11 Green Eyes
Dahlia searched every corner, every alley to find the boy. Still, there was no trace of the boy. It must have been hours since the kidnapping happened. Maybe they have already gone far.
She couldn't detect their presence anymore and even a faint trace could help. 'They must've used something.' she pondered.
She went back to the place where the boy was last seen. It was the same spot where she saw him happily playing with his pals. She searched carefully to find even the slightest speck the boy left.
It was hard to see since it was already dark but it wasn't a problem for Dahlia. Seconds later she found a strand of hair. It was was brown and curly like Timothy's hair. She took it and crushed it in her palm. Then her palm throbbed. She heard a series of heartbeats.
'Yes, its him.'
It was indeed Timothy's hair. She felt the heartbeat from far away. It came from a nearby town. She suddenly tracked his blood and pulse. They're moving south.
She frowned she didn't know why they intented to go South but she felt something wrong. When she locked on Timothy's body, she found out that he was tied along with other children. There where also young women with them.
'Slave traders' she guessed.
They were inside a moving wagon four men served as surveillance. She observed the surroundings of the wagon. It was moving deep in the forest.
The time and place was perfect. One wouldn't notice their passing. Dahlia gritted her teeth. She wasn't the righteous type. Even so, she wouldnt just sit and watch as someone she knew be endangered.
Though it was just a brief encounter, she didn't regard Timothy as a stranger. He was someone she knew. At that moment, she disappeared to thin air.
Inside the wagon, Timothy's tears rolled down his face. His mouth was covered with a cloth, preventing him from screaming. The other children beside him were also crying.
Some were even younger than him. There were a lot of young girls with them. Some already reached adulthood while some where as young as toddlers.
"How many days will it take for us to arrive at Lawless Region?" one of the abductors asked.
"I don't know, I've never been there...Ask Jhon." the other replied
"How long will it take, Jhon? Do you think this will be enough?" asked one of the traffickers.
The man named Jhon nodded, he was the leader of the group. "It'll take about 4 days. It's not easy to cross Turswelt, they have tight security. But we can always travel a different route."
Hearing the name of the last Town to cross before entering the Lawless Region, all of the criminals felt all their hair stand up from their skin. Turswelt was a military border town. It was governed by a former Knight Commander who used to be a war hero.
He himself trained the knights and guards there that's why the security is so tight, criminals could barely enter or exit it.
But thinking about going to the Lawless Region which was far worse, John's face soured. When he went there, he barely made it out alive. If not for the witch's power he wouldn't even think risking his life like this.
"We'll not enter the Lawless Region anyway. We'll meet the witch at the borderline. It's too dangerous to go there, we'll just die." Jhon said grimly.
"It seems that the witch we'll be pleased. She'll definitely grant our request this time."the other commented.
"Of course she will, with this number of children and young women. She won't have the nerve to refuse."
"I hope so, I heard knights stopped by Dovk today." said the other. The atmosphere suddenly turned sullen.
"Yeah. I saw some of 'em when I went to a blacksmith. They were probably stockpiling before the war. "
"Good thing we were careful. They didn't seem to notice.. "
After an awkward silence, one of them decided to change the topic.
"When do you think will the war against Auritia erupt?"
"I think it'll happen soon...."
The men's conversation continued. They thought their plan commenced perfectly that's why they let their guard down. However, they were unaware of the fact that they were being tracked down.
It wasn't just Dahlia. There was also a man who chased after them. He was skillfully concealing himself. Even Dahlia, with her inhumane senses, did not notice him.
He was close to reaching them. When his distance was close enough, he jumped up the wagon.
*Thump!
The wagon shook from the impact. The people inside wagon, were startled as they lost their balance. The wagon soon came to a halt.
The traffickers looked at each other. A sense of foreboding arose to their guts.
Jhon commanded his companions. "Rick! Y-You look outside!"
The man named Rick rushed out the wagon. He needed to confirm that it wasn't one of the knights.
He gazed up the roof of the wagon. Contrary to his expectations, there was no one there. He then headed to where the coachman was. He was gone.
"Jhon! Ed is missing!" he said, panicking.
"What? What do you mean Ed is missing?"
"Come! He's not here!" Rick said.
"F*ck!" he cursed.
He thought that their plan was flawless. Jhon went outside along with his companions. They lit up a torch and expected Rick to approach them.
However, Rick suddenly disappeared.
"Rick!" Jhon called out.
"Rick! He's gone!" he told his companions. They looked around the road. And when they saw both Rick and Ed bound to a tree, eyes widened as their words muffled because of the cloth stuck to their mouths.
"Sh*t! We got tricked! The wagon—Quick!"
However, it was too late they were already cornered by the guards. The children inside the wagon were already saved. The guards untied them and checked their condition.
The man who was responsible for their capture appeared. He commanded the guards to tie the criminals up. The guards obeyed him and quickly tied the traffickers up. They were soon transported to a wagon under the guards' surveillance.
The chief of the City guards approached the man.
" We commend you for your great act of bravery Sir. It is an honor for us to be graced by a famous Knight, himself." the head of the guards complimented.
"It's nothing. What's important is we managed to cease this. However you should prioritise the safety of the citizens. If not, the consequences could be unimaginable." the Knight said then sighed sighed.
The knight was slightly anxious when he heard that they were taking this children down the Lawless Region. 'Those bastards..' he cursed under his breath. Good thing he discovered it beforehand.
The Lawless Region is a dangerous land. It is a safe haven for criminals. All sorts of twisted killers inhabited that place. It was also the birthplace of mercenaries. Bringing those children to that place, something horrible was bound to happen to them.
The man turned around and started to walk to his horse. However, he stopped midway and glanced at a certain spot. He focused his gaze at the top of the tree. He stared at the same spot for seconds, then his green eyes flickered. Sensing that there was no movement, he decided to continue his pace.
