The Rogue Lady

Chapter Two

Again, any mistakes, let me know =) Map in the external link. Enjoy.

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     I struggled against the ropes that bound my wrists tightly. A little too tightly as I could feel my fingers starting to go cold and tingly from the lack of circulation. I wouldn’t be surprised to find the skin on my wrists scraped off. However, I was certain I wasn’t the worst off. Next to me, the five men who had attempted to catch me groaned with almost every step they took and tried to stop their many cuts from bleeding. I was sure I had broken a few bones as well. Not that I cared much.

     The two men Darrick had left to catch me had called for help when it became obvious I would cut them into pieces. Two more had come to help out, although it hadn’t done much for them. It hadn’t been until Darrick had gotten back, and gotten a few cuts himself, that they had managed to partially disarm me when I hadn’t been paying attention, leaving me with one blade, and consequently making me an easy target.

     It was also Darrick who was pushing me forward through a camp now, because the others didn’t even want to come close to me. But with the occasional grunt coming from behind me, I was assured that he didn’t have a satisfied smirk on his face. My blades were in his belt now, next to his own sword and out of my reach. The moment we had gotten out of the trees, a large camp had appeared. And now I was being pushed down between the rows of greenish gray tents where men and women came out to watch me. That was the last thing I needed or wanted right now.

     There was a bigger tent up ahead, which seemed to be where Darrick was dragging me to. It was a vibrant red color, a sharp contrast with the greenish gray color of all the other, and this one seemed to have been set up right in the middle of the camp. In front of it, there were seven men of different ages. Five of them had capes attached to their armor, though they were all of different colors. Long swords hung at their sides, each of them easily longer than my blades. It didn’t take much to guess that they were knights.

     It didn’t take much to guess that they were waiting for us either. And then, when we finally stopped right in front of them, Darrick stepped in front of me, leaving himself wide open for a swift kick in the legs, which he was fully entitled to. He groaned softly, which I doubted anyone else heard, but other than that he showed no signs that he had actually felt it. He didn’t even turn around.

     “Miss, please, you are our guest. I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t use any more violence against my men than you already have,” one of the men said.

     I found have put him somewhere in his late twenties, which made him still fairly young to be the one speaking up. His blond hair was lighter and shorter than Darrick’s and his green eyes were brighter than the other’s blue ones, despite the obvious fatigue. He looked very tired indeed; the bags under his eyes weren’t days old, they were months old. Nonetheless, as he stood tall in front of me, he looked wide awake and proud with his back straight and shoulders squared, like a Lord receiving visitors into his home.

     “Do you always tie up your guests?” I asked him sarcastically despite myself. “You must not get a lot of them if they all receive the same treatment as me.”

     There was no change on the man’s face, literally not a muscle moved. He took a step forward and observed me, his face remaining impassive. What a sight I must be; I could only imagine the mess my hair was; the blood on my clothes couldn’t be too reassuring either. And the scowl on my face; my father had repeatedly told me that anger and annoyance were the two emotions I hid the least well. And while he studied me, I took a closer look at him as well, or rather his position. He was standing slightly in front of the others, had been even before he stepped closer. There was a sword on his side like the five knights though he didn’t have a cape; he wasn’t even wearing armor. Maybe he wasn’t a knight but he seemed to have been trained by one, that much was obvious from the way his hand was hovering close to the hilt but not quite touching it, the way his feet stood slightly apart but would catch any attack. Everyone seemed to be looking at him, like he was important around here, the one to make the important decisions.