The silence of the forest is interrupted by the sound of footsteps, getting closer, faster, more desperate, they ignore the pain of the buried stones and splinters, without direction, without path, non stop, there is no tiredness. The sunlight passes through the leaves of the trees, the light doesn’t allow the creature to hide in the undergrowth, it doesn’t know where it is going but if it stops they will reach it, the pain cannot be compared to its desire to survive. Run, poor creature, run.
The sunlight passes through the leaves of the trees, the light does not allow the creature to hide in the undergrowth, it does not know where it is going but if it stops they will reach it, the pain cannot be compared to its desire to survive. Run, poor creature, run.
***
Sometimes his sight was lost in the reflection of the carriage window, his winter-blue eyes chilling those who thought they were foolhardy enough to snap him out of his trance. Without the others being able to notice, he slowly returned and looked away from the reflection, no one would know until he broke the silence.
—The border, is it recovering adequately? — He asked, his tone as cold and monotonous as his gaze.
— Yes, Your Majesty, however today's visit is necessary to give strength to those affected. — answered the man in a black suit sitting at the other end of the carriage.
—I see.
—Yes.
Suddenly the carriage shaked and stopped, there in the middle of the forest. It did not cross anyone's mind that it could be an ambush, who would dare to ambush the imperial carriage carrying the emperor and the best swordsman in the empire? They all concluded that it had been an accident, a silent conclusion because there was no way they would attack the emperor.
The butler, a knight, and finally the fearsome, bloodthirsty and cold—blooded most famous man in the empire: Emperor Aamon, got off the carriage. They checked the carriage, indeed a technical error in the axles that would be repaired soon, due to his few trips, the emperor did not usually give maintenance to his carriages, he preferred to go on horseback but that day he felt bored, as he had been feeling for a long time. He lamented a bit, the delay could cost them more work due to the delay in scheduled meetings.
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—How much estimated time? –The emperor asked — in the repairs —emphasized
—Probably two hours — answered the technician
As the emperor's mouth prepared to respond, the sound of a creature falling to the ground attracted the attention of those present, his knights became alert but the cold eyes of the emperor met the eyes full of life of the creature for a moment. Brief moment before it disappeared again into the lush forest.
—Acken, I want to know who it was — Ordered the emperor, in a slightly more enthusiastic tone than he had previously used to discuss such dull subjects as meetings and carriage repairs.
However, it was not necessary for the butler to start up, chasing the creature came a group of armed men, the last of the group was stopped by the butler to be questioned about the situation: "a slave who ran away, we'll catch her better alive that dead for her not to think about doing it again" answered the man rejoining the hunt.
The emperor, standing next to the carriage, as if he had been petrified by the creature's gaze, had not moved an inch and as soon as the interrogated man left, he gave an order with a tone that his knights had not heard since the last concubine arrived at the palace.
—Bring the slave, alive and unharmed — Aamon ordered.
No questions, no comments, everyone obeyed.
***
Trapped, scared, poor creature, she keeps running but she doesn't know where. She is not afraid of the men who are chasing her, only that her body does not respond to the will of her heart. Every path has an end, facing a ravine whose fall ends in a river, the creature found the end of its path. She stopped to think about jumping, she was still thinking about it when a man's voice ordered her to stop. If there was one thing the creature would hate more than fear, it would be the orders of others.
— Your life of suffering ends here, the emperor has taken an interest in you. — said the man, as if the emperor's interest offered her some shelter in this situation or in those many that she faced in the past.
—And you offer me to go with him to be one more of the concubines? — Asked the woman with a tone full of disgust and a look full of contempt, not towards the man who said such words but towards the one who thought he would do her a favor by asking for her.
— Yes, it seems to be the case.
— I prefer to jump, here and now, towards that river that waits below. To die or to live, it's something I choose. And I'm going to die in those waters rather than be one more slave to that man.
Without the man being able to gesticulate a word in response, the creature, with dark skin, black hair and brown eyes, launched herself into the river, always with her eyes open, without fear.