Chapter 3 #2
The girl blinked and that told Bree she could at least hear her, but she never said anything, just sat and stared at Bree.
As darkness enveloped them, and the cold night air seeped into her bones, Bree wondered if the men would stop and rest. Surely, they would feed their captives. But after an hour or more, she decided they weren’t going to stop or feed them.
She shivered and glanced at the child. The child held up the blanket, inviting Bree to share. Bree smiled but shook her head and although she noted the girl wore a bright red coat, she took off her black one and put it over the child.
A little while later, they stopped, but only long enough for Red to throw another blanket into the cage and make sure the cage was covered completely.
Bree unfolded the blanket and making sure the child had most of it, she said, “Two blankets are better than one.”
Bree spent the night arguing silently with herself, dozing, and arguing again about whether to take the child or not. By morning, she was exhausted.
The wagon stopped as daylight peeked over the mountains to the east.
Big Red opened the cage door and Small tied ropes around Bree and the child’s wrists.
“If you try to run, they’ll tie your ankles too,” the driver said from behind.
Bree was thankful at least one of the men spoke English. Maybe she could get him to see reason.
Small held out his hands to the child.
She stood up, letting the blanket fall to the floor of the cage. Under her red coat, she wore a dress with blousy long sleeves and soft leather shoes.
Bree quickly slid her feet to the ground before anyone decided to help her too and walked up to the driver.
“Where are you taking us?”
“Across the border.”
“Why?”
“To sell you, of course.”
“Why not just sell us here?”
He growled. “King Pradwick has banned all slavery, and that means no selling or buying. We can’t make a living in this kingdom.”
Bree could have whooped with delight at hearing King Pradwick’s name, but she contained herself and narrowed her eyes at the driver. “But you can steal the kingdom’s citizens?”
He pulled at his ear. “It’s hard pickings but we do what we can. Now go sit by the fire.”
Bree glanced at the fire and smelling whatever was in the pot had her stomach growling, but before she could eat, she had something else to take care of.
“Ah, we’ll need to go for a walk to ah, you know.”
He chuckled and said something to Red and Small in Cornish. They walked off into the forest that still bordered the road. Bree questioned the driver with raised brows.
“They’ll find somewhere for you.”
Looking around, Bree found the leader of the group sitting on the ground, resting his back against a tree.
He glanced up and seemingly uninterested in what was happening, took out what looked like a toothpick and began picking at his teeth.
Bree’s heart flipped. If she could get the toothpick or one like it, she could pick the lock.
Red and Small returned and with the driver in tow, showed Bree and the girl into the forest. They spread out and the driver said, “You won’t get past us, so do your business and get back to the fire.”
While Bree wasn’t comfortable, she had no choice but to hope they kept their distance.
Once back at the fire, the driver handed Bree and the girl plates of something.
It smelled heavenly, but at that point anything even half edible would have had her stomach juices boiling.
Not knowing what it was, Bree wondered if she should go without.
The little girl took hers and spooned the lumpy liquid into her mouth with gusto.
All the men did the same and Bree’s grumbling stomach coerced her into trying some.
It was a meaty broth and while she decided not to ask what the meat was, it was deliciously spiced and warmed her insides.
The small loaves of bread helped sate her appetite, but fearing how long it might be before they would eat again, she hid some in the pockets of her dress for another time.
The men all pulled toothpicks out and began working away with them. Bree caught the driver’s eye. “Could I have one of those, please?”
He pulled his out of his mouth and looked at it, tipped his head and threw it to her.
She nearly shrank back from it, but caught herself in time and smiled, scooping it up from the ground. He grinned and waved his hand indicating she should use it.
Her stomach convulsed at the thought but if she didn’t, he would become suspicious. She wiped it as hard as she could on the hem of her skirt and, holding her breath, pretended to use the pick on her teeth.
Seemingly satisfied, the driver rose and with Red and Small’s help cleared the camping area. As soon as their backs were turned, Bree secured the pick in her dress.
She glanced up and found Toothless eyeing her.
Blast. Had he seen her hide the pick? Would he even know what she could do with it?
His brows drew together to form a single hairy line.
Bree coughed and once started; she couldn’t stop.
Whether it was nerves that closed her airways or a piece of who knew what from the broth, she didn’t know, but she gagged and wheezed, unable to breathe.
Toothless was behind her in less than a second. He wrapped his arms around her chest and clenched hard and fast. Bree fell forward over his arms, still wheezing. She was going to die.
Toothless squeezed again and Bree coughed, gagged, and wheezed at the same time.
He did it once more and Bree gulped a breath, then another and another, until she was about to hyperventilate.
The leader of the group turned her around and smacked her on the back.
She stopped inhaling and coughed again. Putting her hand up to signify she was all right, she swallowed a couple of times in the hope of stopping the burning in her throat.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He said something in his language that she was sure was supposed to be an admonishment at her stupidity. She nodded in agreement and smiled. He shook his head and strode to his horse, shouting something at the other men.
BACK IN THE CAGE ONCE more, the wagon rolled noisily and bumpily down the road so narrow, the tree branches skittled across the cage from both sides.
Bree was thankful Small had left half the cage covered because the sun was getting hotter as it climbed the sky.
She sat back in the shade and tried to settle her mind so she could sleep.
Her near death experience had exhausted her, and she needed her strength if she were going to escape.
She felt in her pocket and found the pick and smiled.
As soon as night fell, she would escape.
But another thought flashed in her mind.
Why was Toothless watching her so closely?
She wished she could read his mind because he seemed to be thinking about something, and she was worried that something had to do with her.
But what? If he’d seen her keep the pick surely, he would have said something, taken it away from her, but he didn’t.
Instead, he ended up saving her life. And she was sure they had no intention of hurting her in any way.
They were only interested in selling her and the girl for a good price. So, why was he watching her so closely?
Bree scrunched her cloak under her but could still feel the wires on the cage floor making imprints on her bottom.
As the sun reached its zenith, Toothless rode his horse to the back of the wagon. Bree pretended to doze, peeking through her lashes. The little girl huddled in closer to Bree’s side and without thought, Bree put her arm around her shoulders.
The girl sighed and, resting her head on Bree’s arm, went to sleep.
Bree kept an eye on the leader of the group.
Maybe he wasn’t the leader, maybe the driver was.
It didn’t matter because no matter what, he was a criminal.
Capturing women and children and selling them into slavery wasn’t exactly what nice men would do.
If she could speak his language, she’d demand to know if he would like his mother or his sisters to be treated as she was.
Deciding he wasn’t going to do anything, Bree relaxed and dozed off.
She awoke sometime later to find they had stopped. It was still daylight, but the sun was making its way toward the horizon—so late afternoon.
Bree scanned as far around as she could. They had stopped in a small clearing in the forest and Small was busy collecting firewood. Bree nudged the little girl awake.
“It looks like we’ll be eating again today.” Bree figured it was so they wouldn’t be too skinny for the sale, but she didn’t want to tell the girl that.
The girl sat up and rubbed her eyes. She smiled.
Bree’s heart filled with warmth at that. She instantly knew she couldn’t leave the girl’s fate with the brigands. She was going to have to take the girl with her.
She leaned in close to the girl and whispered, “If I can find a way to get us out of here, do you want to come with me? It will be dangerous but if we can get out of this cage and run fast, we might be able to lose them.”
The girl regarded Bree for a moment then nodded.
Bree grinned. “Good girl. I’ll let you know when, okay?”
She nodded again, and Bree was thankful she could at least hear and understand English.
Red and Small appeared and once again they went through the ritual of a walk in the trees, dinner and they were back in the cage just as night began falling.
The three men sprawled out around the fire and went to sleep, obviously content in the knowledge their captees were secured.
Bree almost laughed aloud. Of course, they’d have to sleep sometime—she couldn’t believe they went so long without sleep, and she doubted she would be able to.
She chuckled quietly. They made them tough in those days.
She frowned. She wasn’t tough, at least not by herself, and with the little girl in tow, she had second thoughts about escaping at all.
She peered out into the darkness. The forest was dense and there might be wild animals there.
And what about food? How was she going to feed herself and the girl?
Maybe she should just stay there and hope someone would come along and save them. Maybe.
Movement near the fire caught her attention.
Toothless stood up and prowled between the other sleeping men toward the wagon.
Bree waited, hoping he wasn’t going to the cage.
The driver snored and woke himself up. He sat up and looked around the campsite and, spotting Toothless, got to his feet, and hurried to him.
“What are you doing?”
Toothless gave him a curt response. “Diank.”
“You can’t do that.”
Toothless pulled out a bag from his tunic and handed it to the driver.
The driver opened the drawstring and whistled. “You buying them?”
Toothless nodded. “Benyn a-der i.”
“We all need to vote before you do anything with her.”
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Toothless pierced Bree with his gaze and stormed back to the fire. He kicked the other two men awake.
Bree dropped her head. Benyn meant woman. So that’s why he was watching her so intently—the scum wanted to buy her. She nudged the girl awake. “Wake up. We need to go soon.”