The Gift of War [bxb]

Branded

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...

Ryan did not realise how long he had been running for. It could have been mere seconds, or it could have very well been hours. But what he did realize was that he was in danger.

Grave danger.

He was losing his breath, his legs were getting cramped, the cloak hindered his speed, and his wildly beating heart made his chest hurt. The three girls ahead of him were probably troubled with the same conditions too, if their slowly decreasing speed had anything to tell. Ryan could not blame them. They were little girls, they were not made for war, they were not meant to fight. All they knew was basic first-aid. And he knew he didn't fare any better.

Somehow, even though he was running at his fastest speed, the Perion soldiers were faster than him with their burly, muscly legs. If he didn't have the jumpstart, they would have caught him by now. Although it seemed like the soldiers didn't mind the run, they were quite into the chase, if their excited jeers indicated anything, probably feeling a sick rush in terrorizing the younger ones. Perions were twisted like that.

The route was dusty, it lead to the outskirts of his land. There was no house or building in sight, only a never ending line that didn't really promise freedom. In other words, there was no escape and the only thing that kept him going was the adrenaline pumping in his veins.

The Prince wondered if it would be easier to just give up now.

And then it happened. One of the girls fell down, crying out in pain and the other girls stopped too, rushing back to their friend and urging her to get back up. But the poor girl had twisted her ankle and could move no longer without hopping on one leg.

Ryan's eyes widened and just as he moved his head to glance at his pursuers, a hand grabbed both of his legs and yanked, making him fall face first to the muddy ground.

"Ran enough, boy?"

...

"Let us go! You bastards!"

He struggled in the hands of the soldier that held him, the girls doing the same.

Another soldier came and stomped on his foot. "Sorry, but you made us chase you enough, boy."

Ryan bit his lip in order to not cry out as he felt his toes being crushed by the force. The soldiers that held the girls tightened their holds, bruising their soft skin and making them cry harder. They were brutes, and they looked like it too, with their huge, tall forms, armours that covered their chests and shoulder but left their arms open to the air, the short pants that covered their lower bodies, barely covering their muscled thighs. They were so unlike Sythian soldiers, who wore full-clothed uniforms and minimum armours, that it would be comical to the Prince if it weren't for the serious situation.

"You son of a bitch!" He spat at the soldier spitefully. Curses were foreign to him, he never had any use of them before. But looking at the man in front of him with hate-filled eyes, he could understand why people used those kinds of words. He took solace in the taken-aback look on the Perion's face.

"Hmm, you have quite the mouth there." The heavily built man grinned, showing his slightly yellow teeth. "It would look good on a wall, don't you think so, men?" He asked his fellow soldiers who laughed in agreement and encouragement.