Hydrangea kept to the shadows, doing her best to watch her feet while assessing her surroundings. She had nothing to cover her face, and only a dagger to protect herself.
Her heartbeat drowned out her environment, causing her to be on high alert with her muscles were tensed in ways she wasn't used to.
It was dark, the rain was gentler, but still falling unceasingly on the jungle leaves.
She had no idea where the shipyards were so she stuck close to the shoreline.
She stopped behind a tree when she saw a guard house of some sort. Torches hung on the walls and five horses were tied nearby. Two soldiers were talking by an entrance.
She licked her lips nervously, making sure to keep her breath shallow as she thought of what to do.
She looked to her left and saw that the jungle thinned out too much for her to go that way. Looking the opposite direction she saw that the jungle was far too close to the guard house. Making up her mind, she went right and carefully stepped over the roots and moss.
She crouched as she got closer to the building.
Crack!
Her head snapped to her right and she unconsciously began breathing faster, her eyes darting around her to try and spot who or what caused that sound.
"Well, well.." Her skin chilled at the male voice behind her, "What do we have here?"
She turned around slowly and came face-to-face with one of the soldiers. He was crouching like her, his brown eyes glinting in the dark.
She swallowed nervously. He grabbed her arm roughly and she yelled loudly, before she could think better of it. "Let me go!"
He dragged her to where the other soldier was sitting, both of them were dressed casually, their swords leaning up against the walls of the guard house.
"Quiet!" He slapped her across the cheek and her entire body staggered from the attack. She blinked rapidly to regain her bearings. She turned her face to look forward and saw the soldier talking to her, she blinked some more as she tried to focus on what he was saying.
"What are you doing here? Are you a maid looking to escape? One of the Lord's mistresses?" He captured her chin in a painful hold and she grimaced. "Answer me!"
She breathed in shakily and stared back at him. She had no answer.
"Fine." He said, "Looks as though you're an intruder. You know the punishment for such things."
The blood drained from her face and a rush of adrenaline assaulted her body. She struggled in his grip, his hand was crushing her arm. She unwittingly whimpered as he increased the pressure. The other soldier picked up a knife from somewhere and walked towards them.
'No, no, no!' Her gaze darted around rapidly as she tried to think of a way to escape. Her panting breaths became more desperate as her free hand wrestled with the man.
The second soldier's knife glinted in the torchlight as he brought it to her neck. Her body moved on instinct and she caught the hilt of his knife. The first soldier kicked her in the stomach and she fell to the ground.
She coughed and attempted to crawl forward. She let out a pained scream when a boot stepped forcefully on her hand.
"If you didn't fight it, you'd be dead already." An annoyed voice said from above her.
She heard footsteps coming from behind her and her hand slowly reached to her belt. She was surprised they hadn't disarmed her, they must not see her as a threat.
She swallowed as her fingers wrapped around the firm leather wrapped hilt. Just as the pair of feet stopped ahead of her she pulled it from her belt and thrust it into the man's foot.
He yelled in pain and she felt the weight lift from her other hand. She rolled over and rose to her feet, her dagger in her hand.
"You bitch!" The bleeding man said in outrage.
Her heart beat erratically as she held her blade out before her.
Her eyes flitted to the other soldier when an unknown person ran from the woods and attacked him. She could only watch for a moment because the man before her charged.
She was faster than him, and uninjured, for the most part; her hand was most likely broken. He'd lost his knife and continued trying to wrap his large hands around her neck.
He growled something unintelligible and she grimaced at the spit that landed on her face. He took that chance to pin her to the ground. His hands immediately took hold of her neck and panic seized her.
She could feel her oxygen ceasing and she choked. Her vision danced with dark spots. The hand holding the dagger pushed it through his stomach.
She felt his grip slacken and heard him gasp in pain. He rolled off of her and clutched at the growing patch of blood on his abdomen.
She could only stare at him. Her skin crawled with cold pinpricks as she watched the life leave his eyes. She blinked as realization sunk in. She'd killed someone.
"Your majesty-"
She spun around and confronted the speaker whose hands were up defensively.
"Whoa, your majesty. I'm here to protect you."
She lowered the dagger she'd subconsciously raised to her side and looked at the other dead body on the ground.
Looking back up at the stranger, she asked dubiously, "Who are you?"
"I was sent by a friend, you needn't worry who, at the moment. Now, I must get you somewhere safe." The person—whose gender Hydrangea could discern—reached to grab her wrist.
Hydrangea stepped back. "I am not going anywhere but the shipyards." She said sternly.
The person's eyes turned confused, their face was hidden by a mask that only revealed their blue eyes. "Why?"
"To save someone. And I'm running out of time." She answered and began walking back into the jungle. The mysterious person did not follow her which made her wonder who had sent them. What friend?
After a few minutes she sensed a presence walking close to her and saw the stranger.
"I said I'd protect you.." They breathed under their breath.
Hydrangea didn't reply.
"I know where we can find a ship. Follow me." They ordered and Hydrangea hesitated before following after them.
They both exited onto the sand of the beach and Hydrangea stopped at the sight of the massive waves. How would they make it to the channel?
The person walked along the beach, the rain falling and covering their footsteps along with the waves.
"Here it is." They called ahead of her. Hydrangea walked closer and stumbled back when she saw they were near a cove that looked down from large rocks.
"This way."
Hydrangea wasn't sure why she was trusting them, but there was something about them that was familiar and she felt she could trust them.
"Your special someone better be worth this." The stranger muttered as they stared out at the savage ocean.
"He is." She whispered.
The stranger stepped onto the boat and began working with the ropes and tying them in odd places. Hydrangea only stood there, not knowing how to help.
"Get on."
Hydrangea listened and stepped aboard the small boat.
The stranger instructed her to begin rowing and after a few minutes the sail caught wind.
The person laughed, "We're sailing now."
Hydrangea's eyes glinted, she now had a confident guess that the stranger was female. There was something feminine about their laugh that sounded like no man she'd ever met.
"Where to?" She asked.
Hydrangea stared ahead of them, the wind blasting her face, "The channel. There's a blockade and he doesn't know."
"There's a blockade?" She asked sounding surprised.
Hydrangea's brow creased slightly, "Yes."
She nodded and made some adjustments with the ship.
After a few minutes more, the stranger yelled over the winds, "We're nearing the shipyards, which means we should be a day or so out from the channel."
"A day?!" Bastian didn't have time for a day. He could've already reached the blockade by now.
"Well. With these winds, we could reach it in less."
A small amount of relief worked its way into Hydrangea's mind. Ratri-kar had said that everything would be alright.
She gripped onto the side of the boat as the water sprayed into her face. She looked to her right when she heard a snap.
"Hold this." The stranger said and pushed a piece of rope into her hands. Hydrangea gripped it and winced from the pain in her hand. She was soon forced to her feet from a gust of wind pushing the sail.
"I said hold it! Pull!" The woman yelled, not bothering to mask her voice.
Hydrangea heard her over the winds and pulled with as much strength as she could. The sail slowly turned back and the boat continued moving while the stranger fixed whatever had broken.
Out of nowhere she felt something sting her arm. She blinked and frowned at the strange sensation. She could do nothing as a fog crept over her senses.
"What are you doing?" The strange woman asked and rushed over to pull the rope back and straighten the sail.
Hydrangea faltered and found herself sitting on the floor of the vessel, feeling as though the entire world was swaying violently. She blinked hard as she tried to stop her mind from going blank.
"Hey! Hey!"
Her dulled mind registered the voice calling her. She looked up and squinted at the sky that was now much brighter than when she'd last been cognizant.
"We're here. Stand up." A hand pulled her to her unsteady feet and placed her hands on a ladder.
She climbed, her limbs having a hard time obeying her commands. As soon as her feet landed on the wooden planks she felt someone grab her shoulders. She looked up and smiled.
'You.' She said in her mind. He didn't look happy. She fought not to giggle.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, his eyes urgent.
She smiled again and laughed, "You forgot to say goodbye."
He looked confused and he took a step forward. She felt like she was swaying and blinked dizzily.
"She was drugged." The strange woman said from a short distance away from them. "Just made it past the shipyards when something nicked her arm."
Bastian pulled her into a hug and she snuggled closer.
Soon she felt like she was flying, the rain had stopped and she was surrounded by sunshine.
It was all so surreal yet she felt as though flying was the only natural thing at that moment. She flew in blank skies for what felt like an eternity, the poison affecting her body in strange ways.