Strength and Weakness

Effect

"Can I get you anything, Miss?" Emilia asked from Jess's doorway.
"No," Jess said from under her blankets.
Emilia nodded and closed the door behind her as she left Jess alone in the dark bedroom. Jess quickly shoved her blankets away and went to the wardrobe where she pulled out her dark cloak and wrapped it around the dirt-covered dress she had worn during her time in the tower. She opened the doors slightly and peered out into the hallway. The only person she saw was Emilia as she turned and headed down the staircase. Jess slipped through the door, thankful that it didn't fully open for once, and silently pressed it shut behind her. She gathered her skirts and followed Emilia, careful to keep a safe distance.
She stayed close to the walls and waited to turn corners until first glancing around them until she reached the first floor, the floor Jess had been forbidden from. She pulled her hood up to conceal her features and followed Emilia behind the staircase and to a set of doors that led to a storage room. Dozens of servants, all lined up to leave, filled the room. None were close enough to see Jess slip behind a row of stacked crates, though.
She hid there until the last of the servants left the room. She hurried to the door, catching it just before it shut and watching as the servants headed for a small gate hidden by vines directly across from the door. One of the servants was holding it open for the others. Jess hurried to catch up and pulled her cloak hood further forward to make sure he didn't see her face. She followed the parade of servants heading to the town and its inhabitants, who she knew would happily sell them anything at any time for the right price.
Once they were deep enough in the woods, she darted around a tree, pressing her back to it as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. She had made it through the hardest part of her plan. Now she just needed to walk one hundred and fifty paces in the right direction. Her only threat was the dark and even that seemed to be aiding and abetting her in her escape. Her heart leapt, though - for the first time in months - not in fear. Her excitement overtook her and she began to run towards her home, not bothering to consider any hazard in the night-stricken woods.
    Jess's toe caught on a root and she fell to the ground. The impact sent her rolling down the slope of a hill. When the world stopped spinning and Jess's vision cleared, she saw at least ten figures standing over her. She thought they were trees for a moment, but in the dim light they took on the shape of men. Jess quickly sat up.
    "I only wanted to see my siblings. I would have come back," she said, assuming they were from the castle.
    "Whoe'er you were runnin' to ain't our concern girly," a low, gravely voice said, sending a chill down her spine.
    Jess would have preferred the castle staff. She stood up, kicking the nearest man as hard as she could. He keeled over, giving her enough time to start running. She didn't waste a second. Avoiding the trees slowed her down though, and the men, who were much more familiar with the land, gained on her quickly.
    One grabbed her wrist and yanked her back. She screamed as she felt him wrap his arms around her waist and upper chest, deliberately grabbing a hold of her higher than he should. She flailed, trying to make him release her, but it didn't work.
    "Hello lovely," he whispered in her ear.
    "Well well well," said another, the first that had spoken. "What have we got ourselves here?"
    "Take a look," the one that was holding her said, shoving her towards the other.
    Before Jess could even regain her balance, the first was digging his fingers into her shoulders. She tried to shrug him off, but he only turned and shoved her against a nearby tree, pinning her to it and standing so close that Jess had no hope of escape. With one of his hands, he gripped her chin and turned her face towards the light of a torch that one if the others was holding. Jess tried to pull away and refused to look at him when he did let go of her face.
    "Not half bad," he said as though examining a painting.
    Jess glared directly at the man and kneed him where a man was most sensitive. She made a run for it, but was caught by a third. This man held her by the throat and waist, pinning her arms to her sides. He was stronger than the others, so much so that Jess could hardly move at all.
    "Let me go!" She screamed.
    "Now where's the fun in that?" The second man said.
    "What do we do with her, boss?" Asked the one holding onto her.
    The boss, who appeared to be the first man, grinned maliciously.
    "Not much room left at camp,
But I'm sure she would fetch a pretty penny. Until then, do what you want," he said. "I have business to handle."
    "I was hoping you would say that," sneered the third man.
    Jess's eyes grew wide with fear. The boss left, along with a few of the other men. The man holding onto Jess loosened his grip, but only so he could turn her to face him and pin her to a tree. Jess screamed again, hoping the servants from the castle would somehow hear her. It didn't seem like they were close enough though. The man staggered back, pained by her pitch, but slapped her across the face. Jess fell to the ground, her shout cut short. Within seconds, the man was on top of her. She tried to fight him off, but he was too big. He pinned her legs to the ground and grabbed her wrists to keep her from widely hitting and clawing at him. Jess twisted, trying to shove him off of her. She screamed again, but this time it only made the man grin.
    Before Jess could process what was going on, she was free. She blinked a few times before she was able to see that something had pulled the man off her and tossed him into a tree so violently the the trunk snapped. She tried to stand, but one of the other men grabbed her and pulled her up to her feet. Jess tried to pull free but stopped as soon as she felt the barrel of a pistol press against her temple.
    "Show yourself!" He commanded the night.
    Nothing happened for a moment, then one of the men behind Jess was pulled away into the darkness. She gasped despite herself. She was pulled around by the man with the gun, now facing the remaining four men. They looked as scared as she did, waiting for whatever was attacking to strike again.
Serves them right, Jess thought. I hope it kills them all.
    One of the men fell to his knees, holding his hands out. Water started spilling out of his mouth. He started chocking on it and jerking around, but something held him in his position until he fell over, his eyes open and empty.
    "Let's get out of here!" One shouted.
    Before he even made it five steps, something yanked him up towards the sky. The man that wasn't holding her pointed a shaking finger at her.
    "Witch," he said, lacking in breath. Then louder, "Shoot her! Put a stop to this before she kills us too!"
    The other man let go of Jess, but kept the gun trained on her as she spun around to face him. The other man came to stand behind him, cowering like a lost dog. The other cocked the gun. Jess looked around frantically, hoping for an escape or shield. Maybe a part of her even hoped he would drop dead before he could shoot her.
    "I would not do that if I were you," a familiar voice said from behind Jess.
    She turned to see Alec stepping out of the forest and into sight. There was something about him that she couldn't quite place, but she could tell his emotions easily enough. Anger, distaste, and a glare specifically directed at her for wasting his time in this way. The pure hatred in his eyes scared Jess more than the gun.
    "And why would that be?" Asked the man holding the gun.
    "Because I do a not like men who threaten innocent women, however idiotic they may be," Alec said.
    He snapped his fingers, producing a small, green spark. Simultaneously, the cowering man's neck snapped and he dropped to the ground in a heap.
    "Demon!" The last man shouted in terror.
    Alec started to say something, moving his hands like he was gathering an armful of air and pushing it away. Before he could finish, though, the man fired the gun. He ran before Alec could start his spell over. Jess screamed, but didn't feel pain. After a moment, she realized that she hadn't been the one who was hit. She spun around to see Alec stagger back into a tree, clutching it for support.
    "You were hit!" She said.
    "Yes, I've noticed," Alec said through gritted teeth.
    Jess hurried over to look at the wound. Blood was soaking through his shirt. It would be a miracle if it hadn't hit any organs, and it didn't look like there was an exit wound. Jess tried to think of a way to help, but she could only think one thought.
    "You saved me," she said, meeting his eyes and really looking into them for the first time.
    "I told you, I have no intentions of seeing you harmed," he said. "Now, if you please, we must return to my castle."
"Can't you heal yourself?" Jess said. "Since you are one of the sorcerers."
"I am not one of anything," Alec said. "And I cannot use that sort of magic on myself. Healing my own wounds requires more than a memorized spell."
Jess nodded, helping Alec get his arm around her shoulders. She looked up at the sky. It felt like hours of night had passed, but she doubted it had really been so long and, without the moon, she couldn't be sure. They trudged through the woods at a moderate pace, though, Jess carrying most of Alec's weight. It was a wonder it only slowed her down so much.
"Why did you wait so long to help?" Jess asked. "I was terrified."
"Despite what you may think, I do not know everything. I only left the castle when Hellen realized you were missing, and then I followed the screams," he said. "I swear, if they had hurt you, I would have torn them limb from limb."
"Why? I've been nothing but trouble to you."
"There's something about you. I don't know quite what it is," he admitted, obviously in a state of drowsiness from the pain of his wound. "It could be that you are kind or your curiosity and persistence or that you are exactly the type of person I should avoid, but it intrigues me. It makes me want to protect you."
Alec collapsed, nearly dragging Jess to the ground with him. She struggled to get him back up. He was barely any help the rest of the way to the castle and Jess knew that she had to hurry if she wanted to get back before the first light of dawn at her current speed. As soon as Jess got them back to the castle, she took him to the nearest room with a comfortable place to lay, a drawing room on the fourth floor.
It was dressed in shades of gold and white with a sofa, fireplace, and two large, soft chairs. There was a corner with a bookshelf and a few tables for chatting with one's acquaintances, too. Jess laid Alec on the sofa, adjusting the pillows under his head. Once he looked like he would be comfortable enough, Jess shyly lifted his shirt away from the wound. She could tell now that the bullet had gone straight through. She looked around the room for a needle and thread, knowing that there was nothing else anyone but Alec could do if the bullet had hit an organ. He was breathing steadily though, and there was no blood in his breath. He wasn't even coughing.
Finding the needle and thread, Jess returned to kneel beside the sofa. She turned him over to stitch the exit wound first, glad that it didn't seem to stir him to consciousness. She then sowed the entrance would and moved across the room to take off the outer layers of her dress, unable to comfortably move in them. She tore a bit of cloth from her underdress away and ran down to the kitchens, soaking it in the cold water before returning. It didn't seem like anyone was back from their excursion yet, so Jess was saved the unpleasantries of an explanation.
When she got back to the drawing room, Alec was half awake. He was groaning unintelligible sentences. Jess ignored it for the most part and patted the wet cloth against his wounds, drawing away the dirt and blood. She tore off more of her underdress and wrapped it around Alec several times.
    "Jess," Alec moaned.
    "I'm here," she said, attempting to sound soothing.
    "I wish you had escaped."
    Jess almost fell back i shock. Of all the things she had expected him to say, that was no where in her thoughts. She thought he would he angry, perhaps even angry enough to lock her up again. Alec fell back into unconsciousness, leaving Jess to contemplate his meaning. Maybe he was tired and hadn't meant it, or maybe he was confused and thinking that she hadn't escaped the bandits.
    Exhausted from the night, Jess kindled the fire in the fireplace and laid down in front of it. She wasn't in the mood to be alone and prefered to be with Alec incase anything else happened. She owed him that much since he wouldn't have been shot if she hadn't run away. She closed her eyes, relaxed by the warmth of the flames and let herself drift into sleep.