Rhett | Labyrinth 2 |✔

Chapter 2

I woke to the sound of heavy footsteps above me. The uneven motion fogged my head with a sickly, giddy feeling. I could smell the ocean and guessed that I was below deck on some kind of ship.

Blinking my eyes, I attempted to stand, only to realize that my wrists and ankles were bound together by rope. I tried to struggle free but the binds had been tied too tightly. The more I struggled, the more the rope bit into my skin.

Moonlight pooled in through the porthole, and after struggling to get into an upright sitting position, I shuffled towards it. I couldn't make out the land from the ocean, it was so dark outside. All I could hear was the crashing sound of waves.

Someone murmured beside me. It sounded like a female's voice, but I couldn't see anything. The light was dim, but I was able to make out the faint sound of soft snores all around me. Leaning back, I rest my head against the waxed wood, feeling awash with hopelessness. I was under the impression that I had agreed to this of my own free will... Not to be held as a captive.

I was terrified, but despite my situation, all I could think about was Petr. My welfare was not my main focal point. I knew what I had to do, I just wasn't sure how I was supposed to achieve it. 

The only hope that I could cling to was that Sister Mary Agnes would keep to her word. That she would use the gold to get Petr the help that he needed. I had to trust that she hadn't just lured me into a trap, just to reap the benefits for herself.

I had been raised to see the best in people. I knew that I was far too trusting, and that made me vulnerable and naïve. We were taught to invest all of our faith into the hands of the Lord. And I knew that if I was to survive this hellish ordeal, I would need to invest some faith in myself.

My heart leapt into my throat as the door swung open unexpectedly. A dark, hulking figure stepped into the room, holding up a lantern. My teeth chattered as my body shook.

"Who's there?" My fragile voice was barely audible.

The figure crept closer, holding the lantern up to a beam where he secured it onto a hook. The room flooded with a dim yellow glow, and I could finally take in my surroundings.

There were others like me, but they were lying on the floor, bound and unconscious. I counted eleven other women. There wasn't much else, apart from a few wooden crates.

My gaze snapped up towards the figure, only to realize that it was a young man, and not a beast at all. His raven hair hung past his shoulders and his grey eyes creased as he smiled. He towered over me, well over six feet tall, and his godly physique looked as if he had been sculpted from stone.

He was dressed in animal skins like a warrior of some sort. I couldn't determine his age, but I could hazard a fairly good guess that he was still in his teenage years, if only by a year or two.

"You're awake early," he sounded surprised. His voice was as smooth as velvet and soothingly pleasant.

"Why am I bound?" I asked, lifting my wrists as evidence.

The person standing before me didn't look as dangerously intimidating as the creature who came to collect me from the orphanage.

"Precautions, I'm afraid. You tried to struggle, and then you fainted. I carried you to the ship, and then you were bound like the rest of the maidens. It is for your protection, you see. Women in the past, have tried to jump from the ship and have almost drowned," he replied, seeming almost compassionate.