CHAPTER 3 – SAVED, I THOUGHT

HELENA

Pain surged through my body as I tried to sit up and get myself off the ground. The pain was sharp and sudden. Chasing away the last traces of weakness I had. Along with it, the hope of survival. In my condition, it didn’t matter what I did. I couldn’t fight my way through what was coming. I gritted my teeth and tried pushing myself off the ground again.

Pain shot through me; my arms trembled and gave out. I cursed under my breath. I thought I had broken free from the clatches of death when I left the palace. I never thought the outside was worse than where I came from. I had hopes for a better life, I was fooling myself, nothing good ever happened to people like me.

On third try, I got the same results. I fell back down. I didn’t give up. frustrated, I tried again and this time I succeeded. The moment I put wait on my foot, it screamed in pain, but I pushed through it. No, it wasn’t the time for it give up on me. Not now, not when my life depended on it. I thought as I stood. Twigs broke under the heavy rushed footsteps that were getting closer by the second.

I tried to move but I fell back down, hard. I was lightheaded. Hungry. Desperate, I clawed my way forward with my hands, trying to get deeper into the bushes. To escape. But who was I fooling, those people were going to catch up with me soon and I would be done for. My breath caught in my throat at the thought.

It came out in short, uneven gasps. That was the definition of grasping at straws. My pathetic self, thinking I could outrun people who were in good health. What a joke! the sounds of their boots sounded loud in my ears, too loud. I didn’t stop; I kept dragging my useless body forward. I couldn’t die like that. I refused. “Over here!” My heart stopped and so did my movements. They found me. I shut my eyes tight, my mind blank waiting for pain to hit. For my end to come.

Who were those people, the bandits, the palace guards or something worse? I couldn’t tell, well, how could I? my eyes were closed tight. The pain I was waiting for never came. Giving up, I opened my eyes to look, I turned and laid on my side. A man stood at my feet. I only glanced at him for a moment before another emerged from the trees.

Wearing travel worn out clothes, not a uniform, not an armor. That somewhat put me at ease. The man was tall, broad shoulders, striking features. If it were any other day, in a different situation, maybe I would have taken my time to admire him. He stopped next to the man first man. Looked at me from head to toe. Saw my injuries, the pathetic state I was in then my maid’s uniform. He raised an eyebrow. I saw no cruelty in his eyes, curiosity maybe.

Behind them another voice called out. I tensed, “Did you find anything?” None of them said anything, they kept their eyes on me, sharp and unreadable. For a moment, neither of us moved. I kept my eyes locked on the tall figure. He looked like he was in charge of whatever their group was. “She is just a villager.” He finally said.

Keeping his voice casual, my breath caught, a lie, why? Footsteps got close behind him and the man finally came to view. He looked at me briefly before losing interest. He didn’t notice the maids’ uniform; my injuries were enough for him to render me useless. He turned to him, the tall man.  “She looks half dead, leave her. We don’t have time for strays.” I laughed internally, I didn’t know how many times I heard words like that. I never thought I would hear then out here though.

But I didn’t dare speak, the tall man didn’t move, not right away. His gaze lingered on me with mixed emotions in his eyes, but his expression remained cold. He was curios and maybe suspicious. He then turned. “Let’s go.” He said, they began walking away. I sat there frozen, barely breathing. Afraid even the sound of my breath would bring them back.

The sounds of their footsteps faded away slowly. I listened, sitting still until they faded completely. Silence followed and I waited. One minute, two, three that was when I breathed a sigh of relief. They were gone. My arm gave out and my cheek hit the ground. I closed my eyes feeling the pain, it didn’t matter, I was alive. The man’s words echoed in my mind. “Just a villager”

Why would he lie for me? we didn’t know each other. What was his motive? I brushed that thought out of my mind. He was gone and I was safe. A twig snapped from behind me, snapping me out of it. My eyes flew open, my breath caught. “You are not very good at playing dead.” My heart stopped, he was back, why?