Chapter 196: No one touches her.
~Alexis POV~
I ran as fast as I could through the dark forest. My feet hurt from stepping on rocks and sticks. My heart was beating so loud I thought everyone could hear it.
I had to get away. I had to find somewhere safe.
The moon was barely shining through the trees. Everything looked scary and dark.
Behind me, I could hear horses coming closer. The sound of their hooves on the ground made me run faster.
But I was getting tired. My legs felt heavy. My breathing was hard.
I looked back to see how close they were.
That was my mistake.
My foot hit a tree root. I fell forward hard. My hands scraped against the rough ground.
Before I could get up, I heard a voice I knew too well.
"Well, well. Why did you stop?"
Captain Cassius stepped out from behind a big tree. His armor made noise as he moved. In the moonlight, his face looked cold and mean.
Two other soldiers were with him. They had swords in their hands.
"You thought you could run away from me?" he said. His voice was calm but scary.
I tried to get up and run again. But one of the soldiers grabbed my arm.
"Let me go!" I screamed. I tried to pull away but he was too strong.
Cassius walked closer. He looked down at me like I was nothing and at the moment, I am very weak.
"You made this harder than it needed to be," he said.
He pulled out metal chains from his belt. They were heavy and cold.
"No! Don't you dare!" I yelled at him.
But the soldiers held my arms tight. Cassius put the chains around my wrists. They were so heavy I could barely lift my hands.
"You betrayed her!" I screamed at him. "You betrayed Ava! I hate you! I hate you so much!"
Cassius didn't say anything. He just looked at me with those cold eyes.
"How could you do this to her? She trusted you! We all trusted you!"
My voice was getting higher. I was so angry I wanted to hit him.
"You're nothing but a liar! A traitor! I hope you die! I hope you burn in hell!"
Cassius pulled out a piece of cloth from his pocket.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
Before I could move, he tied the cloth around my mouth. Now I couldn't talk clearly.
But that didn't stop me from trying.
"Mmph! Mmmph!" I made as much noise as I could through the gag.
My eyes were full of hate as I looked at him. If looks could kill, he would be dead.
Cassius picked me up and put me on his horse. The chains made it hard to move.
"Mmph! Mmm!" I kept trying to curse at him even with the cloth in my mouth.
He got on the horse behind me. I could feel how tense he was.
"Keep making noise," he said quietly in my ear. "See how much good it does you."
"Mmph mmm traitor!"
"Mmm hate mmm!"
Cassius just ignored me. But I could tell I was getting on his nerves.
Good. I wanted him to be annoyed. I wanted him to regret what he did.
\~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Cassius POV~
The girl wouldn't stop making noise even with the gag in her mouth.
I knew she hated me. I could feel it in the way she looked at me. In the way she tried to curse me out every chance she got.
She thought I had betrayed Ava. She thought I was the enemy.
If only she knew the truth. It was better this way. For now.
We rode through the night toward the camp. My soldiers were waiting for us there.
The girl kept trying to make noise behind her gag. She kept trying to move in the chains.
"Settle down," I told her. "You're only making this harder for yourself."
She turned her head to glare at me. Even in the dark, I could see the fire in her emerald eyes.
When we got to the camp, I saw my other soldiers sitting around a fire. They looked up when we arrived.
I got off the horse first. Then I pulled her down.
Her legs were shaky from the long ride. The chains were so heavy I could see her struggling with them.
"Look , the captain brought back the vixen," one of my men said. He had a mean smile on his face that I didn't like.
"She's pretty," said another one. "Real pretty."
I didn't like the way they were looking at her. Not one bit. My jaw clenched as I saw her shrink back from their stares.
"She's not for you," I said in a cold voice. "Nobody touches her. That's an order."
They all looked disappointed but they nodded. They knew better than to disobey me.
I took her to a small tent at the edge of the camp. Inside was just a blanket on the ground and a pole in the center.
I pushed her down to sit on the blanket. Then I tied the chains to the pole in the middle of the tent.
"This is where you'll stay," I said.
She glared at me and tried to say something through the gag. I could see the fury in her eyes.
"What was that?" I asked. I untied the cloth from her mouth, bracing myself.
As soon as she could talk, she let me have it.
"You're a monster! A traitor! How could you do this to Ava? She cared about you!"
I just stared at her. "Are you done?" I asked.
"No, I'm not done! You're going to pay for this! When Ava finds out what you did, she's going to make you sorry!"
The mention of the princess name made my chest tighten. She was right. When she found out, she would hate me too. But it was the only way.
"Are you finished?" I asked again.
"I'll never be finished! I'll curse you every day until I die! You're nothing but a..."
I put the gag back in her mouth. I couldn't listen to any more. Not when she was so close to the truth and yet so far from understanding.
"Get some sleep," I said. "Tomorrow will be a long day."
I left the tent and stepped out into the cool night air. Behind me, I could hear her pulling at the chains, trying to free herself.
My soldiers were still sitting around the fire, talking in low voices. They kept glancing toward her tent.
"Captain," one of them called out. "You sure about not letting us have some fun with her?"
My hand went to my sword. "I said nobody touches her. The next man who suggests it will answer to me."
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