They left his body in the open, not even a grave for their comrade. They treated my late husband with more respect. Russ tied a worn-out rope to his leg and had the only horse drag him a couple hundred yards away from the grave they made yesterday. Soon after that, the sun rose and the trek through the muddy lands begun. Ruby tied a somewhat rotten rope around my waist and ruby ordered Russ to hold it as he tended to the horse.

This Ruby was definitely more intelligent than he looked. This disheveled Arab man had enough foresight to pin the murder on his comrades corpse. His name, even now, I’ve forgotten.

I watched Ruby take my late husband’s knife and put it in his pocket. Evidence is essential in these areas, and it should be enough proof to absolve Ruby and Russ. What was an Asiatic man doing with a native-born Catholic, I wondered?

These were the questions that busied my mind as we walked all morning through the drudgery. Hi, being a lady and have never done such strenuous activities made a fool out of myself multiple times falling in the mud on my face. That son of a whore, Russ would tug on the rope to make me fall randomly, and when I was trying to get back up. He must have enjoyed seeing a lady covered in mud after a while he grew tired of his games.

The horse was used to carry supplies and rations.

I wished it could carry me.

My feet were not only aching but wet, I was drenched and cold all over. I just wanted to be back in my home—the Orwill Manor. In the estate, several thousand feet of land stretched out for acres, with maids catering to your every whim.

I shouldn’t get lost in thoughts that don’t serve me in this moment, but I couldn’t help thinking about things that distracted me from the concerning ordeal of my current situation.

suddenly,

Russ quickly fell to his knees and put his left ear to the ground.

“Looks like we’ve got something coming—on horseback, I’d say.”

Ruby quickly pulled me and the horse off the road and into some bushes nearby.

We laid there discreetly, the 4 of us—if you’re going to include the horse.

I’d never seen a horse so well-trained. Ruby they the ability to get his horse to lie on its side with just a point and a snap of his fingers.

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It was truly a sight to see. Could this mean he was once a saddle boy or something?

Ruby gave me a menacing stare as Russ seemingly took the words right out of his mouth.

“If you say a word, Ruby will cut off a piece of your tongue when everything is said and done. You see…”

Russ opened his mouth to show a nearly healed wound black, and scabed over, truly grotesque. A small piece of his tongue had been cut—the tip.

I said nothing. Besides, I thought to myself, why should I? Who’s to say these people aren’t worse bandits than the ones who previously held me hostage? I stayed content sitting next to a horse lying on its side in the mud.

I heard what seemed to be a stampede of horses a few yards up on the road. The group of horsemen stopped, and one of them dismounted to inspect the road.

The muddy ground betrayed our footsteps. Ruby, realizing the blunder, grabbed the rope which was wrapped around my wrist, and began pulling me close. I helplessly relented.

“Ruby, we hould go,” Russ slurred. I could barely make out the sound of an “S” every time he spoke. Altogether, it was quite tragic.

In that moment, we saw the horsemen dismount. There were at least fifteen able-bodied men sporting armor and weapons.

One of them, I noticed, had the symbol of the Orwill family—two open hands holding a sun—embedded into the chest plate. They were my lord father’s men. My stay in captivity was almost over—or so I thought.

It was as if Ruby noticed the symbol just as I did. The moment I was about to call out, he quickly took a knife to my neck.

“You will not betray us, Justine Orwill. I saved you last night from that brute, remember?” he said, slowly lowering the knife from my neck. “Now let us go to them.”

I couldn’t hide my excitement. My face burst into a big smile as I turned and got up on my feet. I ran out from the bushes, covered in mud.

“Thank the gods you’ve found me—saved me!”

I said. A

As I got closer, I began to notice the inconsistencies. The darker complexion of their skin, similar to Ruby’s. Even the armor was worn-out, dented—as if it had been stolen from corpses.

I stopped, terrified by my mistake. Ruby was nowhere to be found. Neither was Russ. He tricked me

They began to speak in a language unknown to me. I started to back away slowly. They inched closer. One of them raised a bow and arrow, pointing it directly at my face.

The one in the front began to speak in a tone of authority. I was frozen with fear.

He walked up to me, continuing to talk. He reached out and lifted my chin so my eyes could meet his.

In that instant, an arrow impaled his brain. I’m guessing he was dead before his body hit the ground. I quickly bent down as I heard another arrow whistle right above me.

Luckily, the man with the bow pointing directly at my face didn’t have a good shot—probably because there was already an arrow lodged in his shoulder.

They were being attacked.