"Hey, look at these two love birds," a man shouted.

Surprised, Segfried and Niyeighty rose to their feet and watched as a man with a torch stepped out of the woods and into the clearing. Three other men followed closely behind him. She had not noticed how dark it had gotten. The moon had almost completely blocked the sun now. There was just a small outlining piece of the sun remaining.

"What do we have here?" One of the men asked.

All four men had swords at their waists and were dressed in armor.

"Hello", Niyeighty greeted with a curtsy.

Though she was attractive, Mother Nora taught her to be polite and friendly. But Mother Nora also warned her against being too friendly, as men often mistook politeness with being flirtatious.

"In a world ruled by men, beauty, is as much a curse as unattractiveness," Mother Nora's words echo in her mind.

"Hello darling." One of the men replied, staring at her.

"Is it just you two out here?" He continued.

"Yes," she answered honestly.

Segfried shot her an angry glance.

"Actually, my parents are close; they're probably searching for us now," he lied. His lie was so effortless, it sounded believable. At first, she wondered why he had lied, but then realized how foolish she was.

All four men laughed, and suddenly she could smell the overbearing stench of alcohol.

"Well, should you not go find your parents then?" One of the men replied with a snicker. The other 3 men laughed.

Niyeighty looked up at the sky. It was almost pitch black.

We are not supposed to be out during the Dark-Hour.

She looked over at Segfried; even in the dark, she could see his knees shaking and sweat running down his brow.

"Yes, we'll make our leave now." Segfried said, grabbing Niyeighty by the wrist and pulling her forward. The inside of his hand was sweaty, but his hand was trembling as if he were freezing.

"Perhaps, you should find your parents, and we'll care for your friend." One of the men said blocking his path.

"No, we both should get going," Segfried replied instantly.

"Well, make your leave then!" One of the men said walking forward and swiping Segfried to the side, as if swatting an annoying gnat. Niyeighty felt Segfried's grip loosen, and then disappear altogether as he fell to the ground.

The man who pushed Segfried, went to her and put his hand on her cheek, caressing it, and slowly dragging his fingers down to her chin.

"Such a beauty," he said with a twisted smile. The stench of alcohol attacked her nostrils and she turned to evade the smell. She slowly backed away, as if face to face with a wild animal.

"Leave her be," Segfried shouted.

"Don't fret, we're going to take good care of your friend.” One of the men replied while the others laughed.

“Yeah, we're soldiers from the North Kingdom! We would not harm her. We only want to celebrate the Dark-Sun and entertain ourselves." Another man said.

"RUUUUUUUUN"!!! Segfried yelled.

Without question or hesitation, she turned and sprinted full speed. She knew what those men wanted. She knew what they were going to do to her. There was a speck of sun remaining, everything else was dark. The trees, the branches, the escape route, the way back to the village, everything.

"After her!" She heard one of the men command, as she ran blindly into the dark forest as fast as she could. She had no idea where she was headed, all she knew was that she had to get away.

...........................................................................

It was so dark she feared she would run into a tree or a ditch. So, she slowed to half speed, stretching out her arms attempting to feel for the trees and what lay ahead. She couldn’t see anything past her wrists. Had she not been able to feel her fingers move at her command, she wouldn’t of even knew she had them. She winced as tree branches grabbed at her, scraping her arms and legs, and tearing at her dress. Twigs snapped beneath her feet, and the leaves on the branches rustled as she pushed past them. The pain of each step onto the sticks were insignificant now. When she finally turned around, there was a good distance between the light of the torch and herself. But just as she started to feel safe, she was pulled down to the ground and a man fell atop her.

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"Where are you off to beautiful?" The man asked. His face was mostly covered in darkness, but she could see the outlining of a grotesque smile. "Don't worry, everything will be alright. We'll be gentle!" He said, dragging his tongue across her cheek.

"Get off me," she screamed. She kicked and slapped at him as her eyes filled with tears. "Please, I am not a woman yet," she begged. She thought that would make him stop, but it didn't. She continued to kick and scratch and resist with all her strength; but he pinned her down with one hand pressed against her chest, while loosening the lace to his armored chest-plate and pants, with his other.

“You'll be a woman when light returns to sky!” He said, ripping the two shoulder straps to her dress, and pulling her top down, exposing her large breasts. “This is going to be pleasant” he said, sitting up and removing his sword from his waist, and taking off his armored breastplate.

"NO," she cried, continuing to struggle.

"You'd best calm yourself. If you struggle, it'll only cause more harm. And if you cooperate, we won’t kill your friend."

Suddenly, all her energy and strength left her body. She had forgotten about Segfried. She didn't think about what they’d do to him. She had only thought about herself.

“Please do not bring him any harm,” she begged.

He smiled, "If you cooperate, we will only do what we came to do, and then be on our way. You might even enjoy this." He leaned in and kissed her mouth, cheek, neck, and breasts; and then shoved his face into the flesh between her breasts and smiled with great pleasure. She wanted to scream but was paralyzed with fear.

We should have returned to the orphanage. We should have gone back...

This time she meant it. She closed her eyes and pictured Segfried running back to the orphanage for help. Tears squeezed through her closed eyes and ran down her cheeks.

“AAAhhhh,” Segfried, yelled tackling the man off her.

He got up quickly and picked up the sword the man had laid on the ground moments before. “Get away from her!” Segfried commanded, and in one smooth motion, unsheathed the sword and swung it wildly. The blade slid across the man's face, slicing him across the very top of his nose, and across the eye. It was a lucky blow.

"AAArrghhh," the man screamed in pain.

"Stay away from her!" Segfried ordered again.

Niyeighty’s heart filled with hope.

We'll see this through! He'll protect me! Segfried won't let them bring me any harm. He'll take my maidenhood, we'll get married, and then we’ll travel the Five-Lands and find his family together!

Just then, two men crept on opposite sides of Segfried and grabbed his arms. She could feel the hope pour out her heart like an overturned bucket of water. He kicked and screamed and tried swinging the sword in his hand, but the men had a tight grip. The man holding the torch caught up, and the light from the torch illuminated their surroundings.

"Blinking, little fly mud!!" The man with the bloody eye exclaimed. "Hold that little bastard tight!" The man commanded, holding his eye. "You want to play with swords!?" He asked angrily. He snatched the sword from Segfried’s hand and waved the tip of it in Segfried’s face. "I'll show you how to use a sword you blinkin little fly mud bastard!"

"Run!" Segfried shouted at her. Niyeighty stood to her feet and started to run.

"Take pause girl!" The man ordered.

She turned back. The man who took the sword from Segfried was looking at her; one eye filled with rage, and a steady stream of blood flowing from the other.

"If you take another step, I'll cut this boy in half," he hissed.

Her legs were frozen stiff with fear, but her heart ran fast enough for both legs. It was beating so fast; it could have made 3 trips back to the orphanage by now.

"Please do not cause him any harm him." She begged.

"Do not be concerned with me, run!" Segfried pleaded.

"Shut your eat-hole," the man holding the sword ordered, punching Segfried in the face. Segfried’s head, jerked to the side and blood flew out of his mouth.

"I'll do whatever you please, only do not harm him.” Niyeighty screamed.

The man snickered; "You care that much for this piece of fly mud?"

Niyeighty and Segfried’s eyes locked, and there was a long silence.

The man with the sword smiled. "I'll spare your little boyfriend, but he's going to pay for what he did to my eye. Now lay on the ground girl."

Segfried stared at her hopelessly. "Run, please. Don't worry about me. Just go. As long as your safe, that's all that matters!"

His mouth was moving, but she couldn't make out the words. She couldn't hear anything over the sound of her thundering heartbeat. Her legs and knees were shaking, her eyes were watery, and her stomach and chest felt like they were going to cave in.

Apologies Segfried, I—I--I cannot.

She allowed her legs to crumble and her body to collapse to the ground. It felt good letting go. Falling to the ground was relieving.

"NOOOOO," Segfried screamed. "Please, Get up!! Don’t give up! Tears were streaming down his face as he sobbed uncontrollably.

The four men snickered, and the man with the sword turned his attention to Segfried.

"Don't worry, you won't be able to see what we're going to do to your girlfriend; not with both eyes anyway.” He lifted the blade to Segfried’s left eye. "Which one's your good eye?" He joked. The other 3 men erupted with laughter.

"Attempt, not to scream too loud ya lil bastard!"

Segfried kept his eyes fixed on her. His gaze was so intense, it was as if he didn't notice the blade hovering over his left eye. It was like all he could see, was her. The sight of him made her stomach turn. The look of panic, the sweat dripping down his forehead and cheeks, and the fear and helplessness in his eyes. It all made her ashamed. She turned away as the sword inched closer to his eye. She laid on her back and looked up to the sky, which was mostly blocked by leaves at the tops of the trees.

But, through the little distance between the tops of the trees, she could see the sky, and could tell that it was full of stars.

What a pleasant sight, I should count the stars. I'll look through trees and count all the stars in the sky. I'll count all the stars, and when I’m finished counting, it’ll all be over!

Her thoughts were interrupted by the loudest, most grotesque scream, she had ever heard. It was more like a guttural squeal than a scream. It reminded her of a pig being butchered, except she knew it wasn't a pig. She closed her eyes and shivered. She was happy she hadn't eaten the apple. She would have vomited it up. She shut her eyes so hard, it felt like they would be stuck together, and she would never be able to open them again.

Count the stars, count the stars.

She slowly opened her eyes and watched as the last speck of sunlight was engulfed by darkness. She like the sun, had no choice but to accept her fate.