Brenna stared at the backs of the guards who led her away from the Commodore's home. It had been humiliating, being searched from head to toe. She would have resented it, had she not been so keenly aware that she deserved it.
She chewed the inside of her cheek, wondering what to do now. They were searching her things. They would find nothing… probably. On the off chance they found her backup escape plan, she would be in real trouble.
She debated what to do now. Should she wait to see if they returned her possessions? Would she even be brave enough to use the portal if they returned it to her?
No. Titania had been terrifying enough just as a sorceress. Brenna didn't want to chance encountering her—it—in its true form.
While she knew, or thought she knew, that the Void was not an omnipresent creature within the Darkness, she was still far too scared to chance going there unless it became absolutely necessary to do so.
Eyebrows drawn together, she realized she'd already made her decision. If she could escape without it, why would she want to wait until getting it back?
If her escape failed, then she would try to use it, if it were returned to her.
Wherever the guards were leading her, it was up within the tree line, far at the edge of the… town? Whatever this place was.
She sighed deeply, and one of them looked back at her. She frowned. It would make more sense for one to be in front of her and the other behind, but since her hands were tied, and one held the rope, it didn't make that much difference.
Like a lamb for slaughter, she was being led against her will to certain doom.
She knew King Duncan wouldn't leave her alive if he had the chance to get rid of her. She couldn't really blame him. She'd been infatuated with Titania's ideas of power back then, willing to do whatever it took.
The harsh realities of surviving on her own these past two years had broken her, in more than one sense.
Her pride was all but lost. She would have said that her scheming was a thing of the past, but the temptation proved too much when Cora offered to personally matchmake her.
She had felt that no man in his right mind would want her, knowing what she had been and how she was hated. She even dreamed about being rejected if she didn't use the herbs.
So she'd given in, and used them, thinking that her matched groom would need a little help liking her. Loving her.
As if she could be loved.
She swallowed the self pity and focused back on the present. Her eyes roved around, looking for any and every opportunity to find something, anything, that could be of use in an escape attempt.
She was adept at hiding in forested areas by now; she'd spent plenty of time avoiding Rhone and Klain patrols of the wilderness during her exile. She would have stayed there if she hadn't come into a town to trade game for fabric to make a winter coat.
It was there she'd heard the town crier's announcement: a new life for single Rhone women willing to give themselves as brides to the men of the Sea People.
Her thin frame testified that she was doing a barely adequate job caring for herself. Having a partner to help and provide her a home sounded just heavenly.
Now that was all ruined, and here she was plotting how to escape and hide once more.
She would need to be untied before she would be able to hope to run quickly enough to outpace her captors.
"Before we get there, I need to… relieve myself. Please?" She asked.
The guards exchanged an irritated glance before the one holding the rope grunted. He veered off the path and slightly into the woods.
"You will speak the entire time. There will not be a moment of silence from your mouth or I am coming after you, decent or not. You may walk no more than 15 paces from this spot, and return promptly."
Brenna nodded gratefully, and he untied her hands.
"Thank you, sir." She tried to smile, but he glared at her.
"Your time is running out."
Brenna nodded, and then remembered she was supposed to be speaking.
"Thank you for this opportunity," She said as she counted paces walking away. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that he had turned his head away for her privacy. "I really did need to go and although I'm not sure what to talk about, I will do my best to abide thoroughly by your instructions. I don't talk that much, normally. I'm known as rather quiet,"
Well, there was no one to know her as quiet the past two years. She'd had no one to talk to. But that had to qualify as quiet. She reached the end of her 15 pace allowance and frantically searched about for whatever could be of use.
"Some people like quiet women, but obviously you're different," she snatched a handful of flowers from a bush and frantically began plucking the stamens from each one, filling her fist with them. "I'm sure you'll find a talkative woman to fill your life soon enough. A handsome man like you? I'm sure all the girls are tripping over themselves to become yours."
Both hands were now filled with the pollen-laden bits of flower.
"Time's up!" The guard called. "You'd better be back here in three seconds or I'm coming after you."
"Three seconds! My, you must walk incredibly quickly. Fifteen paces in three seconds! What speed. I'm very impressed." She reached him, trying out a charming smile, which caused him to sneer.
He retied her wrists, and she was able to smear a little of the pollen on his sleeve as he did so. She recognized the flowers as having a strong propensity to cause intense headaches, and hoped it would work on him and the other guard.
The more distracted and muddle-headed they were, the easier escape would become.
"You have something on your forehead, by the way." Brenna pointed.
The guard frowned, involuntarily wiping at it before scowling at her little joke and pulling her forward. But a little smear of the pollen had been left behind.
By the time they reached the hut where she would be kept, she could see the effects of the pollen taking hold.
She said nothing about it lest she bring suspicion on herself, but as the guard untied her and ushered her into the building, she smeared a large portion of it on the doorpost that they would stand vigil at. It seemed the place only had one door.
As soon as she was shut inside, she washed her hands in the basin, trying not to affect herself with the heavily scented pollen. Her veil helped a little, but did not shut it out entirely.
She wondered how long to wait before making her move, and decided to pry around the dwelling. Gently, she tested each board on the wall to look for weak spots.
There was one in the back corner that might give way if she forced it, but that would likely make enough noise to merit investigation from her guards if she did it before the pollen took hold.
There were no windows, unlike most of the other buildings she'd seen here.
Brenna took a deep breath and knelt on the floor of the room, closing her eyes and pushing back tears. All of this was her fault, but she couldn't bring herself to face the death or life in jail that doubtlessly awaited her now.
She pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead, using the mild pain of the action to refocus her attention. Escape. That was what mattered right now. She could wallow in self-loathing later.
Hearing voices, she edged closer to the door.
"...of great importance that you guard her carefully and make sure she reaches Klain to face trial there."
It was Prince Derek's voice. She cursed under her breath.
"Yes sir!" The guards responded.
"I'm trusting you with this task, but I'm going to order more soldiers to support you. They will be here soon," The prince continued.
"Thank you, sir!"
Silence for several moments. Had Derek left?
"Should we check on her? He sounded serious."
Brenna scrambled back to the middle of the room and resumed her sitting position while the other mumbled a response.
As the door opened for the soldiers to peer inside, she stared at the floor in dejection.
The sudden influx of air as he opened the door and entered brought a puff of pollen off the doorframe and into his face.
"She's still there," He managed to say before closing the door again and giving in to a coughing fit. There was a thumping noise that must be the other soldier pounding him on the back.
Brenna didn't waste a second in getting to the loose area in the back corner and kicking it free. She dropped to her belly to wriggle through the opening, and then off like a released rabbit, she fled blindly into the forest.
The sound of coughing fading behind her gave her hope that she had not been noticed just yet.