The Lost Princess

Chapter 7

Charlotte did as he asked. Two more men came out from behind the trees. They all looked the same. Tall and muscular, and looked as if they had been out here for weeks.

Charlotte closed her eyes and asked again, why? If it wasn’t one thing it was another. She would never be able to escape.

“Who are you,” asked the same dirty man. Charlotte opened her eyes. “My name is Charlie,” she said. These men were probably robbers. Anything they could sell to make money, they would. Especially something as valuable as a lost princess. “Unusual name for a woman,” spoke the man with the knife, “Now tell me who your traveling with and what business your tending to.”

Charlotte wasn’t sure if she should tell the truth about who she was with or not. If they turned out to dislike the new King and his son, they would surely kill her, but if they’ve really been watching this whole time then this might be a test to see if she would tell the truth.

“I’m travel with the Prince of this realm and his company, but not of my own will,” Charlotte said. The man spit at the ground. “He is no prince of mine! Even I have more honor than the false king and his son. Anyone who could murder the innocent for power has no respect or honor to their people,” he said. Charlotte wanted to be relieved at the mans words, but even though she had told him that she was not willingly apart of the princes company, he still held the knife to her throat. 

Charlotte could feel the blade moving up and down her neck as she breathed in and out, but she tried as hard as she could to show no fear. She simply stared ahead, not speaking a word.

“Stand up, slowly,” said the man, “If you even think about getting away, I will slit your throat and watch as you bleed out.” She did as she was told. Charlotte hadn’t been this scared since the night that she had ran away from the castle. But even being kidnapped by a band of robbers in the middle of  the forest and having a knife held to your throat was nothing compared to that night. Charlotte kept her breathing even as she stood and faced her captures. The two men standing behind the one with the knife began to smile at her like she was their next meal, which was completely possible.

“So,” said the one on the right, “ She’s traveling with the new prince. Doesn’t that make her our enemy.” The man on the left pull rope out of the satchel that hung over his shoulder and tossed it to the man we the knife to Charlotte’s throat. He quickly tied her hands behind her back and then backed her up against a tree and made her sit again. Then he tied the rope around her neck and the tree trunk, so she could barely move.

“She’s our enemy until she can prove that she truly isn’t apart of his company and not just lying to save her head,” said the man who tied her up. He turned around to face the  other men and they both walked away into the forest until Charlotte couldn’t see them anymore.

She sat there for hours. Charlotte watched as the sun rose into the sky, and now here it was falling. The men hadn’t returned since they tied her up to the tree and she was starting to worry that they would never come back. That they would leave her her to rot. She had been lucky that no animals had come by or picked up her scent.

Charlotte watched as the sun went from high in the sky to almost nonexistent. And as the sun went down, Charlotte’s heart rate went up. Her breathing became short and loud as she tried to keep herself calm. She couldn’t keep the thoughts of being left here, tied to a tree, for the rest of her life out of her mind. She heard noises in the brush, but nothing ever came out. She began to panic when the sky fell black and still no one had shown up. Somehow, Charlotte drifted off to sleep with tears filling her eyes.

It wasn’t until the next morning when someone showed up. 

“Wake up,” shouted a voice and Charlotte felt someone violently shaking her shoulders. Her eyes immediately opened and relief flooded through her. Charlotte could smell the food before she saw it. The man that had shouted at her, a different man than the ones she had met the day before, was holding a bowl of something that looked like grey paste. But Charlotte didn’t complain when he held a spoon up to her mouth.