Why did I leave the castle grounds? What was I thinking? She just wanted to get away for a day, escape the strict rule and guard on the palace. She was a princess, and was thus suspected of being a target for the Damdren armies to take. She'd been shadowed by guards for the past eighteen years, though in the past two months, as the Damdren forces were more bold in their attacks, coming further into the Kingdom. She couldn't take two steps without a heavily armed man starting to move with her. She felt trapped, suffocated.
So, she'd gone out riding. Alone. She knew going alone was not the wisest decision, but with her guards and ladies she knew she wouldn't have the freedom to ride hard, to just let go. She snuck into the stables early that morning, long before the sun rose, and readied her horse. She took off south, riding fast, watching as the sun slowly rose to her left, her shadow on the horse but a blur on the green fields. She rode through the day, stopping only to rest her horse and herself, enjoying the mindlessness of just riding, watching the countryside fly past her, leaving her cares behind.
The sun was low in the west when she finally felt ready to return home. She at least no longer wanted to run from the kingdom screaming, for now. She turned her horse, and slowly began to trot home, letting her mind and horse rest a bit. She rode as if in a daze as the sky darkened, trusting her horse to know the way home -- he'd never led her astray before, she gently patted his chestnut neck, murmuring words of encouragement. She noticed his ears perk up and his head swivel towards the rocky dell by a bridge crossing over a large river. Curious, she led her horse closer, wondering what it was that caught his attention. She tethered Kaheba by a tall tree and crept closer to the dell, hearing the deep voices of men laughing darkly. She peered over, a growing dread in her heart as she recognized the grey and dirty red colors of the armed men of Damdren. Two officers sat on rocks by the hill, watching as five men set up camp in the flats.
Isola knew this must be a scout group, sent out to observe the actions of the people in the outskirts of her land. She wished desperately now that she'd brought her guards with her. She was scared to see these men with their long swords and axes sitting mere yards away from her. She had to get away, warn the nearest village that Damdren men were in the area, plotting against them. She backed away slowly, praying to the gods that the men not notice her when a loud snapping noise reached her ears, followed by the clatter of hooves as Kaheba raced off. Something was wrong. How did he get free? The answer soon became clear as a tall thin man dressed in deep grey approached from the direction of the tree Kaheba had been tied to. "Well, what is a girl with a horse from the royal stables doing all the way out here?" he asked, drawing ever closer as she backed away, her mind a blur.
"You don't look like a royal, girl." he said, eyes scanning her body, taking in every inch of her body under her dirt stained shift, her wind whipt hair giving her a wild look. "Haven't been stealing, have you? Not my kingdom, wench, you can tell me."
Realizing the scout didn't recognize her in her travel stained shift she couldn't decide if this worked in her favor or not. Being recognized as the princess could be her ruin, having the princess kidnapped and under threat would give Damdren very much the upper hand. She knew her parents would give anything to have her back. She couldn't let her kingdom become trapped by the Damdren armies. She'd have to play along... Maybe they would let her go if they thought she was a girl fleeing the castle. Surely they could relate to another supposed enemy of the KNIFES people.
"I had to get away from the palace, I was put into the service of the princess by my parents... I couldn't stand being there any longer." she said, adjusting her voice, trying to imitate the accent of the people in the court of palace who once lived in the outskirts. Their voices seemed to have carried, one of the officers was climbing up the dell to see who their scout had discovered.
"Save your story, girl. We'll go tell it to the rest of the company. I'll let the officers decide what to do with you... A pretty young wench like you, I'm sure they'll think of something for you to do." He grasped her roughly by the arm, pulling her down into the valley. The officers called to him and beckoned bring the girl to the fire they'd started "Well Harker, what's this you found?" one of them asked, her eyes looking hungrily at her, she found herself wishing she'd worn a cloak over her thin dress.
"A runaway from the castle, she claims," said the man still gripping her arm, "found a horse with the royal brand tethered to a tree, broke the branch he was tied to when I got near. He took off towards the forest."
"Well what a pretty run away" an office said, approaching Isola and grasping her chin in his hand. Her heart was pounding, petrified of making a wrong move. She just wanted to not attract attention, to get out of there, go into the woods to find Kaheba and get home. "What is it you're running from, girl?"
"Please, sir. I was given to serve the princess by my parents. I was treated cruelly by members of the court..." she stuttered, saying a silent prayer that they would believe her and let her go. "I wasn't running anywhere, I just wanted to get as far from the castle as I could. A man there... he wouldn't leave me alone... he would beat me." She knew such cruelty was common in the Damdren kingdom, and only hoped they would accept her story as true.
A second office approached, circling her, "What do you think, Cordon, he said, addressing the office still gripping her chin, turning her head side to side, "Looks well cared for for a servant. Her dress may be dirty, but" he said, reaching out and rubbing the fabric between his fingers "it's of high quality. Don't know any servants running around in this. What, did you steal this too, girl?"
"Yes, I... I didn't want to be recognized." she squeaked out as she felt the man's hand relax against the small of her back, slipping down to her bottom. She gasped at the familiarity with which he touched her. She bit her tongue to keep from ordering him to remove his hands. She supposed an abused girl would be used to such treatment, so tried to ignore the hand on her. "It was the only way I could think to get around unquestioned."
Cordon released her chin, smartly slapping her across the cheek. "Are you sure about that, girl? That's an interesting necklace for a servant to be wearing... The crest of the HOIFSHEO family on it. Very strange... you going to stay you stole that too?"
Isola gasped as the back of his hand stung her face, her heart sinking as she realized he suspected. He grasped the golden crest hanging from her neck, pulling her face towards his, his stale warm breath in her face. "Please..." was all she was able to get out before her arms were grabbed by the officer behind her, he quickly bound them with a length of rope, the rough material burning her soft pale flesh.
"Did you really think we wouldn't realize, girl?" his voice growled in her ear. "You're no servant. A member of the court at the least I'd wager." He pushed her onto the hard ground. "The king will know what to do with you... I'm sure he'll find a purpose for a well bred girl like you. A fine addition to his collection of nobles."