Guardian (Sequel to Fearless)

Chapter Fifty Two

The leadership conference ran smoothly. Of course, that didn't mean that General Rothstead's report has eased anything at all in the mighty woman. In fact, Hench was disturbed. Other lords and barons had been reported to coming in to Riasion's estate as of late, bringing their men at arms. That could only mean two things: the baron was aware that he was about to come under attack, and that there might be more than just one man in power that thrived on the cruel trafficking business.

Hench cursed under her breath just thinking about the concept of expansion. How many people in this world could truly be so awful?

It wasn't going to be an easy fight. Not only were there far more people getting ready to hold down the estate, the place itself was very easily defensible. It would be incredibly hard to breach the walls from the outside. If the scouts spoke true, they were all uniting under an incredible captain as well. Captain Anderfail, he had been named. What a nightmare.

What unsettled Hench the most wasn't whether or not they could do it. The Remorda Guardians were perhaps the country's most incredible combatants, after all. It was how many of them would have to die for this victory. The thought of guardians lying down in pools of blood, dead in their black robes was something that brought bile to the mighty woman's throat. Herein was the hard part of being a commander here... sometimes they sent people to their deaths.

As she walked through the halls, she heard the whispers all around her. She felt the stares. Oh, she tried to ignore them --tried to pretend that no one knew about her past. The words rape and trafficking were tossed around like sacks, as were the phrases poor lass and what a shame that happened to her. They sympathized with her, true. They wanted to fight for her, which was good. Yet, they felt sorry for her.

On this day, Hench couldn't help but feel like she was no longer seen the same. She'd feared that part the most. No one looked at her right now like the tough commander she'd worked so incredibly hard to become. No. She was the girl who'd gotten raped.

Hench couldn't help herself trembling. Suddenly, she felt naked in front of all of them --laid bare for all to see. She was the rape girl. And what a terrible title that was to hold, to be defined by. Her hands trembled a little, and she clenched them into fists to make them less noticeable. She held her chin up. This won't break me, she vowed to herself. They're just trying to be nice. They don't know what they're saying is killing me.

The words in her head didn't do much. The dark hole inside her had begun to open, and it was all she could do not to be consumed by the blackness of panic. She was weak again. Hench stopped walking for a minute, feeling sick to her stomach. The whispers were all around her, boxing her in like a wild animal. She was trapped again.

Trapped....

Trapped... TRAPPED!

All of the sudden, she couldn't breathe. Hench choked on the thick air and shut her eyes. She still felt the eyes on her back. This is why she'd never wanted to tell anyone. If they all knew, she couldn't escape.

Be strong. Be strong. She opened her eyes. Suddenly, she wasn't in the guardian sanctuary anymore. Suddenly, she wasn't even Hench anymore. She was little Cricket again. She staggered backwards at the sudden change. Faces that had long since haunted her returned to her memory. Her eyes flicked to the corner, and Baron Riasion was standing there watching her. The baron's soldiers were all around.

Hench fought back, blinking twice. No. Not this. She thought to herself, trying to snap out of it. No. You're having an episode. She thought, suddenly gasping for each laborious breath. None of this is real anymore. You're hallucinating. No matter how hard Hench had ever tried, when her brain started playing tricks on her... she could never stand up to it. There was something broken in the depths of her mind, and neither Azabela nor Sorella were here to hit her with the Red Viscount's Venom this time.