For Her Honor

Chapter 27

My head rolled to the side, limply hanging on my shoulder's. I was too tired to physically open my eyes just yet. There was a tight pain near my wrists and my ankles but I couldn't place it, almost as though my senses weren't listening to me. I felt a full throbbing on the side of my cheek and my mind flashed to an image of knuckles advancing towards my face.

    A groan sounded from my lips as I remembered what had happened. I had ran from my bodyguard's, damn myself. I should know better by now, running from those trying to keep me safe only put me and everyone else in more danger. As if to prove that point, the school's grounds had been breached, meaning intruders broke through the academy's defenses. That's what Marco was trying to tell me when...

    Marco!

    He had been hit by one of those sleeping darts. Actually, he jumped in front of me so that the needle wouldn't collide with my skin. He was then taken away from me, where could he be? What if he was hurt...or worse...

    Slowly, I forced my eyes to open but all I saw was blinding light. I had to blink many times just to clear my sight but what I saw sent shivers down my spine.

    My wrists and ankles were bound to an old metal chair with rope, effectively trampling any hope I had of escaping. I was sitting alone in a huge empty room, it kind of looked like the basement of a building. Upon taking in my surrounding's, I saw a body laying on the floor just a few feet away from me. It looked like a security guard from one of the dorm building's. The body wasn't moving and after examining it closer, I saw dark red blood pooling around the now lifeless man.

    I looked away, choking back a sob as I realized the security guard had been murdered, because of me.

    But that sadness and guilt soon turned into anger. How could I have let this happen? All of this? After everything that has happened to me over these past few months, I should have known that eventually the other assassins would come for me. And people would be hurt. I should have taken precautions to ensure everyone's safety. I should have joined my mother in hiding.

    I should have listened to Marco more often.

    Why was I such an idiot? All my bodyguard's had ever wanted was to keep me safe, and I disobeyed them in nearly every way possible. Everything that happened, and everything that would happen, was all my fault.

    I had no one to blame but myself.

    "Someone is awake I see." A voice cut through my thoughts. I swung my stinging eyes up towards where a set of stairs were leading down into the basement and happily skipping down those stairs, was Brett. I wanted so badly to break out of this chair and rip his damn throat out, but I couldn't. I was helpless and vulnerable and utterly defeated.

    He had won.

    "Awe, have you finally run out of witty comments?" Brett asked, reaching the basement floor and strolling towards me with his arms behind his back. A wicked smile dressed his face as he neared, the dim light casting half of his face into shadows. He chuckled to himself before stopping to face me, "Well Harmony, what do you have to say for yourself? You've caused so much trouble for me, for your father, and for your precious bodyguards. Can you please tell me why you put up such a fight?"

    "How can you ask me that?" I responded quietly, my voice cracking.

    Brett shrugged his shoulders as he began circling me, talking while he walked, "It's quite simple really. You must have figured out by now that we never wanted to kill you, only take you. So why didn't you ever give yourself up? Your real mother just wanted some bonding time with you."