Chains of Fate

Chapter Fifteen

Daisy returned to consciousness much later. She woke to the smell of the ocean and the rush of the waves rolling inland. The back of her head hurt where she'd been knocked out by something heavy. A blindfold covered her eyes. Darkness settled in around her. She sensed only one presence - her own. This discovery put her at ease. She knew not how much time had passed, the hour of day, or when her captors would return. So she set about orientating herself with her location. The familiar scent of salt in the air meant that she had not been whisked off the island. Daisy could only think of one place where she might be being held.

Far down the beach, the ruins of a ancient watch tower remained as a landmark for incoming vessels. It had been abandoned after a wild storm threatened to collapse it. Closed off by a barrier of rock and sand, it would be the perfect place for bandits to hide out. Daisy tried to remember what the interior of the ruins looked like. She had seen them a few times as a child, though never alone. Ace had warned her to keep away from the watch tower because it had leant itself to mischief over the years. Now as she worked to recall the odd shape the storm had left it in, she wondered just how many others had been held captive inside its broken walls.

Daisy leaned froward on her knees and felt around. She slid her hands over the cold, hard floor. Rocks of sand stuck to her fingers. Suddenly, a noise echoed through the ruins, ricocheting off the stone walls. Daisy lifted her head and waited. It happened again. She recognized the clunk clunk of armor clad footsteps closing in. One of her captors had arrived. A gate creaking open on rusted hinges alerted her to how close they were. Daisy pulled herself up.

"Who's there?" she asked.

The clunking started up again, louder than before. Then it stopped. Daisy didn't wait for an answer before scooting back as far as she could. Her lower back hit a curved wall. She pressed up against it. The clunking came from the side of her now.

Frightened, Daisy asked again, "Who's there?"

The panic in her voice set her heart off. It jumped up and down, making it hard to breathe. If only she could cut off her blindfold, she'd be able to see for herself who it was.

A big hand pulled her to her feet. Daisy expected to lose her balance but the same hand held firm to steady her. She couldn't help but lean into it for support. Being lost to the dark made her second guess herself. In the next moment a second hand gripped the back of her head and the tight blindfold came undone. Cut down the middle, it slipped down her face and landed on the floor. Daisy blinked, eyes adjusting to the dim light in the room. Three small torches stuck out from the walls, burning low. Before her stood a man of Eastern descent. The curve of his eyes, arch of his brow, and long slop of his nose gave him an exotic look. He wore a band with a golden symbol, tied around his forehead. Daisy tried to remember where she'd seen it before. Below his earlobe, on his left side, was a small tattoo. The characters for the word, son, and the number, two, were engraved into his skin. Daisy thought for a moment. Second Son? Her captor must belong to a tribe. Or else, a band whose top members were determined by their rank.

He didn't give her a chance to speak first. When he noticed her staring he asked, "Something caught your eye Your Highness?"

Daisy started. "You know who I am?"

He tilted his head and smiled. "How could I not?" He reached up and touched his fingers to the ends of her braided hair.

Daisy twisted back in response. "Don't touch me!"

Her captor apologized. "You're more feisty than I imagined," he told her. He didn't look the least bit sorry.

Daisy's drew her gaze to his hands. He had tucked them into his pockets. She made sure that they stayed there before looking up at him again. He introduced himself as Kwonho, a bandit from Mount Taiyo. Daisy had read about the location in her father's travel log. A mountain village of the same name came to be known as such for its close proximity to the sun. Her father had written endlessly about the windy conditions that plagued the peak and and the white tigers that lived in and around the village.