"Please have a seat, Miss." the magistrate gestured for her to sit on the couch while he went to his desk.
Returning with a bottle of alcohol and some cotton, he extended his hand towards her wound. But Eva quickly took the cotton and alcohol from his hand, and with a slight smile, she said, "I can do it myself, thank you."
The magistrate stared at her for a few seconds before he settled into the chair at his desk, his gaze fixed on her as she poured the alcohol onto her cut and meticulously cleaned the wound.
Eva wasn't overly concerned about her wound at the moment since it was not too deep and wouldn't cause any significant harm, aside from leaving a scar. The gears in her mind spun rapidly as she pondered her escape plan on how she could quietly slip away from the town after changing her clothes. Her goal, for now, was to avoid any probing questions from the magistrate regarding her whereabouts, especially since he had mentioned arranging a carriage to help her reach her 'town'.
"Do you mind if I ask your name, Miss?" asked the magistrate from his seat.
"My name is Eva Grey," Eva replied to him as she wrapped a piece of gauze around her arm.
"And where have you come from, Miss Grey?" he inquired her, his eyes roaming down her figure, and with a slight smirk, he added, "You possess an air of refinement, like a lady belonging to the affluent circle. I dare say you might hail from Thornvale. Am I correct in my assumption?"
"Yes, you are right about my town, Mr. Adams. I am indeed from Thornvale," Eva lied through her teeth, maintaining a composed demeanour, hoping the man wouldn't suspect her lie.
'Did he see through my lie? Why is he staring at me like that?' she felt a little anxious, noticing his gaze fixed upon her.
When one of the guards brought a cup of tea, the magistrate got up from his seat and took the cup into his hands before approaching her.
"Please have this calming flower tea, Miss Grey. You might have been frightened because of the incident earlier. This will help calm your nerves," he offered.
"Thank you," Eva took the cup from his hand and offered him a small smile. Something flashed in his red eyes as he gazed at her but it quickly disappeared, causing her eyebrows to slightly furrow.
Eva inhaled the aroma of the tea and her eyebrows slightly raised in surprise. "This tea smells very fragrant and soothing," she remarked. "May I ask what herbs were used in the making? My father has been experiencing terrible headaches quite frequently, and I would like to make this tea for him to calm his nerves and alleviate the headaches".
She pretended to be interested in learning about the herbs, but in truth, Eva held a strong suspicion towards the magistrate right from the start. Although his words and demeanour seemed gentle and kind, there was something odd and unnerving about him. He was too kind to begin with and every time he smiled, it creeped the shit out of her. She could sense that something was wrong, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.
"It is a decoction of tea leaves, mint, jasmine and chamomile. I hope you like it," his eyes crinkled when he smiled.
Eva warmed her palms with the cup while taking in the aroma of jasmine, chamomile and mint. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, she took a sip of the hot tea and felt the warmth slowly spread throughout her body.
When she raised her gaze, she could feel the man's eyes lingering on her chest, which made her feel uncomfortable. She narrowed her eyes and asked sternly, "Would it be possible for you to offer me a coat or something to cover myself up, Mr. Adams? The cold is becoming unbearable."
"Of course. I will go and see if they have prepared the clothes. In the meantime, please enjoy your tea," he replied, gesturing toward the cup and Eva watched him walk out of the door to talk to the guards.
When she took another sip of the tea, her eyebrows pulled together. There was something odd about the taste. Along with the mellow, honey-like sweetness of the tea, there was a hint of bitter & astringent taste from another herb. While the taste was subtle, Eva's experience with traditional medicine and working with different herbs allowed her to pick up even the slightest variations.
Suddenly, Eva's eyes circled wider, remembering which herb had this taste. It was Firegrass, a rare herb that appears light red in colour but becomes colourless when it was steeped in hot water. It has no scent and a barely discernible taste. It's a highly potent drug to slowly paralyze someone temporarily and in some cases, knock them out within a matter of minutes. Thank God, she only took two sips from the cup, otherwise, she might have been knocked out before she had a chance to react.
'That damn bastard. I'm going to kill him.' Eva gritted her teeth. She wished she could kick him in the guts so hard until he vomited blood. But she had no time to waste here. She has to escape from this place before the effects of the drug would kick in. Eva moved her eyes across the room searching for a window or a back door. Escaping through the main door would be an impossible task since the guards were standing at the front. Even though she could take down both the guards in a fight, the drug's effect might kick in anytime and she didn't want to lose her energy fighting the guards.
Eva swiftly stood up from the couch and hurried towards an open window situated on the far left side of the room. Hearing the footsteps of the magistrate and the guards, she quickly removed her heels and climbed out of the window.
'Running with bare feet is better than being knocked out,' Eva thought to herself. She couldn't even dare to imagine what they would do to her once she fell unconscious there. Immediately, she pulled her dress up to her knees and started running into the woods behind the magistrate's building.
As soon as the magistrate entered the room, his eyes flared with anger and he roared, "Where is she?"
He only left the room after making sure that she had taken a sip from the drugged tea earlier. He thought that she would be lying on the couch in an unconscious state when he entered the room. He did not expect her to escape at all.
"Find that wench and bring her back to me," he ordered the two guards, who strained their ears, trying to pick up the sound of Eva's footsteps and made a dart for the direction in which she ran.
Eva sprinted through the forest as fast as she could, her heart racing faster than a galloping horse. She could feel the adrenaline rushing into her bloodstream, causing her blood to thrum in her ears. She fastened her pace, sensing the guards getting closer and closer with each passing second. She couldn't let them catch her. Never.
Her heart went into overdrive when she felt the effect of the drug kicking in. She felt her limbs slowly going numb, causing her to stumble and yelp as she fell down a small slope. Despite the dizziness and disorientation, she forced herself to get up from the ground and tried to run faster than before when she heard their footsteps getting closer. Her vision started to blur, and she didn't know where she was heading.
Eva squinted her eyes trying to focus on the path ahead of her. She turned her head to look behind her and her heart dropped when she saw the blurry figures of the guards coming to catch up to her. She was becoming breathless and her limbs were growing increasingly numb as if they would turn lax any second. She moved her head to look ahead of her and her eyes widened instantly when she saw something blocking her path. Before she could stop in her tracks, she had already crashed into a wall or pillar or whatever it was.
A loud gasp escaped her lips, and she instinctively shut her eyes as the impact caused her to stagger and fall backwards in slow motion. She had expected the pain to hit her body. But before she could fall to the ground, a strong arm wrapped around her waist, steadying her body and stopping her from falling. She opened her purple eyes which were hazy and looked at the person holding her. 'So that was not a wall I crashed into earlier? It's actually a man?'
She tilted her head to meet the gaze of the towering man who held her firmly. His eyes, which were darker than blood, stared into her purple eyes as if they were searching deep into her soul. She didn't know why, but she felt a sense of familiarity when she looked into his eyes.
"P-Please.. help me.. t-they are trying to --" Eva spoke in a slur, holding onto his shirt tightly. But before she could complete her sentence, she lost consciousness and went limp in his arms.