Chapter 4: Captured

When I awoke, I had no idea where I was or how much time had passed while I was unconscious. I sat up straight and realized that my hands were tied behind my back. I looked around the room I was in; it appeared to be a dungeon room. From what I could make out in the dark, it was completely empty, although there was a small window--which a cat would just barely be able to squeeze through--and a door that was most likely locked from the outside.

A figure stepped out of the darkness and into my view. The figure was a tall man wearing a dark red top and black pants. He wore shiny, black boots and a long, red cape that flowed down from his shoulders. Atop his jet black hair was a crown, and his brown eyes that almost looked red watched me with a look of hate. . . .

Lord Han.

He crossed his arms. “Risa Suzuka.” He spoke my name with disgust. “Welcome to my bait dungeon.”

I glared at him. “What do you mean by ‘bait dungeon’?”

He smirked. “Don’t you wonder why I’ve captured you? It’s to use you as bait so that all the strong soldiers from your castle will leave their posts to save you, decreasing its defenses. Then, I can send a troop of my own exceptional soldiers to destroy those remaining defenses, kill your father, and take control over your nation.”

“Father would never fall for something like that!” I exclaimed as I stood, struggling against my bindings. “I will fight you!”

Lord Han laughed. “In that gown? I don’t think so. Even if you could, you don’t have your weapon. Besides, I’ve received word that there is already a little rescue team coming for you.”

I listened carefully. It was faint, but I could hear the sounds of people fighting in the hallway outside the door.

Lord Han snapped his fingers and two men came to his side from the darkness.

“Ren, open the door. Jin. . . . Grab her,” Lord Han ordered.

The man at his right went to the door and opened it while the other man walked forward, came up behind me, and grabbed my bound arms.

“Let me go!” I shouted, trying desperately to wriggle free. I threw my foot back and managed to kick Jin in the knee. He yelled out in pain and his grip loosened. I broke free and headed for the now open door.

“Ren, get her!” Lord Han commanded. Just as I was starting to run out the door, an arm came from behind me and wrapped around my waist. Ren grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder. I kicked my feet, nearly losing one of my shoes, and yelled at him to let me go, but he refused to release me.

Lord Han cupped his hand under my chin, tilted my head up to look him in the eyes, and said, “You can’t escape from me. I will decide when you get to leave this room, but chances are you won’t be alive when that happens.”

“Don’t touch me!” I shouted, moving my head so that he let go. I kicked Ren in the stomach. He doubled over and I tumbled to the floor. I quickly stood and was about to run again, but Lord Han grabbed me by the throat and squeezed, preventing me from breathing.

“Aren’t you the stubborn one?” he said, frustration showing in his voice and on his face. “I’m tired of waiting for them to get here, so I think I’ll just kill you now.”

“I’m right here, so let her go!” called a voice that came from the doorway.

Lord Han looked toward the doorway and smirked, but he didn’t release me, and I was beginning to grow faint. “Well, if it isn’t Kain. You must not be a very good guard if you let something like this happen. It does seem that you had to go through quite a few of my soldiers to get here, though.”

“I told you to let her go!” Kain yelled.

Lord Han threw me to the side. I collapsed on the ground, coughing.

“Before you can get to her, you’ll have to defeat two more of my men,” Lord Han said. “Ren, Jin. . . . Get him.”

The two men charged at Kain, unsheathing their swords. They both attacked at once, making the fight difficult for him. I was about to stand, but Lord Han pointed the tip of his sword at me and said, “You’re not moving until the fight ends. If you try to stand, I will kill you where you are and you will upset your guard because all his efforts will have been for nothing.”

I gritted my teeth, but reluctantly stayed where I was. I watched Kain from the floor as he fought determinedly. Even though he was fighting two people at once, he was doing very well. Although, Ren and Jin didn’t seem to be overly skilled in combat since I noticed that they had a pattern and often repeated tactics.

I watched as Kain blocked, dodged, and countered. He quickly delivered his own stabs and slashes with his lance, and in a matter of minutes, he had defeated the two men, but I wasn’t sure if they were dead or not.

Kain slid his lance into the holder on his back. Then he faced Lord Han and said, “They have been defeated. Now let Risa go.”

Lord Han silently sheathed his sword. I cautiously stood and began to move toward Kain, but then Lord Han wrapped an arm around my neck from behind.

“You didn’t actually think that I would let you get away so easily, did you?” Lord Han said, and I could tell that he was smirking.

Kain clenched his fists. “Let her go!”

“I will only release her if you get down on your hands and knees and beg,” Lord Han said. “I want to see you before your enemy, begging for the freedom of your princess!”

Kain just stood there silently for a moment. Then he started to go down to the ground, but I shouted, “Kain, don’t do it! You shouldn’t be forced to beg on your knees in front of him!”

Kain looked at me. “I have to. . . . It’s the only way to safely free you,” he said softly, although I could tell that he wished there was another way to free me without having to grovel before the enemy. He dropped to his hands and knees, his hands balled into fists.

“Go on, beg! Beg for the life of your princess!” Lord Han laughed. He seemed to be enjoying himself. “Beg for her safe return to your nation!”

“Release Risa,” Kain muttered. “Allow her to return home.” He kept his gaze on the floor while he spoke, and I think it was mainly because he did not want to look at me while he pleaded before Lord Han.

“I can’t hear you! Repeat it louder!” Lord Han demanded. “And don’t forget to add ‘please’!”

Obviously frustrated, Kain squeezed his eyes shut and spoke louder this time. “Please,” he spat, “release Risa and allow her to return home.”

Seemingly satisfied, Lord Han shoved me toward Kain. I stumbled, but quickly straightened myself as Kain stood. As he turned and began walking into the darkness, Lord Han said, “Just because you were spared today doesn’t mean that you will be so lucky in the future. Remember that.”

After Lord Han vanished from view, Kain untied my hands and asked if I was hurt. I shook my head and told him I was fine. He breathed a sigh of relief and then told me that we should leave. I noticed that he still would not meet my gaze, and I wondered if he felt that he did not deserve to be my guard after what he had done.

When we were stepping out into the hall, I felt someone grab my wrist and pull me back. I stumbled backwards and into someone’s grip. The person wrapped an arm around my shoulders and the flat side of a sword was pressed against my neck.

Kain turned around and, when he had seen the situation, he reached for his lance.

“Don’t move!” said the person, the voice belonging to a man who I figured was either Jin or Ren. “Lord Han may have let you go, but I won’t allow you to escape so easily! I refuse to accept being beaten by a mere child!”

Kain stayed still, but demanded that I be released. The man laughed.

“You want me to let her go? You think I would allow my prey to get away from me just like that?” he said. “All I have to do is shift my blade slightly and your precious Risa will be--”

“Jin!” shouted Lord Han. “Allow her to leave.”

“But milord--” Jin began argumentatively.

“No. I have other plans,” Lord Han interrupted. “I will not allow you to ruin my fun by killing her now.” Jin reluctantly pulled the blade away from my neck, but he didn’t release me. Lord Han continued. “Now grab Ren and get over here or I will have your head.”

“You win this time,” Jin grumbled before releasing me. I turned around and watched as he grabbed Ren’s unconscious body and slumped away.

I turned to Kain again. “I think it’s safe to leave now,” I said. Kain simply nodded and we headed out into the hall.

I saw bloodied bodies sprawled out on the floor and wondered if they were dead. As if he had read my thoughts, Kain informed me that he only had to kill a few while the rest were only defeated and unconscious.

Kain led me through the hallway, and we stepped over bodies as we went. I asked Kain if he had come alone, but he said that some other Aelik soldiers had accompanied him.

We continued to walk through hallways, the majority them empty, and I finally asked, “Where are we, anyway?”

“We’re in a dungeon in Nehta, near the Aelik-Nehta border, so we’re not too far from Aelik’s capital,” Kain answered. “Everyone came on horses since it was faster than on foot.”

“Where is everyone else?” I questioned.

“They should all be waiting back at the entrance. We’re almost to them now.”

I looked at Kain as we walked. “Kain?” I said.

“What is it?” he asked, not looking at me.

I stopped walking, and Kain did so as well. “Kain, look at me,” I ordered. He turned to me, but he looked past me. I knew what was upsetting him. “Kain, all that matters now is that I am safe. Stop worrying about what happened back there.” I smiled. “In fact, I’ve already forgotten. What did happen back there, anyway?”

Kain finally met my gaze and smiled. “I fought valiantly to rescue you,” he said, catching on quickly to what I was doing. “Then Lord Han, afraid of my overwhelming skills, begged for my mercy and agreed to let you go.”

“My hero!” I exclaimed, clasping my hands together over my heart.

Kain laughed. “Let’s go. The others are still waiting for us.”

We continued walking, and after only a minute, we arrived at the entrance where about seven other soldiers were waiting. I recognized a man with slightly curly, blonde hair and green eyes as Thalen. He saw us coming and walked to us.

“Lady Risa, are you okay? You weren’t injured, were you?” Thalen asked.

I smiled and shook my head. “I’m fine. We should return home, though. Father is probably worried. Plus, I need to change out of this gown yet.”

We walked out the door and stepped outside, where there were a number of horses waiting. The sun was out and there was a gentle breeze blowing. Kain led me to a horse and helped me up onto it before seating himself behind me. After everyone else had mounted their horses, Kain reached around me to grab the reins and then we were off.

As we rode, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of the wind blowing through my hair. I inhaled deeply, but then I felt a strange chill in my stomach and I started coughing. I tried to muffle the sound so as not to alarm Kain, but it didn’t work, and the coughing didn’t stop. Kain became concerned and asked me if I was all right. I tried to tell him I would be fine, but I wasn’t able to answer him through all my coughing.

“Everyone, ride quicker! We need to get back as fast as possible!” Kain yelled to the soldiers. He spurred on his horse as everyone else did the same. Thalen rode up beside us. Hearing my coughing fit, he immediately asked what was wrong.

“I have no idea,” Kain responded. “She just suddenly started coughing and she can’t seem to stop. We need to get back to the castle and find out what’s wrong with her.”

Thalen turned to me and asked, “Milady, are you able to breathe at least?”

I nodded my head. Even though I was coughing continuously, I could still breathe enough that I wouldn’t pass out or suffocate.

“We should still hurry,” Kain said, riding faster yet.