Original Stories Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction / Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness ❯ Caught ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter Five

Caught

 

 

Broken memories chased each other through her mind's eye, each more disturbing than the last. She tossed her head from side to side in an attempt to rid herself of them, but to no avail. Murmurs broke through her haze and penetrated her hearing just before cold water splashed over her face, jerking her painfully back to her senses.

 

She sat bolt upright, smashing her forehead into the face of the person that was bending over her. Scrabbling blindly away she clutched at her forehead until her back knocked against the wall. Pressing her back firmly to the solid structure she shoved her first initial panic away and dropped her hand to her lap to allow herself an unobtrusive view of the room.

 

There was an odd white expanse of tarp stretched from each…wooden…wall to the next. Her eyes swept around the room and she was startled to see that there were at least a dozen people crammed into a room that was, at most, six by nine feet. She passed over the grimy people until her eyes came to rest on the open end of the room where the straw did not reach the walls.

 

Dread settling in her stomach, she glanced down and saw that she had carved a path along the wooden planks through the grimy straw that someone had lain down. And she realized they were in a wagon and she was sitting among a group of very unfamiliar people and Homuna was gone. “Where am I?” she asked coolly, water droplets still clinging fiercely to her cheeks. “And why did you throw water over me?”

 

The others merely stared at her, either not understanding or refusing to respond. She focused her attention on the girl that was still holding her nose, the same person that had thrown the water on her. “Where are we?” she asked.

 

“Slabe caraban,” she replied with a glare.

 

Soren felt a stab of mild irritation at the girl's reaction, but stifled it. Though her contact with other humans had been limited since her release she understood enough about people to know that if she gave the wrong impression now then things could turn very nasty for her later. Aside from that, there was the more pressing matter of where Sais and Homuna had been placed and if they had wound up in the same place at all.

 

“Could you repeat that, please?” Soren asked, modifying her tone to one of moderate politeness. She needed information before she could act. If there was a chance that one of them knew where Homuna or Sais was then she would do what she had to get back to them.

 

The girl had sharp eyes, dark skin, black hair, and a stocky build, everything that would be expected of a seasoned field worker. With a swift movement and a sharp crack she set the broken bone into place. Then she wiped the blood away as best she could, dropped her hands from her face, and said, “Slave caravan. Congratulations, you've woken to a one way trip to hell.”

 

Soren smiled grimly. “I doubt that. Can you tell me what country we're in and where we're headed?” she asked.

 

The girl regarded her with a suspicious glare before saying, “Most of us were captured from villages in Riana. We crossed the border between Riana and Jesira a couple days ago where we found you in the desert. What were you doing traveling with a dragon?”

 

Soren might have been caught off guard had she not been half hoping for it. She felt a knot loosen in her chest. So, at least Sais had made it this far with her. One down, one to go. Everyone turned their heads to watch them with an air of eager anticipation seeming to flow from their bodies. It was almost as though her words would determine their fates. “We were fleeing from another two dragons,” she said plainly. “What happened to the child that was with us?”

 

“They were shackled and tossed in with another group, but Jestiry took the control of your dragon for himself,” the girl said, regarding her in a way that made Soren want to strike her.

 

The urge melted under the relief she felt. Shackled though they were, there was always a very good chance that they could escape. For the moment, she set aside thoughts of escape and focused on the curiosity she felt. “Sais is hardly my dragon,” she replied. “This Jestiry you mentioned, is he, by any chance, brother to the queen of Riana?”

 

“The one and only,” a dark skinned male answered. Soren looked at him out of the corner of her eye as he continued, “Though, that was until her ministers overthrew her a half year back. Rumor is her brother captured and bound Queen Seku and her dragon Hakunazra a few months after the revolt.”

 

Soren leaned forward and rested her chin in her palm as she stared at the wryly built male. “Really? Have you seen her around?”

 

He grinned a little shyly at her and she saw the other girl flush with either embarrassment or jealousy. Though Soren would have bet it was the latter, she found she didn't much care. “No, but the way Jestiry prances is enough to make me think she is. One dragon is a prize, but two is unheard of. He'll doubtless try for the throne once he has your Riagenkai under his control.”

 

Soren snorted. “Whatever he does to her, Sais will not break for the likes of him and she is not my Riagenkai. I am not a queen.”

 

Yes you are, came Chimadori's irritated reply as Soren felt the warmth of her familiar curl around her and the male smiled indulgently at her. Whatever she said, they would keep on believing her to be a queen.

 

Ignoring Chimadori she asked, “What is your name?”

 

“Sadi, though that is not my true name. Once we are captured we forsake our past and adopt a new name to ease the pain of losing our entire life,” he explained. “The young woman that splashed water over you's is Sara, the woman in the corner to the left is Henrana…” As he continued each person nodded in response to their name. “…and the little one with green eyes is Stephanie. What's shall we call you?”

 

Go with Chimadori.

 

Soren snorted, trust her Kingen to be as vain as a human woman. “My name is Fayra.” Her sister's name wasn't likely to be known this far away from Regenku and certainly not by those she traveled with now. It still brought a pang to think of the way she had last seen her sister, bloodied and dying. Pushing the memories aside, she focused on the present.

 

Then, she leaned into the warm fur of her Kingen and folded her hands over her stomach only to draw a hand away as she felt the cool kiss of steel against her wrist. She wore a bracelet of steel engraved with intricate designs. Turning her wrist slightly she saw that the designs repeated themselves all the way around in an endless cycle.

 

You wear shackles that require no chains to hold a person captive. Those designs are actually runes imbibed with the power of a full blooded imagi and set to inject a lethal poison into your system should you try to escape. They won't come off unless you know the correct release phrase and I have yet to hear a slaver say something so intelligent. I swear, their mothers must have been sewer rats or something.

 

Is Homuna safe? Soren asked as she dropped her hand to her lap again. She closed her eyes and looked, for all intents and purposes, as though she were falling asleep.

 

He is bound and scared, but safe for the moment. I checked on him a few hours before you woke.

 

How long was I out of it?

 

Two and a half days.

 

Sais?

 

This Jestiry character is foul, Chimadori responded darkly. I wasn't able to get close enough to check on her, but Josaline found me and informed me that Sais wants you to stay put until she finds you.

 

As if. You've been sniffing around. How many people are there?

 

A hundred and twenty, maybe more, with fifty handlers to control them.

 

Have you caught the scent of another dragon?

 

Chimadori's weight shifted beneath her before the Kingen answered, Yes. There is definitely another dragon among these people, but I haven't been able to pinpoint them. I think Jestiry has them tucked away somewhere among his catches. There may even be a third dragon among this lot and I highly doubt that the bastard is unaware of his catch.

 

Have they figured out that Homuna is a dragon? Soren asked, unable to hide the worry and fear she felt at the thought.

 

No. If they had he would have been bound and facing the same treatment as Sais. As long as he remains in human form and the other dragons do nothing to reveal him, then we have nothing to fear.

 

Any luck tracking down the other dragon?

 

No and I am not going to sticking my nose into anything that may keep me from protecting you. I think that it is for the best of we leave this one be.

 

Silence lapsed between them for a few moments as the reality of their situation sank in. The wagon jounced slightly and bolts rattled in protest to the rough treatment. Around them rose the quiet conversation among the others. Out in the night, the horses neighed to each other and the men riding them shouted orders given from some higher ranking person.

 

They were alone in the middle of a country known for its hostile queen and whose Riagenkai had attacked them. The brother of another queen had captured and bound them and their chances of escaping were slim at best. Not what one would call the best situation to be in.

 

It seems a little convenient that he was there to collect us when Karu returned and attacked Sais, Chimadori said finally.

 

Did he lose Farin or…kill him? Soren asked, hesitating at the thought of the fierce Riagenkai being killed.

 

No. If Farin had been killed, you would also be dead, Chimadori answered. As it was, Farin ordered Sais to grab you and go while he took care of Karu. Sais snatched you up and might have gotten away from them, but Karu was faster despite being harried by Farin's attacks. Karu caught up to her halfway across Regenku and tried to drive her towards the Trestri mountains, but Farin hampered him. Instead, we fled across Jesira where Karu injured Sais extensively enough that she lost control of her dragon form and dropped all of us in Jesira's most inhospitable wasteland. Farin would have retrieved us, but Karu was still quite intent on killing you and so driving him off took first priority.

 

Karu is the Jesira Riagenkai, is he not?

 

Yes, he is.

 

I still don't quite grasp why he attacked if his ruler didn't order an assault on the Regenkan throne.

 

Karu said he was under orders from his king to either turn you into a puppet for him or else kill you. He said that Farin's father wanted a hold over his. If they thought that you were his queen, then that would make sense since a Riagenkai is usually fiercely protective of their royals.

 

And Karu said he was hunting me on his king's orders and the last I heard the ruler of Jesira was a queen. You?

 

Yes, that's what I heard as well.

 

Do dragons even have a king? Soren asked thoughtfully.

 

There are rumors that say as such. Dragons have volatile tempers and if left unchecked then there would be endless fighting and bloodshed, so a king to keep them under control would only make sense.

 

Alright, I can accept that. So, Karu was hunting under orders from his king because Farin's father wanted a hold over him. It was either control me or kill me.

 

That's about what he said, which means that Farin is Dragon Prince.

 

Soren repressed a snort of laughter. Great, she replied. So the Riagenkai of the country that I'm supposedly the ruler of is also a Dragon Prince. Lovely. Would that mean that I'm also supposed to rule over the dragons when he ascends his throne?

 

I wouldn't know, Chimadori said cautiously. But I would assume not. Something will probably be worked out to the extent that the two of you are separate rulers, but can still communicate if you need him.

 

No. I'll not be chained to the likes of him. I won't rule, because I am not his queen, Soren said shortly.

 

Whatever Chimadori would have said was cut short by the sudden jolting of their wagon coming to an abrupt halt. “OUT!!” their driver bellowed at them and the mad scrambling of the other people made her open her eyes. Sadi caught her arm and she allowed him to pull her up and out of the wagon with him into the cool night air. All twelve people huddled closer together as though by doing so they could make themselves less noticeable to the slave handlers that were now dismounting their horses and grinning wickedly to each other.

 

Soren felt Chimadori brush against her thigh and she took comfort in the knowledge that she wouldn't be alone for this. Perhaps she would even find Homuna in the tangle of this many slaves. Her keen eyes swept over the other slaves from the other wagons as they stepped away from their respective wagons and tried to huddle together. It didn't escape her the way these people flinched at the way the handlers raised their hands in unconscious movements as they talked amongst themselves and laughed at crude jokes.

 

Sadi cast a sidelong glance towards the other slaves as they shifted nervously. The last time they'd been forced out of their respective wagons they had been made to submit themselves to a search for a missing copper that one of them had supposedly stolen. Even Sara hunched her shoulders and scowled at the memory of what had happened to her.

 

Soren noted all their reactions and tried to imagine what sort of horrors the slavers would inflict on them. She didn't have to think too hard before her memory reminded her of the past. Her lips thinned a little as she brushed such thoughts away and turned her attention back to Sadi when he sidled up beside her.

 

“We are slaves and we are headed to the Trestri Mountains for the amusement of the dragons that live there,” he finally said as slavers circled them and jeered.