Love Of War

Chapter 4

I woke up to the rhythmic steps of horseshoes padding across the earth. I could feel my body moving up and down along with the rhythm.
I was on a horse.
My eyes opened to my face almost against the side of the horse. I tried to look up, but it was difficult when lying like a sack on a moving horse. I tried to wriggle into a better position, but my hands were tied together. So were my feet.
"Ah, the lady has awaken," a familiar grating voice announced. "If you can call her that, of course."
There was some laughter from the other men and I felt the horses stop. I was shortly pulled off the one I was residing on and found myself standing in front of Prince Merek and his company, some of them still on their horses.
"Now that you are awake, I trust that you will be able to ride without falling off when we wish to travel faster that a trot," he said, sneering at me. "You have gone to such trouble to secure a horse for yourself."
"Aren't you going to have to untie me then?" I asked, trying to stand with as much dignity as the bonds would provide.
"What for?" the prince said. "Do you not ride as a woman should?"
"And do you not die as a coward should?"
The company snickered as Prince Merek glared at me.
"Watch how you address me," he said. "Remember that you are the prisoner here. I could tie you to the back of my horse and make you hop along behind us."
I didn't reply. We glared at each other in silence.
"Untie her legs," the prince finally spoke, addressing one of his men. "But leave her hands tied." He looked at me again. "Do not think that we will be unable to capture you if you attempt to escape."
One of the men quickly bent down and loosened the rope from around my boots and walked back to his horse. I mounted my horse with great difficulty, refusing to accept any help from the Anderlians. When I was finally up, I swung my legs down the sides into the stirrups and grappled at the reigns as best I could with my bonds.
The ropes made maneuvering quite difficult, so I didn't know how I would manage to run away from the Anderlians when I could hardly steer.
The rest of the horses were positioned around me with the prince at the front. There was no escape in sight.
We travelled for days over bleak and barren roads, getting closer and closer to the land the still belonged to the Anderlians. The food was slowly diminishing and the water even faster. Some of the men suggested getting rid of me to spare resources, but the prince dismissed the idea.
Days passed slowly. I tried to remain sharp to find any route of escape, but there were none in sight.
"My prince," one of the men said one day when we had stopped to rest. "Our water supply is almost completely depleted. We will die before we reach Anderlian territory."
I sat watching as Prince Merek contemplated this.
"Is there any way to save on water?" he asked.
"No," the Anderlian said, shaking his head. "There isn't much more that we can do. But I must ask..." He hesitated as the prince looked directly at him. "We can still get rid of our prisoner. She is nothing but a drain who might doom all of us."
Prince Merek seemed to be considering the suggestion, looking at me and his company thoughtfully. My mind raced. There was an option that I had been hoping I wouldn't have to resort to, but the circumstance seemed dire for me.
"Of course, you could do that," I said, standing up, keeping my voice level. "But you don't know if leaving me here will even solve your crisis. On the other hand, I might know of a lake with fresh water not far away. All of you don't seem to know of this place otherwise you would have tried it long ago."
The company looked amongst themselves, but it was clear that no one knew the place that I spoke of.
I smiled. I had found a lifeline and I was going to hold on to it.
"I could take you there," I said.
"And what would this cost us?" the prince asked, looking suspicious.
"Only a slight deviation from our current course."
He eyed me as I continued to smile innocently.
"Get back to your mounts," the prince said to his company. "We must leave as soon as possible."
"But-" the one Anderlian started.
"I have commanded you, have I not?" Prince Merek snapped. "Besides, we don't have much of a choice, do we?"
I smiled as everyone trudged back to their horses. As everyone prepared to leave, I patted my horse's neck fondly. There might be a chance for me after all.