Zara opened her eyes and immediately regretted it. She rolled over, groaning, the world spinning. She tried to reach up and feel the spot on her head that throbbed but noticed her hands were tied.

Fighting nausea, she slowly opened her eyes a small crack, trying to let them get used the light. She was lying down close to a fire. The blinding light of the flames was right in front of her when she awoke, making her head hurt and spin even more. She now lay on her back, the light of the fire only slightly less assaulting.

She could feel she was wrapped in something soft, maybe a blanket, and her hands were tied behind her back with some kind of band. She ran her fingers over the material, trying to find a way out. She decided it was some kind of leather or hide, cut thick and tied so that she could barely move her hands at all. She knew without too much probing that it would be futile to try and break out. The bonds were too strong, especially in her state.

As her eyes adjusted to the light of the fire, she was able to make out that she was outside and it was still night. She could see the trees swaying overhead and was aware of the sweet, slightly damp and decaying scent of the forest floor. It was fall so she could feel the soft cushion of fallen leaves beneath her.

It took a few moments of deep breathing to get the nausea to settle and for the memory of how she got into her current situation to return. When it finally did, she frantically tried to peer around through the darkness for her captors. She couldn’t see anything in the dark besides the fire besides her. In panic, she took note of her well being, trying to determine how badly she was injured. It didn’t feel like anything was hurt besides the back of her head where they hit her.

With an icy wave of dread she realized that she was still wearing the black dress from her mother’s service. She had worked in it all night, not really caring if it got ruined or not. At the time, she was numb to caring, filled with grief. She now wished she had gone home to change before heading to Luis’s. The dress was twisted and bunched up inside the blanket around her legs.

She moved her legs slightly, realizing they weren’t tied up, just tangled between the dress and blanket. She was happy she ended up wearing her her favorite supple leather boots at least. She assessed if the men had abused her in any other way. After all, men who kidnapped women usually had dark, brutal motives. She grew angry at the thought of their hands on her. As far as she could tell though, she seemed to be fine besides her head.

As she lay there, a shadow fell across her vision. A person stepped in between where she lay and the fire. She hadn’t heard anyone move and jolted with a start when she saw them standing over her. They were wearing a hood and their features were hidden in shadow, being backlit by the fire.

Zara tried with all her effort to sit up but between the head injury and her hands being tied under the blanket, she just ended up fumbling around on the ground. The person kneeled down and reached out toward her.

“No!” She yelled and the hand paused in its approach.

“Let me go,” Zara demanded, still struggling mightily against her confines.

The person reached out again and gently took hold of the blanket, trying to help unwrap her.

“I’m sorry about all of this,” a clear, feminine voice rang out through the night. “Stay still so I can help you.”

Zara paused in her struggling at the sound of the voice. She had assumed it was one of the men who took her but this was a women. She sighed with relief as the hands untangled the blanket from around her and helped her to sit up.

Zara turned to her in alarm, “You have to untie me. We have to get out of here. These men… They hit me. They brought me here. We have to go. Now.”

She was trying to stand up as she spoke but the world was spinning, her head throbbing terribly. She fell back, catching herself with her tied hands.

The woman in front of her sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her in the sitting position so she didn’t try to get back up again.

“I am sorry the way my companions treated you,” the woman said. “If I had been there I never would have let them knock you out. Please calm down so I can explain.”

Zara was speechless for a moment. She squinted in the darkness, trying to make out the woman’s features.

“You-u mean to tell me you work with those brutes?!” Zara exclaimed, trying to scoot away from the woman now.

The woman drew back her hood and Zara froze. The woman had long golden, blonde hair, most of the length of it tucked inside of her cloak. She was human, Zara could tell even in the dark. She frowned curiously down at Zara as she quietly observed her for a moment.

Zara’s breath was caught in her throat as she stared back at the woman. Without a doubt, even in the dim light of the fire, she knew this was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. The frown did nothing to mare her beautiful features. She had big, pink lips that made her almost look as if she were pouting. Her most alluring feature, though, was by far her eyes. They were also golden, with flecks of orange accentuated by the flickering flames, framed with long dark lashes. In their depths Zara could see something unique, something intelligent. Something calculating.

It was the intensity in her eyes that made Zara’s heart race. Who is this woman? She couldn’t help but think to herself.

Just as she was about to ask, another person stepped up beside them.

“Well, well, well,” a familiar voice drawled as he looked down at Zara. “It seems our guest of honor has awoken.”

Zara looked up into the eyes of the strange man who had confronted her earlier. Before she could offer a retort, the blonde woman stood up and back handed the man across the mouth, hard. He stumbled back, hand coming up to where his lip was now gushing blood down his chin. Zara could see the glint of something metal on the back of the woman’s glove as she lowered her hand. Still, Zara’s mouth hung open in disbelief. The woman had moved fast as lightning. Before the man’s last word was out her hand was already connecting with his mouth.

“Don’t forget your place,” the woman hissed at him as he regained his composure. He glared at her but said nothing, taking a step back out of her reach. She watched him for a moment before returning her attention to Zara.

She knelt back down and silently started working at freeing Zara’s hands from their bonds. When they were free Zara rubbed the tender, raw skin of her wrists. She didn’t dare speak now, knowing what the woman was capable of. She watched as the woman got up and tossed the cut strands of ruined leather into the fire and made her way back to sit cross legged on ground next to her.

“Let me introduce myself,” the woman began in a soft voice, “I am Yuli and this one of my traveling companions, Raio.”

She gestured to the man with the blood running down his face. He stood watching them, hands clasped behind his back. The gash in his lip looked to be quite deep but he didn’t reach up to wipe the blood as it slowly dripped down and disappeared onto the dark cloth of his tunic. He stood stony faced watching them, expression blank and unreadable.

“The other two big men that you met are Grennt and Ta’Ga.” She said, flicking her hand toward the dark forest area beyond the fire that Zara couldn’t see well. “They are off hunting for our supper at the moment.”

Yuli was studying Zara’s expression as she spoke, almost as if trying to gauge something. Zara guessed just her reaction but couldn’t be sure. She gave a single nod to indicate that she heard the woman and to go on.

Yuli turned her attention back to Raio, a hint of anger returning to her features for a moment. She gestured to him again, “It is against protocol to use force against a potential… ally. They were acting out of turn and I am deeply sorry for his mistake,” she stated in a quiet voice.

“You see,” she continued, turning her attention back to Zara, “We belong to an organization that does for-hire work and it is some of our jobs to go out and try to find new recruits.”

“So you’re mercenaries?” Zara asked with a raised eyebrow.

Stolen novel; please report.

Yuli paused, thinking it over. She nodded after a moment, “Something like that.”

“Do you kidnap all of your potential new members?” Zara asked, anger coming into her voice, “Sounds more like forcing people into slavery rather than recruitment.”

Yuli’s gaze turned icy and she turned back to Raio for a moment. His back straightened slightly as they stared into each other’s eyes. When she turned back to meet Zara’s gaze there was rage still evident in her expression.

She ignored Zara’s accusation as she continued on. “The type of work we do is often dangerous and we frequently lose members for one reason or another. That is why we have teams to go out and seek help. I happen to be in charge of these three imbeciles.”

Zara straightened, “Well I have no skills in fighting or mercenary type work.”

Yuli shook her head, “No matter. We typically look for people who are young and have certain… qualities. Most skills can be taught to the right person.”

“Right person?” Zara said, more to herself than the woman in front of her. She thought about it for a moment and then looked at Yuli with a puzzled expression. “What makes me the right type of person?”

Yuli nodded at her question. “Raio tells me he saw you react quickly when a fight broke out. You have guts, girl. That is why he, uh, attempted to follow and recruit you.”

Zara glanced back at the man standing a few strides away. He hadn’t moved at inch but he had turned his gaze on her now, watching her reaction.

“My name is Zara,” she said to the blonde woman, still contemplating all that she had been told. She watched the man for a moment, thinking back to the incident in the pub. She didn’t think she had done anything spectacular. Luis had been the one to break things up. Had it not been for him, things could have went very differently.

Suddenly, she felt a hand touch the back of her head where her wound was. She instinctively flinched away, reaching up to grab Yuli’s wrist in an automatic response to the unexpected touch. Yuli didn’t pull her hand out of her grasp but stared at her with a serious gaze.

“What are you doing?” Zara asked, suspicion clear in her tone.

“I’m a healer of sorts,” she explained, cocking her head slightly to one side. “I was just inspecting what damage these fools have done. Unless, of course, you want to remain injured?”

Zara let go of her hand, feeling sheepish. She couldn’t help feeling suspicious after being attacked, but this woman had not shown her any hostility so far. After only contemplating her options for a moment, she nodded, turning her head away to give Yuli better access to the wound.

She felt the woman’s cool finger probe once again into her hair and gingerly feel around. Zara winced under the pressure and put a hand on the ground to steady herself as a wave of nausea suddenly returned.

Yuli stopped probing and growled, a sound that sounded strange compared to her calm, quiet voice.

“You fucking idiots gave the girl a concussion,” she said in an angry hiss. “You’re lucky she is even conscious right now.”

Suddenly, goose-prickles flared up Zara’s back as she felt a prickly energy seep into the back of her head. It hurt at first, like being burned, then instantly melted away into an icy, numb sensation. Her muscles relaxed as she no longer felt the throbbing ache in the back of her head.

Zara met Yuli’s concerned gaze as the blonde woman searched her face, apparently for any signs of injury lingering.

“Am I healed?” Zara asked, immediately feeling dumb for asking a question with such an obvious answer. She already felt better. She ran a hand over the back of head, testing the area that was, just moments before, extremely tender. She felt the mat of blood where her skin had split but as she lightly probed around, there was only a very dull ache.

Yuli nodded once, a frown still etched onto her beautiful features. Zara silently wondered if the woman ever smiled. She was started to suspect she knew the answer.

“I have been taught by Ra’Shaadan, the leader of my sect within The Organization,” Yuli explained. “In comparison to him, my healing skills are quite undeveloped. But what I have done should have healed most of the damage. A nights rest will heal the rest.’

Zara shrugged, meeting the woman’s scrutinizing gaze once again. “Well,” she said with a sheepish smile, “you seem pretty good to me.”

The corner of Yuli’s mouth twitched up a barely visible amount. “You are too kind, Zara,” she said, finally looking away into the direction of the forest beyond the fire. Zara stared into the same place in the darkness but saw nothing there.

Yuli rose to her feet and put her hands on her hips, as if she was waiting for something. Zara’s gaze moved back and forth between the woman standing beside her and the forest where she watched. When no one said anything and nothing happened for a full minute, she opened her mouth to ask what in the world she was looking at. However, before she could form the first syllable, she heard the faintest sound. She turned her attention back to the forest and watched, listening hard this time. As she waited, the sound started to get louder. It was the unmistakable sound of heavy foot steps over the forest floor, twigs and leafs crunching as the thing came closer.

Before she could ask if there was trouble, a giant shape emerged out of the darkness of the tree line and into the light of their campfire. She immediately recognized one of the two large men who cornered her with Raio earlier. She remembered Yuli told her their names were Grennt and Ta’Ga, though she didn’t know which one this was. She didn’t have to wonder long.

“Ta’Ga,” Yuli said in greeting as the large man lumbered forward, “about time.” He dropped the back half of a deer in front of the fire, innards hanging out and hitting the ground with a sickening splat. He wiped his hands on his already filthy leather vest, smearing blood all over the surface in dark streaks. Zara unconsciously wrinkled her nose as she watched him.

Ta’Ga stared at Yuli in response but said nothing. He just stood there, glaring at her across the fire. Yuli didn’t seem to care and she glared right back, hands still on her hips.

“Where is Grennt?” She asked, her voice taking on a harsher tone then when she had spoken with Zara. A tone of authority, one not to be easily questioned. She stood a foot and a half shorter than the huge creature across from her but she didn’t seem to notice or care.

Ta’Ga stared at her for just another moment before gesturing back over his shoulder with his thumb to the way he just came. “He has the other half of our dinner but stopped to fill up the water-skins at a stream not far from here. He will be here shortly.”

Zara was surprised to hear him speak so clearly. Due to his lack of communication thus far she had begun to assume that he was mute or spoke a different or broken language. That was obviously not the case. His voice was low and gravely but each word was clear.

Beside her, Yuli tsked, her frown growing deeper as she stared into Ta’Ga’s dark eyes.

“You know we are always supposed to try and stay together as much as possible,” she said in a huff. “You especially shouldn’t leave your comrade in the middle of the woods. Alone. At night.”

Ta’Ga regarded her again, never breaking eye contact to spare anyone else a glance. Zara could tell he wanted to challenge her questioning and authority but held back.

“Grennt is strong and capable,” he said cooly, finally looking away and turning his attention to the deer. “Besides, it took us hours to find this deer and we’re all starving. I came back faster to skin and clean it. He isn’t far away and said he would send the signal if there was any sign of trouble.”

As Zara watched, he pulled out a large knife and started hacking away expertly at the carcass in front of him. Yuli said nothing but watched him for a few more moments, her eyes narrowing as she did. She finally turned back to Zara and a softer expression came over her face again.

“Our guest eats first,” she said, to no one in particular. Zara glanced up at Raio who was watching Ta’Ga prepare their meal. A deep rumbling grunt came from Ta’Ga in response but he didn’t take his attention away from his task. Yuli turned to Raio and flickered her hand in the general direction of the forest.

“Go stand close to the tree line and listen for the signal,” she said as she sat back down next to Zara. She crossed her legs and rested her elbows on her knees to support her head under her chin. She stared into the flames, apparently lost in thought. Zara watched the fire dance in her golden eyes for a moment before she looked away, up at the full moon still hanging in the sky, threatening to dip beyond the trees of the clearing soon. While she was unconscious, the clouds had thinned considerably. She copied Yuli’s position as she gazed up. It was still too cloudy to see many stars so her gaze kept drifting back to the moon. Her eyelids soon grew heavy as she waited to eat, the smell of roasting meat filling the small clearing as Ta’Ga started to cook his catch.

She had so many questions and objections. She decided she would wait with these strangers for now, at least to get some food in her system before making her way back into town. She would have to stop by the pub first thing in the morning to let Luis know she was safe. For some reason, she felt safe with Yuli for the night, but not enough to fully let her guard down and sleep. If it wasn’t for her she would be trying to plan an escape. She knew that things lurked in the dark forest though. Whether it be beast or man, it was unwise to go venturing off alone at night and be caught unaware. She knew from experience.

As she shuddered at the memory of her sister going missing, she felt something soft being draped over her shoulders. She opened her eyes to be met with Yuli leaning over her, adjusting her black shawl around her shoulders. Zara raised an eyebrow in question but Yuli just shrugged.

“You seem cold,” she said. “Besides, it gets hot under all of this armor.”

Zara looked over the shiny metal covering most of the woman’s body. She had noticed some of it before but she had her shawl spread out and wrapped around her shoulders at the time. She now saw that it covered most of her body but was cut off like a vest at her arms, which were covered with a thin mesh-like material down into her fingerless, leather gloves. On the knuckles of the glove were sharp metal spikes, which she had struck Raio with earlier. Zara also noticed each nail was meticulously and neatly filed into a perfect claw-like point that still looked elegant somehow.

The armor was similar to what she had seen soldiers wear in books but it looked lighter and not as boxy. In fact, it was tightly fitted to her body, as if someone had melted the metal right to her form. It flared out into a skirt of metal around her hips and then she had on tight leather pants underneath. More of the metal was fitted in one piece over her knees and around the bottom half her leg and into thick boots that covered her feet.

Zara wondered about how heavy it must be but it didn’t seem to slow Yuli in the least. She moved fluidly, gracefully. The metal also appeared to bend at the joints, which was probably how she was sitting the way she was now, Zara guessed. She noticed too, not for the first time, a large sword handle sticking up above her right shoulder, secured to her back by a thick leather baldric. While sitting, the bottom of the baldric where the swords tip was sheathed, rested lightly on the ground.

Zara silently wondered what type of women could wield sword and magic so effectively.