Fay fire

Chapter 1

So there I was sitting quietly in "Brother Salts kitchen" as Father Carden referred to it. It was a dimly lit tent equipped with various weapons and torture devices. It was guarded heavily by red paladins and surrounded by a foul stench of blood, the blood of innocent fay, the blood of my very own brethren. In fact, the whole camp wreaked of it. I had sacrificed myself for nothing, hadn't I? I thought, but at least the fay had safe passage north I kept assuring myself. Anyway, I had to get out of there, I had to find Squirrel and then retrieve my sword from Morgana.

I was bound only by a thin cord. I could easily break free, but it was the six red brothers standing guard outside and the two at the entrance that worried me. I had no chance, not without my sword, but I had to try. They won't kill me yet, I assured myself. Not without possession of the sword first. I began working on the rope with the thin brass anklet I had kept on me for this very reason. It was engraved with mysterious symbols. My mother had given it to me when I was very young and told me it would ward off evil. It's all I have left of her so I might as well put it to good use. After a few minutes of cutting at the twine, I had finally broken free. I began making my way quietly to the back of the tent to select a weapon when I heard a deep voice behind me, "I'll handle the girl from here".

It had to be Brother Salt; Panic flushed through me, but I couldn't show weakness, not now, not here, not ever. Despite my fear and panic, I had to fight. This isn't about you Nimue, I told myself, and I reached for a hot branding iron. At this point, he was already standing behind me practically breathing down my neck. "What are you doing back here witch?" he spoke. This time he sounded slightly more threatening. Why he hadn't restrained me already, I don't know. All I knew was that I had to fight back, for Squirrel, for Gawain, and for my people.

I swung the heavy, melting-hot branding iron with all of my weight towards Brother Salt, only to miss by quite a long shot, he had taken the iron from my hands and restrained me before I could say "to pass in the twilight". He sat me down in a large wooden chair equipped with various restraints. That's when I finally got a good look at him, this "Brother Salt". He was a middle-aged man with a sort of short and scruffy beard. But his beard was not his most noticeable feature. It was the two scarred and sewn shut eyes that stood out more than anything. Why would someone sew shut their own eyes? I thought. Perhaps it was done to him against his will, probably as some sort of cruel punishment, I speculated. He was dressed in the signature long blood-red robes of the Red Paladins and had a cross burnt onto the back of his head just like the rest of Cardens minions.

 "So you're the famed Wolf Blood Witch," Salt began. Yes. Yes, I am, I replied with confidence. "Fools they were to fear you, but a demon you still are" he spoke in a calm manner as he turned the very branding iron he had taken from me on the coals of a red-hot furnace. "You know what we do with such demons don't you?" brother salt continued-"we cleanse them with fire". You're no Christian you know I interrupted angrily, none of you are. There's nothing Christian about murdering innocents, women, and children. I spoke, slightly raising my voice.

"I am acting only on God's will. We are sparing you witches and demons from a far worse fate by showing you the cleansing powers of God's flame," Salt replied. It was clear the brainwashing that went on within this sick cult. Everyone parroted the same words in an almost robotic fashion. After playing with it for a while, Salt had finally removed the white-hot branding iron from the furnace and began to seemingly admire it. He was clearly blind for his eyes were sewn shut, yet they still moved beneath his lids as if he were looking the iron up and down. "This, fay witch, is Micheal" Salt stated as he held up the still white-hot branding iron, now closer to my face. 

"you can only speak the truth to Michael, my dear," he said calmly. "So I'll ask you one simple question girl, where have you hidden the Sword of the First Kings?".

I'll take that secret to my grave. I said convincingly. " Well well, Michael shall see abt that won't he," he said, as he let out a devilish smirk. I squirmed as he brought the branding iron closer. I could already feel its heat from nearly a foot away, I let out a loud shriek as the hot metal made contact with my forearm. The pain was excruciating, like nothing I'd ever felt before, and the burning so intense it could almost be mistaken for an extreme unnatural cold.

After what felt like an eternity of excruciating pain he had finally released the hot iron from my skin. "Now, I'll ask you once again. Where is it?" he said in a threatening tone. I didn't answer. He then selected a small metal device and began to work it under one of my left fingernails. Blood began to drip from my hand, I tried to struggle away, but his grip was too strong and my wrists were bound anyway. "Where is the sword, fay witch," he said as my fingernail slowly and excruciatingly released from my hand. I couldn't give in, I had to think, despite the torture. I had to think clearly, I couldn't die here, I couldn't die here as Gawain did.

That's when anger took over. Gawain was gone. Gone. And the very man who had murdered him was standing before me, soon to take my life as he did Gawain's. I called to the hidden, I called for them to guide me, to guide me as they had many times before. I could feel the ground shaking beneath me and brother salt had suddenly released his grip on me. So had my restraints. They began to unbuckle on their own. I could hear the voices, the voices of the Hidden speaking to me. "Go" they spoke to me in comforting and encouraging whispers. I got up and made a swift run for it out of brother salts kitchen.

After escaping king Uther and the red paladins camp, retrieving my sword, and to my satisfaction, seeking revenge on Father Carden I had finally continued on my journey. This time joined by Morgana, and my sword.