Under the Cursed Grand Magus

Stella Rider lay huddled on the cold floor of a cage, half-conscious and badly beaten and bruised. Her temples throbbed painfully from where she had been hit with the hilt of a sword, her brown bangs clung to dried blood. Curling into herself for warmth, Stella tried not to hear the cries and whimpers of the other women from her village. They had been captured by the neighboring mercenaries of the Kingdom of Freyr and were being transported through the cold mountains in a cage-drawn carriage. Winter had just fallen and none of the women had warm clothes to cover themselves with. Stella’s entire body felt stiff and numb from the chilly air, as she could not huddle with the other women for warmth, she was left to endure the chill on her own. Keeping her eyes shut, she tried to drown out the sobbing and whimpering sounds of the other women, all young and beautiful. In her heart, Stella believed that she would be sold into slavery and bought by a disgusting noble or lord who only wanted her for her body. The thought of losing all rights to her own life petrified her and Stella withdrew into herself to avoid falling apart like the other women. Instead, she focused her thoughts on remembering her father, Lord James and Lord of the Knighton of Rider. In her youth, she had begged her father to teach her about survival and how to fend for herself. Lord James had been reluctant until the very end because he believed she would never know danger. Now Stella found herself at the mercy of men and mercenaries of the neighboring kingdom. She couldn’t stop the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and helplessness growing inside of her. Silent, hot tears streamed down Stella’s face and Molly, a close friend of Stella’s, seeing her tearful and shivering, crawled to Stella’s side and lay embracing Stella to help her feel warm. By nightfall, the bandits set up camp near the road. While they were setting up camp, the leader of the mercenary group approached each of the cages filled with women and children. The leader was a tall, brooding man with a short temper. On seeing all the hostages freezing half to death, the man angrily scolded his men for not taking better care of their ‘product’ and about how no one would buy a ‘frozen corpse’. Soon the mercenaries were distributing thick, rough blankets, though not nearly enough to keep everyone warm. They covered the cages with tarps to keep the wind chill out. Meanwhile, Stella and the captive women, sat in silence, huddled together to keep the cold away with the help of a few blankets that they all shared. “I want to go home.” Whimpered Alice was only a few years older than Stella and a close friend. Alice was a tall blonde with curly hair, plump lips, and bright hazel eyes. Before they had been captured, Alice had been preparing to marry Johnathan Peck, a man of humble upbringing and the son of a potter in their village. Now, covered in cuts and bruises, Alice sat shivering next to Stella. “I want to go home.” She whispered, “I don’t want to be here, I want to be with Jonathan.” Continued Alice tearfully “Shh, don’t say that, or they’ll hear you.” Molly, usually a bright and bubbly girl with short brown hair hushed Alice, “Shhh” Stella tried to quiet them, but her voice was weak, pushing up onto her elbows, Stella weakly lifted her head to meet Alice’s frightened gaze. “Stella, you shouldn’t try to move, you need to rest.” whispered Molly worriedly offering Stella her shoulder for support. “It’s alright Molly, I’m alright.” Steading herself with Molly’s help, Stella returned her attention to Alice. “I know how you feel.” Began Stella in a whisper, “But, if you speak or cry too loudly, you’ll get the attention of those mercenaries, and they may try to hurt you, like they did when I resisted being taken away by them.” It was true, after the mercenaries had razed the village to the ground, they focused on the mansion Stella called home and one by one, the guards her father had left behind to defend her where all killed. In a panic to save her life, Stella had run, but she had only made it to the gate of the mansion when she found her father’s lifeless body crumbled on the ground. Stella had flown into a fit of rage, picking up her father’s sword and attacking the men, only to be easily disarmed and beaten to the ground. Alice’s teeth chattered, seeing how badly Stella had been beaten and that only urged her to cry out louder, sobbing that she wanted to go home. Stella and Molly tried to calm her down, but she was inconsolable, it was too late. One of the mercenaries heard Alice crying, and he strolled up to the cage with rosy cheeks, possibly from intoxication. “Wha? You wan’ta go home? Home ta where? Ya don’t have a home no more remember?” Putting his face to the bar, the man’s breath reeked of alcohol. “Sorry girlie, but that Jonatan fellow ain’t comin’ta save ya, cause ya’wanna know why? We killed’em! hahaha” babbled the man between hiccups and burps, “No… he’s not…dead.” began Alice but Molly hushed her again, “Hey broad! Shadup!” Molly jumped at the man’s response, and she scooted away, turning her gaze to the floor. “Now tell me girlie, which Jonatan do ya’want?” Alice paused, unsure of what to do, only causing the man to shout louder. “Don’t play dumb with me! Which one? Or is it all three of’em?” This time, two other mercenaries joined the first, asking what he was yelling about. “I heard this broad talkin’bout not wantin ta’ be here and wantin ta’ be with Johnatan. So, I asked her which one cause we got three of’em and she won’t answer me.” The other two men looked at each other and then at Alice with lustful smiles. “Why not have a little fun with’er.” Smiled one of the men pulling roughly on the rope that bound Alice’s wrists, “I’m feeling charitable tonight,” grinning broadly, the men drew closer to Alice and began groping her roughly, causing her to scream and cry out. Alice tried to resist and pull away, but they only pulled on her rope harder, knocking her down and dragging her back. Stella felt her body scream as she forced herself to her knees and threw herself onto Alice, helping her pull back again from the men. Seeing Stella help, Alice urged the other women to help, pulling back on the rope until the men had no choice but to let go and the women to fall back against the bars of the cage. “What’s goin’on here?” came the rough voice of the mercenary leader, a tall man with dark features and a grim expression. The boss looked from his men to the scared women, and how the women huddled together to protect each other from them. He looked vexed and sent a hard fist into the side of the face of the first man who had pressed his face to the bars. “Knock it off you damned fools! Don’t get any ideas about damaging our product. How are we supposed to sell damaged goods? Huh?! If any of you mess with them, I’ll kill you.” The men immediately apologized and rushed off, taking their unconscious comrade with them. “It’s alright now ladies,” began the man, stepping closer to the cage, “They won’t hurt you now. Try and get some rest, we’ll be selling you off to a slave merchant tomorrow, so try to last through the night.”