3. The Chronicles of Pain: Life According to Jaelle

The Chronicles of Pain: Life According to Jaelle

  • R

    Journal Entry 607

    Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. ~Steve Jobs~

    I never expected my time to be so short, I knew I was going to die, but just wasn't expecting it so soon. So imagine my surprise when I found myself standing next to Cassius in the place where mortal souls wait to be judged or to be called back to life on the material plane. Yes I remember his name along with my stay there. I apparently have been given a gift to remember my time there and to remember the sacrifice I made in order to save someone else.

    His name is Brendel, the lad I sacrificed part of myself for, and he was standing there in the fugue with me. The poor lad seemed so lost, so confused. My heart went out to him and so I prayed to Ilmater to ease his suffering and return him to his proper form. Unfortunately for me, I didn't notice until my prayers were done that the lad had vanished. It was at that point that I saw her. Some winged creature with a heated gaze. She offered to cure Brendel of his affliction in exchange for my soul. I was torn. Even though I wanted to save the lad, I could not in good conscious give up my soul and the freedom to chose my own way. So the strange lass disappeared calling me foolish. Perhaps I am foolish, but at least I'll never bow to a strange power for the rest of my tortured existence. And that was what I was telling myself when someone else approached with a deafening roar and blinding light. She appeared shocked that I didn't the easy way as she called it. She even stated that it was rare for them to see someone like myself seek redemption. I explained to her my problems with guilt, and she only replied that it will be my burden to bare. Then she was gone. It wasn't long after that I felt a tug upon my soul and found myself staring into the dark caverns of Oscura.

  • R

    A Path Chosen

    _Pick a side, you made your mind up long ago
    The past is dead, but in your head it’s hard to let it go
    Excuses made no longer will define you (define you)
    Empty threats have hung you once again
    With open eyes you tranquilize your confidence
    Room is black no looking back, the cost of self expense
    Step away and look inside your sickness (sickness)
    And realize you’re all alone

    When the world that you created
    Makes you fall face down and meet your bitter end
    And you’re sifting through the wreckage
    You can build it up or burn it down again

    Lined up all your sins and then you shot them one by one
    You sacrificed your common sense, it’s over said and done
    Deception and disaster always find you (find you)
    And leave you dying all alone

    In the darkest shadow, will you find your way
    Is there hope or are you stuck here in this
    World that you created, when you fall face down and meet your bitter end
    And you’re sifting through the wreckage
    You can build it up or burn it down again.

    ~Burned by Fall From Grace~_

    On one of the many beaches of the Ice Lace Lake, Jaelle stacks drift wood into a large pile and lights it. She sinks down into the sand, her knees tucked under her chin and gazes into the roaring flames. Her face is one of deep thought and riddled with indecision.

    The sun begins to set turning the dark water into a vast reflecting pool of deep purples and pinks, she slowly stands and strips off her clothes. Her jaw set, she wades into the icy water until it fully surrounds her naked body save for her head. Taking a deep breath, she dunks herself under the water and resurfaces, wiping the water from her eyes. She gazes out over the water, determination written on her face and yet a hint of fear glints in her eyes. With one final dunking, she turns and walks back onto the beach. She stands just at the edge of the surf, the water lapping at her toes. Water droplets bead down her bronzed and heavily scarred skin reflecting the dying light like ice crystals. She raises her muscular arms above her head, her head tilting back and cries out in a powerful voice, “Umberlee, Bitch Queen, Fury of the seas, I call upon thee to witness the changing of a blackened heart!”

    At her summons, a wall of black clouds converges over the beach. The smell of ozone permeates the air and with a loud crack, lightening strikes a tree 50 yards behind her. Swallowing her fear, her feet shifting in the sand, she stands definitely her arms still raised above her head.

    “You have given me a new chance at life when no one else would. But instead of allowing me to find my own way I have been forced upon a path of hatred, malice, destruction, fear and death. From this day forward, I will no longer follow the path you have laid out for me!”

    The water in front of her begins to churn violently as she yells out her defiance. She grabs her holy symbol from around her neck and with a swift tug, snaps the chain from around her neck. She holds the symbol high above her head and cries.

    “Umberlee! I turn my back on thee!”

    She throws her holy symbol far out over the water and there it hovers as if it was caught by an unseeing hand. With a deafening roar a water spout consumes the holy symbol and moves menacingly towards the shore.

    As the last ray of light sheds across the turbulent waters and upon her determined face, she slaps her hands together and screams, “So mote it be!”

    Then darkness fell upon her eyes, and she saw no more.

  • R

    Journal Entry 601

    Gift of Flesh by Def Leppard
    I am all destiny, a trade, a grain of sand
    I am the lesson to be learned
    I take the throat of innocence and leave decay
    I stain the way for all to see
    No fear, no voice, no reason
    In God no guiding light
    When all the guilt that's in your head
    Turns its back and plays for dead
    You scorch the earth and torch the sky
    Conscience low with head held high
    Indulge and multiply and sacrifice
    As lack of breath chokes underground
    Divulge, degenerate the darker side
    From windows watch the screaming sky…

    I tried to leave the Sail's. I even handed over my keys to Drelan and cleaned out my bunk, but then I ran into Sabre. We argued heavily about my leaving. She went on and on about Taria and standing by her when she fell from grace and how they would do the same for me. I argued my point of trying to save my family from suffering the same fate as I and even to me, my argument seemed weak.

    Jay was right, I was running away. But not because things were to hard to handle with Umberlee and my changing heart, but because of him. That aside, the entire time I argued with Sabre, my heart cried out ot surrender and fall to her feet and ask for forgiveness. I couldn't though. So I said I would stay but would keep my distance.

    Things with Jay aren't getting any easier. His accusations of my using him, even though false, still cut deeply. He truly believes that and I feel horrible guilt that he feels that way. I'm not sure how to rectify that belief. Part of me wants to scream at him that I only did what he has done to me on numerous occasions but I know that would fall on deaf ears and possibly make things worse.

    I am guilt ridden.

    I'm having a hard time watching Jay descend in darkness knowing that I've helped him fall. It seems like his boyish innocence is gone and now all that is left is a brute of man. I can't change what I have done, but I can't help but wonder what would have been if I had done things differently.

    Locrian has been steadfast and my rock as I pull myself from the wreckage of what has been my life. Even though I am steeped full of guilt and misery he still loves me and coaches me along. He is my one blessing in life and I am ever so thankful he is a part of it.

  • R

    As the Narf Turns
    Journal Entry 600

    Locrian is back and I don't know what to do. I told him I would end it with Jay, and I did, but I'm not sure I did the right thing. Especially after how Jay treated me the other night. The whole thing was ~amazing~. I hurt Jay. I saw that in the way he walked off but I still don't know if he could ever really love me. I've always been his fall back, his safety net. The one person he can count on to help alleviate his loneliness…but love? I know he was trying and I wanted to give him a chance...I love Jay...

    Then there is Locrian. My Lathanderite. Part of me does love him and I think I could learn to love him as he does me. I do worry though that with his affiliation with me, that it will cause a problem with his friends. What I can't believe is that I am even worrying about stupid shit like that. It's almost as if he is chiseling away at my blackened heart and shining a light through the cracks. It feels good but in an uncomfortable sort of way.

    I am expecting some kind of punishment from the Queen for my involvement with a Lathanderite. I'm half expecting to start losing my blessings. She has no love for Lathander and my associating with one of his followers on a romantic livel would be considered blasphemy and a betrayal. Especially since I am not trying to corrupt him or convert him to her ways.

    I've never been given the chance to choose for myself. My "beliefs" if that's what you want to call it, has always been dictated by someone else. Maybe it's time I take control of my life and stop letting the ods dictate who I should be...If I do this, the Queen's wrath will be harsh. Perhaps it would be best if I go into seclusion or leave the Sail's all together. If I forsake the one god who saved me from another, it could potentially cause the Queen's punishment to bleed over to them. I am loathe to leave them as they are my family now, but for their safety I just might have too.

    On a different note...

    I was walking to the Ferret one afternoon when a young woman crossed my path. I had to a double take as when I first glanced at her, she had this odd shape to her front. It was then I realized that she was carrying a small bundle wrapped in a cloth and slung over her shoulder and across her chest. Before I turned away I heard a small cry coming from this bundle and the woman immediately pulled it out. I couldn't help but stare in surprise and shock as the woman was holding a baby. The way she held him and soothed his little cries touched even my black heart and for the first time in my cold hearted existence, I felt regret for not being able to have a child.

  • R

    Journal Entry 574

    ~ For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning. - T.S. Eliot

    I have changed. I am “softer” as Jay put it. I'm not sure if it is due to Locrian's influence, or my year in jail in Damara. Perhaps it is both. Either way, Jay seems to like the change. Which confuses me to no end. We had a rather long intimate conversation yesterday while training in the Gnoll woods. It was shocking to me how open he was about his failings, regrets and his desires. I'm not sure what to make of it all. He has changed, but not sure in which manner he has changed. I told him if he is interested in me, that he will have to woo me. I have to admit I am laughing about that as the only person who really wooed me is Locrian. Locrian…I miss the crazy Lathanderite. I am not sure what I would do if Jay and I come together and Locrian returns. Locrian has brought out the lady in me, but Jay and I have a history that is rather, well, explosive. Ah well. There is no use worrying about what may or may not happen. We will see how things unfold...

  • R

    Journal Entry 195

    “Faith is the light that guides you through the darkness.” Author Unknown

    My life has taken an interesting turn recently, and I know I’m not handling it very well, but I’m torn. This guilt I feel for slaughtering those people hasn’t gone away and no matter how much I pray to Umberlee for help and guidance, my please go unanswered. John stated that She would be please by what I did, but if she is so pleased, then why do I still feel so empty…so lost…I think I am losing my faith, not just in Umberlee, but in all gods. I have only been used as a tool to meet their goals while mine have been left behind and nearly forgotten. I feel bitter, used and completely hopeless…If I turn my back on Umberlee, I won’t be the only one who suffers. Do I just sit here and take the abuse to protect the others, or do I do what I think is best for me? My life is forfeit either way… What to do…

  • R

    Journal Entry 191

    Revenge is sweeter than life itself. So think fools. [Lat., At vindicta bonum vita jucundius ipsa nempe hoc indocti.]
    Author: Juvenal (Decimus Junius Juvenal)
    Source: Satires (XIII, 180)

    I have been told that revenge is a dish better served cold. I never really understood what that really meant until recently. The Scarlet Murmmers have decided they want to eradicate me for reasons I’m not sure of. This group only attempts to assassinate followers of Loviatar or those they deem a threat to their High Priestess or way of life. At least that was what I was taught at the temple.

    The latest attempt on my life has bothered me to no end. She stated that she wants revenge for everything, for Clana for Her. I’m not sure who this Clana is, but if it’s one of the dead bodies next to the shrine, then great. If not, I’m farked if I don’t figure out who she is and why they feel the need to try and assassinate me. I’m hard pressed to remember what I could have done. I did so many unspeakable things while at the temple and before I came here to Narfell that it could be anything that caused this need.

    I’m hoping that speaking to the dead will help resolve some of these questions and possibly point me in the right direction in what I need to do to end this without putting myself or the crew in any more danger then they already are in.

  • R

    Journal Entry 185

    _“The sword of time will pierce our skins
    It doesn't hurt when it begins
    But as it works its way on in
    The pain grows stronger…watch it grin

    And Suicide is painless
    It brings on many changes
    and I can take or leave it if I please.”
    ~ Music by Johnny Mandel Lyrics by Mike Altman ~_

    Many people are surprised to find out that I remember everything from my time of insanity. I am pretty sure most of them think I had totally lost my mind and in some, they were correct.

    I didn’t realize what was happening at first. I thought the headaches I was experiencing were just after effects of dying multiple times. They progressively got worse and one particularly bad day I noted a new side effect; my hands were glowing. Scared, I tried to ignore it at first but when I started to do and say things I normally wouldn’t I knew that something was seriously wrong. I was completely unsure of what to do about it, so I hid it. Everyday was a struggle to maintain control, but I knew I was losing this battle. Those closest to me knew something odd was going on and Sedea, dear dear Sedea tried so hard to free me of my burden, but in looking back on it, I think it made things worse.

    It all finally came to a head when Jay and I were alone. I completely had lost control and I attacked him…That’s when I knew that I had to gain control of this monster in me. I turned tail and ran to the gnoll woods, crying the entire way. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do until I saw the momma…I walked right up to her, and slugged her in the jaw and with my last breath, I renounced Loviatar and found my way into the cruel embrace of Umberlee…

  • R

    Life After the Temple: A New Friend

    To cement a new friendship, especially between foreigners or persons of a different social world, a spark with which both were secretly charged must fly from person to person, and cut across the accidents of place and time. ~ The Ape in Me, 1959 ~

    My first few weeks outside of the temple were harrowing to say the least. Not only was I running from the priestesses of the temple,, I was running from the lecherous men who pursued me relentlessly from my initial night of freedom. I ran for what seemed like weeks, sleeping by day and traveling and foraging by night until I reached the city of Heliogabalus.

    My first day in the city was uneventful save for the chance meeting of a new friend. I was walking through the market, looking for an easy target as I was hungry when I spotted this woman. She was short and plump, her brown hair, streaked with grey twisted into a bun at the back of her head. She walked amongst the stalls seemingly oblivious to everything around her except the task she had at hand. I followed her for awhile, waiting for my chance. When the chance arouse, I took it. I snuck up behind her, reached into a pocket and quickly pulled out her purse only to be caught by surprise as she whirled around and grabbed my wrist like a vice. Her dark eyes shining with anger she begins to berate me for trying to steal her purse while she dragged me to a dark alley. I fought to get away from her, panic causing me to go wild in my attempts to escape. Realizing that I couldn’t escape from her, I slumped in her grip, and allowed her to drag me all the way to a nondescript building not that far from the market. She dragged me inside and threw me into a chair in a small office. I made to bolt, but she stood in front of the door blocking my way and shoved me back into the chair gruffly. I started at her, unsure of what she was going to do or say when suddenly she started to laugh. Embarrassed, I stared at my feet until I felt her finger under my chin, forcing me to look up into her dark brown eyes. Her eyes soft and dancing with amusement she said, “Welcome to the Happy Lotus Inn, and you’re new home.”

  • R

    Journal Entry #105

    "Nothing Begins, and nothing ends, that is not paid with moan; For we are born in Others' pain and perish in our own." ~Francis Tompson~

    Haunting notes of a sad melody floats through the air, dancing upon the leaves and through my open window and into my head. The longing it brings for what I don’t have is almost unbearable in its intensity. I nearly choke on the feeling it’s so palpable. I’m not used to feeling things like this at all. It’s…uncomfortable…Imagine putting on a pair of pants two sizes to small. That’s what it feels like for me. I’m not sure why I feel this way at all. Maybe my cold unforgiving heart is thawing. Maybe I’m losing my mind, or maybe, just maybe, I’m nearing true freedom from my past…

    I’m at a loss as to what is happening to me with Jay. We were talking earlier today about how neither one of us has had long lasting relationships of any sort. I told him that all my relationships were one night stands and usually ended up with someone dead. I pushed it off as a joke, but I actually feel sad that it’s true and that I lied to him about it. I even hate to admit it to myself, but I feel guilty about it. What an odd feeling to have.

    The jealousy thing is getting out of hand. I need to nip that in the bud before it gets worse. I can't even understand it. It's not a normal emotion for me at all. It's driving me to distraction with all these unfamiliar feelings. In fact, I was so distracted I nearly died today to an orc of all things!

    Well, tomorrow is another day, hopefully I will feel more like myself…If not, I need to figure something out and soon…

  • R

    The Priestess and the Dice

    “If you ever reach total enlightenment while drinking beer, I bet it makes beer shoot out your nose” ~Jack Handy~

    After another grueling day of training, Jaelle wearily returned to the warehouse to meet up with the rest of the crew for drinks and whatever else they had in mind to do. Unfortunately for her, she still had not been given a key to the door. Sighing at that lack of trust, she pounds on the door with gauntleted fist. After what seemed a long while, she heard some scuffling behind the door, and the key in the lock. The door slowly swung open revealing John on the other side. Smiling, she steps through the threshold and nearly runs into Benji. With a nod and smile at Benji and a look of curiosity at John, she starts to head back towards the living quarters.

    “Jaelle, wait….” John says in an eager voice.

    With an expectant face, she stops and turns to look at John.

    “Could you entertain Benji while I run back and grab something?” He asks inquisitively.

    “Sure,” she replies and walks back towards Benji and the door.

    With a nod of thanks, John dashes off to the back and her and Benji stand at the door sizing each other up.

    “Nice place you got here, “Benji says to break the ice.

    Jaelle nods in response, “Well, it’s not really mine. I’m just a recruit.”

    “Oh,” he says with a slight frown.

    “So what brings you here?” She tries to ask politely.

    “To straighten things out between Apoc and The Sails.”

    She frowns slightly at that and utters a subdued, “oh.”

    They stand there for a time, looking at each other as an awkward silence fills the air. Every so often, Jaelle glances back the way John went in hope of seeing him return soon.

    “So,” Benji says awkwardly.

    “Soooo,” Jaelle responds just as awkwardly. “You buying something down here?”

    Benji looks her over curiously, “Why? Is something for sale?”

    She chuckles in response, “There is always something for sale.”

    A look of relief washes over her face as she catches sight of John coming around the corner. She watches silently as John hands over a few items to Benji and with a quick nod in goodbye Benji is let out to the door. With a scowl on her face, Jaelle walks into the backroom with John. She mutters in irritation, “How the fark do people have polite conversations? Fark, I will NEVER do that again. I hate polite conversations…”

    As they approach the door to the living quarters, John stops for a moment and looks at Jaelle, “Just as a warning, there is a lot of nudity and drinking going on.” She snorts in response as he opens the door.

    She walks into the room and immediately sees a pile of food and empty bottles sitting on a table surrounded by five nearly naked people. With a laugh, she walks around the group and sits on a bunk not that far from where Jay was sitting. She looks around at the crew with a big grin on her face, noticing tiny details of what everyone is doing. Sedea and Jack are sitting close together and it’s obvious they are drunk as Jack is fondling Sedea. Her gaze falls on Sabre whom is nearly completely naked save for a belt and a pair of undies. She grins even more when she sees Sabre sitting on a nearly fully clothed Luke’s lap. Chuckling to herself her eyes finally rest on Jay. Her heart skips a beat as she realizes he is only wearing a short pair of pants.

    Her attention is so focused on Jay, she barely hears John telling her to grab a plate of food. She tares her eyes from Jay’s broad muscular back and heads to the table to grab a plate of food. As she heaps her plate high, she looks up briefly and sees Drelan scowling by one of the bunks. She frowns slightly as she finishes loading her plate. She then turns to walk back to the bunk glancing down at Jay as she does so and chuckles as she notices his obvious excitement. She returns to the bunk and sits down carefully balancing her plate. She mechanically eats from her plate, absorbed in the dice game at hand. To her the game moved quickly, and there was a lot of lively banter being tossed back and forth. It was all a blur until Jay and Luke tied with the lowest roll. It was apparent that even through his drunken haze, that Jay was embarrassed to show little Jay to the public. Jaelle watched as he stood up and walked over to a corner, his back the only thing exposed to the crew. He then drops his pants showing off his fine looking butt. All the girls went wild whistling and hollering. With a sigh, Jay turns around and walks back to the table, all the girls staring at one significant part of his body. He mutters about everyone now being satisfied and sits back down in his chair.

    Jaelle watched all of this with fascination and excitement. Without further thought, she sets down her plate, strips off her clothes and to the amusement of Jack, she saunters over to Jay and sits down on his lap. He looks up at her with a shocked face as she wraps her arms around his neck. Her eyes only for Jay and ignoring the rest of the game, she idly plays with one of Jay’s ears and murmers into his ear. She is suddenly distracted by a bright red light. Squinting, she looks in the direction that the light came from and sees Luke writhing on the floor in pain as Sedea stands over him laughing. Jaelle blinks at the scene dazed, she barely hears Jay excuse himself and slides her off of his lap. She walks over to her clothes frowning. She looks up startled when she hears Jack scream, “Give me back my pants!” She looks over at Jack and sees her straddling John as she slams his head into the ground with a sickening melon crunching sound. Jaelle gasps at the sight and watches as Jay, still naked, tries to pull Jack off of John. In shock, Jaelle quickly gets dressed. She hadn’t seen such cruelty since her days at the Loviatar temple. That’s when it hit her. A pain so searing, that if felt as if was going to split her head in half. She had to escape. Looking around wildly, she sees that Hawk and Drelan were leaving. She quickly follows and stumbles onto the boat back to Peltarch.

    ((I'm sorry for any grammer, spelling or lack of fluidity issues with this story…I tried to piece this all together by memory, so I may have missed a lot as to what had happened, but this is how Jaelle and myself remembers it...))

  • R

    Training

    “Only through pain do I feel truly alive. ~Jaelle~”

    I really don’t recall my early years of captivity. What I do remember is hazy and almost seems like a very bad dream. I will admit that I am haunted by fragments of memories. They are just hazy images of the Baron laughing cruelly at me, my father being tortured and countless acts of violence. As young minds tend to do, I have permanently suppressed many of the horrific things I had witnessed or was forced to do.

    My will was beaten out of me and when I was no longer considered a flight risk, I was moved to a dormitory shared by other young girls. I was horrified and relieved to find out that the majority of the other girls were being held captive as well, many of them from my own village. After many late night discussions, we all pieced together that the kidnappings were perpetrated by the same person…The Baron…

    For the most part, life in the temple was normal. We prayed, we ate, we slept and we trained. Gods did we train. I worked hard to learn the ropes and to move up in the ranks of the temple. Hoping that someday I would be free of my torment…

    The training sessions were always grueling. It seemed as if the priestesses could inflict pain upon me at will. They beat it into all of us that pain is pleasure and pleasure is pain. The sex acts that were involved in our training were humiliating, defacing and just horrid to even recount. But after several years of this “abuse”, I grew to enjoy it. It was the only way I felt alive, loved or appreciated. It soon got to the point that my punishments for failing to learn my clerical lessons properly were the withholdings of the pain I so longed for.

    When I turned 15, it was evident that Loviatar was unwilling to grant me her favor and make me a priestess of her faith. It wasn’t for lack of fear, but I couldn’t bring myself to whole heartedly worship such a cruel deity. I faked it rather well in front of my teachers and my other classmates, but it was hard. Especially when some gruesome acts were committed and I was required to be there.

    Once it was known that Loviatar did not want to grant me her favor, the priestesses conspired to have me killed as I was no longer deemed worthy of being there. They sent my teacher in assassinations to kill me in the dead of night. I awoke just as she entered my room, and we wrestled and fought, but my dexterity saved my hide and I was able to incapacitate her. I pilfered an invisible potion from her belt and snuck out of the temple undetected.

    I was free at last…

  • R

    The Truth Revealed

    Pain tests all, but gives strength of spirit and true pleasure to the hardy and the true. ~ The Dogma of Loviatar ~

    I'm sure many people wonder about my peculiarities from time to time. Like what dark and twisted song I hum on occasion or why I am nice one minute and a total bitch the next. Surprisingly, it's just part of the mystery and allure beat into me by the Priestesses of Loviatar.

    I see I mentioned a name you weren't expecting. You probably thought that since I am a sailor, that I follow Umberlee or the god of storms, but that is far from the truth. In fact, my choice in worship wasn't really a choice and honestly this isn't something I like to talk about. But for the sake of trying to get people to understand, I will tell it this once, but only this once. So listen closely.

    I was your typical spoiled child. My father was the mayor of a small farming community in Damaria. My mother had died giving birth to me and as an only child I was doted upon. Unfortunately, our station in life didn't allow me to make very many friends and my father developed some enemies. The enemies of note didn't take form until after the arrival of a Baron to our estate.

    I was only eight at the time when the Baron came to stay at our estate. I recall being very frightened of him. His squinty, watery blue eyes followed me with lust whenever we were in the same room together. Of course my father was oblivious to it all as he was to eager to please the Baron.

    It wasn't long after the Baron came to stay that the riots began in the village center. I had assumed at the time, the riots were caused by unfair taxation as that is all the adults talked about. Unfortunately, I was very wrong.

    Once word reached our estate about the riots, my father issued orders for a heavy guard to be placed around the estate and at the gates. Me being the curious sort, I ran to my room to watch out the window. Peering out into the darkness, I saw a horde of torches flickering into the night, exposing the angry faces of a desperate people. They were pushing and shoving at the gates with such ferocity that I gasped in fear. But then the flickering light reflected off the helms and armor of the guards and I breathed a little easier, confident that they would protect me.

    For three days the mob stood at the gate blocking the entrance to the estate. And in those three days, their size had nearly tripled in numbers. I was glued to that window save for meal times. As their numbers grew, so did my apprehension.

    On that third night while eating dinner, I had overheard my father arguing in hushed tones with his advisor and the Baron. They were arguing about escape plans and as much as I tried, I couldn't ignore what they were saying. My fears grew to the point that I started to shake in my chair, especially after my father said there was no way out and we were all going to be killed. In my fright, I left the dining hall and ran back to my room, slamming the door behind me. I ran over to the window and looked into the soothing darkness that enveloped the land. It took me a minute to register that that there were no torches or people at the gate. I blinked and then gasped as I realized that the gate was standing wide open with no guards in sight. My eyes wide, I backed away from the window, shaking my head in disbelief. I opened my mouth to scream and suddenly, I was grabbed from behind and a large greasy hand planted firmly over my mouth. I struggled with all my might, but to no avail. My captor cackling in my ear the entire time. Exhausted, I finally sagged into the person's arms. With a gruff laugh, a gag was forcefully put into my mouth. A loud swish and suddenly, my world went dark as a bag was placed over my head. I was then shoved to the ground and my wrists and feet were tightly bound together. I felt the same greasy hands grab me around the waist and heft me into the air. The sudden feeling of the ground rushing away, made me queasy and it was at that point that I passed out.

    ((to be continued in the next installment))