The forest was dark and uninviting...

The forest was dark and uninviting. Amelia had thought herself too tired for fear. Had thought herself beyond emotion at all. But as her body began to move, as she forced herself forward, concentrating on walking in the stranger's footsteps, she felt her exhaustion less keenly than before. The exercise seemed to enliven her. Unfortunately the sharper her mind became, the more she felt hunted. Every sound in the forest startling her, freezing her in her tracks, making her heart hammer in her chest. Her companion seemed not to worry. He kept the pace slow, as promised, but never wavered, never stopped, and every time she did, she had to hurry to catch up. Her bare feet soon began to throb with pain, a steady uncomfortable thing. Rhythmic. Like a drummers beat. She found herself anticipating each spasm of agony, counting them along with her footsteps. After a while she forced herself to stop.

They walked far. It seemed to her like hours and hours, but it was hard to tell, because nothing ever changed. Not long after they set out the moon had been obscured by clouds of gray, plunging the forest into complete darkness, forcing her to stay even closer to her nameless companion. Then the rain had come. A light drizzle. Cold and uncomfortable. They had kept on walking. There had been nothing else to do. Her dizziness and nausea faded. That was something at least. She no longer felt as battered, her muscles no longer as cramped. Her bruises still hurt, though. Her jaw was a painful, throbbing, thing. Her hair was wet, her clothes were wet. Even with the constant motion she froze, the dress she wore offering no warmth, no protection. Before long she shook, chills racking her body, becoming more and more pronounced the farther they walked. She lagged behind, and the stranger slowed down. She lagged farther behind and he slowed down even more. From somewhere she had gotten a cloak to wrap around her body. Amelia couldn't remember who had given it to her, or when. She didn't care. It warded off the cold somewhat. Before, fear of dying had been her motivation. It had been the reason to force herself forward. But the cold took that away. She walked in a stupor, the chill sapping her strength along with her will. Her head spun. She lifted her foot for the next step, but somehow it never came. It caught on something and she stumbled, too tired to find her balance, too tired to react, too tired to even care.
The world went dark.
She never felt herself hit the ground.

Pain in her back...

Pain in her back brought her wide awake.
“Sorry...” The voice was barely more than a whisper, so quiet she thought she might have imagined it. She was lying on the ground, a man crouching low beside her, his features shadowed in the darkness of the night. Panicked, she scrambled to get away, fear bringing sharpness to senses dulled by sleep. A tree at her back stopped her frantic retreat. The man seemed not to have noticed, his focus lay elsewhere, eyes looking deep into the forest. She watched him warily as he carefully rubbed the ache from his shoulders. He turned and gave her a quick smile, barely visible in the pale light of the moon. No doubt meant to be soothing. It put her on edge. She didn't trust men who smiled.
“You're heavier than you look.” He still spoke in that same whispering voice, head turned toward the forest, eyes distant. The attempt at levity barely registered with her. She was too busy trying to bring her fear under control, to silence her impulse to run. It left an awkward silence between them and she let it grow, preferring the quiet. He glanced at her, face shadowed, but said nothing, perhaps sensing her reluctance to engage. She tried to sit up, but suddenly he was there, a hand on her shoulder forcing her to stay down.
“Careful.” He whispered, face uncomfortably close. She stiffened at his touch, wanting to pull away but having nowhere to go. Her head spun. Even the smallest of movements making her dizzy. She nodded and tried again, carefully brushing away his hand and taking it slow, managing through much effort to settle into a sitting position, her legs folded before her, back against the tree, head in her hands trying to stop the world from moving. Something was terribly wrong with her. Had she been hit that hard? Nausea, headaches, dizziness. At least her thoughts came clear and sharp. She would have to take it easy for a while, there was nothing else to do. The stranger watched her as she sat up but didn't try to stop her this time, his attention quickly returning to the forest. Darkness veiled his face preventing her from seeing his expression.
Why is he looking out into the night like that? Is someone there?
She felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold of the night. Were they after her? If she had killed that man, would they want revenge? Would they want her dead? She shuddered as she again felt iron fingers upon her arms, as she heard the screams of her friends. She wondered what had happened to them, if any had survived like she had. She could ask. Maybe he knew... maybe he had seen. But what did it matter? Her friends were either dead or alive, and maybe they were close but to her they might as well be halfway across the world. She couldn't turn back. Couldn't help them.
I can't even help myself.
She clenched her teeth tight in an effort to push back the pain of her headache. Unsuccessfully. Fleeing the memories she forced herself to speak. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts anymore.
“Thank you.” The words had needed to be said but her jaw hurt terribly and her voice was uncomfortably hoarse. And loud. Louder than she had intended it to be in the stillness of the night. Startled, he turned toward her. Startled? Or angry? The blush creeping up her cheeks was equal parts shame and fear. She searched the darkness, trying to see through the shadows, listening for any signs of people out there.
“You're... welcome.” He said in a murmur, still looking out into the night. “Can you walk?”
Amelia shook her head, regretting it instantly as the world lurched. “I don't think so.” She whispered through clenched teeth. The nausea was not getting any better either. He glanced at her briefly, but made no comment.
“We don't have much choice. We can't stay here through the night.” She agreed. Hunted or not, she could already feel the cold through her thin layer of clothes. He looked at her and she nodded her head. What else could she do? She wouldn't survive on her own, not as she was. She would have to trust him. There was no other choice.
“Where are we going?” He shrugged.
“We can't go back, we don't know what's waiting there.” He pointed into the forest. “Whitetree lies not far from here. It's a trading post, nothing big, but we could seek shelter there and find a way home for you.” Home. She nodded.
“Take it slow, alright?” And he smiled, his teeth flashing white in the soft light of the moon. Rising to his feet he offered her a hand.
“Follow me.” She ignored the hand, but rose to follow nonetheless. His smile widened.

The world moved around her...

The world moved around her, spun and tilted. The small burst of strength gone, Amelia could do little but watch as the ground slipped by beneath her, the grass shining white in the light of the moon. So beautiful... She reached for them, but caught nothing but air.

Were those lights in the grass?

She knew that wasn't right.

The sky...

She remembered now. It was night and the stars were out. She squeezed her eyes shut and clamped her teeth tight as her stomach cramped painfully with a fresh wave of nausea. A small groan escaped her lips, but thankfully nothing else. Weariness settled deep. That worried her... Why did that worry her? The trees around them sped by in a dark blur, her eyes unable to distinguish features and details. Was she moving? Why? Then she remembered. Someone had picked her up, carried her away. She knew that should worry her too, but she felt dull, dislodged, cut off from the world. All she wanted was to sleep, to drift alone in comforting darkness. Somehow she managed to stay awake. It was important, she knew, without knowing why.

Time held no meaning for her. Moments passed. Moments of pain, of nausea, of dizzying headaches and the taste of bile on her tongue. Moments of fear, of lassitude. And then gradually, moments of lucidity, her mind becoming sharper, her memories returning. Memories of experiences she'd rather not relive. She remembered the screams, the terror and the blood flowing from gaping wounds. She remembered the terrible sounds of fighting, of men dying, women dying. She remembered her own fear as men came for her and dragged her outside. She remembered how helpless she felt as she was brought down by a man much stronger than her. The abuse her body had taken still hurt, her wounds throbbing painfully with each beat of her heart. She shook with the pain of it all, wanting to forget, wanting to escape. Tears leaked from her eyes as she remembered the weight of him above her, his vice-like grip on her arms, his hot breath and terrible urgency. Then... She had done... something... She couldn't remember what. Frustration built up inside her. What had happened? She searched her memories again, digging deeper. Somehow she'd been saved, somehow... By this man carrying her? It was possible, but she didn't think so.

I saved myself. How?

It was important that she remember, but try as she might the memory slipped away.

Did he die?

Did I kill him?

It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. She closed her eyes, exhaustion overwhelming her. Darkness had found her at last and it welcomed her almost as much as she welcomed it.

Run!

Run!

The thought came dislodged and fragmented, its meaning clear, but the reasons behind it veiled in layers of exhaustion. Why run? The grass was so soft, like a bed of feathers, like her bed back home. Where it was safe and warm. She was so tired, she just wanted to sleep.

Run!

The thought came again, more insistent, more demanding. And her body responded. She tried to get up, tried to run, but found herself back on the ground, head pounding and the world spinning. Teeth clamped shut against the nausea, she crawled away from the noise of fighting and screaming. Away from the smell of smoke and blood. Slowly she left it behind, never looking back, never taking her eyes off the ground in front of her face, not daring to stand and try to run again. Gravel gave way to grass, cushioning her torn hands and bleeding knees. She was exhausted, utterly spent, her body aching from head to toe, every muscle screaming in protest. It was an effort just to drag herself forward, one slow inch at a time. Then even that was too much and she found herself lying face down, too weak even to roll over. The sounds of the world, the feel of everything around her faded. Left was only her exhaustion, shutting everything out, leaving her numb and alone. Arms reached for her out of the darkness of the night, encircling her waist.

Who? No! Don't touch me!

Panic flared. She lashed out but her efforts to escape were pathetic. Someone lifted her up, took her from her feet.

Prologue

Amelia's ears rang with the force of her own scream. It overpowered the sounds of the world around her, the clash of steel, the screams of angry men, of dying men and the screams of women too. Her sisters. It was a raw, harsh, powerful sound which seemed to linger in the air. It tore from her throat like a wild, enraged beast eager to strike at the object of her anger and fear. It was a scream born of desperation and terror. When she finally managed to snap her mouth shut, she felt dazed, unable to focus, unable to concentrate and mind numbingly nauseated. She almost gagged from the cloying taste of decay on her tongue.

The vice-like, iron grip upon her arms abruptly fell away as the terrible desire and hunger that had fueled their movements faded from eyes that filmed over in death. Eyes that had been so vile, framed by a face she knew would haunt her with nightmares. As he went limp, she pushed him roughly away from her body. Even that small action seemed to take all her strength and her head spun in dizzying circles. She was so tired... So tired...