The Hunted Princess

Chapter 4

The moon still shone over her as though trying to guide her escape, but the ground was flat, with very few trees, almost no bushes, and even fewer ditches to hide in. Leaving the open path may have been her best chance to survive, but it in no way guaranteed it.

Vera’s lungs had never burned like they did now as she gulped in the cold night air. Every gasp brought new pain, and her legs were so shaky she could barely stay upright. It seemed like every rock made her trip, doubling her panic when she realized she couldn’t even outrun a small child in her condition. The panic brought on by the sudden chase was making her even more vulnerable than she had been to begin with.

She hadn’t even been running ten minutes when she reached another patch of trees. She could hear dogs barking behind her; she assumed Lord Aberon had them on stand-by to chase her down, but really if he looked hard enough across the horizon he should be able to see her anyway.

“Some hunt this would turn out to be!” Vera thought wryly that an injured rabbit would be more entertaining than chasing her down in her pathetic state. She hadn’t been able to catch her breath since Lord Aberon had choked her, and her legs were wobbly after being dropped, not to mention the shakiness of fear coursing through her.

As she was passing the trees she thought for a second that maybe she saw a figure moving between them, but the approaching sound of heavy footsteps and barking dogs behind her emptied her mind of any thoughts except putting one foot in front of the other. She tried her best to lengthen her strides, but the pain in her lungs only doubled because of her efforts, and she quickly realized that this was all pointless.

The dogs were only a few dozen feet behind her, with a giant man following them who would beat her to death if his dogs didn’t rip her to shreds first, and a greasy haired man behind him who would probably laugh at her miserable death either way.

A sob distorted her features for a moment as the overwhelming sense of helplessness washed over her entire body. She couldn’t move anymore, and felt like she should enjoy her last moments of life by remembering those few minutes of precious freedom she’d had before this chase started.

She gazed upon the moon, staring down at her quietly. How hopeful that bright orb had made her less than an hour ago, versus how defeated she felt now! It had never made her happy before tonight to see it, but suddenly she thought it the most beautiful sight in the world as the pounding of four legged creatures started to shake the ground beneath her.

When she thought the dogs must be within striking distance Vera closed her eyes. She wanted the moon to be the last thing she saw in this life, not some mangy hounds tearing her apart. She only hoped they were trained to kill quickly, and not to save the prey for their master.

The barks and howls were deafening, and so close she thought she could feel the warmth of their breaths on her legs. She gritted her teeth, not wanting to give the lord the enjoyment of hearing her screams…

Then the barks turned to whimpers as a different kind of thud sounded behind Vera’s back. The howls were cut off abruptly, one by one, and the pounding feet stopped.

Vera still didn’t move. The pain she was expecting hadn’t come, but there was no way that she had been saved. Who in this world would?

The dogs were grunted and whimpering louder the more quick thuds rang out, until the loudest of the steps finally caught up. Vera clenched again, knowing it was Lord Aberon who would end her now…hopefully. The dogs were a quick death, but the Lord wanted someone to bear heirs….she would rather be ended by the dogs.

But she never felt another hit from him, either! Instead, his grunts soon mingled with the sound of the dogs, only even louder. Vera unclenched one of her eyes and turned slightly, still afraid she would see a giant fist, or maul coming at her, but also worried about whatever might be stopping them.

She would never have thought that instead of seeing the giant lord and dogs looming over her, ready to attack all at once, she would see the group of them rolling on the muddy ground at her feet! All the dogs were bigger and shaggier than ones she’d seen, but they were whimpering and crawling away from her the same as a homeless stray being kicked in the street.

Lord Aberon, the giant himself, was on all fours, seeming to struggle to pick himself up, and she could see in the dim light that one of his legs was bent at an unnatural angle. He covered his face with one hand, and grunted as he tried to push himself up again, but the weight on his leg, or the pain, sent him crashing back to the ground. He wasn’t able to put his hand out fast enough and his face hit the muddy ground with a harsh smack.

“How dare you!? You’ll pay, peasant!” The greasy man had finally caught up, panting and sweating in his dark outfit. He had seen the whole thing while approaching much slower than the others, but had the sense to stop a bit away. He pointed a crooked finger at Vera.

“You, girl, come here, now!” Vera took a step back instead, as a shadow grew out of the trees to her right. The more it grew the more greasy man’s eyes widened, but it blocked Vera from seeing him. The shadow stood between her and the small group of dogs and men. Something in the back of Vera’s mind told her she should take this chance to keep running, but she couldn’t get her legs to listen, since they were struggling just to hold her up now.

“You-you’re a…stop, creature! Don’t touch me, you filth!” his voice grew smaller and smaller as the shadow moved closer to him, away from Vera. In less than four strides it had reached the man, looming over him, and the next moment that man had joined the others on the ground. Only he wasn’t even conscious enough to whimper or moan.

Vera gasped when she saw the man crumple. The shadow had formed a humanoid appearance, but it was to bulky to be called human, and Vera wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or more afraid than ever at it’s appearance. There was a pause, where it seemed the air stopped moving in anticipation of what would happen next. Vera shuddered, but looking at her would be killers and captors on the ground didn’t make her feel afraid.

Instead she felt free again! Maybe this shadow was here to help her?

“T-thank you…I owe you-,”

“Yes, you do. Remember that.” The shadow had a deep, guttural voice with sharp words that cut through any warm feelings Vera might have had toward it. A shudder ran from the small of her back all the way to her brain, like a feral warning of danger, and sweat she’d been able to ignore so far chilled her skin.

The shadow turned slowly, barely allowing the moon to show it’s face, but something about it didn’t feel right to Vera. The shape of it’s head somehow looked wrong, and something glinted slightly where it’s mouth would be, if it were human. Vera suddenly remembered what the greasy man had called this thing. A creature? So not a human?

The deeper the dread pooled in her stomach, the more the shadow turned, until at last, it was very apparent that this was indeed not a human. In the moonlight, stood a tall (almost as tall as Lord Aberon), muscled-to-the-point-he-must-have-been-built-of-rock, green giant, with two sharp tusks coming from his under lip.

Vera couldn’t stop the gasp from escaping when he faced her completely. The last bit of blood that was in her face felt like it dropped to her feet in a second.

“Y-you’re a-a,”

“An orc. Yes. And you’re coming with me.”

Later, Vera would blame the long night she’d had, and the fear from before, but at the moment, the thought of being chased again, and by someone completely new, was enough to finally push her body past it’s breaking point. The next moment, she had crumpled to the ground like the others around her, but completely faint.