Lea quickly did the laundry and went into the stable to see if Lorn had the strength to run very fast to where she knows her Dad will be so as to confirm whether he is safe or not.
"Lorn? Have a spare part for me?" she asked, patting the body of Lorn gently and waiting patiently for him to neigh in response.
But unlike him, he just stared at Lea with the eyes of those of a sadist.
Lea squinted her eyes in confusion. What is happening?
"Are you okay, boy?" she asked and Lorn sat down gently on the floor and slowly.
Lorn's ear moved with any slight sound his ear could catch and then Lea discovered what he was trying to do with his actions.
His body felt weak, and so she couldn't ride on him for that day. Or probably a period of time.
"I understand" she whispered and tapped on his body a few times, stood up and left the stable in silence and Lorn stared at her with sympathy in his eyes. Lea had just locked the doors of the stable when she heard something fell from behind her.
She turned back to see an old woman standing and staring down at some vegetables in tiredness and she looked like she was stressed out in the past before she even became a mum.
Lea hesitated, but with the good morals Landi had inserted in her, she walked upto the woman and picked up the vegetables and placed them back into the basket.
All these happened in silence, the woman stared at Lea with no expression on her face except the same tired and stressed out expression.
When Lea was done, she lifted the basket and handed it over to the woman.
"Hello Mama, I believe these are yours?" Lea said and the woman smiled in appreciation and gratefulness.
"Thank you Child." she said wrinkly and collected the basket from Lea softly.
Just as Lea was about to leave, the woman called her back and asked of her name.
"What is your name, child?" she called.
Lea turned to face her with a broad smile on her face.
"Lea, mama"
The woman nodded and waved goodbye to Lea and departed. Lea didn't know why she asked of her name but she had a pretty good guess that the old woman would be kind enough to bless her (Lea), in her wise heart, wherever she go to.
Just then, ear piercing screams were heard and people rushed to get into their houses fast! Pushing in their children and youths into the houses as they all squeezed themselves into their various houses.
Lea quickly followed and rushed into her house but watched intensely through the window, what was going on?
Two girls, known to be hard workers from two different families, were gagged roughly on the ground by two soldiers in the middle of the small "Compound" as Lea called it, and forced to be balanced on top of the horses.
"Stop moving, you brat!" one of the soldiers yelled as he smacked the lady hard on the back and climbed unto his horse.
"When they are going out of their dearly parents house, why won't they scream?" the other soldier said and they both laughed as their horses galloped away.
Lea didn't seem to find anything funny in their stupid little joke.
Any girl reasonable enough to know why their being kidnapped will of course scream! Why won't they?!
Lea's heart skipped at the thought of her dad that is on a journey.
She also thought of how she will move by night and day, because of food and also because of the soldiers that are roaming about in town.
She collapsed on the chair with her hand on her chest and panted heavily and fervently, the spirit of fear grew to its maximum level in her.
Soon, the voices of men and women hit her ear and in curiousity, she peeked out through the window and listened attentively to what they had to say.
"They took my daughter!" one of the girls mother that just got carried away cried, on her knees.
Other women and a few men gathered round her and stared down at her in sympathy and pity for the girl that was being kidnapped.
"Maneth isn't safe anymore. It isn't like what we knew then!" the mother wailed gravely and cried out the more. Her eyes making a sudden change to the colour red due to the tears that engulfed her eyes.
"What are we going to do now?" a woman that stood beside the crying mother asked and the men knew that the chance to speak had arrived.
"We have to move out of Maneth. As soon as possible... "
"But where are we going to go to?" another woman asked.
"Anywhere that we find to place our heads under. Who knows when others will come? Who knows the next person that will be taken away?" an elderly man asked and the rest of the people kept quiet.
Lea reasoned well with the man. All he asked had answers, and the answer is...
"We need to leave this place. In the next two weeks, if the capturing still continues, I and my family are out of here!" he yelled, so as to make the whole crowd to hear him.
"But if it does persists but only for one week, I will stay" he said.
He also knew that there was no where he could possibly go to apart from staying in Maneth. They all knew.
Lea's hand didn't leave her chest as she slowly walked backwards, leaving the edge of the window, but just kept breathing in and out in fear.
She didn't know who might be next. Her whole world felt like it collapsed at the thought of her Dad's travel.
But she thought again...
It has been only ladies that have been captured by these soldiers. She didn't know why but...
She had the thought that she might be next, via her moving about and looking for food.
She stopped breathing when she thought about this and gulped.
---------------------------------------------------------------------->
Landi is seen on the second horse, crossing the fields, heading back to his house, daughter and town.
He looked around and caught sight of the gang of horses and the two ladies that were on the horses and wondered where they were heading to.
The soldiers passed by him, nodding at him in respect and he also did the same.
But one of the girls caught his attention because he usually get some horse food from her.
At the sight of this, worries kept emerging in him not for his town or anything.
But for his daughter.
In fear and worries he slapped the back of his horse and together they sped off.
He was eager to see his daughter well and fine.