Hours seem to pass while I lie , collapsed. My ears start ringing so loudly it fades everything else.
My head feels like a heavy rock , so difficult to hold up. I try to open my eyes, but they feel like they have been glued shut, as if my eyelids refuse to obey me.
I shake my head, trying to have my consciousness back. Slowly, I force my eyes to open . The room spins around me, every corner tilting and swaying.
I blink again and again, trying my vision to be steady. I push myself up to sit, but even that , feels like climbing a mountain.
My eyes keep closing on their own, and it takes all my strength, just to keep them open for a few seconds. My body feels weak.
I can't feel anything right now—just my head spinning, my ears tingling, and my eyelids being heavy .
I bring my tied hands up to my face, resting my head on my palms and closing my eyes to get me a moment , a moment to get my consiousness back.
After a while, the piercing ringing in my ears fades. That's when I realize my mouth is tied.I try to scream, but only a faint, muffled hum escapes into the dark room.
I look around. The Room is dark. Only a few amount of moonlight is coming tgrough the window making things slightly visible in the room.
Oh no… the soldiers. They're searching for me. I have to get out of here.
In the near-dark, I fumble along the mattress, trying desperately to find the knife I hid.
I start pressing and feeling along the corners of the mattress where I hid it.
"Here." I've found it.
I grab the knife with my tied hands and start cutting the rope around my ankles. Richard didn't tie me that tight. I push my ankles apart, creating tension on the rope, and begin slicing with the knife.
With the help of the blade, it doesn't take long to free my ankles this time.
After cutting the rope across my ankles , I place the knife upright between my feet, bend down, and start working the rope around my wrists against it, trying to cut it.
I free myself and finally untie the cloth from my mouth.
I rush to the window and start shouting again, with all the strength i have ,"HELP! I'M HERE! HELP—"
Suddenly the noise at the door makes me freeze—It is the sound of tryinng to open the lock . They must be trying to come in and tie me again.
Before they can open the door and reach me, I slip behind the door, pressing myself against the wall.
With a loud bang, the door bursts open, and two men rush into the room, their eyes scanning wildly.
Before they can react or even search the room, I push them from behind and sprint outside. Before they can regain their footing and get up, I slam the door shut, and closed the sliding latch .
My lungs burn as I breathe heavily, and I can hear them pounding on the door behind me.
Without a second thought, I ran into the forest.
I keep shouting, desperately, "HELP… HELP!"
Darkness swallows everything around me; I can barely see, but I run anyway. My foot catches on a twisted root, and I tumble to my knees and hands. "Agh!" I grit my teeth, pushing myself up and running again.
"HELP! HELP!" The silent jungle trembles with the echo of my desperate cries, carrying my fear through the shadows.
As I stumble through the forest, I suddenly see a man running toward me.
A weak smile flickers across my face, tears slipping down my cheeks. I take a shuddering breath. "Finally…" a faint sound escapes my lips. " Finally .. I am safe ."
But as he gets closer, my smile falters.
It's Richard. My heart drops. I spin and run in the opposite direction.
"HELP! HELP!" I scream.
I look behind while still running and Richard was getting closer , and I keep running with all strength I have .
I got scared when out of nowhere, Arthur leaps in front of me. I lunge to escape, but he grabs my wrist.
"HEL—" I can't even finish the word before his other hand clamps over my mouth.
But this time, I am free. I start hitting him on the chest with my hand.
He lets go of my mouth to hold my hand. I start shouting again, "HELP… HELP!"
He grabs both my hands with his one , his big fingers wraps around by wrists and again covers my mouth with other hand . He pushed me back a few steps and pinning me against a tree.
I start kicking him. This time; it is impactful since I am untied. I thought hitting him would let me have a chance to escape but this makes him come closer.
As he gets this close, I freeze. He raises his arm, holding both my wrists and pins them above my head, leaning his body against mine to resist any movement.
His strong body presses against mine. He presses his legs against mine, leaving me no space to move. His strength applies pressure on my body, and I can't even move an inch.
I am there, trapped between the tree and him.
I am standing slightly above his level. I can feel his beating heart on my chest, which makes things more awkward. My breathing stops.
He is looking in Richard's direction, but I can feel his heavy breath on my neck. The heat radiating from him presses into me in waves.
I can feel—his firm shoulders, the tension in his biceps, the way his chest rises and falls against mine, the press of his legs, the scent of sweat and effort lingering in the air.
It's suffocating. Every second feels like an eternity as I struggle to find even a sliver of space to move, but there is none.
Richard has also reached by now.
"Take a cloth and cover her mouth," Arthur commands him.
Richard is carrying a bag on his shoulder. He bends down and starts ripping a strand from the bag.
As Richard does his task, Arthur turns toward me, and we lock eyes. Everything goes quiet, as if my ears have stopped working.
Moonlight falls on our faces. As moonlight spills across his face, it highlights the sharp planes of his jaw and the line of his neckA few strands of hair hang over his forehead, brushing near his eyes. I find myself lost in his eyes. His dark eyes shifts from anger to calm.
I can feel two heartbeats on my chest—one mine, one his—both raised, both loud. It feels as if, as if they try to sync together, and after a while, it feels like one, beating in the same rhythm.
His breath brushes against my face like a warm wind. My whole body erupts in goosebumps as it grazes my skin.
I get jerked out of the moment by Richard's voice.
"Here."
I break the eye contact and turn toward him.
He's holding the torn cloth out to Arthur and his otherone arm bent, cradling the fabric like someone would hold a baby on their hip, his eyes are on the bag , carefully keeping everything from slipping after tearing some of it.
But Arthur doesn't reach for the cloth. My gaze snaps back to him. He's still looking at me, unmoving, unblinking.
His eyes catch the moonlight, shining like polished pearls. They feel , they feel like a deep ocean, calm on the surface but impossible to escape once you dive in.
Richard taps his shoulder, handing him the cloth, and finally, Arthur shifts, breaking the tension .
Arthur clears his throat and steps back. He lifts his body off mine, letting go of my hands and mouth.
He takes a few steps back, glances down at his hands, and then back at me.
"You want me to do it? I'm carrying a bag," Richard says, looking at Arthur.
I snap back into my senses. I press my back away from the tree, ready to run—but I freeze when I see Arthur move instinctively. His one hand shoots up, ready to cover my mouth. I stop even before I take a single step.
He halts too. He takes the cloth from Richard's hand, grabs my arm, and turns me slightly.
Slowly, deliberately, he wraps it around my mouth. I stand there, helpless. Fighting him now wouldn't do any good.
He ties a very tight knot, and I hiss in pain, which makes him pause for a moment. He loosens it slightly, and again pause for a moment , then tightens it again, making me hiss again, but he doesn't stop. He ties another knot with the same force, pressing against my face until it burns.
Then he pushes me by the arm to make me walk ahead, but his push is so strong that I lose my balance and start to fall.
I grab the tree midair to stop myself from hitting the ground. His arm stretches toward me in an attempt to catch me, but I've grabbed the tree just in time.
I glare at him angrily.
"Walk ahead," he commands in that cold, sharp voice of his.
He takes a few steps back, grabs his bag, and starts walking.
Richard walks ahead, and I keep following him. Arthur walks behind me.
I turn back to see how far he is, wondering if I still stand a chance to run again.
As I glance at him, he shouts, "Keep walking."
I turn forward again. He looks angry. He has already warned me about running—what will he do when we get back? he will find that knife? Will he… hurt me?
As I walk, my mind races. I had a chance today, but I couldn't escape. Will the soldiers ever find me here? They must have heard my screams. I hope they do.
As our footsteps approach the hut, my heartbeat begins to race.
We come out of the forest and step into the open space outside it. Now, we can clearly hear the banging on the door.
They hear it too. Both of them look at me.I lower my gaze and close my eyes, as if doing so could erase what has already happened—trying to avoid their stares.
Richard runs toward the door. I remain standing where I am, frozen in place, thinking about what might happen to me.Every thought that crosses my mind is worse than the last.
"WALK." Arthur shouts, making me flinch.
I start walking, my head still lowered.
Richard opens the sliding latch, and the two men come outside.
"My lord," one of them says breathlessly, "she ran, she—"He stop when they see Arthur and me approaching.
As we get closer, they drop to their knees before Arthur, bowing deeply.
"Your Majesty, forgive us for our failure," they say in fear.
I gather my courage to look at him. He was looking at them ,his dark eyes are terrifying. His teeth are clenched, and his fists tighten, making him look even more dangerous.
"SHUT UP!" Arthur snaps at them angrily. "Do you know what could have happened if they had found her?"
His eyes are burning with rage, as if a volcano might erupt from them at any moment.
He looks at me, then back at them.
"Get up and leave for now. I will deal with you later."
I swallow hard. He is speaking to them, but I know my fate will be no different.
They bow quickly and run toward the jungle. As i watch them run , I wish I could run with them.
My eyes follow them as they disappear into the forest, wishing it were me vanishing among the trees.
Suddenly, a firm grip catches my hand. Arthur pushes me inside. The room is dark.
"I will light the lanterns," Richard says, walking toward the shelf.
Oh no, now they will see the knife. Arthur would stab me from that exact same knife .
He grabs the matchbox and begins lighting the lamp.As the room brightens, the cut rope and the knife become clearly visible. They both look at the knife, but I keep my eyes on Arthur.
I feel as if I am standing beneath a volcano that could erupt at any moment and burn me alive.
He whirls toward me. I flinch, squeeze my eyes shut, bend my neck, and stumble a few steps back. My arms rise instinctively in front of me and I stand there, trembling, thinking, This is it. This is where I die.