Chapter 03: Held Captive

"I USE strengths to fight for goals and prove resilience."

Capricorn Code - 1:1

Under the moonlit night, a young lady, with visible impatience all over her face as she was biting her lower lip, kept rubbing two stones over a pile of dry leaves. Though the wind was cold, her forehead was perspiring, evidence of the long duration she had been doing such work she had not done before. After so much effort, a spark finally ruptured but it only stayed in just a blink of an eye.

The young lady clenched her teeth with death solemnity. She threw the stones as hard as her body could do and stood up, cheeks burning with fury. She threw her foot on the piles of leaves, scattering it around ere walking back to the carriage where the harness lay on the ground, untied.

She climbed on the coach and rolled on it with only the pieces of garbs as her mat and she began to feed the irresistible desire of being a human, sleeping.

⨳ ⨳ ⨳

It has been days since the battle on the Ringside Island and Giles clearly remembered the feeling of losing his men and the young lady who he didn't even know. Surviving by himself was the worst thing that happened in his life as far as he remembered. He couldn't fathom the reason for his enemy by letting him live. In his rules, never leave a breathing opponent in a battle. You were just planting seeds of vengeance.

He dug his memory to remember the young lady - velvety straight black hair, delicate hands, graceful moves and unwavering cold eyes - but nothing came up.

'She saved mine in return for hers,' he felt guilty of that thought. He has killed many, he felt unworthy of such a heroine. His drifted mind returned as the wheels of the slave's wagon hit a rough road. He bounced back to the wooden pole tightly nailed up that only his hands could pass through.

The wagon came to a halt. A warrior opened the slave's wagon and hauled him at the riverbank.

"Drink," his callous smile did not bother him at all.

The river was clear as the rays of the sun reflected on it, creating an illusion of thousands of diamonds simultaneously glinted over. He stepped on the water feeling its coldness sipped through his skin as he bent down. His face mirrored on its surface. The slave mark at his forehead was covered with his messy bangs. He could still feel the pain of the mark even if it started to heal, forming scabs, but he shoved off that feeling. He didn't need it and he will never need it. He scooped a handful of water and rinsed his face. Just as he was about to do it a second time, the soldier kicked his butt throwing him to the river.

"Might as well rinse your body as it will be your last chance to taste a good source of water," the warrior snorted.

He kept his mouth shut, faced his back to the soldier and just enjoyed the water not caring about anyone around. All around him were the warriors lurking conspicuously, evidently not to guard him, but it was just their routine. So many of them, he has no chance of escaping. His eyes landed along the bank of the river where the warriors of the third company were drinking too. Their numbers were reduced only a little compared to the first company who lost ninety percent of their men.

Some of them looked at him that coincidentally met his eyes who scowled glinting with vindictive desires. He immediately diverted his attention to the water.

As he was secretly forming plans in his mind whilst he submerged onto the water, the warrior at his back flushed a wicked plan, prudently raising a knife. He was engrossed in his own thought that he hadn't noticed the little disturbance of water coming from his back.

A second later, the warrior suddenly cried, attracting his attention and of the others. Everyone near the scene saw the horrifying phenomena no one could explain. The earth suddenly gouged, eating the man and sipping some water. It immediately retreated back to its original form leaving everyone affrighted. It happened for only five seconds that no one digested the mischance of the warrior in a timely manner.

Giles stumbled back and thought of retreating further from that place but his body betrayed his thought as he was stuck at where he fell, panicked-stricken. For minutes, no one dared to move for fear that they might be targeted next.

The lieutenant colonel querulously checked them out for they had gone for too long but only greeted by soldiers who seemed paralyzed to where they stood. He hinted to the captain of the first company to organize them and to fetch the captain of the third company for a report.

The captain of the first company commanded, "ATTENTION!"

The warriors seemed not to notice him for they were lost in thoughts. He shook some of them that created a message relying on their comrades whose states were no worse than theirs.

"ATTENTION," he repeated.

This time, the third company formed five lines and stood steadily. Their captain hurriedly came in front thinking of managing his men he stated, "Captain of the third company, lieutenant colonel Errol ordered for a report."

He tilted his head to the place where their lieutenant was, and that was the only time the captain of the first company realized the gravity of the matter. He approached Errol and timidly reported what he saw for he didn't either believe his own eyes. Fortunately, everyone affirmed his claim.

Their ostensible assertion appointed him to check that location and the best man he thought they had for the job was he, Giles!

Warrior after warrior came to spectate and the riverbank was slowly filled with mixtures of green and maroon garbed men.

The captain pointed to the location of his soldier that went missing and ordered, "Go! Stand there for a moment. Wait for further command."

Giles's intrepid gazed at him made him gulp a mouthful of saliva. His skin crawled, feeling something on the ground watching his every action. One mistake and he will be eaten just like the warrior from before but Giles was oblivious to such an impression of his.

Giles did what he ordered. He calmly approached it but in his mind, he was forming plans of escape if that thing gouges again and eats him, but whatever plan he thought of, he ended up vaticinating himself underground.

Every eye fixated at him but in different expressions. Those warriors with him earlier felt horror not for his sake but for expecting to see such evil phenomenon whilst those new arrivals showed contempt not believing a rumor that went around their camp.

He stood for a minute and nothing happened. He secretly sighed in relief.

Another soldier hauled him back to the wagon. He has long ago submitted to their harassment. He can't do a thing whilst being surrounded by the enemy. He will end up dying as everyone around has the intention of killing him just looking for an opportunity to strike and he doesn't want that to happen. He will never get them that chance. He was planting a seed of revenge for his ally that died that night. as long as they let him leave, he will not stop thinking about revenge.

'I need to go back,' at least he could feign admission of defeat and slowly execute his escape plans.

As there was no show to behold, the crowd slowly dissipated to return to their earlier chores.

The lieutenant colonel checked the spot again personally and nothing happened. He knew that a whole company would not create ambitious and spurious ideas just to deceit him, and why in the mundane world will they do that?

The clearness of the water easily showed him what was under. The ground was a little gouge, peculiar for a river. He squinted. "Captain Ike-" he shouted and the captain of the third company immediately ran over him, "-dug this part here."

He doesn't believe them nor he wanted to, but the gouge doesn't make sense. He needed proof.

The captain was a little lost but he eventually complied, "As per your order sir."

The captain selected men to dig it up. They were there and saw what happened, so digging it was cruel to their poor mind. They endured it for the sake of duty.

They barricade around the spot to stop the water from flowing to the hole they were digging. As they gouged the ground, the water from every side started filling it up again making it hard to gouge further.

The lieutenant colonel has no choice but to stop it - failed.

The soldiers started to line up again gathering around Giles as per the lieutenant colonel's command. He arranged it that way to ensure that he felt overwhelmed and did not dare to escape. Too bad for him, he just doesn't care. He brushed off the claim of his warriors and made their way ahead crossing the river.

The soldiers of the third company were abnormally quiet as well as Giles. After experiencing that kind of phenomena, he thought that no one of them would be able to sleep soundly that night. The monotony of steps from trained warriors beat like monody to his ears.

⨳ ⨳ ⨳

Further behind them was a lone carriage driven by three wolves that should be ferocious but acted timidly at the young lady reining them.

⨳ ⨳ ⨳

After days of travelling, they finally arrived at a city unfamiliar to Giles. The army halted at the barracks outside the defense wall cut from the finest and sturdy rocks he had no idea where they acquired. Only their lieutenant colonel and some high officials continued their way in, dragging the slave's wagon. The other rested at the bivouacs.

He wasn't satisfied with a few dull foods and muddy water served to him. It made him sick but if he doesn't take it, he will be more ill. He anticipated that the food for slaves would be better inside the city. In their kingdom, slaves were taken care of more than prisoners.

A thought struck his head waking him up for his delusion of luxurious food for he was both a slave and a prisoner! He was curious about how they treat someone like him.

Citizens were doing their daily chores but interrupted by their arrival, bowing to the lieutenant colonel and stealing glances to the slave's wagon. Hatred, anger, and disgust simultaneously reflected on their eyes against him. He knew the reason and he couldn't detest them for it. They have all the rights to do so.

When they passed them, he heard the noises return to normal from behind as if they had forgotten them. He didn't look back.

The houses were solid rock and properly lined up creating enough space for two wagons rolling in and out of the city. The area was occupied by plain brown colored dressed women and long sleeve shirts men, traits for ordinary citizens as he surmised. There were some ladies wearing colored dresses accompanied by a bunch of attendants outside a restaurant they passed by. A lively city reminded him of his home.

The heart of the city comprised high status people living in mansions twenty feet apart. He could only see their shadows from afar but he can tell how luxurious they were surrounded by greeneries and vast lands.

They continued at the farthest west arriving at a highlord's residence where a silver oversize gate greeted them. The post guards opened the gate recognizing the lieutenant colonel.

The house itself was far from the gate as you needed to walk for five minutes before you could step into its shadow. Two maroon-garbed warriors hauled him out of the slave's wagon. He has been conserving his energy, so he let them hauled him up dragging his feet on the ground.

Giggles from beside caught his attention. A gazebo was standing in the midst of wondrous distinctive plants and flowers. There were two ladies wearing colored fiber dresses, flared and billowed skirts secured by silver brooches and pins, an opaque overskirt, whispering to each other, and a slim man in a regal sleeve shirt over undershirt paired with tailored trousers, who looked expressionlessly at him.

Giles glided his sight away from the man. He was not a fan of fashion but he admitted it, it was splendid - emphasizing the conservative natures of the locals as he observed.

⨳ ⨳ ⨳

A middle-aged man in a noble green robe with golden linen sat on a chair belonging to a highlord. He caressed his long brown beard that was neatly combed whilst eyes were fixated on the doorway expecting someone from behind it. His right hand that was resting at the arm's chair has a distinctive golden ring finely engraved with shell-like design.

He received the arrival of the army earlier, so he was able to prepare. Sitting on his high back chair in the main hall, he eagerly waited for them.

Sooner, the door opened revealing the scraggly bearded man whom he knew as the lieutenant colonel of highlord Ignatius who approached him to a certain distance. He surveyed the group looking for a specific man, but to no avail.

The group simultaneously kneeled, bowing their heads as their right fists on their chests.

The lieutenant colonel waved his hand and the two soldiers dragged Giles in front of the highlord. "Presenting to you, your lord-" he grinned but the sinister on his eyes were clear at Giles, "the commander of the flotilla at the Ringside Island. I brought him as a gift for you."

He kicked Giles' legs to forcefully kneel him down on two knees. Giles didn't groan as he expected. He winced but felt satisfied with the highlord's next words.

With a chuckle, the highlord rubbed his beard and complimented, "Congratulations to your win, lieutenant colonel Errol. Your request to train my troops on that land prevented a great catastrophe. My son might have really learnt a big deal from you too. I'll make sure to compensate you greatly."

Silence came for seconds. Errol broke it up by the devastating news of him. "I'm sorry lord Homobono, I tried to protect young master Bien, but…but I failed. He ran towards the enemies and I wasn't able to stop him…"

The highlord froze. Errol went on to his blabbering but he could hear no more. His hands clenched the hands' chair. His hysteria was recognized by his trusted attendant, Gareth, the lieutenant general of the first corp. His broad face was a little wrinkled due to his age.

Just outside the door, a young man in a regal sleeve shirt lost all his strength. He lost his consciousness and started to convulse upon hearing the news. Fortunately, his nurses were always with him who took care of him silently so as not to disturb the meeting from behind the door.

Gareth acted, "Thank you for your service lieutenant colonel Errol. I'll escort you to your room to rest." He hinted to the other attendants to follow him leaving the highlord alone.

Errol followed him. He was secretly grinning in his façade sadness.

⨳ ⨳ ⨳

Gareth personally arranged Giles' imprisonment at the south side, the well-known bastille of the city but no one left the place alive to tell its squalid quarters where moans of dying and rotten convicted people welcomed his senses. Gareth didn't flinch, as well as the guards hauling him, as he led them further deep down the inclined corridor. He could feel that they were going underground and air became scarce.

Giles bears in mind his plan of escape keeping in his mind the surroundings structures. On each of his sides were quarters with no windows and only bars separated them, but as they went deeper like he was walking to an abyss because of its darkness, quarters became solid in walls and he realized that the only way in and out was the very corridor they were walking on. He secretly lampooned.

The unique lamps hanging on the walls in measured intervals failed to show his self-derision.

After minutes of being hauled that seemed hours at Giles, Gareth stopped in front of a quarter with a solid wooden door. He opened the door and gestured to the guards to enter. When the guards secured him, trussed by a metal chain, Gareth ordered them to leave them.

The room was bigger than he expected for one prisoner but deprived of light with only a single lamp on the wall displayed next to the door, and the shackles were heavily secured, thick as it could be, that no ordinary human could break it.

A moment later, the highlord came with attendants towards the room where they incarcerated Giles, but knowing their place, those attendants halted at the doorway and let their highlord enter the room by himself. Gareth stood still beside the door but heart was threatening to explode from resentment.

This time, Homobono's calmed posture broke into rage. He can no longer contain it.

"HOW DARE YOU KILL HIM?" he punched Giles to his face.

"YOU PEOPLE ARE TRULY BARBARIAN!" he sent a punch to his stomach. He rained Giles with his punches that contained his devastating wrath for the death of his son.

Giles didn't even flinch or groan even his blood streamed at the corner of his mouth.

Highlord Homobono asked him questions but he didn't answer any of them.

Highlord Homobono complained to him but he said no words.

Highlord Homobono thrust all faults onto him but he didn't care.

Beads of sweat trailed down to Homobono's face. He ceased to beat him up, catching his breath over Giles's shoulder that was covered with Giles's own blood, breathing and half-unconscious. No words came out from him anymore. Tears fell on his cheeks. He felt defeated and beaten inside more than what he saw to the prisoner. His robe was now painted with the blood of Giles.

Finally, he let out his last grievance, "He is such a good man."

Giles squeezed words from his sore, dry and tired throat. He wanted to let those words come out even if it meant more beating, so he said, "There is no such good man in a battle, your lord…only butchers."