Chapter 2: Helpful Hand

1 year later

Gabrielle stood in front of The Earl in his office. The bruises on her body covered by her long sleeve, tea length, brown and beige, peasant style dress and black lace boots. Her long brown hair was tied up in a sleek bun as she rested her cut up hands on the white apron that was tied around the skirt of her dress. 

She looked down, hearing nothing but the sound of the Earl impatiently tapping his foot against the floor.

The Earl looked down at the plate of dinner food that was sitting in front of him on his desk. 

"One thing," He grumbled, "One thing and you can't do it right." 

He threw the plate at Gabrielle's head, missing it. 

The plate shattered against the wall beside her, food and broken plate fragments bounced off the wall hitting Gabrielle's back and the back of her head.

"Why can't you do anything right, after all my kindness," He growled. 

She kneeled down, placing her hands on the floor, saying, "Forgive me… I thought the food would be to your liking." 

He walked over to her, nothing but the sounds of his footsteps played throughout the room. She felt her body tremble from fear, daring not to look up. He stepped on her fingers, "How does that feel," He mocked. 

She bit her tongue, holding back her tears, thinking, 'Don't cry… You stain his shoes with your tears and you know what will happen next… Hold back Gabrielle.' 

"Cry, I want you to give me a reason," He taunted as he rubbed his foot on her fingers, squishing them into the floor.

She bit her lip, fighting back her tears, not allowing a single tear to fall from her eyes. He grabbed her face, forcing her to look up at him. 

"Seems like you learn quickly," He snarled, "I thought I was going to have to kill you for crying." 

He threw her to the ground and walked back over to his seat.

"Make some more," He demanded, "And it better be good this time." 

"We have no more ingredients, my Lord," She said, feeling her heart race. 

He slammed his hand down on his desk. "Get some more then," He growled. 

"I'll have to go to townsquare to get them…" He interrupted her shouting, "I don't care where you have to go, I don't care how far it is either! You have two days to get to town on foot and make it back here or else the penalty will be harsh."  

She stumbled to her feet, nodding her head, and he called for the guards that stood outside his door, and the guards entered the room.

"Escort her out of the castle, she has errands I need her to run," He commanded. The guards nodded escorting Gabrielle to the front door of the castle.

Through the castle's bland hallways they walked, hearing nothing but the sounds of their footsteps echo until they finally made it to the front door.

"Don't fail," One of the guards said, "Or else that'll be your head."

She nodded her head softly, walking out of the front door, feeling as if a weight had lifted from her shoulder. 

At the top of the stone stairs she stood, taking in the cooling air around her. 'Freedom,' She thought, 'After one long year he's finally allowing me to leave the castle by myself.' 

She walked down the stairs, feeling as if she were walking on clouds, she made it to the bottom of the stairs uninterrupted. 

She looked back at the castle, strands of her hair becoming loosened from the breeze. 'I made it… Even if I have to come back, I still made it out of the castle alive without being escorted,' She thought, feeling a sense of accomplishment. 

She turned around, walking further and further away from the castle. Looking back occasionally, until the castle finally disappeared in the distance. 'I wish I could run away, but the kingdom knows me… After I was taken as a servant his Majesty had me paraded around Kingdom Holden… I was mocked, ridiculed… I had eggs thrown at me… To these people I was a prize… I wasn't human… I was just a reward… For months a portrait of my face was hung in the Kingdom. Kingdom subjects would destroy the pictures and anytime I would leave to the townsquare I would have things thrown at me while the Earl would laugh… Until one day… The Earl put in a decree to the people… I was no longer allowed to be bullied by anyone except the Earl. His Majesty signed off on the decree, backing the Earl… Still to this day I'm unsure why he did that… Why the Earl had a sudden change of heart… Was it a sick game… I don't understand his Lordship …' She thought, pondering the things she thought about as she walked. 

She continued to walk following a path that led her into a heavily wooded area. 'I hate walking through the forest, but it's the fastest way to get to the town before the deadline,' She thought. 

The minutes slowly turned into hours as she continued to walk, hearing small rocks and twigs crunch underneath her feet. She slowed down hearing the sounds of a man yelling nearby. She stood, looking all around her, not seeing anyone, she heard the same man groan from pain. 

Her eyes widened. 'I made those same sounds my first month in the castle. There was a speck left on one of the dishes and that dish was served to the Earl… The penalty was a nightmare I wish to forget… I was never ordered to clean the dishes… It wasn't even my mistake but I paid for it…' Her thoughts overwhelmed her as she took a step towards the sounds of the man. She paused, 'What if he's a cruel man who will report me to the Earl… A tretous trick,' She thought. 

She heard the man groan once more, 'This place is heavily wooded… If I stay hidden I can at least examine the situation before I determine if I help him or not,' She thought as she continued to walk towards the sounds of the man. 

She looked ahead of her seeing a 5'11 man sitting on the ground, his back leaned against a tall tree that had a thick trunk 

She hid close by behind a tree similar to the tree the man leaned against. She peeked her head from behind the tree watching as the man held his shoulder. She hid back behind the tree as the man looked towards her direction. 

"Come out," The man growled. 

She felt her body jolt from fear.

"Come out now," The man snarled, "I can see you." 

She gripped her dress, feeling frozen from fear. She bit her lip. 

"You coward," The man shouted, "I'm already wounded! Will you try to kill me in secret?"  

She sighed, coming from behind the tree to face the man. She looked at the man, seeing him hold his shoulder with one hand, and point a dagger towards her with the other.

"Come on, I'll take you on," He shouted.

Grief filled her heart as she saw blood seeping through the fingers that held onto his shoulder. 

"You're hurt…" She said as she walked towards him, "Please let me help you."

"Don't touch me," He protested, "I know your schemes."

"My schemes," She asked, pausing, "What schemes?"  

"Kingdom Holden is full of nothing but crooks. Even your King is crooked. I will trust no one from this kingdom," He snarled, "I would rather be killed than accept help from you." 

She sighed, rolling her eyes, as she continued to walk towards him. 

"You're in no position to deny help," She sighed, "You'll have no chance of survival." 

She stood in front of him as he gritted his teeth, "I have more of a chance then you," He snarked. 

"Are you always this confrontational," She asked. 

"You're the one trying to kill me," He groaned as pain filled his body.

"Who said I was trying to kill you," She snickered, "You're hurt and I'm just trying to help you." 

She looked at the man marveling at the man's short dark brown hair, aquamarine colored eyes, and muscular physique. She examined the man's traditional shirt, seeing a symbol of fireflies on it, she thought, 'He's not from here.' 

"Thinking of ways to kill me," He snapped, "I'll kill you first." 

"You can barely lift up a dagger, I would hate to see you try to fight me and lose," She bantered.

"You underestimated me," He bickered, "I  have no problems fighting with an injury."

"I think he went that way," They heard men shouting from a distance. 

She felt her stomach drop, thinking, 'I recognize those voices anywhere… If they find this man, he'll be killed.' 

She covered the man's mouth, shushing him. "Those are Kingdom Holden guards. They will torture you and then kill you if they find you here. Please be quiet or else I can't help her," She whispered.

He looked closely at her face, noticing slight bruising and a small bump on her face.

"I promise I will help you, please believe me," She whispered, looking into his eyes. 

She watched as his eyes softened, and he nodded his head. 

"Stay put," She mumbled, "I will protect you,"  She stood up, walking towards the sounds of the guards. 

"Who goes there," One of the guards shouted, "Come out immediately."

She stood in front of the guards, watching their facial expression turn cold. 

"It's just the slave," The same guard snarled, "What are you doing out here this late at night?" 

"His Lordship has sent me to run errands," she replied. 

"Well we're out here looking for a man with dark brown hair and a firefly symbol on his clothing. You haven't seen him have you," the guard asked. 

"No," She answered, "I'm the only one out here." 

"I think you're lying and you know exactly where the man is," the other guard challenged, "That man is a traitor and if you know where he is and aren't telling us there will be serious consequences." 

"There's no one else here," She said, gripping her dress, "Nobody else but me."

"And I said I think you're a liar,"  The same guard insulted, "A dirty, disgusting liar." 

"You dare challenge a close servant of the Earl? Careful if he finds out you'll surely have a harsh penalty,"  She challenged, using all the courage she had. 

"Why you…" The same guard shouted, smacking her across the face, making her fall to the ground. 

Sounds of the smack plagued the man's (who Gabrielle was helping) ears as he peeked his head from behind the tree seeing two guards towering over Gabrielle. Rage filled his heart as the words Gabrielle said to him played through his head. 'They will not get away with this,' He thought, getting ready to stand.

"That's enough," The other guard said, "You remember the decree."

"Decree or not I will not allow this slave to disrespect me," The guard who slapped Gabrielle shouted. 

She held her face, holding back her tears, refusing to look at the guards, she said, "He's not here." 

The same guard (who hit Gabrielle) said, "You're lucky I don't kill you, you," and the other guard interrupted, saying, "You're lucky she doesn't report you. You remember what His Majesty and His Lordship said. If you don't want to die I suggest we move on." 

The guard (who hit Gabrielle) scoffed and walked away going in the opposite direction from the man (who Gabrielle was helping) and the other guard said, "If you tell, I will make sure everyone thinks you're lying. You're nothing more than a slave, a slave whom nobody will believe… Remember that," and the other guard left, following behind the guard (who slapped Gabrielle). 

She looked up, watching the guards disappear into the wooded forest. She stumbled to her feet, holding the side of her face. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her attempts to hold back her sadness failed. 

She felt a warm touch on her shoulder from the man. She quickly wiped her tears away, turning around to face him. 

He touched her face, seeing a bright red bruise forming, his heart began racing. 'They will pay,' He thought, gritting his teeth. 

"We need to attend to your wounds," She mumbled. 

"What about your face," He asked, "Aren't you hurting too?"

"I'm okay," She comforted, grabbing the man's hand that touched her face, "But we need to wrap up that shoulder."

She led the man over to a tree, sitting him down. She took off her apron. 

"It's not the cleanest but it will have to do for now," She said as she wrapped the man's arm up, stopping the bleeding.

The man held back his groaning, tensing his muscles from the intense pain. 

"I will help you get back to your kingdom," She said, "But you'll have to trust me," She looked into his eyes. 

"Why are you helping me," He asked.

"Because you don't deserve to die. I know how cruel the people of Holden are… Nobody deserves to die in their hands so please…. Will you let me help you or not," She asked, biting her lip as she waited for his answer.

"I trust you," He answered, "I'll do whatever you ask of me."