At his words Flordia felt her stomach clench, and she shoved the food into her pocket quickly.  Hopefully no one had seen.  If they thought she had stolen the food, not only would they do what Burton had described -which sounded terrible-, but they would find her jewelry.  They would no doubt take it from her, and she would be left with nothing.

"I'm Flordia, Flordia-!" She realized how stupid she was for saying her real name, and stumbled over the words as she continued. "Flordia Gi-Ginnera."

He definitely knew she wasn't who she was claiming to be, but she wasn't going to give him any more information than she needed to, at least not give it to him intentionally.

She had recognized his bow, and how easily it had come to him.  He definitely was a shady character, perhaps he was hiding something as well?

Flordia wanted to get away from him before he caused her more trouble or made her make any more stupid mistakes, but there wasn't really anywhere to go, so the young elf turned back to the man.  She stood up straighter and looked him in the eye.  If she was going to be on her own, she would at least have to try to appear confident in what she was doing.

"I'm on this ship to get out of this little town and away from here," she said. "Why are you here?"

Flordia let out a small, involuntary yelp as he threw the food into the water, and her stomach growled again.  She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at the man.  She was starting to like him less and less every second.

"Fine," she said, eyeing what was left of the food. "You're right, I'm hungry.  But I told you, I found the ring.  I didn't steal it."

She looked him over again. "Who are you, anyway?"

Flordia didn't like his tone, and didn't like what he said. "You're not very good at this little orphan street thing"  What did he mean?  Could he know who she was?

She jumped again as the deckhand fell, and the man helped him up.

Her eyes widened at the food he then offered her. "You stole that!" she hissed, but her eyes were locked onto the food as her stomach growled. "You should give it back!"

The ring.  How did he get it?

"I didn't steal it!" was her automatic response, but then again, it probably would've been anyone's, and she quickly realized that it definitely sounded like a lie.  Good, she didn't want anyone, let alone this man, to know who she really was.

"I found it," she continued slowly.  "And I paid that man with it for passage on this ship.  Without passage I'm stuck here!"

She didn't know how this man had gotten the ring from the other man, but she didn't want to get kicked off the ship because he stole her means of passage.

Indeed, Flordia looked quite out of place on the ship.  She had moved to one of the rails to stay out of the way of the crewmen who were bustling about on the ship, so busy with their work that they barely noticed her.  She watched them, however, her wide lavender eyes taking in everything they could about her new surroundings.

She'd been on a ship before, but it had been like one of the passenger ships she'd walked right past moments before.  They had been built for comfort, for the pleasure of the rich and powerful.  They were not the working, breathing entity that this vessel seemed to be.

She was so enthralled with the activity around her than she did not hear the man approaching her, and jumped when she heard the voice addressing her. She turned to see who it was and her eyes widened.  It was the man who had been on the docks, the one she had avoided.  He still had that air about him, but now he appeared more relaxed, more approachable. . .  But Flordia knew very little of the world, and perhaps her only advantage was that she knew she knew very little.

She smiled at him politely, but not too politely. "Excuse me?  Dropped something, sir?"

She didn't realize how refined she sounded, how very un-street-urchin-like.

Flordia walked right past the large passenger vessels, knowing that even if she had enough money for passage, she couldn't afford to use up all her resources on a luxury cruise.

She passed the fishing trawlers as well, but slowed when she approached the merchant ships.  Her eyes fell on a mid-sized ship that was currently being loaded up with crates and boxes.  Flordia knew little of ships, but this one appeared somewhat old, but sturdy and well-cared for.  Maybe they would be willing to grant passage to a runaway.

Flordia started for the ship, and noticed a man on the docks.  He had an air about him that suggested he wasn't one to be messed with, and the young elf gave him a wide berth as she approached the merchant vessel.

There was a man standing by the gangplank, taking inventory of everything that was being brought aboard, parchment and quill in hand.  Flordia walked up to him.

"Excuse me, sir," she said, and he looked up at her over his glasses.  He immediately scowled.

"I need passage out of here," Flordia said quickly, and she hurried on as he opened his mouth to protest. "I can pay!  Just tell me how much."

He narrowed his eyes at this, obviously doubtful, but he told her the price.

Flordia bit her lip.  She didn't have enough coins for that, and she hadn't wanted to try using her jewelry so soon.  People would be very suspicious of a young vagabond with those kinds of riches.

"I can work, to help pay?"  she said, and the man scowled again.

"Money, or no passage."

Flordia sighed.  She reached into her pocket and pulled out one ring.  It was the plainest she had with her, but the man's eyes widened upon seeing it.

"Where did you get that?" he snapped, his tone accusatory, but his eyes did not leave the jewelry.

"It doesn't matter." Flordia slipped the ring back into her pocket.  Better not let the whole dock know what she had.  "But it's yours if you take me with you."

The man narrowed his eyes, his gaze flicking to her pocket before he nodded slowly.  "Alright," he said. "We'll take you.  Now, give me the ring and get on the ship.  We leave at noon."

Flordia grinned, pulling the ring out of her pocket and handing it to the man. "Thank you, sir, I won't be any trouble!"

She ran up the gangplank, the man grumbling behind her.  She was getting out of here!

@Kada
_____________________________________________________________________________

"Ouch!"

Flordia winced as she shifted, her whole body screaming in protest.  She carefully pushed herself up, blinking the sleep from her eyes as she tried to get her bearings.

She was lying in an alleyway, the sunlight just peeking over the top of one of the buildings and onto her. She had crawled under this pile of garbage the night before to sleep, and to hide from anyone who may come by.  She knew her parents and their guards were looking for her, and while it was unlikely that they'd find her in this tiny town so soon after she'd left, she wasn't stupid.  It was wise to hide from everyone if you had to sleep on the street.

She heaved a sigh and slowly got to her feet, stretching as she did to not hurt her sore body even more.  The garbage had been softer than the cobblestone street would have been, but the princess was used to feather beds and cushy pillows in clean rooms, not dirty alleyways.

Her clothes, while plain, were of fine make, but they were now as dirty as her skin and tangle of blonde hair, and she looked more like a street urchin than a runaway princess.  No one would take notice of her, unless to possibly give her a dirty look.

The young elf headed out of the alleyway and onto the main street.  It was early, and the docks were buzzing with activity.  Fishermen sold their catch, collected before the sun had even risen, and sailors bustled about; loading and unloading cargo, buying supplies, and some staggering across the piers, still drunk from the previous night's revelry.

Amidst it all was Flordia.  And she was alone.  Completely and utterly alone.

It didn't feel as foreign as Flordia would have expected it to.

There had always been people around her in the castle -servants, ladies-in-waiting, guards, noblemen and women, tutors-, but they'd all only been there for their jobs.  Had only been there to serve her, or teach her, or greet her kindly with the sole intention of her mentioning their kindness to her parents, the Kind and Queen, so they may gain favor.  There had been select few that had ever been there for her.

At least now, here in this marketplace, no one was pretending to be her friend.  They ignored her.  They treated her not like a princess, but like a normal person.  A commoner.

That was perhaps the happiest thought she'd had in a while.

She longed to stay here all day, but an angry fishmonger started yelling at her, telling her she was blocking his stall and scaring away all his customers.

"They won't want to buy from me if they think they're going to get their purses stolen by some dirty little street urchin?!"

Flordia bolted down the street to escape the man's angry words, and the fish heads he had started throwing at her.  When she came to a walk she realized how lightheaded she was.  She hadn't eaten in over a day, and the princess was used to three square meals.

Her hands immediately went to the pockets of her trousers, and a sigh of relief escaped her upon feeling their contents.  The left pocket was filled with coins -the money she had stashed away in the hopes that someday she would leave the castle-, and the other with her jewelry.  The jewelry was far more valuable than the coins.  She didn't know how valuable, but she knew she couldn't afford to lose them.  Luckily, all the pieces were there.  Two earrings, a necklace, and two rings.

She could use them to get out of here.  Her eyes fell upon one of the huge ships that sat in the harbor.  She could use them to sail out of here.  Her parents would never expect her to do that.  She could escape.  Finally.

Ishka didn't really know how to respond to his apology.  He had been with the soldiers, he had killed that defenseless man. . .  But he had also saved her life, and turned on the monsters who had kidnapped her and the others.

She just nodded slightly.  There would be time to sort out her emotions later, if they ever got out of this.

The soldiers were dispersing around them, less and less in the area directly around them as the two lay there.  Soon there was only one within hearing distance.  He was searching the bushes to their right, about one hundred yards away.

Ishka looked over at the man next to her, the question in her eyes.

Now?

Welcome back!

I haven't been active very much lately, but it's good to have you back, :)

Wait?  Wait?

What if the solders found them?  Just lying here on the ground, completely defenseless?  They couldn't wait, they had to run!

Ishka's mind was racing, and she wanted nothing more than to get up and flee, every muscle in her body was screaming at her to do so.  But she didn't move.

She took a deep breath.  Thinking logically, or as logically as one could in the situation, the soldier was right.  Moving from this spot would only get them seen by the men that were swarming the woods, looking for them.

They were pretty well hidden where they were, the only way a soldier would find them was if he stepped directly onto one of them.  Something that was not impossible, considering the amount of men who were searching around them, but less likely then them getting seen if they tried to move from their positions.

"Okay," she whispered, doing her best to stay completely still.

She fell completely silent when he put his hand over her mouth, staying perfectly still as she heard the soldiers in the woods around them.

When he asked if she was okay, her immediate though was; no, she was absolutely not okay, but she simply nodded, doing her best to control her breaths so they would make as little noise as possible.

"What are we going to do?" she asked, her voice barely a hiss of air.  He was a soldier, maybe he knew how to evade capture, though no doubt the men looking for them were trained to find those on the run.

He grabbed her hand and, still in a daze, she let him pull her into the woods.

She knew they were leaving behind the others, the other innocents, and her body ached to go back for them, but she knew it was no use, and that feeling, as well as her own fear for her life, urged her onward.

They ran into the woods, and she could hear the soldiers behind them, breaking through the underbrush in their pursuit.

Her heart beat like a rabbit's as they ran, her feet stumbling over roots and rocks on the uneven dirt.  It was only the soldier's hand in hers that kept her from collapsing all together.

It was only when she could no longer hear the soldiers behind them when she let herself stop running.  She fell against a tree, taking in huge gulps of air, her body shaking.  She knew that their pursuers probably weren't far behind, but she needed to stop for a moment to catch her breath or she was sure to faint.

Hello!  Welcome to the site!

As said above ^  ;D, you seem to be on the right track, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Ishka's body started to shake at the man's words.

'Kill this one next'

She couldn't move even if she tried.  She saw the other man approach, and she bowed her head further, unable to even look up at her executioner.

He raised his weapon, and she squeezed her eyes shut, only able to wait for her inevitable death.  But the killing blow never came.

She heard the sound of a blade hitting flesh, and warm blood splattered her face.  Her head snapped up to see the commander falling to the ground, blood spraying from the wound in his chest.

But the commanders attacker wasn't done.  He raised his weapon again and Ioshka flinched back as he brought it down towarfds her.  But he cut her bonds.

She was frozen for a moment, her brain trying to catch up with what had just happened.

Then the man looked down at her. "Run," he said, and those words broke her out of her trance.  She stumbled to her feet, her eyes darting around, but the other soldiers were advancing, blocking off any way to escape.

She turned towards the man, the only one who would be able to save them now.

"What do we do?" she gasped, barely able to force the words from her fear-constricted chest.  "They're going to kill us!"

They had been going to kill her before, as well, but now that her chains were gone and the commander of these men were down, a spark of hope had lighted in Ishka's chest, and she clutched at that spark with everything she had.  She did not want it to be extinguished again.

Meerior listened, wide-eyed as he told the story.  It was quite dramatic, and she even gasped a few times.

Her eyes widened further as he brought the dagger to her throat, telling her it was the very murder weapon.  When he was finished she was silent for a moment, then a smile started to grow on her face, and she started to laugh.

"That is an amazing story!" she burst out, clapping her hands together. "That was not boring in the slightest!  How come he killed her?  Why did he regret it?  How come he asked you to help him?"

Her face was practically glowing with curiosity as she spoke, her eyes going from Ipsen to the dagger and back again, completely enthralled.

Ishka trembled in fear as one soldier stepped forward.  He walked down the line, and each prisoner he passed shied away in fear, hoping he would not stop in front of them, but knowing that he was going to stop eventually.

He stopped at the end of the line, and the man there was shaking with fear, terrified, yet unable to do a thing.

Ishka kept her head bowed, but still had a veiw if the soldier raise his sword.  Her stomach leapt to her throat, and her tears started to fall freely now, the tension in the air building as the sword was lifted into the air.

The moment was frozen, the prisoners knowing what was going to happen and dreading it so much that it seemed so raw and real. . .  that it almost seemed like a terrible dream.

Then the commander gave his order, and the sword came slashing down.  Ishka, and many others, could not hold back the screams that ripped from their throats as the prisoner was killed.

But the blow hadn't been clean.  These soldiers were so sick that they wouldn't even  afford their captives a quick death.

Ishka felt as if she would throw up.  They were all going to die as that man had.  Terribly, painfully.

The woman next to Ishka was even more horror struck than the young woman was, and unable to keep any semblance of order about her.  Even on her knees, Nalia could barely keep from collapsing, sobbing heavily and unable to keep her tears back.

If Ishka's mind had been not clouded with terror, pity for those around her, and desperation, perhaps she wouldn't have done what she did next, and seen how seeking hopeless her actions were.  But even if she had been clear minded, she would have had to try something.

She threw herself forward towards the guard who seemed to be the commander as he spoke to the soldier who had killed the man.  She stayed on her knees, head bowed.

"Please!" she begged. "Please give us mercy!  These people have done nothing wrong, they do not deserve any punishment!  Please, I'm begging of you, spare our lives!"

"Ooh!  Yes!" She clapped her hands together like an excited child.  "I would love to hear about him!  I love stories, though I sometimes don't remember them, except when they're good, then I remember.  Though not always."  She scrunched up her face. "And I don't want to hear a boring story.  Is this story boring?  I forget boring stores sometimes.  I hope Lowen's isn't boring."

The light was near blinding when the wagon door opened.  The soldier was yelling at them to get out of the wagon.

This could not be good.  During the whole trip they hadn't been let out once.

Ishka stumbled to her feet and got out of the wagon with the others.  The soldiers ordered them into lines.  Ishka's heart was beating madly against her chest as she looked around them.  Soldiers were everywhere, and they were in the middle of nowhere.  There could only be one reason why they were here.

The young woman felt tears spring to her eyes, but she tried to hold them back.  Crying would not help.  Others around her were already starting to cry, unable to keep their panic hidden.

Then one of the soldiers shouted over the sound of the other prisoners sobbings, ordering them to kneel.

Ishka's knees were already weak, but she could not, for a moment, bring her self to kneel.  This was the final step, she knew.  This would be the last thing she ever did.

Nalia was next to her, and she fell to her knees.  Ishka looked around, and around them the rest of the prisoners were doing the same.

"On your knees!"

Ishka jumped as the soldier came up behind her, and she cried out as he kicked the back of her knees, forcing her to fall to the ground.  She did not try to stand.

She reached over, taking Nalia's hand in her own and squeezing it, trying her best to comfort herself and the other woman.

There was yelling down the line, and Ishka looked up to see one of the prisoners struggling with a guard, refusing to kneel.  The soldier hit him across the jaw and threw him to the ground.  The man tried to get up, but their captors pushed him down, forcing him to kneel.

Ishka looked away, closing her eyes as a few tears escaped.

How had this happened?  Just days ago she had been safe, and now. . .

This was the end.

"Talking to?" She frowned at him.  "I wasn't talking to anyone, I don't think." Her voice changed again. "Were you talking to someone else?  No, I don't think so.  Oh, okay." Her voice was normal again and she grinned at him. "Nope, I wasn't.  Just good 'ol me here."

Her grin widened when he introduced himself. "Nice to meet you, Ipsen!  Though I do think Lowen was a interesting fellow himself.  Are you and Lowen good friends?  have you known him long?"

Ishka was asleep when the wagon finally rolled to a stop.  She woke with a jolt at the abrupt stop, and sat up.  Sunlight was streaming through the window.

That was strange.  The usually only stopped twice a day, one time when they got fed and another for their captors to rest.  But they'd already stopped twice today, and it wasn't nearly dark enough to set up camp.

"We're here." Ishka heard someone whisper.

"Where?" the young woman asked, her voice quiet.  She didn't hear any sounds outside of the wagon besides the horses and the voices of the men.  She expected to hear the sounds of a bustling mine, or a city, or something.

"Wherever they're taking us," the person responded.  Ishka debated getting up and going to the window, but she almost didn't want to see what was outside.  But her curiosity could not be helped. Ishka slowly got to her feet, then moved to the small barred window and peered out.

Nothing.

No encampment, no buildings, just the plains and their captors.

"What's happening?" the woman that Ishka had comforted, Nalia, was at her shoulder, but when she also saw out of the window she frowned.  "There's nothing here. . ."

"Why would they bring us to the middle of the plains. . ?" Ishka whispered, and the sinking feeling that had been growing in the pit of her stomach since she had been captured suddenly grew stronger.

Something terrible was about to happen.