Chained To Him [Editing]

Chapter Three

"Sick, wounded and families with children will escape with our remaining horses to Pian. I have sent ahead soldiers to ready boats for your arrival. You will travel across the sea to safety." Jayde looked over the crowd and clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking. The Empire would be angry to find so much of the town fled. She could only pray that those with children escaped in time. Had she made the right choice? Finding Kariyah's strained smile in the crowd, she straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. The people trusted her, she told herself. She couldn't let them down. "There are only enough boats to carry those that I have mentioned. The rest of us will have to decide whether to stay or flee elsewhere."

Murmurs broke out. She quickly saw that her decision was not welcomed. How could she ask these people to leave their homes? They were born here. They fell in love here, started families here.

"I cannot leave, Jayde." It was one of her soldiers who called from the crowd. "My life is here. Let the Empire try to take it from me."

She gazed at him sadly as others nodded at his words. "During the first occupation of the Empire, they gathered every able bodied boy and sent them to their deaths on the fields of war. The only reason you are here today is that your father fled with you before you could be taken. Would you live to see your son become a soldier to the Empire?" The people hushed. She heard a few soft sobs but couldn't decipher who produced them. Everyone looked so mournful. Jayde's chest clenched.

"There is no time to argue. If you wish to survive, you will leave now. The soldiers will guide you to the boats." As an organized line of her men and women in military attire entered the marketplace, the sound of weeping intensified. The townspeople gradually shifted as soldiers found individual families and brought them to where the horses were tied, by the gate towards Pian. Fights broke out between soldiers and men and women without families who wished to flee as well. But there wasn't enough room on the boats. They would only jeopardize the safety of the children.

"Do not be afraid," Jayde called over the chaos. Gradually, the citizens were separated and the remaining people shifted uneasily in the marketplace. Still, the majority of the town was here. They were mostly older folk who had endured the previous occupation of the Empire. Some had lost children, wives, husbands. Others had lost limbs from the harsh punishments carried out by the regime. "I wish that we could all escape. And perhaps, some of you could find shelter in the mountains. But if we leave, the Empire will pursue us, and kill us. They will kill our children. Leave if you must, but know that staying is what will protect them."

She longed for Luther's reassuring hand on her shoulder as she watched the fearful glares turn her way. She was dividing the city. Oh god, if her father could see her now. What would he think? She wished he could be here to take her place. He had always known exactly what to do.

The citizens heading for the boats had long since left for the mountain pass, and villagers slowly began to disperse to their homes. They closed the shutters and boarded up their doors. Jayde knew it wouldn't help them. Perhaps they knew as well that resistance was futile. But what did it matter? Frightened people seek comfort in the thought of protection.

Jayde sat at the edge of the fountain as the mid-afternoon sun beat down on her bare shoulders. She wore trousers and a sleeveless shirt. Her waist was bound with a sash where her scabbard hung at her hip. She unbuckled the sword and placed it across her lap. It bordered on physically painful to give in, but she knew that it was necessary to appease the Empire. They would not be so forgiving after being driven out previously. Perhaps they wouldn't be forgiving at all, but she had to take her chances. She would meet their guard utterly alone. Would they kill her, she wondered? Perhaps the soldiers would follow in the footsteps of their predecessors and rape her before doing so. She contained a shiver of dread.