Darling Winess

1. Zhvika

The suburb was cramped and dirty. A blanket of dark clouds smothered the city; rain suffocated the air. The houses were old and deteriorating; splashes of mud caked the base of each one. The roads were nothing but strips of dirt, turned to an oozing, brown river in the light rain.

A girl sprinted through the cramped alleys, creating small showers of mud splattering behind her. She was filthy. She seemed to be the human reflection of the city- tan skin covered with streaks of mud racing up her calves and forearms as she ran, russet hair pulled back in a loose high ponytail, crowds of loose strands fluttering by her face. Her expression was hard- eyebrows furrowed, pale lips pulled back in a snarl and deep brown eyes set in consuming determination.

Rapidly, she searched the scene in front of her. The street veered sharply left in front of an old townhouse, a stack of wooden crates, and a cart. Grunting, she half ran, half slid as she made the turn.

"There! Get her!"

The girl lunged forward as an arrow shot past her head. She watched with wide eyes as it found its mark in the townhouse window and shattered the glass completely. She dodged as the shards of glass rained down on her. Angry yells behind her told her that her persecutors had been caught in the slicing rain too, though she didn't dare steal a look back.

Panting, she pushed forward. Mud splattered up her calves as she dug her bare heels into the damp ground.

"Zhvika!" A familiar shout snapped her attention towards the crates. A lanky boy crouched on top of the pile with a look of urgency and desperation. He outstretched his hand and Zhvika grabbed on tightly. She jumped as he jerked his arm back, wrenching her up beside him.

"Marley?"

"Get down!" he screamed. He pushed her off the crates, and she landed with ease despite the slippery ground. Marley landed beside her not a second later. The top crate exploded as a second arrow found its mark.

"Shit," Zhvika swore as she bolted forward again. The rain had gotten heavier, and it hindered her vision immensely.

"You brats!" one of the persecutors shouted, "come take your sentence like men!"

Zhvika glanced around wildly as she searched for a place to hide. The persecutors had chased her to an open stretch of field with the exception of a singular oak. Zhvika exchanged a look with Marley keeping pace beside her. He nodded. Climb.

Zhvika let her gaze lock onto the oak. The lowest branch looked to be a bit more of a jump than she would like, but it would do. A sudden rustling wrenched her attention further up the oak.

She gasped as a large figure dropped from the tree. She leaped back but he was too quick. Grabbing her arm, he jerked her back and forced her onto her knees with his heel digging into her shoulder.

"Don't touch me with your filthy hands," Zhvika spat. She grabbed his wrist with her free hand and dug her fingernails in, hard. The man yelped and loosened his grip momentarily. Taking the opportunity, Zhvika twisted around and bit his forearm. The man shrieked and retracted his hand immediately.

"You little devil," he hissed. He reached for her hair and cried in triumph as his fingers locked around the knotted mess. He yanked her back and she fell on her side with a shriek. She tried to stand but he kicked her over and jumped on her back. He gripped her wrists together with one hand and shoved her face into the mud with the other.

Zhvika continued to struggle but it was useless. They had her.

"Well, would you look at what we have here," a man's voice rung scathingly through the damp air.

Zhvika lifted her gaze to the new man in front of her. Despite his ragged face and hair, he wore a freshly ironed suit. The left sleeve was adorned with a golden crest- a dove with its wings splayed in an almost regal fashion.

He crouched down and lifted Zhvika's chin with a calloused finger, coaxing another growl from her. His pale grey eyes lit up in amusement as she shook her head at him aggressively.

"So, you're the one they're calling Darling Winess?" he lifted his head to address her captor with a grin, "didn't know we were vermin hunters now aye; thought we were here to catch a princess, not a rat," he let his hard gaze slide back down to Zhvika's; his amused grin had morphed into a scowl.

Zhvika spat at him aggressively as he turned his attention to Marley. Although she could not see, his deep growls told her that he had been captured also.

"A side-kick?" the suit-man inquired curiously, "perhaps, a lover?"

Zhvika squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to fade out suit-man's taunts. She could feel the familiar power swelling as rage started to consume her. Her vision blanked as she let the swell overcome every inch of her body. Her muscles pulsated with strength. Screaming, she twisted around and wrenched her arms back, hard. Her captor gasped with shock as her hands slipped free of his.

Zhvika leapt to her feet and kicked him in the face. She didn't watch as he fell back, rather, she let her clouded gaze seek Marley. A small group of panting soldier's surrounded them. Marely was lying at the edge of the "soldier-ring", forced into the position she had been in not a moment earlier. Suit-man was crouched beside him gaping at her, astounded.

Zhvika started forward to knee him in the ribs but a hand wrenched her back. She screamed again and turned to face her old captor. He dodged as she flew a punch at his face, grabbing her wrist and forcing her onto her knees yet again.

Zhvika tried again to summon the power within her but it was already waning. Her vision cleared and the fire in her muscles dimmed. Defeated, she let her head drop.

"By our Saviour," suit-man breathed, "just how did you manage that little stunt?" He approached her slowly, his brown eyes wide with fascination.

"Edwin's the strongest soldier we have," he continued, "there's no way a tiny rodent like you could escape him so easily."

Zhvika eyed him viciously as he crouched in front of her yet again.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you?" 'Edwin' laughed.

"Mlukni," she whispered. Shut up. Edwin turned to the surrounding soldiers and laughed.

"That Winess voodoo won't save you, you know."

"What are you going to do, cast a spell on us?"

Zhvika seethed as the soldiers roared with laughter, and yet there was nothing she could do.