Loving the enemy

2. Camp

My life flashes before me as I'm looking death in the face. No matter if I look up or down. Tears and sweat are covering my face as I take on last breath before my fingers give in to gravity and the falling sensation makes my chest tighten. A tight pain emerges around my right arm and I rip my eyes open.

I'm roughly pulled up by the knight onto the top of the cliff. Never in my life have I appreciated the feeling of earth beneath my feet as much as now.My head is spinning as I'm roughly pulled away from the drop and onto the cliff. I start weeping uncontrollably as I lean into the knight with my back trying to cower away from the drop. I try to calm myself as I start to wrap my head around my near death experience.

The knight had saved my life but my thankfulness was quickly destroyed as my arms were roughly put behind my back and held together. I'd almost lost my life and the nausea and dizziness became stronger as that thought repeated over and over in my head. I gasped for air and tried pulling at my arms. Air!

"I can't breathe," I heave between my excessive inhalations. The man loosens his grip on my wrists lightly while I try to calm myself. "I'm okay. I'm fine. I didn't die. It's okay." I repeat to myself in my head until my breathing slowly becomes even again.

A few short lived minutes pass and my panic attack subsided slowly. I was still trembling when the knight started tying up my wrists.

"Were you alone?" The man asks me sternly as he finishes the knots making my wrists ache.

"What?" I pant, hiding my face in my bended legs.

"Were you alone, when you came to the camp?"

"No." I lie. If he thinks that someone will come looking for me maybe he'll have me show him where my village is. On the way there I could escape and warm everyone.

He grabs my shoulder and yanks me hard, turning me to look at him. He's lifted his sheath and I see his emerald eyes look at me threateningly.

"Listen here, I'm not in the mood for games. Your either from Loris or Caper. And if you think that lying to me is a good idea I'll just have to have my soldiers burn them both to the ground." He threatens. The only villages close to here were the ones he named and my home was in Caper.

I lower my gaze and nod. "I was alone." So much for my plan.

"Good. Is anyone going to come looking for you?"

Keeping my head low I look to the side. The answer is no. Of all the days, if I went missing tonight my family would probably think that I'd left the village forever, because I wouldn't want to marry the bakers boy. If I told him yes then he'd probably have to silence my village. No matter what I say it's wrong.

"Tsk." The man grabs my arm and pulls my into a stance painfully.

"Walk or I'll drag you," he commands and starts making his way up the slope while pulling me along.

My whole body is sore and keeping up with this bear of a man and his huge steps was difficult enough in itself but I must've twisted my ankle during my flight down the slope.

I didn't doubt that the mans threat to drag me was an empty threat, so I do my best to keep up.

"Where are we going?" I ask trying to keep my mind off of my ankle.

"Back to camp."

"Why are you bringing me? If you let me go, I swear-"

I slip off of a root and my ankle explodes in pain. I bite my tung trying not to scream as I tumble to the ground and land on my knees ripping my arm out of the mans grip.

"-that you won't tell anyone?" The man looks down at me unamused.

I can't run my fingers over my ankle to try to ease the pain, thanks to the ties. "Yes..," I hiss.

"Not a chance. Now get up." He reaches down and pulls me up again. Starting to feel like a damn déjà vu.

"Argh." Is all I can say as he pulls me along. "Slow down!" I beg and to my surprise he does slow down a little.

I cuss having to limp back the way I was trying to run away from. It's almost completely dark as we make our way through the forest.

I take notice that the mans grip has loosened a bit due to his concentration towards the ground. There's no way I want to go back to that camp. Fear clutches me as I start to make out a light in the distance.

I try to rip my arm loose but the man puts so much pressure onto his grip that I whimper.

I shake my shoulders and dig my heals into the ground. I really really don't want to go there. This man might have saved me but god knows what happens to women which are taken captive. Words like rape, torture and humiliation are surging in my head making me panic.

"Hey!" The man yanks my arm hard making me stumble, before pulling me backwards against a tree forcefully, making my back ache horribly. I grunt in pain.

"What do you think you're doing?! You think you have a say in this? Because you don't! And you're coming with me even if I'm going to have to drag you by the hair!" He threatens as he leans dangerously close.

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*Mans POV*

I could see the fear in the girls eyes, but it didn't matter. Letting her go would be equivalent to signing our own death sentence. She'd have warned the enemy of our whereabouts and everything would have been for nothing.

Having brought soldiers into this secret location has been a big mission for all of us. I pull the girl along as she shakes under my grasp. Soon the gate to the hideout are being opened and I'm greeted by one of my men.

"Lord Asher, welcome back," my advisor Jonathan says as his eyes wonder to the girl whose head was hanging low.

"A spy?"

"I caught her wondering about the outer wall, while checking the security of it all." I explain.

"Why is she still alive?" Jonathan asks coldly and I could feel how that took the girls breath away for a second.