LIEF'S POV
I was in a hurry to ride out to Froloin. I was praying Merek and his men were gone long before Kaylein reached the village. My heart swelled with the thought of my love in danger. I leave the castle against my father's orders and I see Saul mounting his horse. I don't see another horse.
"Saul, where is my horse?" I call to him.
"You need to stay here! It won't look good to the people if the King can't keep his own son in line. I shall return safely with Kaylein."
I can't believe this! I watch him prepare to ride out, "No, I said I was coming with you! I want to personally see that Kaylein is safe!"
"Heyah!" Saul shouts and kicks his horse as soon as the words leave my lips.
I watch in disbelief as the horse gallops out at full speed. I kick the dirt out from under my feet and turn to head back inside the castle. Once I enter I am grabbed by my collar and drug into a room at the end of the hall. I see that my father is the man dragging me so I do not fight him. Once we are in the room he pushes me up against the wall, slightly banging my head against it.
"What the hell is going on with you?!" he screams, inches from my face. "How can the people of Peteonia put their faith in me, do as I command if my own son disobeys me?"
"You refused to send help to a village that needs it. The people will not be pleased to hear that." I counter.
My father snarls at me, showing me his anger while punching the wall behind me.
"This has nothing to do with that! It's written all over your face son! You're in love with that girl!"
Well, now he knew.
"Yes I am and I am going to protect her!" I scream at him.
"You stupid, silly boy! You risk your life for someone like her? Merek will kill you without thinking twice and then he will rape that girl and if he doesn't kill her as well he'll enslave her! This is a lost cause."
I push him away from me and move around him. I face him to tell him one last thing before I ride out to Froloin.
"You may be right but it's a chance I'm willing to take."
KAYLEIN'S POV
The walk to wherever the barbarians were taking us felt like hours. My legs were burning and my throat was dry from having no water. The one holding the chains would yank on it, causing pain to the other girls and I whenever we spoke to one another.
I did however learn the girls's names. Alainne was the one who shared my complexion and I learned she was a year older than I. Dametta and Gemma were sisters and they confided that they did not even live in Froloin; they travelled from Lundene to buy some things from the market. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Finally, there was Chloe. She was very beautiful and had long chestnut brown hair. She cried almost as much as I did during the walk.
"We'll stop here." one of the men stated. I looked up and saw the man who had grabbed me pointing to a stream of water.
"No, we should keep going." the fat one who scared off my horse argued. "Merek is expecting us soon. Do you want to explain what took us so long?"
The man growled and shook his head, sending his stringy black hair flying around his face. He then agreed with his barbaric companion and we kept marching.
Finally, after another hour we made it to a small compund where there was a fire burning, tents pitched and there was a table filled with food-no doubt stolen. Four other men who looked like the men who destroyed Froloin were seated at the table. One looked in our direction and got up, rushing to the largest tent. He disappeared inside and the men with us were greeted by the other three sitting at the table.
