Catch Me If You Can (On hold)

~Chapter 5~ Escape

A few months later...

Crack. The pickaxe struck the cave's iron vein. Crack. Sparks flew as it collided with the stone and treasures within. Crack. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand, the leader noticing her pause and shouting in some form of Aldmeri. What was a High Elf doing in the bandit mines? Leading, obviously.

Crack. Again she swung, small pieces of rock flying in the air as it hit. Crack. The stone crumbled, revealing iron ore for the taking. She gathered the pieces in her scratched arms and placed the pickaxe on the ground. Walking to the wooden cart nearby, she dumped the ore. Rinse, lather, repeat. This was all that she had done for the past months, and it didn't seem like it was going to change.

After waking with only the rags given to her before she was knocked out, a pickaxe was shoved into her hands and she was barked at by this stray Elf. Her first thought was how she would make him pay for waking her early and forcing her to work. Maybe he'd pay with his blood... Maybe just the sight of his pretty little neck turning purple would satisfy her. Although fortunately for him,  he'd have to wait for her to regain her strength before she could do anything of the sort. Her body had needed to adjust to the dark, gloomy caves, not only the pathetic 'meal' of a slice of old bread. She'd be lucky if she even got a sip of clean water down there.

Not much longer, she thought one day. I will find a way...

And luckily for her, this would be the day she would indeed, find a way.

It started with back-talk, a few cheeky comments, and a roll of the eyes to set off the Elf. The Khajiit had heard that the Elves had a short temper, and demanded respect. But of course, what would you define as respect from prisoners?

The Nord had silver hair, pleated at the sides and top, keeping the strands out of his grey eyes and framing his bold face. He had no beard, which may have been unusual for his race, but his skin was radiant and clear, aside from a new scratch and dirt he had earned from the manual labour. Dark eyebrows lay above his glowing sockets, and his ears were neat and perfect. His pointed nose and pinkish lips rounded him off, making him quite the sight to see for sore eyes. Sweat beads lined his beautiful features, and supple muscles gleamed in the dim light, covered in a thin layer of sweat. He was quite tall, only a centimetre shorter than the Elf. In the mines it was roasting 24/7, and the toxic gases producing more heat didn't help.

Initially the Khajiit had been disinterested with this young man, only around her age at 23, but what caught her eye was the symbol on his forehead. A birthmark, perhaps? No, it was too unnatural for that. It was in the form of a battle insignia. A tattoo maybe? She could only guess.

Anyway, it was this particular Nord that had pissed off the Altmer for the last time.

The Elf had pushed the Nord too far with the labour, making him work faster and harder than was required. He hadn't liked the Nord one bit from the start either, since the Nord came from a family who worshiped Talos. The Nord received a back-slap after refusing to mine the ore veins, the rocks clearly empty, but the Elf wanting to see him waste his energy breaking rocks with no prize. He had only obeyed for so long before he snapped.

Bitch slapping an armed Nord warrior was probably not the best idea the almighty Elf had had, but still, it was amusing for the second that it lasted. The silver haired man's eyes blazed as he swung the axe, and although the blondie had ducked, it caught a few small strands of his luxurious locks. The Elf was outraged as he looked down to see his wavy hair lying limply near his feet. He looked back up at the challenger, anger riddling his golden face.

By that time a crowd had gathered, and although the Khajiit would have loved to see the fight, blood thirsty as she was, she saw this as an opportunity. Time to escape. This was the time for her plan to happen, the plan she had been perfecting for the months she knew she was no longer free.

The miners chanted, forming a circle around the Nord and Elf who were using what ever was at their disposal to hurt the opposite. From what the lady cat had seen in between the gaps of watchers, the Nord was experienced. He was also fast, very fast, even the swift Elf couldn't dodge every attack. Maybe if they ever met they could have a dual, or teach each other a new move.

She would have to wait later that night to hear the result of the fight, deciding, if she could, to visit him again before she was gone for good. It was purely for her benefit, because he may help her survive some situations not even she could escape, if he was willing to communicate. If not, she could easily slip in poison in his next meal for being irrational.

Being in the mines as a prisoner was tough, and she thought it handy to learn the routine of the leaders and the meal times. She also found the alchemist's stash under a pile of rocks while she was mining deeper down. Stealing that was not a problem.

Slipping down the tunnel at the back, she quietly pawed her way deeper to find her way out, while everyone watched the fight unaware of the master assassin making her daring escape.

Or so she thought...