Freed

Tariel Saeltria

After finishing his meal, he fell asleep. Completely carelessly, believing I had no chance to escape. But just like he wasn't that good in a fight, neither did he stand out in terms of intellect as it seems.

The bark of the tree he tied me to was rough, like dozens of dull blades, and the friction caused the rope to slowly but surely wear off. I patiently waited for him to fall asleep, and one more hour to make sure that he had fallen into a deep sleep, and then enacted my escape plan.

Standing up, I slipped my legs through my arms, so that my hands were tied together in front of me, rather than from behind. Step one complete. 

I rubbed the ropes that tied my hands together on the tree for a solid hour before they became thin enough to be ripped apart with my teeth. My wrists had dark red markings on them from the tight ropes, and I lost all feeling in that area. I had no clue how severe such an injury could be, but that wasn't what concerned me right now. Step two was complete.

I did the same for the rope that was tied around my neck, and it took roughly another hour to free myself from it. Overall, the entire operation took me about three hours, and Damien was still asleep.

But, now, I was free. I was free, and I was standing over Damien, watching him peacefully sleep without a care in the world. My expression was cold, my body showed no emotion, but I was overflowing with rage and hatred for this subhuman filth that laid so defenselessly before me.

Crouching down beside him, I slowly pulled his dagger out of his sheath, and then stepped over him so that I was standing directly above him.

I raised it above my head. My heart was beating so fast it felt like it was ready to burst out of my chest. My legs grew weak, my body was flooded with adrenaline, and my breaths became faster. I didn't know whether it was from the anger I felt towards him, or from understanding the weight of the act I was about to commit. Maybe it was both. But I couldn't come to an answer in time.

His eyes opened, and the next second, his foot collided with my stomach, making me stumble backwards and dropping the dagger. I jumped up, and readied myself in a defensive position. Damien was dumbfounded, but he quickly got back to his senses, and did the same.

"You freed yourself huh?"

He tried to maintain a threatening demeanor, but his eyes darted from place to place. He knew I was the better fighter, but that was until he noticed the dagger lying in front of him.

I knew what would happen next, and I must prevent it. Even if I was the better fighter, not only was I starved and dehydrated, and thus weakened, he would also have a weapon to use against me. That's not to say that since he was older, he also had the advantage in physical strength. All odds were against me.

He dashed forwards to grab the knife, I did the same. He managed to pick it up, but my knee slammed straight into his face, sending him stumbling backwards, and dropping the dagger.

Hopping forward, I snatched it off the ground, and pounced on top of him, aiming for his throat. But before the dagger could pierce him, both of his hands shot out, and grabbed my forearms. 

I was on top, weighing the dagger down with all my might and mana augmented into my arms, and he was below, teeth clenched, and resisting.

A knee drove itself into my side, and I fell over. The roles were reversed immediately. Now he was on top, holding the dagger and trying to stab me with it, and I was grunting as I held off.

I knew I couldn't hold for long, the dagger was coming closer and closer. Before it was too late, I lurched my arms to the side, guiding Damien's arms, and letting his weight do all the work for me as the blade of the dagger struck the ground less than an inch away from my head.

I grabbed him by the ears, and tugged towards me as I headbutted him straight into his nose, then with all my remaining strength, I pushed him to the side, snatched the dagger, and leapt back. 

My heart felt like it was about to burst, my legs and arms were giving out, and I was out of breath. I had no food or water. I was exhausted, tired, and my body still ached from his kicks and punches the day before. I was barely able to stand upright, holding the blade out in front of me, glaring at Damien who was holding his bleeding nose.

"You could have killed me while I was on the ground, why did you jump back? Acting all noble again?"

I offered him no response, causing him to become even more frustrated.

"You already had three chances to kill me, one right now, one while I was asleep, one in the arena. Yet you failed all of them."

Still, I stayed quiet. Not because I did not want to answer, although that was part of it, but for the most part I simply couldn't. I was about to collapse any second now, but I held on. When you are faced with a life or death situation, you absolutely can not afford to back down. Simple survival instincts, to fight until the end.

"Fuck the money, I cant stand you anymore. I'll just go ahead and bury you. DIE!"

He dashed towards me. I side stepped, and with a scream I dodged his punch and slashed him across the ribs with the dagger.

"AH, FUCK!"

Just a little longer, I thought. I just need to hold out a little bit longer.

Damien was clutching his bleeding side with his left hand, and his right hand curled into a fist, but he no longer dared to attack. Instead, he cautiously circled around me, and mounted his horse. 

"This isn't the end of things bitch. I will come and find you, and when I do, I will kill you. I don't give a shit how long it will take."

Then he sped off into the night.

The very next moment I dropped my dagger, and collapsed on my fours, after which I collapsed completely and lay on the dirt ground.

I let out a small chuckle, then a more audible laugh, until I began laughing hysterically. It was the nervous hysterical laugh of someone who just evaded death, who was just saved from upcoming horrors. It was a laugh of overwhelming relief and happiness.

A few moments later, I drifted off to sleep.

***

I woke up with a stomach ache. It gurgled and churned. I was hungry beyond belief.

I picked myself up off the ground, covered in dirt and dust, hair disheveled, and my entire body aching, and dragged myself towards Damien's tent.

Last night all he took was his horse and fled, leaving me with everything he packed. In the tent I found his satchel, inside of which was dried meat, bread, and various other snacks.

Despite elves being mostly vegetarian, I shoved the food into my mouth like a starved animal, both the meat and bread. Then grabbed his leather flask and drank from it until it was empty. Finally quenching my thirst and relieving my hunger, I laid down on his sleeping bag, staring up into the sky, catching my breath.

But as I stood up, I realized I had no idea where I was. Damien avoided the main roads, and used some side trails, and neither did I really pay attention to the road. I was on the outskirts of a forest, near a narrow dirt path. That's all I knew.

Wait, he did say that we were traveling north. So if I just follow this trail northwards, I should be able to come across the town he was talking about, or at least meet some passerby traveler who would be able to help me. Yet the perspective of going to a human town, not to mention being all alone, made me falter. But it is not like I have much of a choice.

I collected his satchel which still had some food and water stashed in it, and flung it over my shoulder. Damien also took off his vest which he wore over the top of his shirt when he went to sleep, so I grabbed that and put it on. Walking around in only a nightgown would be troublesome, so now it seemed more like a regular dress.

Then I walked over and picked his dagger off the ground, which was stained in blood and dirt, and stuffed it into one of the vest's inner pockets. I looked up at the sun.

Since it was morning, and the sun rose from the east, I easily determined which way to walk the path, and headed north. But the moment I headed off, I realized I also had no shoes. After a while, walking barefoot would become troublesome, and if I were to injure my foot, it could bleed and become infected.

I looked around the place to see what could be the best fit, and spotted some burdock leaves. Yes, that should do.

I ripped out a few bushes, and snapped off their roots, which are actually edible. The leaves I placed one over the other to make them more sturdy, and tied them around my feet with the rope from yesterday like makeshift sandals.

No idea how long they will last, but this will have to do for a while, I thought to myself. With this, I set off.

The burdock sandals were uncomfortable and impractical, the ropes rubbed against my skin, and the leaves themselves fell into disrepair after a half an hour or so of walking, and that is if I was careful. If I was careless, they tore even quicker. 

After a few times of making myself new shoes, I gave up on the idea, and decided to hope for the best and walk barefoot. I made sure to always stay on the dirt path, and cautiously look beneath my feet to make sure I did not step on anything sharp.

After half a day of walking like this, I collapsed from exhaustion, both mental and physical, onto the ground, and snacked on the rations in the satchel. Fortunately there was a stream nearby, so I refilled the empty leather flask, drank until it was empty, and refilled again.

I noticed that I was also beyond dirty, and smelled like garbage, so after making sure that nobody was around, just in case, I took a dip in the stream, and washed my dusty night gown in it as well. The water was cold but refreshing, and took off the ache in my body and the exhaustion I felt like magic.

I even began splashing around and laughing, celebrating freedom. I finally felt like myself again. I ran around the stream, kicking up water, and chucking rocks into it just for fun.

After about an hour, I sat on a boulder which had warmed up from the sun above, and began drying off, sunbathing and relaxing. I dried off in a matter of minutes, from the hot sun and the occasional warm breeze. My nightgown took around an hour or so to properly dry, and once I did, I got dressed again.

After my little play time, I had to continue on my journey. Same as usual, barefoot, and watching out for sharp objects beneath my feet. The path twisted and turned along the stream, and I was accompanied by the sound of trickling water.

I walked for a whole day, and my legs were hurting. The bath I took in the stream no longer mattered, as I was once again covered in dust and sweat. The stream still flowed along the path, and just as I decided to take another dip and set "camp", something caught my eye.

Twenty meters or so away from me, a middle aged man in a straw hat and cheap peasant clothing sat on the edge of the stream with a fishing pole. 

I could hear faint notes of a tune he was whistling to himself.