A Threatened Treaty

Chapter Fourteen

Anastasio strutted out of his tent, stretching as he waltzed over to Evangeline, who was still tied to the two pole in the center of the camp. "You really thought you could get away, didn't you?" he asked.

Evangeline's heart sunk and ached as she knew she wouldn't get another chance like that ever again. 

Anastasio knelt in front of her. "You don't want to be my wife, either, do you?" he asked.

Evie stayed silent. She didn't have the heart to speak, when she knew her words wouldn't affect his decision.  

He lifted her chin so she could see him, and tears sprung from her eyes. "Now, now. Don't cry," he told her. "Relief will come soon, my dear." His grin was terrifying, eluding to something horrific happening to her in the near future. Anastasio let her head hang and stood, brushing himself off. He looked at her once more. "I'll take your silence as confirmations, so don't expect any more kindness from me," he added before walking away.

I didn't expect any kindness from you, anyway, Evie thought. She didn't say anything as he walked away, and instead sat there in silence, hoping that any minute her father would show up with the men necessary to rescue her and take care of Anastasio as well.

Day turned into night and not a single second visit from Anastasio. 

She felt hands moving the rope that tied her to the two poles, and looked to find a guard untying her bonds. "What are you doing?" she hissed. 

"Getting you out. You don't deserve this kind of treatment," he whispered back. 

Evangeline's eyes widened. "Anastasio's going to kill both of us."

"Not if he doesn't have proof," he replied. Both ropes were untied and he grabbed her shoulders. "Hide in my tent. You'll be safe there." 

"What if someone catches me?"

"They won't."

"What if you're wrong?"

"I'm not. Trust me."

He shoved Evangeline toward the line of tents. "Mine's the last one in the front line," he hissed.

Evie nodded and ran to his tent. Once inside, she looked around for a hiding spot and saw a possibility under his bed. She lifted the long covers and saw only boxes. She cursed but looked on the other side and found empty space for her to hide in. 

She laid herself down on the floor and rolled into the space, scooting just a little to fill the whole thing. She heard the tent flap open and held her breath. 

"Are you in here?" The guard called. 

Evie knew his voice by now, so she called back to him.

"Good. I don't want you getting caught."

The night was spent in silence, save for their breathing to try and sleep. 

#

Evangeline woke to the guard moving out of his bed at the sound of commotion outside. "Stay in here," he hissed. He went outside and saw people gathered around the two poles Evie used to be tied to. 

His stomach tied itself into knot as he tried to approach, and he saw Anastasio. 

"Who let her go?!" Anastasio cried. 

The guard caught the glimpse of a noose in his hands and his heart sank. She'll be hanged if I reveal her. And I'll be slaughtered like the rest of them, he thought. 

"Where is she?!" Anastasio called again. 

A few people murmured to each other and themselves, as no one had been watching her that night. 

Anastasio pushed through the crowd toward the guard. "Search the entire camp. I want her back alive," he ordered. 

The guard nodded and walked toward another group of guards, who were watching from a safe distance. "Search the camp. The girl's escaped, somehow and Anastasio wants her alive," he said. 

The rest of them dispersed and everyone looked at the camp, searching for the missing girl to calm their leader's rage. 

By evening, no one found her and Anastasio lost it. He pointed to the same guards that searched the camp. "Search the tents, even your own. I want. her .back!" He yelled.

The guards went ahead, searching every tent in the camp, and the one that released Evangeline went inside his and knelt beside the bed. "They're looking inside the tents. I can't help you if you get caught that way," he said.

Evangeline didn't say anything. She was already forming a plan to escape her current situation when the tent flaps opened again. 

"She's hiding in here, isn't she?" said a new voice.

"What will you do if I said she was?" Evie's savior replied.

"Anastasio must be stopped. That girl does not deserve what he gave her." 

"Do the others think this way?" 

"Yes. She's hiding in here, isn't she?"

"She is. She's under the bed."

"Good."

Evangeline heard two pairs of footsteps and the tent flaps once more. She figured she was safe, but she didn't dare move in fear of her being tricked.

She stayed under the bed until she dozed off and fell asleep.  

A/N: Sorry this took so long to update. I'm starting to lose interest in writing fan fictions. HOWEVER! I will be finishing this one. I will let you know now, there will not be a new addition to this series, regardless of the ending of A Threatened Treaty. I am sorry about that, but I have plans for the other books on my account. 

So, I'll finish this, but I don't think there will be any newer fanfics of anything in the future. I will update 50 Fiefs to 50 States after I'm done with this one, but I'm also working on rewriting Dragon Life, which is taking a lot longer than I'd originally thought. 

I am happy you enjoy my writing, and I enjoy your comments. I'm just busy with rewriting and editing a play I wrote a while ago (I might post it here).  

Trust me on this when I say, we've got a long way to go to get to the end of A Threatened Treaty. It might be a while before I update again, but I'll try to update as soon as I can. 

Sorry about this long Author's note, but I hope this counts as some sort of update. 

Thanks for reading!

- Nicole