Magic Kingdom for Sale (Closed)

[Lexavier]

The creek of a floorboard startled her into wakefulness. She blinked away the sleep that fogged her eyes and scanned the barely lit room. The fire had almost died once more, leaving nothing but the moonlight streaming in to illuminate the common room. Jenna looked up at the balcony and a soft smile crept across her face as she spied a shape trying to sneak along the landing outside the rooms. Fuddlegus' midnight visit must have finished, and the landlady was sneaking back to her own room.

The figure stepped into the moonlight, revealed by shifting clouds like a spotlight. Jenna gasped before she could clasp her hand over mouth. With wide eyes she shrank back into the cushions, hoping the darkness melded her into the chair as just one another shadow. Rytha's unmistakable silhouette froze at the sound that seemed to unnaturally hang about the room. A heartbeat, two, three, the moment drawn out for seconds as Jenna held her breath.

Great burly hands seemed to sweep out of the darkness and surround her, covering her mouth and lifting her even as she screamed into the sweaty palm. Rytha's face appeared at the balcony with a wry grin. "Hello little lady..." he hissed.

 

[Lexavier]

The journey was rough. The horse beneath her jolted her with every galloping stride painfully, the ropes binding her to its back refused to yield even slightly, stopping her from properly shifting in time with the horse as a rider should do. Instead she had been lashed to its back like a prize, gritting her teeth as she felt every rise and fall vibrating her very bones. It went on for hours and she could feel sleep calling to her, the spent energy from the travelling the day before still wore on her muscles, but there was no way she was sleeping like this. Instead, she focused on the task at hand, memorizing every detail of the faces of her captors. At first she had stared at Rytha with daggers, seeing that beneath the pristine first impression, he was unkempt and greasy. Her nose wrinkled every time he wafted in her direction and his expression was always sly and cocky, like he'd gotten away with the grandest heist of the year.

The other rag-tag crew were all the same, burly, dodgy looking thugs with no brain between them. She supposed it made it easier to control a bunch of brutes, no worry about any of them getting any ambition to overthrow the enigmatic leader. She didn't like the way they looked at her either, some of them with a burning hatred that she didn't understand, others with a look of hunger that she knew all too well.

They didn't stop galloping until Rytha thought they were far enough away from the wizards. By then they were nearly back at the forest and the horses were panting and lathered. Rytha slid off his ride somewhat reluctantly,

"We rest here for an hour and then walk the horses. Can't risk staying longer than that." The others slipped off their horses and began their duties, feeding and watering the horses and setting up a small, quick camp. Rytha stepped beside Jenna, his hand tracing the horses neck before slipping onto her thigh.

"I know what you're thinking, oh yes... you're thinking those Wizards will be right behind you, that you will be rescued any minute... tell me, how long did it take you to get to that inn hmm? In a few hours, we have covered the ground that took you a day to walk, and they won't have even realised your gone yet. No no no, I think you can forget about escape. You, my dear, are going to meet the Elves."

 

[Lexavier]

Strangely, Jenna wasn't particularly scared. Rytha had a good hold on his men and despite their expressions, none had yet to make a move on her. She held herself with as much dignity as she could manage being trussed to a horse by thick rope that scratched at her when she moved too much. The group moved in silence, closing the distance between the road and the forest until they were moving into the trees.

Even though they were far away from the Nymph Silverella, the thought of bumping into the three still going at it plagued her mind and caused her to scan the thin tree line. It was because of this that she first saw the movement, something humanoid, flicking about in the ever increasing density of the woodland scenery. The shadow seemed to slip between the trees without disturbing anything - no snapping of the branches, no rustling of leaves. Sometimes the minutes dragged by and there was nothing out there and all of a sudden, off into the distance somebody nimbly danced between the trees. When the procession, the men leading their horses, moved past the hiding spot there was no-one there.

"There's someone out there..." she whispered to Rytha, who continued to walk his tired horse beside hers. He smiled then, a smug grin of someone who feels they have one up on you.

"Oh yes... yes we've passed into their territory now. Such a pretty thing you are, you'll fetch me a fine price." He chuckled to himself, and gave her a lewd wink.

"You're going to sell me?" Jenna asked, suddenly incredulous. She hadn't really thought about what they were going to do with her but for some reason it hadn't crossed her mind. She thought it was something political, to do with the Elves and the Humans. Now she knew she was just a slave she was just annoyed. She wanted to swear at him, to scream at them all, to punch him in the face and wipe the smug grin from his face. But it was futile, and instead she clamped her mouth shut and stewed silently.

The wood rapidly grew thicker, and soon they were following a single file trail leading deep into the trees. It was clear they had followed this path often as the horses seemed to barely need to be lead. Jenna wondered just how many people they had captured, and what the Elves did with them.

 

[Lexavier]

They melted out of the woods, appearing crouched in the tree branches or peering around the thick trunks. A few stepped out onto the road, tall and handsome with alabaster skin but other than that, very different. Some had short dark hair and others long and blonde, but they all had the stereotypical long pointed ears. They were dressed in a variety of tight leather armour, that seemed to shimmer with the colours of the forest, and they were all clearly armed though their weapons were not drawn.

"Kal -o i taurë lauca tye Rytha" said one that was clearly the leader. He stood directly in front of the party, his brown hair swept back into a ponytail. Rytha bowed his head deferentially, although somewhat reluctantly. It was the briefest recognition of authority as he quickly snapped his head back up and gestured at Jenna with a wave of his hand.

"I bring a gift." he stated, without his usual pompous affectation. The Elves all seemed to gaze up at her at once, not a smile or smirk between them. Their gaze pierced her, but she her head high and stared back. She knew she should be scared, but there was still a part of her mind that lied to her, told her none of this was really real. It created a disjointed illusion of safety that she was all too happy to cling to.

"Manc- her ana us sí" the Elf said, without ever taking his eyes off of her. They were deepest green, and seemed to lighten and darken with a will of their own. His face was soft, yet his expression hard, his thin lips pressed into a line of impassiveness that was unreadable.

"No." Rytha said just as calmly, and it seemed to snap the pair of them from their staring competition. "No, you know the deal. We only complete transactions in the city, we don't deal with scouts." he said the last word as if it were an insult, like the job was beneath him despite the fact that he traded slaves for a living.

For a split second, a crease appeared in the man's forehead as he furrowed his brow slightly, as if he was considering giving the order to attack. They clearly outnumbered the small party and it would quite easily be a massacre. But it disappeared and the Elf nodded with a slight incline of his head.

"Atsa hurrime or n- aut- ullúme!" he snapped with a wave of his hand and the Elves in the trees disappeared with a start. The two behind the one who had been speaking turned and ran along the path and the leader waited just long enough for Rytha to jump into his horse with the rest scrambling shortly after before he himself began to ease into a jog that turned into a darting run.

"What did he say?!" Jenna demanded as the horses took off into an uneasy gallop.

"Keep up or be lost in this damn forest forever, ha ah!" Rytha called back.