When Heidi regained consciousness, she felt smooth, cold concrete pressed against her arm and cheek, and a chill brushing against her bare shoulders and thighs. Her ankles and wrists were sore, bound by rough, sack-like material.
Cautiously opening her eyes she saw, through her blurry vision, five or so men sat on wooden crates, drinks in hand, roughly cackling over some lewd joke one of them had made.
"Ey boys, looks like she's finally awake, you used the strong stuff didn't you?" declared a smooth, younger voice, seemingly coming from just above Heidi.
Heidi quickly shut her eyes and tried to steady her ragged breathing.
"Don't bother sweetheart, we've caught you already." He laughed in a condescending tone.
The man lifted her up into a sitting position, grabbing her by the shoulders.
Swallowing hard, she opened her eyes again, trying to make out the details of the distorted faces. The men jeer at her desperate squinting.
"For heaven's sake put it out of it's misery, get those hideous things back on her face." one of them snickered.
In embarassment, Heidi looked down, to see that she was in only her very modest underclothes, a silk singlet and cream briefs, otherwise known as, granny panties.
Turning redder by the second, she flailed her bound wrists into her lap.
Again, a round of cruel laughter met her ears, and an overwhelming feeling of regret, sorrow, and panic bubbled in the depths of her stomach, her lips trembling as tears formed in her eyes.
Two feet appeared in front of her and she looked up, met with a face mere inches from her own. At such close proximity she could make out the details, but her eyes were locked into the pools of golden hazel in front of her.
The man's breath was laced with alcohol, but it's cool warmth made Heidi want to take a deep breath. A rough hand gently wiped away a few treacherous tears that Heidi had involuntarily shed, and slid her gold, round, wire frame glasses on to her face.
She could finally make out the rest of his face. She held back a gasp as she realised it was the man from the diner.
His face lingered a second longer, while his eyes were set on her rosy lips. He shut her gaping mouth as a smirk crept on to his face.
Chuckling softly he straightened up and stepped away, giving Heidi a better look at the rest of her captors.
Some were young, some were old, but all of their faces looked fatigued and malicious. They also shared an intricate insignia on their jackets. It was beautiful, bulbs of monkshood wound into a burning circle, and just underneath the words "Sceloenopla conburet" which in Latin, translates to "Trestonia will burn". Heidi, alarmed at the message, was also surprised at the attention to detail put in to the symbol, monkshood, in the language of flowers, relayed a simple message to the recipient: Beware. She wondered how such brutes could create something to delicate and powerful.
"Yo," called a scruffy looking man around his forties, "Pretty face got a pretty name?"
Throat tight and eyes wide, it Heidi took a while to cough it out.
"Heh, Heidi eh?" mused the man, tasting the name on his tongue.
After a while one of them introduced themselves, and so did the others, in order of where they sat.
"Name's Guy." grunted an older, bearded man with messy salt and pepper hair, a mischievous glint adorning his eyes.
"Jaiden." nodded a middle-aged red head, trying hard not to show his amusement with Heidi's predicament.
"Luka." breathed a handsome blond with suntanned skin, with an accompanying wink.
"Walker." smiled a mousy haired, fragile looking boy, with chunky glasses sliding down his nose.
Heidi's eyes timidly drifted up towards the man with the hazel eyes.
"Silas." he said simply, as he stared at her a few moments too long, observing her dark silky hair draped over her smooth, milky shoulders, her dark eyes wide and fatigued.
Heidi quickly averted her eyes, but her senses finally kicked in, bringing panic with them.
She involuntarily retracted herself, hawking her captors.
"W-why, am I here?" she squeaked.
Guy snorted.
"So who's droppin' the bomb, boys?" he queried in his raspy voice.
The others snickered, while Silas pushed himself off the stack of crates he was leaning on.
He observed Heidi, before beginning: "We all understand that you are frightened by your current situation," he began, his voice echoing loud and clear through the empty, concrete room, "We are the Rebels of Trestonia, we're all aware that you've been brainwashed into thinking we're the bad guys here, but we're not the ones that stole your children. We've had enough of the bloodshed, and we've declared a peace treaty, and we've also selected you, as a peace offering, to the King."
Heidi froze. A lump caught in her throat as she processed what he had just told her.
"What do you mean "peace offering"?" she spat, "And "selected"? You kidnapped me off the street!" she screamed in a sudden burst of defiance.
"We're offering you as a prostitute, okay? A whore. You're pretty enough by their standards, they'll teach you the rest when you get there." he finished quietly, not meeting her eyes.
Heidi's whole body quaked in hysteria and resentment. Her anxiety took over and her breathing became heavy and short, tears flooding her vision.
"I need you to let me go!" she pleaded desperately through heavy sobs.
"And I need to pee, but I don't think either of us are going to have those needs fulfilled." he replied coldly.
Heidi gaped at the man's sudden cruelty, as did his squad mates.
Immediately regretting his actions he took a step toward Heidi, hand extended, but she immediately shrunk back against a wall.
Sighing he rubbed his forehead, "Look, it's for the greater good. Do you want this war to keep going another five years?"
Heidi lived in a town relatively undisturbed by the war, but she had heard so many stories of grief and misfortune from towns outside. She could be the one to end the suffering, but at what cost? Her dignity was worth something, but, not as much as those fighting for their lives and families. She also had a sense that she had no choice in the matter.
So, she brought her eyes up to Silas's, and pressed her lips together, not wanting to utter another word to any of these barbarians.
"Well then, we arrive tommorow."
