Taken Away - 2

Four horses with soldiers on them surrounded Lea, leaving her breathless and out of words.

"Wh-What do you want from me?" Lea asked calmly but inside, she was dying gradually in fear and dismay.

"Answer these questions with a honest tongue and there will be a consideration that you may leave without a scratch"

Lea listened attentively and with her eyes closed, she sighed and let the spirit in her to take over.

The soldier's horses neighed silently.

"Deal?" he asked.

Lea knew no one and nothing about the people around her. She can't possibly be a scapegoat to follow the soldiers rules and make a deal with them.

But there was nothing she could do.

"Fine." she let the four letter words go in fear and a little bit of confidence.

"How old are you?" the soldier asked and Lea opened her eyes in shock.

Her age? What do they want that for?

In Maneth, even your grandmother will know nothing about your age for all they care was how you'd be brought up.

"I... I can't... "

"We had a deal, remember?" the soldier reminded her and Lea felt like the ground should open up and lead her to an underground air way.

She gulped and looked at the four men as their horses came closer to her, giving her no space to move.

"I'm in my eighteenth year" she answered calmly and politely, staring into the clear eyes of the soldier in front of her, because his eyes passed through the holes that had been made in the iron helmet of him to see.

"Perfect. Go for it"

"Go for wh-"

Lea was cut short with ropes that entangled her as she fell backwards and on the floor.

She felt something hard hit her head and immediately it landed on her, she started feeling dizzy and stiff.

Her so white face was now all red and sulked up.

Her vision was turning hazy and with the last strength in the plugs of her eyes, she saw two soldiers that came down from their horses and soon, just before her sight deemed into darkness, she was lifted up from the ground with trickles of liquid that fell down her head.

Mission accomplished. The twenty third girl had been captured and the soldiers were so happy that their ravaging and capturing was all over.

As they balanced Lea on the horse of the man that spoke to her throughout when she was conscious, a horse that just entered Maneth in speed passed by them.

They recognized the man as the man they had greeted while entering the town next to Maneth. They had the intention to greet him but, with the way he sped past them, they just let him go.

"I wonder why this lady didn't scream like the rest we have seen these past few days" one of the soldiers said as they climbed their horses.

The soldier that had Lea lay flat in front of him sighed as he slided his finger across her white face.

"Such beautiful and calm girl" he said and slapped the back of his horse and the horse ran with the three others following right behind him.

Only God would forgive him for taking a child, away from the father and mother.

Meanwhile, Landi got to his house in expectant to see Lea come out of the house as she always does whenever he just arrived from a trip, either a short or long journey.

But no one came out of the house.

"Lea!... " he called out from outside but no reply came to his ears.

He had another thought that maybe she might be in the stable with Lorn, it was his only option.

He quickly came down the second horse and went to the stable that is beside his house, only to see Lorn peacefully laying down, asleep and Lea beside him.

"Oh thank God. Lea you scared me to death, are you alright dear?" he asked.

No reply.

"Lea? Are you there?" he asked.

No reply again.

Quickly, the lamp in his bag was brought out and he lighted it up with two sticks of matches.

He stretched his hand out with the lamp in it just to find a sack of hay, as the thing he had called his daughter. Of course, the sack figure in the darkness looked like a person, but he shouldn't be that curious to say that it's his daughter.

Landi's mouth dropped open as he recollected what he saw while coming back into Maneth.

Four soldiers. A Lady in front of the leader.

She had...

She had brown hair!

It was Lea!

This knocked Landi hard on the chest and quickly without hesitation, he got upon his horse and quickly rode to the edge shift of Maneth in a thorough speed, not caring who is on the way.

"Wait!" he yelled when he caught sight of the four soldiers that had just crossed Maneth.

"Wait... Please!" he called out again

Thankfully, the soldiers looked back and stopped their horses as they turned back to face Landi.

"Oh... What is it old man?!" one of them asked.

The man that had Lea on his horse still kept running to Banneui, because it was dark, and his bad eye sight, Landi couldn't see him.

"The girl you captured is my daughter. Please pardon me and give her back"

The soldiers eye glittered in hatred and gentleness, but he remained calm.

"We had a deal with her. We are sorry old man, the girl is gone" Was all the soldier in the middle of the two other soldiers said.

Landi stared at them in tears, but they turned their backs on him and left to Banneui.

Landi had no strength to fight back. Instead he fell on his knees and upon the sand on the ground, his horse that was beside him started rubbing her hair against his body in order to comfort him.

He fought the urge to go sharpen knives and go into Banneui to kill almost all the subjects in that Kingdom, why?

He felt a certain kind of peace. Peace that she had found her destiny. But he didn't want to feel like such, he still had a mindset that his daughter needed him. And he, needed his daughter.

Pulling out a knife from his bag, he held it by the handle and placed the edge of it on his chest.

He wanted to do it. Just wanted to go home and leave this wicked world.

But he couldn't. Only God gives and takes away life.

"Argh!... Why?... " he cried in despair, for the girl that he raised with all his might...

Was gone. Lea, his daughter, was gone...