'Can you tell me where we are going?' I ask, hoping that the initial attitude will have worn off, and they would answer my questions.
'Haha, she still thinks we are going to tell her anything,' one of the men says, chuckling. 'Pretty girl, you had better go to sleep, as a long day is waiting for you.'
'And then a long long night, probably,' another one adds, bursting into a laughter.
'And stop asking questions, you had better make us forget about your presence, because, you see, one pretty girl, and six naughty boys, you may be surprised of what can happen if you talk too much,' another one announces, making a disgusting face that he thinks is passionate, as he brings his head closer to me and touches my ear.
'My fiancé will kill you with bare hands when he finds out about this,' I say, feeling sick from his touch.
'First of all, your fiancé needs to be alive before trying to kill someone,' he says, still so close to me that I can feel the stench coming from his mouth.
I turn my head away, too disgusted to say anything. Lucky for me, he moves away from me and leaves me alone.
The way seems to be endless, and I start wondering how long we are going to go, and where are we going. They talk about different things, but none of the conversation topics gives me any clue about what they are talking. I get tired of listening in to meaningless conversations, and I hope we soon reach the place that we are going to.
'This girl is getting on my nerves,' one of them says. 'She stays silent for a while, and then starts asking stupid questions. Let's shut her mouth for a while. I am tired. The battle was tiring.'
The others agree, and they put a filthy cloth to my mouth. I try to struggle and turn my head left and right, not let them come close to my mouth, but the win eventually, as my hands are tied behind my back. I am so helpless. The filthy cloth touches my mouth, gagging me, and I am bound to breathe the disgusting smell of that cloth from now on until we reach the place that we are going to.
Chapter 7
Calem
The game is good. We manage to get a deer, and I think it will be enough for today. We can have a good dinner and continue the way. Then maybe tomorrow in the afternoon we shall reach the McDougald lands where they will give us tasty food.
'Achaius, let the others know that we are returning,' I tell one of the warriors. Baigh and Camron are a bit far from us, trying to get more food. 'We have enough.'
We load the deer on Camron's horse and walk back to the riverside where we left the others. I can imagine how happy Elsie will be when we make barbeque of the deer that I have hunted myself. I smile under my nose, already imagining her sweet smile.
When we approach the place where we have left them, there seems to be no one. At least, I do not see anyone standing or walking. Only the horses can be seen. Maybe they have gone for a walk? But it is impossible – they would not go away without us. The more we approach the place, the more worried I get and the faster I go. I reach. I can't believe my eyes. My warriors and Skena are dead, lying in pools of water, and Elsie is nowhere to be seen.
'No!' I shout, holding my head and running back and forth, shocked and not knowing what to do. 'No!'
Achaius, Baigh, and Camron also reach the place and gasp. They are equally in shock. How could this happen? All of them are dead. I frantically search for Elsie's body, but I can't find it anywhere.
'Elsie! Elsie!' I scream, as a tiny hope wakes up inside of me that she may have escaped. I look around - there is nothing that can tell me where Elsie is. She has left nothing behind that could have told me which direction she has gone in.
Suddenly I hear a moan. It takes me some time to realize where the moan is coming from. Apparently, Skena is not dead, as the moan is coming from her. I run to her and turn her around. Even though, she is heavily wounded, she is still alive and is happy to see me.
'Where is Elsie! Where is Elsie!' I barely keep myself from shaking her, as I am getting more and more scared of her upcoming answer – what if she says that Elsie is dead?
'They… took… her … away,' Skena manages to mumble. 'Elsie… is… gone…'
'Where?! Where?! Who were they?' I shout at her.
'A… group… of… men… they… were… armed… they… killed… everyone… and … took… her… away…' Skena speaks with great difficulty, moaning in between the words. My questions tire her, and I am afraid that she will die if she does not get help immediately.