The Gardener's Daughter

Chapter 2: The first lesson

"Cass." A voice from beside her muttered.

Cass moved her head over, attempting to roll away from the noise and sleep a bit longer.

"Cass!" The voice grew louder, much to Cass' displeasure, but she still refused to open her eyes.

"Cassiopeia!" The voice screeched, causing Cass to jump.

Her eyes snapped wide open, and instantly a painful ache screamed through her body. "Shhhhh." She groaned as the noise made her head feel worse.

"You're awake! Finally!" Theo grumbled as he tried to get Cass to look his way. His throat was raw from calling her name over and over, getting more worried each time Cass didn't wake up.

Cass let her eyes drift around her, allowing them to adjust to the darkness. She could barely make out her legs but could feel the rope tied around her ankles, in addition to the rope wrapped around her wrist that hoisted her arms above her.

"Where are we?" Cass called out, her voice croaking as it left her lips.

"We were travelling for a while, further out north past the field," Theo responded. They had covered his eyes, so his ideas on the location were only educated guesses. "I think we're in a cave."

"A cave," Cass repeated as she suddenly felt suffocated by the cave's chilling air. "How long was I out for?"

Theo shrugged and turned to face where he thought she was. "Longer than that time Nick hit you with the butt of his sword."

"That long."

"Yeah," Theo muttered. "I was scared." He continued in a whisper, dropping his eyes to the ground that he couldn't see. "I didn't know if you were ever going to wake up, Cass."

Theo let out a small sniff that bounced around the cave, and Cass realised how truly terrified he must have been. "I'm okay, Theo."

Cass wiggled her fingers and toes, ensuring they were still there, but the cold had made them so numb she struggled to move them. She was okay. She had to believe that, or else the ominous feeling of fear would grow.

And Cass refused to be scared. Her father had always told her that fear was the true enemy when in a fight. He said to her that even the best soldiers fell on the battlefield when they felt afraid, and Cass had never doubted her father before. "We're going to get out of this." Cass finally said as she gritted her teeth.

"I don't know." Theo started, his voice coming out as crushed as he felt.

"No! We are Theo," Cass said with growing determination, a determination so strong that Theo couldn't help but smile into the dark. "We just have to wait for the right time, don't lose hope, Theo."

"You're right." Theo grinned. "Boy, am I glad that I'm here with you!" Theo said as more relief washed over him. "I'd be a complete goner without you."

Cass let out a little laugh.

"Seriously! The way you took down those grown men! You're so cool, Cass." Theo continued as Cass' laugh grew. "I want to be like you when I grow up."

Cass rolled her eyes as her smile remained large. "You're an idiot."

"When we get out of here," Theo began, culminating a seriousness in his tone, "I'm telling my father that I demand you to be my guard and that I won't accept anyone else."

"Really?"

"You're the only person I trust, Cass."

"Well, I'd be honoured, your majesty."

~

"I won that fight," Cass yelled at Theo.

Theo could only laugh in response.

"Seriously, Theo! I won."

"In what world would you winning a fight, be you lying unconscious on the floor?" Theo breathed through laughs.

"I was not unconscious," Cass whined, slightly less confident, "I was sleeping."

"Ha, I'm sure!" Theo scoffed. "You were out for so long that even Nick started to get worried."

"I was-" Cass mumbled a few words before stopping. Her eyes snapped to the side.

"Cass, there's no way you can turn this into you winning. You lost fair and square." Theo continued, oblivious to Cass' stopping.

"Theo," Cass interjected.

"No, Cass, you cannot convince me."

Cass rolled her eyes at his stupidity. "Shut up, Theo! I can hear something." She yelled, forcing Theo to stop his nattering.

Theo looked around the cave to see what Cass was talking about. A bang suddenly echoed through the cave, the way the noise bounced off the walls made it challenging to work out the origin.

"What was that?" Theo whispered, struggling to speak louder than the beating in his chest.

Cass didn't respond as her eyes darted around the cave.

Another bang sounded, and Theo let out a small yelp of surprise.

"Who's there?" Cass yelled confidently, standing her ground as best she could. Her ears were ringing as she yelled out again. "Who's there?"

"Nice to know you're awake, little girl." A voice cackled in response. "Thought maybe I'd hit you a bit too hard."

A man stepped out of the shadows, closely followed by two other men.

"You mean when you hit me whilst I was surrendering because you were too much of a coward to face a little girl in combat?" Cass quickly spat back as she maintained eye contact with the man speaking.

He was shorter than she remembered. His hair was cut to the point where he seemed bald, and his eyes were small and beady.

He was also quick to anger, threatening to jump at Cass when she began taunting him. But the man was held back by the older gentleman in front.

Cass recognised him as the man who held a dagger to Theo's throat. His scars looked even more gruesome than they did in the forest.

"Enough." The man commanded, sending a chill down the children's spines. "Eleanor, Sheila. Come."

His words were enough to stop Cass from biting back. She may have been young, but she had enough experience to know how to recognise the man in charge.

Two women strut out of the shadows, their faces bruised and egos damaged from fighting Theo and Cass.

The taller woman had her hair tied back tightly, to the point Cass couldn't help but think it hurt. And the more petite woman's eyes were squinted as they stared at Theo.

"Take her." The man suddenly instructed.

"What?" Theo called out as he watched the woman move towards Cass. "Leave her alone! What do you want with her?"

Cass remained still, she knew the moment they'd been waiting for was coming. She felt the shorter woman fiddle with the rope on her ankle whilst the taller woman pulled the rope on her wrists.

"Hey! Stop!" Theo kept yelling as he saw his best friend not fighting back. "Take me! Take me! Leave her alone!"

Cass didn't bother to let Theo into her plan as she needed his reactions to be realistic, but then as soon as her ankles were free, she kicked her knee as hard as she could into the short woman's face. The woman screamed as she fell to the ground clutching her nose.

"That b*tch! She broke my nose." The woman screamed.

Theo immediately shut up as he realised what was happening.

Cass thought her hands were free but the moment she tried to pull her hands down to fight, she realised she hadn't waited long enough. Her hands were still tied.

"Cass watch out." Theo yelled slightly too late as the woman managed to sink her fist into Cass' stomach. Cass had no way to stop the punch and could only let out a loud gasp as she struggled to breathe in.

"Ouch. When will you learn your lesson, little girl?" One of the men taunted her as he watched Cass struggle to catch her breath.

The taller woman grabbed Cass' hair and yanked her head back. "You are such a pain!"

Cass kicked wildly, trying her best to hurt the woman in some way.

"Enough!" The older man shouted as he pulled out his knife. He pointed the blade at Cass as he walked towards her. Cass watched, unable to do anything, her head beginning to hurt from where the woman was still pulling.

"No!" Theo cried as he started to fear for his friend's life. "She's sorry! Don't hurt her! Don't hurt her!"

The older man stopped right in front of her, and gently pressed the knife against the thin skin of her throat. Cass swallowed nervously and felt as the blade dug in deeper, starting to draw blood.

"Stop fighting. You'll go with Eleanor and Sheila because your other choice is going with James over there."

The woman holding Cass still let out a whine. "Just kill her. She has given us enough hassle."

Cass maintained a brave face, staring the man in the eyes as he stared back. She couldn't look over at Theo, she knew she'd break if she did.

"No." The man said calmly. "I'm giving her a chance, she'll make a good addition." The man continued.

"Addition to what?" Cass asked as bravely as she could, still not looking away.

"Stop fighting us and maybe you'll stay alive long enough to find out." The man responded with a humourless tone.

Theo stomped around, pulling as hard as he could against the rope. "Cass, don't go with them!"

The short woman walked up to Cass, swiping at her nose with the back of her hand to ensure the blood didn't get into her mouth.

Cass resisted the urge to smile as the woman scowled. "That looks like it hurts."

"Hilarious." The woman spat back as she untied Cass' wrist.

As soon as her wrists were tied, the tall woman let go of Cass's hair to then hold her own knife to Cass' throat. "Walk." The tall woman then commanded, not giving Cass any time before shoving her.

Cass stumbled a little, causing the knife to cut her again, but she quickly caught her balance as she began walking without protest. Her eyes turned slightly as they passed Theo, and Cass caught his eye.

Theo went to open his mouth to protest against this but caught the look in Cass' eye. She widened her eyes slightly and let him know that it wasn't worth it. "I'll find you," Cass whispered so quietly that she could barely hear her own words, but Theo seemed to recognise what she said as he nodded.

And with one last look, Cass was pushed out of the cave. The dawning sun pierced her eyes, but she couldn't lift her hands to shield them as the woman had tied her hands together at some point whilst Cass wasn't paying attention.

"This way." One of the women called.

They walked across a field, the knife kept against her throat the whole time until they eventually approached a small gathering of trees.

The trees were large and stood closely together, separating them from the outside forest. Cass immediately saw a girl tied to one of the trees. The girl had bright blonde hair and a red graze across her cheek. Her blue eyes were red from crying, and she refused to look up.

The woman dragged Cass over to another tree, opposite the girl, and tied her in place.

"Lose the attitude. You aren't getting out." The tall woman said as the small woman walked away. "You fought hard. You'll be a good asset if you make it through the tests."

Cass furrowed her eyebrows in confusion but didn't make an effort to ask any questions. The woman checked the ropes one last time and followed the small woman out of the trees, leaving Cass and the girl alone.

The girl let out a light sob, and Cass looked over to see she had started crying again. "What's your name?"

The girl swallowed another cry and finally met Cass' glance. "Kiara."

"That's pretty," Cass said with a small smile.

The girl blinked her wet eyelashes before letting out a small thank you.

"I'm Cass," Cass responded, filling in the gloomy silence. "Do you know where we are?"

"The order of deliverance. This is where they keep the children they find until they 'test' them." Kiarna answered with a sniff.

"Do you know what they mean by test?"

The girl shook her head. "There were two other girls that they took, and neither of them came back from the 'test'."

Cass had only heard about the order from the children's stories around the castle. She was always told they didn't exist, but her father never failed to remind her of how real they were. The order were said to kidnap children that strayed too far, but no one knew what happened to them after that.

Kiara let out a small sniff and Cass looked back at her.

"I'm going to get us out of this," Cass whispered confidently.

Kiara had no reason to trust Cass. She was a random girl with barely any meat on her bones and too many injuries. But for some reason, the girl inspired confidence, and Kiara knew she could put faith in her.

"Do you hear that?" Cass suddenly asked, making Kiara jump.

Kiara shook her head, but Cass knew what she heard. She kept silent, twisting her head all-around to confirm what she heard.

"Horses!" Kiara shouted. "Look, horses," Kiara said with a smile as she pointed behind Cass towards a gap in the trees.

Cass strained her head to get a look at the horses as they began to thunder past them. Cass observed them carefully, noticing the men on top wearing the armour of her kingdom.

"It's Nick!" Cass shouted with a smile. "They've come to help us!"

"Who?"

"My kingdom, they came. We're saved!" Cass said, grinning from ear to ear.

Suddenly, the two women from earlier rushed back in, clutching daggers. "Stay quiet." One of them seethed, fear present in her tone.

"I warned you!" Cass screamed. "They're here for Theo and me, and they'll save Kiara too."

The woman shared a look.

"You messed with the wrong people, and now you'll pay," Cass said with a malicious grin. "Theo! Nick! Over here! We're over here!"

"Over here!" Kiara joined, confident Cass was right.

The short woman rushed to Cass, stuffing her mouth with a dirty cloth to shut her up. But Cass didn't care; she knew they'd find her regardless. Theo wouldn't leave without her.

A few moments passed, and suddenly shouts erupted from nearby. The shouting quickly stopped after a clash of metal, and suddenly, Cass could hear Theo calling her name.

She quirked her eyebrow at the short woman before her, who then shot a fearful look at the taller woman.

Theo would find her at any second, and this would be over. Cass knew it would be. She would go home and see her father again. Maybe she'd ease up on Nick a little in thanks for saving her.

She waited and waited. She could see Kiara's smile faltering a little as time went by, but Cass' didn't move in the slightest.

But then, the horses started to move again. Their hooves began thundering against the grassy floor, and they moved away from Cass.

Cass tried to explain as the woman took the cloth from her mouth.

"First lesson, royalty doesn't care about you." The woman said with a frown.

Cass' breathing came out shakily as she turned towards the gap in the trees. She couldn't believe it. She refused to believe Theo would ever leave her behind. And yet, with her very eyes, she could see little Theo perched on the back of his father's white horse, travelling away from her.

"He wouldn't—" Cass said in between short breaths. "He would never—"

"He would." The taller woman said in a soft voice. "He would."