Chapter 15

A Chapter by KMC

By the time Emma and Emir had finally ceased their quarreling, night had fallen. Benett let out a sigh of relief and shook his head. He would be glad when this was over.

“You two must be tired from all your bickering.” He said as he gave them a pointed look. “You two get some sleep and I’ll take first watch.”

“No, I’m fine, I can take first watch.” Emir said, as he let out a yawn.

“There you go lying.” Emma said, poking him in the shoulder.

Before they could start arguing again Benett stepped in. “Just go to sleep Emir.” He said, “I’ll be tired enough in a few hours and then you can watch to your heart’s desire.” Emir finally gave in and lay down. Emma lay down on her blanket, looking up at the stars. Both were asleep in no time.

With a sigh Benett waited for Caleb’s men to come and grab him. He didn’t want to see Emir get hurt, and truly believed that Caleb would be forgiving to him. The girl on the other hand, well, Benett didn’t care one way or the other about her. She was a nuisance in his opinion, one Caleb was right to get rid of. He wondered how long it would be until Caleb got there. In his boredom he started poking the fire with a stick.

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Later that night, two of Caleb’s men were on their way to the camp. They could see the fire in the distance. Caleb was with them, feeling rather smug. Things were going to go his way and finally he would get the revenge that he yearned for. He separated from his men, locating a hiding spot. Now he just had to wait until Emir was gone.

The two men gave Benett the signal that they were nearby. They then walked over, and ‘grabbed’ him. Just as had been planned, Benett gave a muffled cry as he was taken into the woods. Caleb watched from his hiding place.

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Emir awoke, hearing Benett’s muffled cries for help. He sat up, and saw Benett being dragged off into the woods. He cursed and grabbed his weapons. He shook Emma awake.

“What is it?” She asked groggily, sitting up.

“Caleb’s men just grabbed Benett…there were only two of them…but be on the lookout.” He said, getting ready to leave. “I’ll go after Benett. You just stay put, and like I said, be wary, more could be around. Just try to remember what I taught you.”

“I…okay.” She said, fully awake now. She didn’t really want to be left alone, but if she went with Emir she knew she’d only slow him down. “Just get Benett back…I don’t want to see Caleb hurt him like he did me.”

“I’ll get him back Emma.” He said, as he bounded off towards the woods. Emma watched as he left. When he was out of site, she grabbed the dagger he had given her, hiding it in her belt, hoping she wouldn’t have to use it.

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Benett had been taken back to Caleb’s camp and tied up, so he would look the part of a prisoner when Emir arrived. He hoped it wouldn’t take Emir too long to track them down. After all both moons were full and bright. He sighed, wondering now if he had made the right choice.

Emir had lost sight of the men once they had gone into the forest. He cursed and continued trying to track them down, but even with the light of the moons, it was hard to see in the dense woods. On top of that he was being slowed down by twigs and other forest undergrowth. Finally he came to a clearing and was able to find footprints heading south.

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Once Emir had left Emma’s side, Caleb waited a good while before acting. He didn’t want to risk Emir being within earshot when he attacked. He silently crept from his hiding spot in the forest, and made his way towards Emma. He kept to the east of their camp, hoping the flame from the fire and the moonlight wouldn’t give him away. When he was close enough, he stepped out from the shadows.

“Hello princess.” He said, his voice cold and hard. Emma jumped, and spun around. She growled when she saw him.

“Get away from me.” She warned. He ignored her and stepped forward.

“No, I don’t think I will.” He said, with a smirk on his face. “You see, your plan to run and tell your father about my plans is a hindrance to me.”

“How did you know about that?” She asked, her eyes narrowed, already having an idea.

“Benett told me,” he said, “in fact, Benett told me a lot of things he learned in the short time he was with you.”

“That traitor…” she growled. “What are you planning to do to Emir?”

“The same thing I plan on doing to you, of course. Death is the only guaranteed way of keeping my plans a secret. A very slow and painful death this time. You are going to wish I had killed you that first time.”

“You know something, you’re speeches tend to be alike. Have you ever consider saying something different?” she asked, sarcastically, as she tried to buy herself time. She looked around, looking for a chance to escape. He was close, and she wasn’t backed into a corner. If she could hit him, she had a chance of escaping. She took a deep breath and then removed the dagger from her belt and threw it at Caleb.

He growled in pain as the dagger buried itself into his right arm. She took the chance to take off running for the forest. He snarled, and pulled the dagger out. She wasn’t going to get away, not that easily.

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She ran through the forest, hoping she’d find Emir before he got to the camp.

“EMIR!” she called out. She continued running, not bothering to look behind her. She knew Caleb was probably following her, and so she stopped running straight. She started running faster, dodging trees, and moving in a crisscrossed pattern.

Emir was nearing the camp when he heard her calling his name. He groaned and went to find her. As he ran through the woods he planned out exactly what he was going to say to her. She really had poor listening skills. He continued running until he ran right into her.

Emma fell backwards and landed with a loud thump. Emir stumbled, but didn’t fall. With a sigh he composed himself and walked over, offering his hand to her. She accepted it and stood up.

“What did I say? I said stay put…why is it you can’t just listen?” he asked exasperatedly.

“Well, first of all, we need to get moving, and not towards Benett.”

“Excuse me?”

“He betrayed us.” She explained. “Now, can we please just leave?”

“What do you mean?”

“After you left Caleb found me. He told me that Benett was spying for him and that Benett’s kidnapping was a trap to get you into camp so they could kill you.”

“Wait…how did you get away?”

“I threw the dagger and ran, is that really important right now?”

“He’s probably not far behind…” he muttered. He took her hand and started running. She didn’t protest.

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