Elemental Heir | ✔️

Chapter 2

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I sat atop a white and gray speckled horse, trailing the line of twelve soldiers. They had been waiting on the outskirts of my village for the Captain and the dark haired soldier to return. They were as shocked as anyone else had been when they'd realized that there was a Fae prisoner in tow. Not one of them showed me a lick of kindness and the soldier had not spoken to me since we'd left my village two days ago.

He'd sparsely even looked at me, though he was ordered to ride beside me at the back of the line. I was handcuffed and chained to the saddle of my horse. The other end of my long chain was then cuffed to the soldier's waist. That way, if I dared try to run, I could not, and would not, escape.

I hadn't slept much since leaving the village. At night, chained and forced to sleep next to the blue eyed soldier, I was too frightened to close my eyes. I was afraid of the visions of my father. Afraid of the men surrounding me, of what they might do if I let my guard down. Afraid of what was to happen in the days to come...

The soldier couldn't have been happy, having to ride beside the Fae bitch, as I'd been nicknamed. Not to mention that the end of the line was where the stench of horse manure and unwashed human bodies was the most unbearable. The smell was ripe enough to make your eyes water and stomach heave. But he never complained. He never sneered at me or murmured foul things to me as the other men had. He only rode next to me in silence, keeping his eyes forward, or on the tree line of the thick woods surrounding us.

As we rode in silence along the wooded trail, I did my best not to think of my father. My efforts were futile. Visions of his face, crumpled with despair as I was dragged away, haunted me every time I closed my eyes. He had trailed us to the edge of the village where the soldiers had been waiting and had begged the Captain for a chance to hug me goodbye, but the Captain refused. Helpless in the arms of my dark haired captor, I'd cried and reached out for my father's hand.

My father had lunged forward and grasped my hand, his fingers warm and comforting against my own. The look in his eyes had broken my heart. Not because I'd seen any shame or hatred in them, but because I'd seen such love and pain. Even after I'd been declared Fae, the most hated species in our land, my father had still loved me.

"I'm sorry, Brenya. I'm so sorry." He'd said to me, before I was ripped from his grasp and hauled away. The sound of his voice still echoed in my mind. What could he possibly have been sorry for? I was the one who should be sorry. He'd likely starve do death without my hunting skills. And I was certain that none of the villagers would take pity on the father of a Fae girl. He didn't have anyone else to take care of him. And with his misshapen spine and old age, he would not be able to fend for himself. My eyes burned at the thought and I sent a silent prayer up to the gods to watch over him.

After I'd been ripped away from my father, I'd realized that he'd left a crumpled piece of paper in my hand. I had immediately shoved the paper down the front of my dress, hiding it between my breasts. To my relief, no one had seemed to notice, thanks to the scuffle of soldiers pulling my father away from me.