they looked like some ninjas, what with the long swords they carried. They were shooting stones in every direction, and right in the middle was Eliza, fighting those twelve hideous men alone. And then I did the most stupidest thing anyone could do. I screamed.

"Eliza!" My voice came out loud and croaked. But it was enough to grab attention. All those men turned their heads towards me. Even Eliza did, though her expression was filled with anger. When their eyes bore into me, I felt uneasy. It made me squirm. A cold wind blew and along with it, the troop of the sword-carying army marched towards me. A horrified look swept across both Eliza's and my face. They were advancing, quickly. Without any other alternative, I turned around and ran.

It was a really small place to run about, but I knew I had to. I took one round around our shelter, and the horses neighed loudly. Suddenly, Eliza jumped down from out of the blue and shot a fire ball at the man behind me. I heaved a sigh of relief, but not for long.

Soon, many others emerged from behind. We were scared, Eliza and I. It was a life-death situation out there. Eliza grabbed my hand and dragged me forward, away from those men. We were running, very fast, as fast as our legs could take us. But then, a stone flew through the sky and hit Elizabeth in her head. Right at the back. Thud. And she fell down on the ground, crying out in pain.

I knelt down, "Eliza, are you alright?" I asked, rubbing her head. Blood was already oozing out in full force. She groaned when I pressed her wound.

"Oh my god," I exclaimed, "you are bleeding!"

She touched my hand, groaning loudly, "Oh no. Don't worry about me. Run!"

"No!"

She groaned again, tossing and turning in pain. "Go! Run!"

Right then, I actually understood what she meant when she said that I was precious. Maybe that was the reason the sword-men were after me; because I was precious. Standing up, I ran again, noticinghow near those men were. I ran towards the tall trees. But there was no way out. The trees blocked my way and my back pinned the thick bark. The men stopped before me, everyone grinning from ear to ear. I gulped once.