Richard was still cautious as he walked through the woods, unsure of what could be lurking behind each tree, each bush, each shadow he passed.
But soon, his cautiousness turned into annoyance.
"I'm walking, conscience," Richard said as he held his arms out, annoyed, "What is it you want me to do?"
There was a rustling of bushes to his right that made him stop in his tracks. The hair on the back of his neck stood on ends, and his heart began to beat faster as he stared at the bush.
"Hello?" Richard asked, although thinking he'd be stupid if it was just a bunny or something, "Is anyone there?"
Richard felt as if there were eyes on him, and he felt goosebumps appear on his arms and legs, and felt his breathing become shallow.
Then the feeling passed, and the rustling in the bush to his right started again, until he realized a bunny was in that bush. It stared at him for a moment, its dark eyes looking into his soul. Then it scampered off.
Richard slumped his shoulders as he sighed in relief. "See, Richard?" he said to himself and his conscience that had been speaking to him, "It's nothing but a-"
There was a barely inaudible rustling behind him, and Richard felt the feeling of being watched again as he turned and looked at the bush. It was still, and didn't make the rustling sound again.
Paranoid, Richard spun in a circle, looking around as he tried to see if anyone else was hiding. But he found nothing.
"It's nothing but a bunny?" Richard asked himself, unsure.
"A child of the prophecy," said a gruff voice. Richard spun around again, not knowing where it came from.
"I'm a what?"
Clunk! Something hit Richard in the back of the head and he fell forward as he blacked out.
...
As Richard slowly came to, he thought he saw a blurry orange light in front of him. Richard squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again as he tried to shake the blurry vision out of his eyes. He thought he heard muffled voices.
His head was throbbing in pain, and he thought he felt the trickle of blood run down his neck and beneath the folds of his shirt. It sent a chill down his side, and Richard began to sit up.
As Richard tried to put a hand to his throbbing head, he realized they were tied. And so were his feet.
Oh no, Richard thought. His worst fears had become a reality.
He had been kidnapped.
Panic filled his stomach, and desperate, Richard looked around, shouting, "Help! Someone help!"
"It's no use," said a girl's voice.
Richard whipped his head around, which made his vision become blurry once again. When it finally cleared, he saw who had said it. It was a dark skinned girl, with an even darker mess of curls. Next to her was a honey blonde girl with dark blue eyes.
The black girl was wearing a dark green dress and a golden pendant. And the blonde was dressed in rags and was covered in dirt. Richard wrinkled his nose at her and turned away, not looking at her.
Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw her expression become hurt, but she immediately covered it with a smile. "I-I'm Helen," her voice was soft and sweet, but Richard still refused to look at her.
"And I'm Alice," the black girl said flatly. At first Richard was confused at why they'd been kidnapped, since between the poor girl and the black one, there wasn't much room for ransom, but then he looked closer at the girl named Alice's necklace. It was inlayed with gold as well as her dress.
"Where are you from?" He asked Alice, interested. Although he had a suspicion, he still wanted to make sure.
"Thuron," she replied, and Richard nodded. His suspicions had been confirmed. Thuron was a country known for its rich black families.
"Family name?"
"Ellison," Alice said, unsure. Then she stared suspiciously at him from across the fire. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because I'm trying to figure out why whoever kidnapped us, did." Richard replied, and began thinking.
"Well," Alice said quietly, "I think I know who kidnapped us and where we might be. I think we are between the border of Bellona and Hilgaria, and I think that whoever kidnapped us were...the Dueglesteiners."
"What?" Richard blurted out, "What are Dueglesteiners doing-"
But he was interrupted.
"Ah, you're awake," said a gruff voice, the same gruff voice that Richard heard before he was knocked out.
A tall man walked next to their fire, his black hair slicked back, and a neatly trimmed goatee. Richard could see now why Alice thought they had been kidnapped by Dueglesteiners. This man looked just like any Dueglesteiner, and had the signature black and purple uniform that Dueglesteiners wore.
"Who are you? And why did you kidnap us?" Richard demanded.
"I am Boromir Asra, a general in the Dueglestein army. And you are under arrest."
"Arrest?" Richard was confused. "But we're in Bellona, not Dueglestein. You have no right to arrest us!"
"Actually I do," Boromir said as he leaned down to look at Richard, "If no one finds out."
"My father will come for me," Richard protested, "He'll send his whole guard and you'll be sorry."
"Ah, Richard Calibaster," Boromir mused, "You really are a horrible liar. You and I both know that your father doesn't have a guard, and even if he did, he wouldn't send it for you."
Boromir gripped Richard's collar as he pulled Richard close to his face, his breath hot against Richard's face. "No one is coming for you, Richard. You are completely alone."
Richard's eyes widened as he realized Boromir was right. He was completely alone. Then Boromir dropped Richard, as he fell to the ground. Richard glared at Boromir as he tried to sit up, hating the smug look on Boromir's face as he stood.
"See you soon, children." Boromir said smugly, as he walked off.
Richard sat in shock as Boromir walked away, wondering how Boromir knew Richard's name, let alone how he knew that his father wouldn't come...
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