The Pirate Princess

Kidnapped

I was startled awake in the middle of the night by a hand covering my mouth to stifle my screams. I bit the hand which retracted, the owner letting out a grunt of pain. With my mouth free of the strong hand I screamed," Guards, come quick!" before the hand returned with a cloth dampened by a sleeping medicine to knock me out. As I drifted in and out of unconsciousness I heard the stifled sounds of the guards footsteps outside my door. I felt the man who had covered my mouth, toss me over his shoulder and move swiftly to the balcony. He secured me to him with a rope, then threw his leg over the railing. Securing his foot in the lattice of roses, he swung his other leg over and scurried down, with a swiftness you wouldn't think possible for a man of his build. We dropped down on the ground with a loud thud. He got to his feet and undid the rope tying me to him. Hoisting me back over his should, he started to run keeping one hand on my back to keep me for falling off. I wondered how we were gonna get out for there was a wall separating the castle from the surrounding areas.

To my surprise he ducked behind a thicket of trees where a midnight black stallion waited. There was a star on his forehead and his front hooves were solid white while his back were spotted white. The burly man tossed me onto the horse, while he slipped into a suit that matched those of the royal guards. When he finished dressing he put his foot into the stirrup and swung himself into the saddle. After he got situated he pulled me up in the saddle and made it look like I was riding with an escort.

He flicked the reins and the horse moved silently forward at a steady walk. We came to the front gate and he signaled for the guards to open it, but then it hit me. He can't get out unless I tell the head gate guard the password to safely exit, I thought triumph welling up inside me. I felt something sharp prick my back through my thin nightgown, and heard a low and ruff voice whisper in my ear.

"If you value the safety of your family, you will say the safe word. If you choose not to I have men ready to strike tomorrow and innocent blood will be on your hands." I felt the point of the knife go deeper, cutting through my skin causing warm blood to trickle down my back. I only nodded and said nothing as the guard come towards me.

I leaned down and whispered in the guards ear," The king is wearing crimson at dinner." The guard nodded his head and waved to the others to open the gates. I felt the pressure of the knife lessen as he flicked the reins and the horse cantered out into the open. Not too long after the gates were out if sight the sleeping medicine finally took full hold and I didn't fight it. I embraced the darkness and slipped into a dreamless restless sleep.

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I woke to the sound of birds chirping and the clip clop of a horses hooves digging into fresh dirt. I lifted my head to see the sun rising in the west, the sky filled with golden yellow and soft orange spotted with shades of red and pink. The gentle rocking of the horse was soothing, almost calming in fact. I felt someone sitting behind me and everything came rushing back to my memory. I wanted to cry, to scream and hit my abductor for taking me away from my family, but I knew that brute strength wouldn't work for he was twice my size and could probably kill me with one swing of his arm. 'Guess I'm gonna have to rely on my wit for this one,' I thought to myself.

About an hour went by then two then three. I hadn't come up with anything that wouldn't end with me dead. The problem was I didn't know where we were or even if we were still in Solaris. I had no way of contacting my father even if I did escape. My best bet at survival was to stay with the unknown kidnaper and hope we reached civilization before he did anything to me.

We went the whole day without resting. I had tried many times to get information about our destination, but the man stayed silent. At sunset he bound my hands and feet with a rope, it's width about two inches thick. He then proceeded to tie the other end of the rope around a tree. He gave me a piece of bread and a small cup of water. I ate and drank it quickly, thankful to have something in my stomach. I fell asleep and dreamed of home. My soft, comfortable bed. My wonderful friends and my dear father. But mostly I dreamed about Stephan. His dark dirty blonde hair, his sparkling eyes, his cocky yet humble smile. I missed him so much but he wasn't here to help. I was on my own.

It took us three days to get to our destination. A small town on the coast called Anchorton. I waited to make my move. He checked us into an inn called The Jolly Rodger. He checked out two rooms right next to each other and basically dragged me upstairs by my arm. He shoved me into my room. I heard a soft clicking noise and tried the doorknob. It was locked. I looked around the room. There was a canopy bed with sky blue curtains and elegantly carved beams holding them. There was a small wooden desk in the corner of the room beside the bed. On top of the desk was a gas lamp, some paper, and nothing else. I looked to the outside wall there was a small window, just big enough to let in light and fresh air, but not a person. I sighed and walked to the desk and sat down in the plush chair. I opened the first drawer and found some quill pens and envelopes. Then a thought struck me. I could write a letter to my father, tell him where I am and he could send someone to help. Quickly I wrote down my location on a piece of paper and franticaly searched for an envelpoe. Finding one in the bottem drawer, I neatly folded the letter wrote my signiture on the outside, and put it in the envelope. I wrote my fathers name on the outside. Now here came the hard part how was I going to get this to my father.

I ran to the window and whistled to the birds to help me think. When a bird landed on the sill I noticed it was a carrier pigeon. I put a gold coin in the pouch for the owner, wrote the recipient and destination of the letter, pinned it to the pouch and tucked my letter into the pouch. Then I sent him off praying it took my letter and delivered it safely to my father.