The General's Daughter

Chapter 9

I thought I would go mad from the constant darkness and isolation. The only indication of time was when that man who'd first appeared with Garvan, opened the door to leave some food and water, and to change the chamber pot. I assumed he appeared once a day, which meant that I'd been prisoner for three days already.

Each time I saw him, I tried to get information. I asked how long I'd be here, if it was day or night, what their plans for me were, if I could have a lantern and something other than apples to eat. He'd ignored me every time, only bothering to laugh or leer.

I began thinking it would go on forever and I honestly wasn't sure if it was better or worse to hope for that possibility.

When the door opened, I jumped as usual. I sat at the table, feeling as I so often did in this place, as if bugs were crawling all over me.

The man approached the table with the usual apple and cup of water in his hands.

"How long do you intend to keep me here?" I demanded, faking courage I didn't feel. "Where is my father?"

Sneering, he placed the items on the table and then grabbed my arms, pulling me from the chair.

"There were no orders about keeping you untarnished." He leered. "Let's see if we can't put that mouth of yours to better use."

"No-!"

He kissed me roughly, his sour breath making me gag. I struggled uselessly against him as he began forcing me toward the cot, but then I remembered what Aunt Keira had taught me.

Hoping she was right about the effect, I put my hands on his shoulders and brought my knee up as hard as I could between his legs.

To my great relief, it worked. He released me instantly and clutched the spot that I'd hit.

As my aunt also taught me, I followed the strike with a forceful thrust to his nose with my palm and then a sharp jab to his side with my elbow.

Not seeming to know where to hold himself, he bent over, moaning in pain and I took the opportunity to run out the door. Fighting the urge to keep running, I pulled the door closed behind me before twisting the key that was still in the lock. A second later, he began pounding on the door, shouting angrily.

Without stopping to waste time by congratulating myself, I quickly pulled the key from the lock and turned to navigate the dimly lit space I was currently in. It was a house of some sort. Like the room where I'd been confined, this one was all made of dirt too. There seemed to be just the two rooms and, thankfully, this one was unoccupied.

I spied the door and made my way toward it, stopping only to grab the dagger that lay across the table. Hesitantly, I pushed the door open, gripping the dagger tightly and praying there was no one on the other side. Other than the obvious of sticking the sharp end into whoever I was fighting off, I didn't have a clue what to do with a dagger.

I breathed a quick sigh of relief when I saw that this place was completely deserted. The house was built into the side of a large hill and there wasn't another structure or person anywhere in sight. There was only a large open field and a forest straight ahead. At least, that's all I could see. Luckily for my still adjusting eyes, it was night time.

The relief I felt at realizing that I was alone, rapidly turned to dismay. I had no idea where I was, and I felt certain that this place was nowhere near the kingdom.

Which direction should I go? I'd never been outside of the kingdom on my own. I barely paid attention when I did take those trips, so even if I could see some sort of landmark, I wouldn't know what it meant or how far the kingdom was.