The Masquerade Ball (A tale of Eswor Book 1)

Rescue

They bound my hands with chains and Isaac had a hold of mine and Derricks chains. Derrick was in front of me. We had at least two men next to us making sure we didn't talk to each other. At least I was riding Strider.

My ribs still hurt a lot as I hadn't been able to get medical attention. I kept coughing up blood every now and then. I had "accidentally" spat in an assassins face, getting blood in his eye. That earned me another punch in the ribs. These guys obviously knew how to treat a woman.

My mind swirled. Plan after plan kept coming and going. I needed to calm down. I kept my eyes down instead of darting everywhere so I wouldn't give myself away. Before we did anything we would have to get the key to the chains from Isaac, and that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. He's smart, I'll give him that. If he used rope we would've been out of here already.

The chains were rubbing against my skin and it wasn't very comfortable. I shifted in my saddle making the chains rattle and Isaac glared at me. I spat out more blood and glared at him back. I wiped my mouth with my sleeve which was now covered in my blood. The sun was starting to set, and even if I was with ruthless assassins, they still had to camp for the night.

"Hunter, go off the trail and find us a good spot to camp. We'll wait here." Isaac said, halting his horse. Strider halted and huffed. I stroked his neck.

"Me too bud." I murmured. Derrick was now next to me, and we had two men keeping their eyes on us. Derrick looked at me worry, in his eyes. I smiled to show him I was fine, but hiding the pain that comes with being beaten black and blue is hard. Since I had a couple of broken ribs, breathing, and coughing hurt. At least Derrick was untouched. Hunter cam back and lead us the way to the spot he chose. It was a small clearing, but it kept us hidden from the trail and people that might see us.

They started dismounting, but I had trouble as pain was literally shooting everywhere. I ended up falling out of the saddle, and onto the ground. I heard some of the assassins laugh. I tried standing up, but almost fell. If Derrick hadn't caught me, I would've lost even more of my dignity then possible. We were still chained, but our hands were separated from each other so it was easier to move.

"You're hurt." He whispered in my ear.

"I'm fine. This is nothing." I said, trying to be convincing.

"I don't get it. Why are they hurting you instead of me?" Derrick helped me lean against a tree. Right now no one was paying attention to us, and Isaac had dropped our chains. We could've escaped right now, but I knew that their was always someone watching us.

"Since Cynric's employer is more interested in me, and if he doesn't care that I'm hurt, then they are going to hurt me." I coughed up more blood. "You're the Crown Prince and they might want get a ransom for you."

Derrick sighed and sat down with me against the tree. Derrick looked me in the eyes and I returned his gaze. His hand reached up and stroked my bruised cheek. "I hate seeing you like this. You're my best friend and I'm sorry for being an idiot."

I shrugged. "It's what I get for protecting you. It's in the job description." They let Derrick and I stay next to each other. Since we were their prisoners we didn't get any food. It's not like I would be able to eat it anyway. Isaac had clamped my chain around his own arm, and had a different person take Derricks chain.

The sun had set completely and the only light was the fire that was a few feet away. It was getting chilly as fall was coming soon. I shivered slightly. Derrick put something warm over my shoulders and pulled me to his side.

"I still had my cloak on and never took it off. So we can share it."

"Thanks." I mumbled. Derricks body radiated warmth and I found myself curling into him. I rested my head against his chest and fell asleep to his heart beat.