Kingdom Raiders

Chapter 3 - Asra

"LEAVE HER THERE, she can't get out," a gruff voice said.

"But the rope-"

I shifted in my chair, sniffling as I gained an awareness of my surroundings. I heard hushed voices in the room with me quiet as if on cue. I tried to bring my hand up to rub my eyes, but it was stuck.

"She's awake," the man huffed. "No time to wake up, missy. We want to hear about everything you know, and why you think we brought you in."

I shook my head, still grasping the one-sided conversation. Once my eyes had opened fully, and I still blinked back the blurry mess that was my sight, I was tied down to a chair against wood paneling, inside of a small shack. One man, with a strong build and his arms crossed over his chest, stood against the doorframe casually and glared at me. He was rocking back and forth on his heel, cause the old floorboards to creak.

He stopped his rocking and strolled over to the table by the left wall, running his fingers over the dusty books stacked up on the bookshelf above it. He sighed, retracting his hands and resting them on his hips.

"Let's try this again." He gestured to the other man in the room and then to me.

The other man, who had been standing by the fireplace had strode over and grabbed my wrist. A red mark appeared around his grip from the twisting of my arm.

"Ow!" I screamed.The rope was digging into my upper arms, and with them unable to help me, I shook my shoulders to free myself but his grip was too tight, and I was too weak.

The man by the table spoke nonchalantly, "Ah, so she does speak. Tell me, missy." He picked up a candle, examining it. The candle was placed back on the table, and he looked determinedly in my eyes. "Why were you outside last night?"

"What do you want from me?" I deflected the question - mostly because it had been picking at my conscience the whole time. Was this what it was like to be kidnapped?

He slammed the table, giving me a fright, and kicked a chair out of the way. "Enough! Answer the question!"

I debated answering his question. I didn't know this man, nor what his intentions were, but his companion had a tight grip around my wrist and I didn't intend on letting him cut off any more circulation.

"Okay! Okay." I closed my eyes, thinking. "If-if I tell you, will you tell him to let go of me?"

I wasn't really in any position to be bargaining, but surely the wouldn't have abducted me and put me in an isolated room for questioning for the fun of it. Did their boss work for The Guard or was this a private operation, I wondered.

The man shrugged, "Perhaps."

I licked my lips and I averted my eyes to the ground. "I was following my father."

He flicked some debris from his fingernail and crossed one leg over the other, leaning in to indicate his sudden interest. "And what was so interesting that you skipped curfew - illegally, might I add - to follow your father into the night and risk arrest for?"

He wasn't wrong, I didn't give much thought to the consequences of my actions; I was enthralled with the affairs of my father's business and ignored any rational thinking that may have just saved me from the situation I was in. The man holding my wrist didn't grab it tighter, but remained as firm as before.

The burning intensity of the subject was too strong to ignore. "Are you... part of The Guard?"

The man rolled his eyes, clearly irritated by the revolving door of questions. "I'll ask the questions here."