Power's Pride {Watty Awards 2013 Entry}

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Why the bloody hell had the little fool jumped into freezing cold water?" Her ship was so far from the beach that it had taken him a moment to figure out where she even planned to go. "Did she really believed she could swim that far?" As it happened, it seemed that she could…well…she almost could. The ship had started moving closer to them as soon as the Witch reached the shore but the distance she had covered despite her exhaustion and heavy clothing was impressive. He was still going to kill her, of course, but it was impressive.

The Hound scoffed quietly to himself at the notion of keeping such a strong Witch in a prison guarded only by half-wits. He could just imagine what had happened. After the little rat that had been sneaking the other Witches had finally been caught, the High Hunter must have taken one look at her young and beautiful face and decided she was an “excellent candidate for rehabilitation.” Then the High Hunter had ordered that she be escorted to his private estate in the southern province of Sarula to await “tutelage.” Not that any Witch had yet been successfully “rehabilitated”; it was just a palatable lie the High Hunter fed the king and the public so he could be praised as a hero as he raped and beat his chosen victims in a place where they could never escape and never be rescued – a place that had no hope.

Taysonius had been halfway to Haneek in the east when he received the description of the intended newest addition to the High Hunter’s collection. Red hair was rare enough among the Witchkin that he had known with complete certainty that the captured woman was a Witch named Rebecca Lyons. She was the only Level Five female Witch of her generation, and she had a strong bond to fire magic. If she learned what occurred at the High Hunter’s Estate in Sarula, she might very well melt the entire place down; and that outcome could have sparked an all-out war that King Rufus was woefully ill-prepared to fight. So, The Hound had immediately taken up the chase to catch the Hunter ship transporting her. If the weather had not assaulted the transport at every turn, he might have been too late.

"Now look at me - in ice cold water swimming towards a fucking Witch-ship because the shore was is too far away with an unconscious Witch in my arms. And what type of material is that wretched dress made of, anyway? It's like she's made of stone!" He would have torn the offending garment off her body if he hadn’t been certain that whatever crew was on her ship would kill him on sight if he handed her to them bare-assed naked. They might kill him on sight, anyway, truth be told. The Hound growled to himself, “I should just let her go and let her die. Everything is easier when they just die.”

He was almost relieved when the ship was finally close enough to board. “Rope. Toss down rope!” he barked up to the unseen crew and was shortly rewarded with enough to bind the Witch onto a make-shift sling. As she was hauled up to safety, he climbed a ladder to his uncertain future.

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Warmth and peace, combined with just a whiff of lavender, filled all her senses and made her feel as if all the horrors of the world could never touch her again. “Mmm, I never suspected dying would be so relaxing.” But as she settled herself more comfortably to enjoy the endless oblivion of death, a door swung open and an all-to-familiar voice purred at her. “Fina’ly ‘wak, Mum?” Reba’s eyes popped open in astonishment to find herself in the bed of her personal ship with the green, feline eyes of her Companion smiling at her.

“Sam? But…how? The Hound caught me…or…maybe I drowned…Did I not?”

“T’ain’t quite right, Mum. T’Ound caugtcha, ya, but he broughtcha upta tha ship, right nice like. Now he’s in tha brig.” Sam placed a steaming bowl of broth on a table beside Reba’s head and coaxed her to try to eat.

She pushed the spoon away stubbornly, “Hunter Taysonius is on the ship?!” A grown passed her lips and she covered her eyes as a sudden headache danced at the edges of her mind. “Please tell me we are NOT sailing towards Jarahl…”

Sam sniffed indifferently and shrugged. “Ya ain’t strong and needs ta be home, Mum. Not even T’Ound could cause us trouble on such a fine Witch-Ship as t’is one. Now, eatchur broth.”

For a moment, she considered refusing the food again in favor of marching down to the brig and viewing their…guest herself, but she knew she needed to eat. There would be time enough to try to interrogate him after she regained a bit more of her strength, and it was unlikely that Sam had managed to overpower The Hound alone. But…perhaps she was mistaken and Sam was not alone.

“How many others accompanied you?” she asked, hoping to hear that The Hound had been surprised and overpowered, after all.

“T’ain’t no o’ers, Mum. Is just you ‘n’ me. Tha Elders said a trip ta rescue ya woulda bin too dangerous to risk. Could start a war if done wrong. So they din’t let no one come with me to getcha. They tried ta stop even me, but tha Queen – Powers protect her – set tha nav spell on tha ship to come findcha. So, here I am!”

Reba balled her fists into the soft red comforter covering her bed as she tried to swallow the sense of betrayal that washed over her at Sam’s confirmation that the Elders did not wish to help her. They were correct, of course. Rescuing Witches from the Hunters was illegal and would cause an escalation in the tensions with King Rufus. She had known the Elders would not support her decision to take the risk to free her people from the Hunters’ dungeons, but she simply could not allow innocent Witches to be tortured and killed under false charges. Still, the knowledge that the Elders would not even try to help made her nauseous.

 A deep sigh escaped her chest as she contemplated the situation before her. “Samantha, bring me the Nav Stone so I may reset it to Palura. Once you have done so, return yourself to your feline form and rest for a while. You have already exhausted yourself by being human for too long – I can see you shaking.”

 As Sam bowed and stalked out of the cabin in obvious disapproval of the instructions, Reba forced herself to continue eating. “Now…what am I going to do with that stow away?”