Lia turned around, only to find another set of shocked faces behind her.
"Let's go!" She beckoned for the other three to follow her to the back door. There was not much they could do against those men.
There were hurried footsteps behind her. Someone, perhaps Yolly, asked, "Go where?"
"Anywhere. I don't know. Let's just leave," Lia answered in a hiss. She might not know where to go from here, but she knew that running was their best chance right now.
They reached the back door and dashed to the forest. But they haven't gotten far when someone caught Lia's hair.
"Think you're so clever, missy?" One of the men shouted into Lia's ear, one hand pulled hard on her hair.
She screamed. The horror and futility of her plan catching up on her, and they might be in a worse situation now because of what she had done. But what else could she have done?
Her scream got the attention of the others, but they were already quite far. Tamara was first to react and ran back to Lia.
She was like a hyena, lunging and clawing at anyone who dared to go against her path. "Get away from my daughter!"
Tamara smacked and punched until she got to where Lia and the brawny guy stood. Her eyes blazed. "I told you to get away from her!"
Just as she was about strike her machete, a hand snatched her arm. "And here I was, trying to be diplomatic, My Lady. I had orders to take you back safe and sound. But I can't do that now, can I?"
The gruff man's words were lost when they heard an explosion, and everything around them turned dusty. Lia tumbled and fumbled around, coughing so hard her throat burned. The ringing in her ears made it difficult for her to make sense of what was happening around them. There were movements, shouts, and shuffles that only increased her dizziness and confusion.
Someone took her hand. "Don't worry, it's me. Just follow me," the voice said. Lia could not make out the owner of the voice, though it sounded a lot like Frankie.
After a couple of distance walking, the air cleared and so as Lia's head. They reached a small clearing where Yolly and Tamara were waiting for them. Her mother rushed to her side when they arrived.
"Lia," Tamara sobbed as she hugged her. She apologized again and again, and Lia could not help but feel bad for her mother.
"We need to treat your wounds," Lia said noticing the gashes on Tamara's arm. She looked around, and both Yolly and Frankie did not look any better.
"No time for that. We need to get away from here," Yolly glanced around as though she could see their enemies behind the darkness.
Tamara moved away from Lia, the worried mother was gone and replaced by a regal leader. "We need to separate. Yolly will come with me." She turned to Frankie, "Take care of Lia for me."
Lia tried to protest, but her mother held her arms firmly. "They can't get you too. I promised that I'll protect you." Tamara kissed her cheeks. "See you soon, my child."
A tear dropped. Then, another. And another.
Before she could say her goodbyes, Frankie was already dragging her away. Lia followed blindly, her tears clouding her vision. They walked and walked. By the time she came to, they were behind a big tree that was hollowed out so the trunk looked like a small cave. Frankie seemed to be saying something.
"Stay here. I'm going back and help. Then, we'll come back to you." Before he left, he placed a dagger in her hands, the same dagger that Eldric gave her. She already forgot that she had that.
Lia sat quietly inside the tree, hugged her knees, and gripped the dagger. The adrenaline rush slowly faded from her body, and soon, she dozed off. She lost count of the time, but what jolted her back to consciousness was the sound of hooves breaking the silence of the forest.