Six Rivers Kingdom - The Phoenix King

Finding Freedom

Aerabella woke to the sound of rustling and voices. Her instincts kicked in and she stood intending too run, but her body was too weak. She used a tree to stabilize herself and grabbed a stick from the ground for protection.

Two men walked through the brush, one carrying a bow and the other a blade. Neither of them wore the kings insignia nor did she recognize them. Surely they had to be able to help her. she dropped the stick and approached the men.

"Help please." She barely whispered before falling to her knees.

"Whoah there." The man with the blade caught her before she fell completely to the ground and once again everything went black.

...................

Two men walked side by side. They were hunting for their dinner and had just shot a buck they were tracking. They followed the trail as they spoke to one another but what they found was better than a buck.

A young woman stood on the path before them. When she saw them she dropped the stick she had been holding and walked towards them. She was naked and her body was badly scarred. She was skinny with every rib showing and her hip and shoulder bones were jutting out.

"Help please." She whispered.

"Whoa there!" The first man with the blade jumped forward and caught her before she could fully hit the ground. She was already unconscious.

"What luck." said the second man with the bow, "She has a pretty face, I'm sure she could fetch us a pretty penny."

"Yes, but who will pay for such a scarred creature?" the first man was skeptical. He didn't know where she came from or who might be searching for her.

"We can cover them up. I'm sure some of the other women will spare some of their clothing for her." Said the second man.

The first man scooped up the naked woman and the second man followed as they continued to hunt their deer. Once the deer was found both men headed back to their camp.

A third man sat tending to a camp fire. "I've got the spit ready, what's for dinner?" he asked.

"Venison" the second man, with the bow, smiled as he dropped the deer next to the fire.

"Right, I'll get to work then." the 3rd man said as he started cutting into the dead animal.

"I'll put her with the others. Can you back me up?" the first man asked the second man.

"Sure" the second man followed the first man to the waggon and they drop the girl in. the other women are chained in the back, five total all young.

They didn't bother chaining the new girl, she was too weak to fight them. They would eat and deal with her later.

...............

The women locked in the cage took pitty on the naked girl and began to try and dress her as best as they could. they gave her an under skirt and one of the girls had a petty coat that didn't have sleeves. so they worked at removing it and put it on the new girl. at least she would be covered and a little warmer. The women wished they could do more but they weren't in any better of a position to.

Suddenly the women heard screaming from the three men who held them captive. then everything went quiet. All of them were too frightened to move. A strange fourth man came from the darkness swinging a key on his finger, not just any key, but the key to their freedom.

"How about we get you all out of there?" he smiled at them gently.

All the women started to cry, as they extended their hands to be freed. they had been stolen from the next village over in the middle of the night. it was a 3 day walk but they didn't care. all they wanted was to go home.

The new man unlocked all of the women and they all hugged one another and began to walk off.

"Wait, take some rations with you. you have a long journey back." the new man said.

One of the women stepped forward and accepted the food. She thanked him.

"She's not one of us." the young woman motioned to the unconscious girl, "she may need more help."

All of the women left quickly then.