A Warrior's Heart

Chapter 0; Captured

Finally the first chapter! It's not too long, but it's a nice warmup for this book :)

Have a lovely Saturday! ❤

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Hurt.

His feet were hurt.

Running bare feet over broken branches and dirty leaves was finally starting to take a toll on him. He didn't know how long he could keep doing this, but he had to. Had to push through and had to keep running to get away from them. Them, the people who had brought him so much pain and took everything he ever loved away. And for what?

The boy tripped over the roots of a large tree, shrieking and falling face first in the dirt. He coughed and slowly leant up on his forearms, pushing himself up and wiping at his face. He scowled as he looked down at his hands, now also covered in dirt. He moved up and pushed himself up to his feet again.

He reached a hand up, pulling a branch out of his platinum blonde hair and throwing it to the ground as he resumed walking. He wasn't far away enough, wasn't out of sight yet and certainly wasn't safe yet. He had made a promise and he wasn't going to break it.

He felt awful. Totally and utterly disgusting. Dried up tears stuck to his cheeks like honey, lashes soaked and his lips were chapped from biting and wetting them so much. The attire he wore was dirty and wet, ripped at the bottom and he was cold, the air cutting into his skin like knifes.

Suddenly he heard a sound behind him, getting closer and closer and the boy felt his nerves kicking in. He started walking faster, his feet hurting but he had to, forcing them to get him away from the person behind him.

"You can run but you can't hide." A voice sounded from behind him. It was gruff and deep and it sent chills all the way through his spine. His own voice hurt but he still managed to yell back. "L-Leave me alone!" He knew it wasn't smart to yell and give his location away but he couldn't help it. He desperately wanted to get away from them and be left alone.

He just wanted this all the be over, wanted it to be a bad nightmare of some sort and that when he woke up it would all be gone.

The footsteps behind him got louder and heavier, the metal the man was clad in clanging with every step. His breathing became ragged and his knees felt weak but he kept on pushing through, knowing that if he stopped it would be over. He looked behind him, brows arched in worry and the sounds of armour got louder by the second.

Feeling his foot catch on something he fell forward, his heart racing and hands shaking. Why didn't he looked where he was going? Was he really that stupid to trip again?? He braced himself for the impact on the solid ground, but that never came. Instead he fell against a chest, big arms coming around him and trapping him, veiny hands grabbing his wrist in a tight grip.

He opened his eyes which he had shut when he felt gravity pulling him down, slowly looking up at the male holding him. The man looked down, a smirk tugging at his lips and hooded eyes dark.

"Got you."

With harsh tugs the man dragged him along, grip bruising and strides large. The boy felt tears well up in the corner of his eyes, threatening to spill. He hated this stupid game. Hated how these guys treated him like some kind of prize, taking to and about him like that's all he was. A stupid prize to show off their worth.

The man dragged him all the way to an open place in the forest, pulling him up a wooden platform on the side and tying him up with the restraints hanging there. He fetched something from a pocket of his attire and reached up to the boy's face. He not-so-carefully attached the thin peace of fabric in his hands to the golden clipping barely hanging in his blonde hair, letting it fall down his face right under his eyes like a mask.

"Now stay here like a good boy, yeah?" The man snickered. "There should be a winner soon."

And with that he turned around, jumping off the platform and making way for the tree line. The clanging sounds of his sword hanging at his waist and the armour he wore got softer and softer until it was completely silent. The only sound the boy could hear now was the wind softly rustling up the leaves of the trees and bushes surround him him, accompanied by the occasional metal sound coming from his big handcuffs.

He knew the only way he could be freed and live the life he was supposed to have. It had been told at least a thousand times and he couldn't get it out of his head. It was just a myth and it hadn't actually happened before, but he couldn't stop hoping that it would be different this time, that the so called Black Knight would come and save him.

No one had really seen him before but legends told he was a big guy, tall and lean build. His dark eyes promised you things you were always scared to ask for and his voice would whisper to you after he was done speaking. His hair was all shades of brown and he had striking looks, it was said some even fainted after catching sight of the man.

But the boy had to see that for himself first. For now he couldn't run or do anything about his current situation. He just had to stand there and wait. Wait for someone to fight his way through and get to him first, then being taken to god knows where and forced to do things he didn't want to think of now. He exhaled deeply and smacked his lips, blinking twice.

This would be a long day.

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Soo, what do we think so far? :)