The Lost Princess

Chapter 8

Charlotte was shocked. She never would have dreamed that she would find them here. How were they captured? The prince has an entire army behind him. It’s not possible.

The sick grin on Rider’s face never left as he looked her up and down. It made Charlotte shiver with discomfort. He wasn’t the only one looking at her though, Sam had finally lifted his head up enough to see her.

“Charlie–”

“Quiet,” shouted Rider, “or I’ll beat you and the lovely Prince here until neither of you can speak a word ever again!”

Sam lowered his head again and Charlotte couldn’t help, but let a tear escape. Sam had always been so nice to her. On the first night they were taken he had stayed beside her making sure she was safe. He had failed, but at least he tried.

“So, Ken, what’s the verdict,” asked Rider. Kendall didn’t speak for a minute, then said, “She told the truth as far as I could tell. Said she was with the prince, but that he was going to take her brother, so she went in his place. Said the prince was trying to build up a new army  using those kids we saw in his company a few days ago.” Charlotte nodded along. This had been her story for over a month now and she was starting to believe herself.

Rider stared at Kendall for a while longer. Kendall just held his stare and kept a calm collected look on his face. It was clear that there was no trust among these men. What Kendall had said was true for all of them. They were just people with a common goal, nothing more.

Rider finally looked away from Kendall and walked back over to a chair in the corner of the tent and started talking to a small group of men in the same area. Kendall grabbed Charlotte by the arm and pulled her out of the tent.

He sighed once, like always, then turned to look at her. “ If you want food you go to that tent. If you need at certain supply, you go to the one over there. If you need to use the bathroom, find a spot as far out in the woods as you can find and just go. Now, I have to go talk to a man about a water issue. Don’t wonder off to far. I wouldn’t trust these men as far as I could throw them.”

With that he turned and walked away. Charlotte didn’t know what to do. She took a look around and saw that must of the men were either drunk and laughing at each other or sober and staring at her. 

Charlotte tried as best she could to keep the attention off of herself, so she walked over to the tent Kendall had told her was for food. For the next hour or so, Charlotte wondered from tent to tent once for food, which they wouldn’t give her, once for water, which they wouldn’t give her, and once for clothes, which they couldn’t give her because she was they only girl in this little community. It’s not like they would give any to me anyway, thought Charlotte.

After she was done looking in a few more tents, she had a seat by a fire that didn’t have many people around it and just stared at the flames. The Prince and Sam had been captured by this little clan. The prince deserved everything he got, but Sam hadn’t done anything to hurt anyone. Charlotte still didn’t understand how they got caught. The look on Sam’s face once he recognized her was to much to bare. He was in so much pain and, even though they tied her to a tree for an entire day with no food or water, at least they hadn’t beaten her. The cuts and bruises that she had seen and the way his head drooped like he just couldn’t hold it up anymore. 

A tear ran down Charlotte’s cheek. “There you are. I’ve been looking for you,” said Kendall as he sat down beside her and handed her a bowl of the same grey paste that he had fed her this morning. “I brought you some food,” he said and after a long pause, “So, Rider still doesn’t trust you. Said there was something in your eyes when you told him who you were that just wasn’t right, You ask me, I say he’s crazy. If he had taken me from my home, from my family, I’d probably want him dead. So I just don’t understand why he thinks you must be hiding something to protect that bastard. Doesn’t make sense.”