Chapter 2

“AH!” Layla cried when a sharp object was stuck on her side. She wasted no time and grabbed the thing only to pressed it harder instead of pulling it out. With her everyday life of beatings and maltreatment, she learned to handle physical damage on her own.

*cough*

She coughed out blood and knowing she wouldn’t be able to survive with too much blood loss, she swallowed it like naive she was. The thick fluid blocked her throat but it made her feel ‘better’ than leaving it dry any longer.

“Spread out! Don’t let the bitch escape, or we’ll get our head off by sunrise,” she heard one of the men say. Layla guessed it was already nightfall since they didn’t easily find her. She was tempted to remove her blindfold to free her eyes, but she was scared she would be blinded by even a small light. She chose to let it be since she was way more comfortable with the cloth covering her sight.

A part of her was also trying to protect herself from getting more devastated than she already was the moment she opened her eyes again after several years and discovered she could no longer see anything. Having her eyesight robbed off her by a tragic experience in life was one of the things she was most scared of…though Layla still believed she could someday see the light again even with just her eye as the other one should have been destroyed after having it pierced.

“Mmmrg…” she grunted when her body felt stiff lying on the ground. She was so tired to move but her resolve to escape wasn’t something to be underestimated.

“Damn! Lit up the torches and look for her! We should arrive at the borders before 7 and leave immediately or else we’ll get trapped in there! Find her if you still want your heads!”

Layla was only a few meters away from the carriage due to her injury. She also just rolled over twice and couldn’t do more, or she’d puke her entrails out since her stomach was empty. She held her breath when she sensed someone coming towards her. There were no grasses around, and she knew it since only hard stones and sharp rocks were all she could touch when she roamed her hands to find something. The young lady grabbed some pebbles and a stick she had clipped between her finger toes. She needed them to defend herself in case she’d get caught. On how she could use them for defense, she had no idea either.

“Well? Is this where all you could go so far?” A man from her left said, knocking her head with the wooden heels of his boots. “Here’s the little bitch. She’s crouching like an insect on the ground. Why did I even worry about her running away when she’s blind to start with,” he continued and pressed his foot on her chest. “You gave us a hard time and delayed our schedule. If not for the fact that you’ll die by midnight, I would have already killed you.”

‘Ah. I failed. I bet no one could be more pathetic than me in this state,’ Layla thought when the man grabbed her by the hair and pulled her like a sack of garbage. She was thrown on a wooden floor which she guessed must be the carriage. It felt nice and warm, a thousand times better than the cold and hard ground. She wiggled her body as she curled up with her knees to her chest, she smiled in satisfaction.

“You want water, yeah? Here.”

The sound of a can dropped on the floor gave her exemplary joy. Her smile widened when she heard the sound of liquid being poured inside the can. ‘I could finally drink,’ she thought. Layla propped herself up, wobbling. She sat on the corner though she could feel the other’s presence in front of her.

“Relax. This will be your last meal so the lord specifically instructed us to give you food and drink before we reach the borders. After all, we have to deliver you to the peninsula in your best state. Drink up,” she was told, and so she lifted the can. Layla almost spilled the drink when the back of her hand bumped into it.

“Ah…” She felt refreshed when the cold water flowed down her throat, cleansing any blockages she had in it. It was clean water. For the first time after a long time, she got to enjoy a can of freshwater. She handed out the can to ask for a refill which was surprisingly given to her. Layla drank at least ten cans of water. The men said nothing despite the trouble she gave them as they were busy deciding about who would bring her to the ‘forest heart’ once they reached the borders. She just listened while chewing on the hard bread but at least with no molds, handed to her together with a bottle of what she thought was drinkable water. She finished the bread when the carriage halted.

“Take off your clothes,” was what she was ordered to do. Layla did what she was told. She didn’t know how old she was, but she was aware of having swelling bumps on her chest. She was told it was good when she was sent to an old man’s room before but the scar on her face back then scared the hell out of his wit thus she was sent back inside her cell after getting beaten up for being ‘useless’.

“Woohoo! Your body doesn’t look that bad. Too bad, the demon would prefer a pure maiden for his meal. If not, I would do you right here before sending you off.” The men started laughing again. Their laughs were mocks on her ears. And however she wanted to make them shut up, she had no way to do so.

“Bathed her and dress her up. She must be already tired to death after the long walk. Once she was done changing, let her drink that thing inside the bottle.”

Layla quietly let the man who was bathing her do whatever he does with her body. He rubbed her back and face but didn’t remove her blindfold. There was only a little water inside the small basin for her to bathe. She had guessed it was only enough to slightly remove the dirt on her skin. The water touching her purple body gave soothed her a bit although it would cause her to her irk when a drop landed on her cuts. After a ‘quick bath’, she was dressed in a silk cloth which felt so smooth. It was also the best garment she ever had to cover her nakedness. She only changed her clothes when the one she was wearing was already torn off to the point it couldn’t cover any single part of her body. The dress she was wearing at the moment seemed to have no holes and the material was good. Layla loved its soft and smooth texture.

“All done,” the man who was tending her said after brushing her hair too hard which almost separate its roots from her scalp.

“Good. Give her the bottle. We’re nearing the entrance to the woods,” the other man replied.

“Here you go, runt. Drink this up. It tasted awful but it's for your good.” The man gave her the bottle which she hadn’t drank yet earlier after she ate.

‘Poison,’ Layla thought when she sniffed it. The bottle contained a highly potent potion. She shook her head while grinning. She would love to laugh if she could but her voice seemed to disappear. Nothing was coming out when she tried.

“Drink it if you don’t want me to force it into your mouth,” the man warned.

‘Bastards, see you in hell.’ Layla chugged down the bottle content. It tasted like a fancy drink for her. And it wasn’t the first time she was told to drink it. She had it once in a while ever since her eye was severed. They called it poison and was intended to use to kill her but when she survived when she first had a glass of it, the lord who was ruling the dungeon ordered the guards to give her a bottle every seven days.

Layla was familiar with its effect. First, she would feel dizzy. Next, terrible pain in her throat down her chest would last for a few seconds until she faints. Whether she could still wake up or not, it was depending on her fate.