Rama replied, "Yes Lakshmana, it may be a demon in disguise. I will chase it and kill it, so that We can be rid of one more demon."
Rama went after the deer and the animal took Him further away from the hermitage and deeper into the forest. When they were both far enough, Rama shot an arrow that pierced the body of the deer. It cried out in Rama's voice, "Lakshmana! Sita! Help! Save me!"
Maricha was so cunning that he knew he had to succeed in cheating Rama somehow. Since he was dying, he decided to still fulfill his purpose. He therefore cried out in Rama's voice, in order to frighten Sita and Lakshmana that Rama was in danger.
When Sita and Lakshmana heard Rama's cries for help, Lakshmana did not believe it was really Rama's voice. He knew that demons do all kinds of mischievous tricks. But Sita was very worried and begged Him to go help Rama. At first Lakshmana refused, but when Sita started to cry, He agreed. He was worried that if He also left the hermitage, Sita would be alone and some danger would come to Her. But She left Him with no choice and thus Lakshmana went out in search of Rama.
Running as fast as He could, Lakshmana reached the spot where Rama stood, near the body of the demon Maricha who had got back his real form on dying. The brothers understood that the demons had planned to do something bad and They rushed back to the hermitage.
But running through a forest takes time, as the trees are very close to each other and the ground is full of stones and thorny plants. When They reached the hermitage, They found that Sita was not there! What had happened to Her? Who had taken Her away? Did She also go to find Rama in Her worry and did something happen to Her while She wandered alone in the forest?
The truth was that as soon as Lakshmana left Sita alone in the hermitage, Ravana, who was waiting nearby all along, for Maricha's plan to unfold, came before the hut in the disguise of a sage. He begged, "Dear Mother! Please give this poor sage something to eat! All good fortune will become Yours if You help me!"
Simple Sita immediately took whatever food she could find in her kitchen and came out to give it to the sage. As soon as he saw Sita, Ravana was so attracted to Her that he forgot that he now was in the guise of a sage and he rushed towards Her.
Grabbing Sita's arm like a vulture grabs a lamb, Ravana dragged the shocked and screaming Sita to his flying chariot. He put Her down there and made the chariot rise up high in the sky. Riding towards the island of Lanka, Ravana kept his sword ready to fight anyone who came in his way.
The vulture king, Jatayu, saw Sita being carried away in Ravana's chariot. He battled with the demon for a long time, trying to stop him from carrying away the princess, but Ravana cut off Jatayu's wings and the vulture king fell down to the ground.
Ravana laughed loudly. "No one fights this mighty king of the Rakshasas and wins!" he shouted, and took Sita to Lanka, his capital city, where he put Her in the charge of Rakshasis in the garden called Ashokavana.