chapter4

"Be careful, Sam, she could be a witch." The lanky one grumbled to the other man who was holding her.

"You believe that everyone is a witch. Take a look at her. She isn't a witch."

"She could be." He insisted on sniffing her as if he could detect a scent. "Take a look at her hair. "Have you ever seen hair like that before?"

"Just shackle her." The leader spoke up.

"Blindfold her as well..." The Lanky one spoke up.

"You're insane. Lisa yelled at them, wondering who the hell they were and why they wanted her in the first place. "Please let me go."

"OK, blindfold her if it makes you happy, but get a move on, will you?" I need to get back before it gets dark."

"And suffocate her."

"You've got to be joking." Lisa spat as hard as she could, but she could feel them clutching her tightly.

"We don't want her casting any spells if she's a Witch." The lanky one pondered.

“Fine. Let's just get started." The leader agreed, pulling a piece of fabric from his pocket and stuffing it into her mouth. She tried to stop him with her hand, and he yelped, pulling his fingers back, but it didn't work, so he slapped her over the head and rammed the cloth back in as she flinched back slightly dazed.

Lisa fought back as they tied her hands together and put the sack over her head. She could see a few rays of light through it, but nothing else. The fabric in her mouth threatened to choke her, and she struggled to fight the panic that was now consuming her because it wasn't like it would help her right now. She tried to scream and break free, but all she got was a muffled sound from her mouth, and the rope provided no relief as it cut into her wrists.

They dragged her through the brambles before throwing her sideways onto the back of a horse and tying her to the saddle.

Whoever they were, they were serious...

Lord Moses was tucking into his dinner while attempting to ignore the mutterings of those around him. He'd worked hard all day cleaning up everyone else's messes, and he'd be damned if he let it boil over and ruin his hard-earned dinner as well.

He heard the commotion and the doors opening but didn't look up until the man was right in front of him and he couldn't ignore him any longer. Putting his cutlery down, he sat back slowly and deliberately, folding his arms across his not-insignificant chest.

"What exactly is it?" He spoke quietly.

"An incident occurred in the King's Woods." "You're a trespasser." said the man.

Moses opened his mouth to respond, but a man at the door yelled "Witch!" loudly enough for everyone to hear. The panic in everyone's eyes around him as they stood, half ready to run, made him roll his own eyes in mockery.

"Is she a witch?" He inquired, his voice skewed with skepticism. In his town, there hadn't been a genuine Witch in well over a decade.

"The truth is, we don't know my Lord." The man in front of him said, casting a dark glance behind him. "It's possible. It could just be a peasant girl."

Lord Moses sighed and hurled his napkin onto the table. This pretty much summed up his day.

"Well, then, what are you waiting for?" "Please bring her in." He ordered while still sitting in his chair, while everyone else was still frozen on their feet.

They dragged her in with the bag still over her head and threw her to the stone floor on her knees. Lisa could feel the bodies in the room even though she couldn't see them. And you can feel the tension as well. Her hands were still tightly bound in front of her, and she knew she had little chance of eluding capture. All she could hear was the thumping of her heart in her chest.

Lord Moses motioned to one of his men, who stepped forward and removed the bag from her head. As her hair fell thickly over her face and shoulders and they saw her face, gasps rang out throughout the room. She shook her head, trying to clear her vision. Looking around, she noticed a group of men and women dressed in costumes similar to the three who had kidnapped her. Whatever this cosplay thing was, she thought as she gritted her teeth beneath the fabric that was still gagging her. Maybe it was a cult, some strange religious sect, she reasoned, but whatever was going on, her gut told her it wasn't good.

"Take the gag out," Moses said.

"I would never do such a thing, my Lord." yelled the lanky man from the back of the room. "She is a witch." She'll curse all of us."

"She isn't a witch." An irritated man from the far corner behind Moses stood forward, pulling his cloak back and puffing himself up.

"So you squandered my time with a peasant girl," Moses finally said as he stood up. When would people realize that his time was valuable?

"She's not merely a peasant." The man in the cloak said as he moved closer to where Lisa knelt, mumbling under the gag.

Moses turned to face him. His Magistrate. "So, who the hell is she?"

"I'm not certain." He said this as he knelt in front of Lisa and stared at her as if he'd never seen a girl before. Then he put his left hand in front of her face and closed his eyes, as if the entire room was holding its breath. Everyone except Lisa, who gritted her teeth once more at the absurdity of what was going on.

"If she had been a witch, she would have screamed in agony." The Magi frowned slightly. "I believe she is fate."

“fate?” Moses' eyes opened, and he was suddenly staring at Lisa as if she were a prized cow, rather than an inconvenience who had disrupted his dinner.

“fate?” The woman who had been sitting next to him said this again as she stood up and rushed to touch Lisa. "Imagine what she could accomplish. What we might have..."

"In a hundred years, there hasn't been a fate..." Someone muttered something.

"More than that." As everyone drew closer to her, another argued.

"She is the High King's." The Magi said loudly, causing everyone to take a breather.

"But consider what we could accomplish..." Moses' wife spoke loudly enough for him to hear.

"All fate is in the hands of the High King..." The Magi spoke louder as he faced the woman down.

Lisa, who was still fighting the bindings, had had enough. She'd had enough of whatever was going on. She thought the whole thing was a joke and wanted to get out. She desired to return to her new home. Returning to Martri. The rope bit into her skin, causing her skin to bleed where it had rubbed.

She screamed from behind the gag, closing her eyes. Her muffled cry rang out as she screamed into the fabric.

She was on her feet all of a sudden, despite the fact that she had no memory of standing up. The rope that had bound her hands had disintegrated into a pile at her feet. She tried to compose herself while shaking and slowly removing the fabric from her mouth.

"I have no idea who the hell you all are, and I have no idea what the hell kind of game you're playing, but I've had enough." It's all over. This whole charade has come to an end." She said this as she stormed out of the hall, pushing past everyone who was half in love with her and half afraid of her.

She could hear someone following her as she ran through the corridor, but she didn't dare to look back. She reasoned that if she could just get outside, she'd have a fighting chance. Get outside or, at the very least, find a phone and dial 911.

She found herself in a dark courtyard after pushing through a door. She knew they'd been traveling for a while, but the lighting put her off; surely it couldn't be that late? She'd only left Martri shortly after breakfast; how could the entire day have passed her by?

"Hold on there." The man who had been following her called from behind her. She met him face to face.

"Please leave me alone." She clenched her teeth.

"I'm attempting to assist you..."

"Can you assist me?" Can you assist me? What would have helped me would have been if you hadn't kidnapped me and brought me here. What would have helped me the most is if you had just left me alone in the woods." She half-yelled, unconcerned about who heard her.

"Please pause for a moment."

"For what, so your buddies can re-tie me up?" "No, thank you." She swung around and walked away from him. Away from the structures.

"How did you think you got away?" Huh? "Who untied your ties?" The man kept causing her to pause.

It's a ruse, she reasoned; don't fall for it.

"What do you think you're doing right now?" "In which country are you?"

"What country do you mean?" Obviously, I'm in England. We didn't cross any rivers or fly anywhere..."

"This isn't the England you're used to." He replied, strangely pronouncing the word as if he'd never said it before.

Lisa came to a halt and turned, despite the fact that she knew it was all a ruse.

"Do you really believe I'm that stupid?" She scowled at him and asked. Shouts could be heard coming from the building, and then a group of men rushed out. They came to a halt when they noticed her staring at them as if she were some mythical beast.

The man in front of her took a step forward and muttered something to himself. Then he extended his hand in front of him.

"I'm doing this for your own good." He said quietly, then clicked his fingers.

Lisa had barely registered the gesture when darkness overtook her and she fell into it.