Awareness returns painfully, the light of the setting sun sears my eyes. As I adjust, I am met by a sky awash with hues of amber and purple. At the edge of my vision, the tall dark silent trees of the forest jolt me back to reality.

  “G-guys?” I whimper out, attempting to push myself up to no avail. I sigh, thinking this is what I get for being a 23 year old ying tag in the woods with her friends, God forbid a woman have hobbies. I wince, as my body starts to remind me of my injuries; thorn nicks to my arms, a rge weeping gash as well as a shit-load of scratches and bruises, making me feel stupid over my as. Muttering obsities under my breath, I try to dust off some earth and leaf debris and with a held breath aermination, I slowly push myself and rise to a seated position. .

  What the hell?

  Questions pgue my mind as I observe that the forest that appeared dense before was somehow denser, and there was a strange, almost biolumi light creating a deep blue hue within the woodnd. The glowing of the lights bees stronger with the slow dest of the sun. The sheer wonderment of what I am witnessing, makes me momentarily fet my predit. Waving my hand in front of my face seems to create a trail of soft lights. I decide to put my big girl pants on and try to get bay friends. I stand and head in the dire I assume I have e from, past rown hedges and heavily foliaged trees, looking for any opening into a familiar view.

  Haven’t I seen that tree before? Or not? A forest has lots of trees…No, no..i’m pretty sure that’s the same tree as before. I mean how many trees look like they have a dick.

  I sigh i and lean against the very male looking tree, barely taining the overwhelming feelings of embarrassment and despair of getting lost in a woods I was so familiar with. My momentary self refle is interrupted by the sounds of s, weights and heavy footsteps. A symphony of sounds that sends a chill down my spine for some reasoe all reasonable expnations tellihat it must be a search party sent out for me. But I don’t move, my instincts tellio stay still and quiet.

  I cover my mouth, still leaning against the tree and attempt to hold my breath. The sounds bee louder, and the distinoise of wagons, carts and horses are soon evident.

  Why ’t I turn around? It’s probably a pany of rescuers who’ve heard of my disappearance, so why ’t I turn around?

  Yet the feeling of dread remains, a feeling so threatening that my mind screams that if I move, I will perish…

  As the sound of wago closer, the distinct smell of waste and gloom made by the movement of these mobile structures sweep towards me. I tio hold my breath, hoping that my silence hasn't given away my position to those only a few steps ahead of me. I listen as the sound bees distant, I unsciously let out a breath of relief as I feel the sense of danger evaporate.

  As weird unreisable bird whistles ring out, a hand suddenly csps over my mouth pulling from the safety of the trees and into an unknown person’s babsp;

  "Keep Still. Move an ind I'll cut you down." A breathy threat snarls in my ear, apanied by a sudden chilling feel of etal on my throat causing my body to freeze instantly, as if it khis would be the moment I could die.

  The hand of the unknown man grabs the scruff of my ned pushes me forward to face the onoisy otion of movement. I stare in shock at the long line of men on horses, wagons and on foot. The sight looked morbid. Grime, dirt and blood covered the men, as if they had just paved their way through a merciless war and was showered with the oute. The view in its ey was so bizarrely out of pce that I couldn’t even attempt to utter a word of my presence or to eveion what I was seeing. To me, there was no way for my 20st tury mind to even prehend the sight before me. The sheer stenen unbathed due to travails and service was to to even pare to any smell I had e across in my life. Their looks of grief stained by bat and bloodshed was too surreal to even ter with a modern expnation.

  There was no way these men had e from a movie set, some real life rolepy of fantasy characters or even a possible vention. No, these men had truly faced a the horrors of war and their 1000 mile stares or bnk looks attested to that fact.

  "It's a woman." The man still holding me, bellows to the men on horses.

  Keeping my mouth cmped shut, I watch as the men look between themselves as if to decide the proper course of a. A man wearing an outfit simir to a Teutoniight es forth leaping down from his horse, holding the hilt of his sword steady as if ready for an ued attack. He grabs my arms and looks at the scratches.

  “Just a woman, she is of no use to us.” The knight speaks from his helmet as he looks at the man holdihen proceeds to squint in thought. “Yet alone in the sacred forest. Strange…Brihe lord will o question her whereabouts”.

  The man pushes me forward towards a filled wagohe end of the troop of men. Grasping my waist he hoists me up onto the edge of the wagon, as if I weighed less than a bag of ri, and I’ll let you know I definitely weigh more than a bag of rice . He holds his hands out in a request for me to dispy my wrists, and in no position to protest, I put my wrists out to him and he quickly secures them with a coarse rope. Moving along the wagon, he ushers me to move down so that I am sat abreast to the tied up dubious men within. I slowly syself into the wagon, being careful to avoid the crooked looking man beside me. The wagon is closed up, taining us all inside, seeing no escape from this situation I take to looking at the sky.

  What just happened…?

  I stare bnkly at the dark night clouds, irritated by my ck of willpower to do literally anything other than just stand there, like a child who has been caught doing something mischievous or naughty. I awkwardly grab my head with my tethered hands. Why didn't I say anything?!? I ’t believe I've just let myself be kidnapped so easily!

  “Arak ka verki na!” The mao me ughs, causing the other men on the wagon to gnce over to me and stifle a chuckle.

  A rge man in the er of the wagon opposite me, tilts his head towards the shifty looking man beside me, adding his own ents, “Peveraki ka naveriki na.” He eerily sneers, looking at me. I follow his line of sight to discover he was looking at my exposed calves, I pull my skirt dowhem and all of them ugh. A soldier on a horse ridio us smacks the head of the creepy mao me.

  “Shut up you Eivan criminal. Or you’ll be walking the length to Arrton.” The assault causes the creep to surning his head to spit out of the wagon in disrespect to the soldier.

  I hope this isn’t hell.

  cxxx{}::::::::::::::::::::::::::::>

  The droning silence among all the men iroop persists, as they gaze upon the imposing sery as we travel to our unknowination. Uedly,the silence was broken by the arrival of a mail cd soldier on an auburn horse causing the wagon train to halt. He rides up to the knight at the front of our travelling troop to deliver his message.

  “Sir, we have set up camp a ways ahead on the great pins before Arrton. The marker for the camp is etched onte sohe well dressed knight nods in aowledgement, giving leave for the man to rejoiroop. .

  “Eimahe message.” The knight bellows down the pany of men.

  “Yes Sir!” A soldier yells in pliao the knight, and turns his horse away from the group and rides into the dire we came from.

  There’s more of them? I query myself staring behind to see if I catch a glimpse of other troops, but upon seeing nothing in the distaurn to the sky a my eyes once more praying this long jolty journey will e to a swift end.

  Upon opening my eyes again, I was hoping to be greeted by the sight of at least a humble campiup of a few tents and at least a fire, but instead I was met with the incredulous image of…Nothing? A boundless ndscape of sweeping long grass and blissful silehin the dark star lit night was all, my fusion building.

  We shuffle past the aforementioned sone. As we pass it, the men in the wagon jolt, seeming as though they all simultaneously received aric shock. What a weird freakin’ pce…My thoughts halt as I rub my eyes and do a sed take, as the se suddenly ges from emptio a bustling campsite where at least a thousand soldiers roamed.

  I think I'm losing my mind...Did I blink? How could I miss this massive campsite?!

  I y unhinged jaw, when I see the nont acceptance of the situation in the men, as if the sudden ge was pletely normal. I s the rge camp, notig makeshift horse stables, bck smiths, leather workers and rows of bell tents. Three rge tents stick out, their colour is bold and their size dwarfs the others, obviously signifying importahin this pce. If I am to have any hope or ce to iate my freedom or at least get some ao this dystopian nightmare, it has to be in those tents…

  “Sir Leiman, I will tell the lord of your arrival.” A young d says to the well dressed knight in charge of our troop. The knight responds by taking off his helmet and handing it to the d, scruffing his hair in appreciation. With his helmet off, I could finally see the profile of the knight in charge of the troop. He had blonde hair shaped into a french chop, a trimmed short beard and sharp features. He’s kind of cute, in a renaissance fair sort of way.

  “No he reaissance mission was successful, I will present myself to the lord myself and update him with the intelligence we gathered.” He turns to look at the wagon with a scrutinising gre.

  “Archer, collect them.” The familiar face of the man who grabbed me in the woods appears and uhe wagon, and ushers for me to e. Scooting to the end, he helps me off the cart by grabbing my waist and hoistio the floor, a move simir to wheuck me on the damn thing. These people are way to handsy. I think to myself, but in a state of fear I dare not pin. I stand to the side and watch as the men on the wagon stand and jump off ,following the iven to them by the archer and other soldiers. Once we are all milling around, the soldier ties us all together on a single long rope, berating aing the men who do not ply quickly enough. Now I'm gd I didn’t pin…