Chapter 3: Getting Back

"We must hurry, traveling at night is easier," She said, helping him off the ground.

"Alright let's go," He responded to her. 

He followed her as she took him through the forest. 

"Kingdom Florian is 7 hours away from us on foot, we must hurry and be out of this forest before daylight if you don't want to get caught," She emphasized as they walked.

"How did you know I'm from Kingdom Florian," He questioned.

She turned to face him,"The fireflies symbol is a dead give away,"  She smirked, pointing at the symbol on the sleeve of his shirt.

'He has large muscles, he must train a lot… I wonder if he's a knight from Florian… He has to do something with training but it begs the question what business does he have in Holden,' She wondered, mindlessly pressing her finger into his arm. 

He glanced down at her finger and looked back at her. "Paying close attention to my physique, I see," He teased giving a sly grin.

She felt her body jolt, thinking, 'What is he a mind reader… Are my thoughts on display,'  As she put her hand down giving a flustered look. 

"Nothing to say,"  He smirked, noticing the change in her expression.

She looked at him, pointing her finger in his face. "Don't flatter yourself. I was just proving a point," She sassed, balling up her hand, getting ready to give a light punch on his chest with the side of her fist. 

He grabbed her hand mid swing, looking into her eyes. "If you're going to hit someone you might want to be quicker than that,"  He teased, watching her cheeks turn red. 

"Hmm aren't we charming," She snarked.

He tugged on her hand, pulling her closer to him. "It seems you think so," He flirted. 

"I think nothing of the sort," She blushed, pulling her hand away from him, "Now we must be going. I don't want the guards to catch you." 

She started walking as he followed behind her. 

"In all this commotion I never got your name, so please tell me what it is," He asked. 

"Gabrielle," She replied, "And your's." 

"Ansel," He answered. 

"That's a unique name… It's very fitting for you," She complimented. 

"Just as such a beautiful name is fitting for you," He added.

She turned around facing him. "Would you stop with the flattery? It's so distracting," She grinned as she walked backwards.

"You started it," He smirked, "And it seems you enjoy my flattery with that smile on your face." 

"I do not," She huffed, stomping her foot on the ground. "And while you're trying to decipher my thoughts, why don't you answer the question that's really on my mind,"  She added.

"Oh, and what's that,"  He asked, giving an intriguing grin.

She walked up to him, saying, "You live all the way in Florian yet you come to a Kingdom with a reputation of being cruel." She pointed her finger in his face, continuing, "And I see that the people here hate you or else you wouldn't have guards searching for you… So tell me, are you a spy or a traitor?" 

He grabbed her hand, kissing the back of. "If you wanted me to hold your hand all you have to do is ask, you don't have to keep pointing your finger in my face for my attention," He flirted, making direct eye contact with her. 

She snatched her hand away, covering her blushing face. "Just answer the question," She snapped.

"And if I don't," He chuckled, "Then what?"

"Then I won't help you," She bluffed, "Then you'll be all alone and have to find your own way back."

'I already know my way back but she intrigues me… I want to know more about her,'  He thought, watching her cross her arms. 

"So what will it be," She asked, "Will you tell me or not?"

"If you must know, I was sent here because your king sent word that he wanted to form a peace treaty and alliance with Kingdom Florian,"  He replied, continuing to stare at her.

She snapped her head, looking at him, uncovering her face, revealing her shocked expression. "An alliance with Kingdom Holden, why on earth would the king ask for an alliance and why would the King of Florian send you here by yourself,"  She asked, urging for an answer.

'She doesn't know,' He thought, 'She knows nothing of me.'

"The King of Florian only wanted to form the alliance in hopes to help the people of Holden. He thought the people were being forced to be cruel. So I along with other skilled knights were sent over to hopefully make an alliance and create peace but it was all a set up… Your, 'King,' was only trying to conquer Kingdom Florian. When we came to the castle there was an ambush waiting for us. With only our 20 knights we took out about 100 of Kingdom Holden's guards but sadly even after taking out 100 they still had the upper hand, and I was the only one able to escape while the rest of the knights were killed during battle…" He answered her, as flashbacks from the ambush played through his mind. 

"I'm so sorry… The King of Holden is a cruel king and so are the people… They aren't forced to be cruel… They just are…" She said, looking away from him.

"And you know this how," He asked. 

"Because I-," She paused, turning away from him. "I'm not one of them," She said, feeling grief fill her heart.

"You're not, then what are you doing in Kingdom Holden," He inquired, hoping to learn more about her life.

She placed her hand on her chest, seeing flashbacks of her abuse fill her mind.  "We need to go… Please follow me…" She muttered, beginning to walk away.

'I would press the matter but from the sounds of it, it seems it's steamed in trauma… I can't imagine what happened to her… But whoever did it will pay…' He thought, following behind her.

She continued leading him down a path in the forest.

"You're lucky you came here at night around this time of year," She said. 

"Oh, and why is that," He inquired, raising one of his eyebrows.

"Because this particular forest is where most of the guards of Holden do their hunting training. They say it gives them an edge because of how wooded it is, so it's hard to find things here. The guards know this forest like the back of their hand so anyone who's running away gets easily caught here, despite it being the fastest way to leave Kingdom Holden… This forest is usually filled with guards but I learned that every fall, right before it turns to winter, the guards take a 2 week break from hunting training, many of them leaving the Kingdom to secure borders around Holden. Because so many of the guards leave, they use that 2 weeks to train new guards, only doing it in the mornings instead of nights with the exception of a few seasoned guards who roam the forest making sure no servant tries escaping…. If they catch you… They will kill you but not before they give you the cruelest nightmare of your life…"  She answered, pausing as memories of her prior escapes flooded her mind.

"You've tried to escape, haven't you," He pushed, worried about her well-being. 

She nodded gently, refusing to look back at him from the shame that ate away at her.

"4 times I tried escaping… I thought nothing could be worse than the terrors I was facing where I was but each time I was caught… The guards would get more and more creative on how to punish me… Each time I got caught I thought would be my last… But the Earl saved me from being killed every time,"  She muttered, as her body shook from disgust from thoughts of the Earl.

"The Earl? Why the Earl," He inquired, trying to get as much information as he could.

"Because I was sold to him," She answered, holding back her tears. 

"Sold to him? Sold to him by whom," He asked gritting his teeth. 

"Someone I thought was my friend," She stammered, "I was taken in by a Marquis after being abandoned by my family… They said they always wanted a daughter and treated me as their own… They allowed me to have the title of a noble… I ended falling in love with the Marquis' son… He was so kind to me and we were so close until one day we weren't… He let greed consume him… I saw the change in his eyes but I still loved him and I thought he loved me… But he didn't…The day I confessed to him he mocked me and he sold me to appease his bride, knowing how cruel the Earl and Kingdom Holden was… He still allowed me to be sold to him, encouraging it like it was some sick game… He just didn't care as long as he could become Duke… He didn't care… And even though I know it was for power I still can't wrap my head around the fact he could so callously sell me without a second thought…"

'I won't let them get away with their cruelty towards her…' He thought, twitching his eye. 

"And those guards we saw earlier… How do you know them," He questioned. 

"I only ever met them once but I remember them so clearly  from when they caught me in one of my attempts… They're truly monsters… The punishment they came up with will forever be stained in my mind," She answered, allowing tears to fall, "If they would've caught you… I worry what they would've done… So I'm glad that the only thing that happened was me being slapped." 

His eyes widened as shock filled his body.

"Why are you helping me, knowing first hand the harshness of their cruelty towards you," He trembled, worry and fear eating away at his mind. 

She looked back at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "Because I'm used to it by now… I know what will happen and can brace myself… Besides, the Earl was going to punish me either way so might as well give him a good reason to rather than letting an innocent party get hurt,"  She murmured, wiping away her tears.

He touched her face, uttering the words, "Never again," And she smiled at him, grabbing on to his hand to comfort him.

"Come on," She sighed, "We need to get you out of here quickly." 

She continued leading him. The hours slowly passing by.

The sun peaked up, turning the dark sky orange tinted. They looked ahead of them, seeing the outskirts of the forest meeting the border of Kingdom Florian. 

She turned around, grabbing on to Ansel's arm.

"We made it," She exclaimed, "We made it to Kingdom Florian!" 

Tears filled her eyes as she jumped up and down. She pulled on his arm, yanking him forward. "Let's go," She beamed. 

"You know I would be a lot happier if you weren't tugging on the arm, that was attached to the shoulder with the injury," He hummed, hiding his pain behind a smile.

"I'm sorry," She apologized, covering her mouth with her hands, "I'm just so excited I've never gotten this far." 

"Well, you better let me lead you this time," He smiled, grabbing onto her hand, leading her into Kingdom Florian. 

She shifted her eyes around her. Taking in the scenery of homes that were nearby and people walking out of them, starting off their day. 

"Your Majesty," A Kingdom Florian guard shouted. 

He let go of her hand and she hid behind him, watching as a group of guards came towards them, stopping in front of Ansel.

"Your Majesty, you're hurt," A guard said. 

'Majesty,' She thought, taking a step back, 'He's the King of Florian… If the Earl finds out that I helped him there will surely be war in Florian… I can't let that happen… I can't let Ansel get hurt again… Not for me.'

She snuck back into the forest, undetected by Ansel and his guards.

"I'm okay," Ansel explained, "The alliance was a set up but luckily she helped me," He turned around looking for Gabrielle, seeing she had gone.

"Who helped you," A guard asked. 

'She went back, I have to save her,' He thought as turning back around to face the guards.

"Her name is Gabrielle, she's a servant woman of the Earl in Kingdom Holden. I want her back here and I want her as my wife," Ansel commanded, determined to get her back. 

"It shall be done," The guards answered, following Ansel's command.