A Cold Night To Remember

[2.5] The Unknown Man Part 2

As quiet as a cat on carpet, she rose. She wrapped the rough blanket around herself and moved to the back of the tent where the fabric was not as taught. She reached out with her left hand and lifted the bottom wall of the tent, she looked to find a pair of boots to the right. The sentry stood watchful, a spear in hand. Silently she cursed herself. Slowly she moved to the entrance of the tent to find it unwatched. Her heart pounded in her ears and she forced her lungs to move in insufficient, silent breaths. Arovis put forth a single slippered foot, the grass already collected dew and soaked her toes. She turned her head right and left, then confidently yet slowly moved toward Lyla's tent.

At the sight of the guards near the entrance of their sleeping quarters, Arovis slunk into the shadows of a wagon, kneeling on the damp grass. Her mind rushed with strategies for how she would get to Lyla and escape. The guards stared out into the distance, shifting in their stance. She decided she would turn around and try to sneak in through the back of the tent. She straightened her legs and turned back just as a tall shadow grabbed her violently. In an instant, a large hand snapped over her mouth. A strong arm was wrapped around her waist and her body was pulled flush with the stranger. 

"Silence. Or your foolishness will be the death of your friends," He hissed, obviously angered. It was him, of course it was. He let go of her and turned her around by her narrow shoulders, her blanket falling to the ground. His strong hand grasped Arovis' upper arm and he guided her forward and back to his tent. He shoved her into the space and closed the flap behind him. No sooner had he lit the lantern by his cot then did he turn his dagger-like gaze upon her. 

"You," He pointed his finger at her face, "are lucky I am the one who found you."

Arovis' brows furrowed in confusion.

"If another man had found you this night," he spoke lowly in order to avoid attention, but his words dripped with venom, "You would be beaten senseless for your stupidity." He took a step closer to her, "If you try to escape, you will be caught, and they will beat you. I, on the other hand, will only bind you. Do not test me again, or I will let them flog you." He chided brutally. Only then did Arovis see the rope in his hand, which he bound around her wrists, the rest of the length he bound to his own wrist. 

"Now sleep," He ordered, then waited for her to return to the sheepskin cot on the ground. Arovis dropped her gaze and did as she was told despite everything within her daring her to fight back. It was unwise to fight at this point, she was powerless to overcome him. 

Once she laid down the man returned to his bedroll, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared up at their canvas sky until dawn. Sleep did not come for a long time.