Gone

Tariel Saeltria

RING RING RING RING RING

I woke up at the sound of an alarm, but before I could even grasp a sense of what happened, a pair of strong hands grabbed me by my arms and forcefully pulled me out of bed. I tried to yell out, but someone tightly strapped a piece of cloth over my mouth.

Lyra and Nariel screamed while I tried to squirm out of the attackers grasp, but to no avail. Whoever it was, they were just too strong for me, even with my body augmented with mana.

Then, darkness. A woven sack was thrown over my head, and tied at the neck so tightly I almost choked.

I didn't know what happened after that, but I guess they dragged me out the window and threw me into a wagon. I heard two hoarse male voices, one of them commanded to drive, the other responded with a "yes sir". The wagon jerked off, and I only felt it bouncing on the uneven road and the clacking of horse hooves on the stone.

But I didn't lose hope to get out of this situation. I continued squirming. I had nothing to cut the rope with, and ripping it with pure force was impossible. So the only plausible way was to try and squeeze my hands out. However, the rope was so tightly done, it was painfully buried into my flesh, and trying to squirm my arms free was even more painful.

Moreover, the sack that was put over my head restricted my airflow, so trying to do something so worthless only caused me to breathe heavier, and result in near suffocation.

Once my situation dawned on me, I felt scared. I was a young elf girl in human territory, and I did not want to even think what would happen to me. Would I be sold into slavery? Such would be the most plausible assumption.

But if it is so, then why only me? Lyra and Nariel were in the room with me, so why weren't they taken as well? Did they not have enough people? Although, aside from the horses leading the wagon, I heard a couple other horses to each side and at the back, so they had a whole group. Definitely enough people.

I had no idea why and where I was being taken, and who these people were. I could only silently pray that Loueras already noticed my disappearance and was about to go after me. Otherwise…

Mom, mother please save me. I cried in silence, vulnerable and frightened. Kidnapped on human territory, a ten year old girl who could do nothing against adults.

How much longer will I be tied up like this? I am having trouble breathing. The ropes around my wrists hurt so much, there is barely any blood flow and my hands are going numb.

"Shit man, why not sell her eh? We would get much more out of it than bringing her to him."

"Because if we do, business would go to shit. We ain't gonna fuck our clients over, just shut up and drive."

"Ahhh fuck. Hey, why not kill that Damien fucker eh? What's a bowman gonna do against all of us? Just say it was an accident, like the dumbass just died because he got mauled by a beast or somethin?"

Damien? So it was his plan all along? That same Damien that I fought? 

Fear turned to anger, and I was no longer shaking. If they are going to bring me to Damien, then once they leave, I will finish him. I knew that he was filth, I saw through him, which is why I have beaten him so badly. The whole purpose was to teach him a lesson, but I suppose that some are so thick-skilled that they don't get the hint.

Fine. Tonight I will get rid of you once and for all. I will get my hands stained with blood, but in this world, unless you never leave the elven forest for your entire life, it is inevitable. But I won't regret it. I do not see him as a human, just merely a beast to be slain.

Archer. Adventurer. Those are just titles he displays to the outside. But he is vermin. He rotted far too much to be saved, now, the world must be saved from him.

"Alright, we're here!" From the sound of his voice, it was their "leader". "You three, go check if we have a tail, the rest of yall, unload the delivery."

Strong hands grabbed me, and threw me onto the ground. The rope around my neck was untied, and the sack was ripped away from my head. Then, someone grabbed my hair from behind, and tugged to force my face upwards.

"I'll be damned, sure as hell, a real elf!" From the voice, it was the driver who was complaining some time ago about not being able to sell me.

"Shit, look at her. She's worth a fortune. Fuck!" Then he looked forward. "Oi, this her?"

"Yes. That's her alright." My hair was released, and I could look straight again.

It was him. Damien. Standing in front of me, arms crossed, a vile smirk on his face, and a sheathed dagger on his side. He then reached into his pocket, pulled out a small bag, and threw it to the driver.

"You can count it if you'd like, it's all in there."

The man emptied the pouch into his hand, and began counting the coins. "Yup, seems about right." Then he put the coins back into the pouch, and tossed it over to another man. "Here you go cap'."

Seems like their leader, I thought.

"Pleasure doing business with you, kid." He offered a shallow bow to Damien, and climbed aboard the wagon. Then his entire group departed, leaving me and Damien alone with each other.

"Looks like you didn't have enough?" I asked, looking over at him. "You could have just waited until morning if you wanted another fight."

He smirked. "You ain't in the position to talk shit to me." As he said this, he raised his fist, and clocked me straight into my left cheek, knocking me down on the ground.

"Shit, that felt nice. How's role reversal for you?"

A kick went straight into my exposed stomach. Since my hands were tied behind my back, I couldn't do anything but writhe in pain.

"Can't do anything now can you, bitch?"

Another kick, this time with mana augmented into it. The pain became more and more unbearable, my insides were being turned into mush, and I felt like vomiting.

"We have a whole night ahead of us, you elven shit, and nobody's coming to getcha."

He took out his dagger, leaned in towards me, and licked the blade with his tongue, slowly, as if savoring it. "Shall we start with those nasty ears?"

The pain went away immediately as adrenalin and rage kicked in. Spinning my body on the ground, I swung my foot straight into his jaw, causing him to stumble back and drop his dagger.

With a surprised look on his face, he rubbed his jaw with his left hand, and then his expression turned cold and merciless.

"Heh, still got a fight in ya you fucking bitch." He said silently, almost in a whisper, and then a powerful punch collided with my cheek. 

He tugged at my hair, lifting my head up, and punched again. Blood flowed out of my mouth and nose, but I still retained consciousness. I collapsed on the ground, clenching my teeth and grunting in pain.

"Hey, ya dead?" He leaned in to inspect me. "Nah, not yet." Then he grinned with satisfaction.

"I ain't letting you die today. I've got plans for you. A young elf girl is gonna go for a whole fortune on the market. Sure, you're gonna be quite beaten by the time we get there, and the price will drop, but whatever."

"Slave…market?" I wheezed out.

Damien crouched down in front of me, and leaned forward. "What better way to break you than to confine you to chains and labor for the rest of your life?"

I was full of regret. Regretting that I didn't kill him then and there, in the arena, and show it off as an accident to get away with it. Now, I was lying in my old blood, with excruciating pain in my stomach, and completely helpless. There was nothing I could do to him in this situation, as it took all my effort just to stay awake.

"I heard ears to elves are sacred, but what a tragedy." He walked over and picked the dagger laying on the ground. "As much as I want to cut them up, I won't, or else your price will go down." He stood up, then looked up at me coldly. "But as long as you resemble an elf, I can sell you off as an elf, no?"

The pain from his mana enhanced hits still lingered, and it was nothing like I ever felt before. 

Somebody…please…help me. I was fading in and out of consciousness.

Splash.

Cold water was poured onto my face. "No fainting on my watch, or else it won't be fun."

Damien drank some water, and wiped his sweaty forehead with his sleeve. "I told you, didn't I? I'll show you your place. You acted all high and mighty in that arena. Typical for an elf. Embarrassed me, ruined me. I can never show my face back there, I can never go back, BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Another blow, and I grunted in pain. He then placed his foot on my head, pressing it into the ground, and breathing heavily.

"There's a town up north." He began, screwing the cap back onto his bottle. "That's where we'll be heading. Couple days of travel." And another, final painful kick was delivered to me.

He began mocking me again. "So sad, to see a noble elf reduced to such a state, tsk tsk tsk. Such a promising career, you could have had a wonderful future, how regretful."

He crouched down beside me. "I need you to be miserable so that I can be happy! I will no longer be able to pick up a bow ever again because of you, but I will have money. And with that money, I'll be happy!"

"You…twisted…rat." I mustered. Every breath, and every word was an entire trial I had to endure through the pain. My whole body was engulfed in hatred towards this subhuman trash. I wanted nothing more than to rip him apart at this moment, but there was no way I could.

"Just what…has gone so…wrong…in your…life?"

"What went so wrong? Mmm, well, nothing. Adventuring was always just a side gig, and I always found that selling valuable product is the way to go about life."

"Filthy…trash." I mustered, glaring at this atrocious monster.

"Hmm? You still have some fighting spirit in ya? Good good, that's good. It means you won't die so easily. At least not until we part ways."

He beamed at me. A malicious and disgusting smile.

He then made his way over to a nearby tree, to which his horse was tied. He brought it over, picked me up, and threw me over its back, like a bag of grain, and seated himself into the saddle.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find anything more comfortable for you, but this will do right? I mean, honestly why do I even give a shit? As long as you're alive, I don't care."

Tears welled up in my eyes. Despite the demeanor I displayed to him, I was scared beyond belief. Loueras, Ardiel, my friends, they still didn't arrive. If they don't arrive now, how will they know where I will be taken? Will they ever find me?

The thought of being sold into slavery frightened me. I will never see my mother or father again, never be able to have fun with my friends, or practice with my bow. I will never get to explore the world, or be free. Instead, I will be starved, and worked to death, and then once I die, I will be replaced by someone else who will face the same fate.

"Please, someone, anyone. I beg of you." I whispered as I began to silently cry.