A Threatened Treaty

Chapter Seventeen

Evangeline sat on the ground, her hands tied tightly to the pole, beside the guard who tried to help her escape. She stared blankly at the ground, losing herself in her thoughts until she heard footsteps.

She glanced up, but saw nothing and went back to staring at the ground in silence. The next second, she was staring at a plate of food and a waterskin.

For the first time in hours, she looked up at the face of the person who held them.

It was another one of Anastasio's guards. He gave her a reassuring smile and offers again. Evangeline looks at her hands, tied to the pole, then looked back at the guard.

He took some dried meat, tore it into little pieces, and fed her. He put the waterskin up to her mouth and let her take several gulps to wash it down.

After that was done, he leaned close to whisper in her ear. "I could release you, and you could run to the horses and escape that way," he told her.

She shook her head. "Thank you, but I've already tried that, and look where it got me," she replied.

The man sighed, took the food and water, and left her tied to the pole.

Evangeline sighed, lay her head against the pole, closed her eyes, and attempted to get as much sleep as she could.
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Evangeline woke to more footsteps and her side being kicked. "Wake up, bitch!" said a familiar voice.

She opened her eyes to find Anastasio looming over her. He grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head toward him. "You were conspiring again, last night, weren't you?"

Evangeline shook her head, and he rammed her head against the pole. "Lies!" he cried.

"Would I still be here if I was?" she asked.

Anastasio paused and let her go. He grabbed her face and pulled it toward him. "You are a lucky little bitch, you know that?" he said.

He let her go and went to walk away. "Also," he said, turning around. "I hope you've thought of my original offer."

"Well, I'm beaten and bloody. My beauty is lost from your punishments," Evangeline replied.

Anastasio stopped and whirled on her. He stared at her for a moment, then cursed and walked away.

She hung her head once more, her thoughts taken over from the look of the sand and dirt mixed together. She refused to trust anyone else but herself, and even then she only tolerated the most innocent of thoughts, knowing that if she thought of anything else, it would betray her and get her beaten, or worse, killed.

She closed her eyes and let her thoughts wander on the sand until she fell asleep once more.

A/N: Sorry this part is so late, guys. I've been busy on my main WIP and I've been juggling worldbuilding for it, character development, new WIP ideas, as well as school. I had an outline for this, but I think this would go much faster if I just abandon it and write this freestyle.
Thank you so much for understanding and being patient with me.
-Nicole