Ildri peered towards the men and she could see that one man had the other by the throat.  She wished she could tell what was happening, if her Saul needed help.  Then a deep voice spoke, and it was the stranger's voice who was clear and strong.  "Now, you will confess all that you have done, or so help me I will—"

Ildri barely saw Saul's arm move, and the stranger lurched and grunted as if in pain.  Ildri saw him move fluidly, and grab Saul's free arm.  Ildri could see that there was something in Saul's hand, a dagger or a knife.  She watched as the two struggled for control of the weapon.  "If this is how you want it, Saul, so be it.  There are others who will speak, if you do not want to," the stranger said and before Ildri could really understand what was happening, she heard the sickening sound as the weapon plunged into Saul.

Ildri could not prevent the sound of shock and horror that escaped her lips.  She covered her mouth to cover her grief, but it was too late.  She saw the stranger's head turn towards her, although she could not see his face through the shadows.

Did he know for certain that she was there?  It seemed that he did.  She stayed still for what felt like long moments, not daring to move for fear of confirming his suspicions.  Panic overwhelmed her.  She needed to get back to the castle.  She would be safe there.  Lord Wildwood may not be present at this moment, but others were.  She had to run and she had to get help and warn everyone about this villain.

The villain who had murdered Saul.

The stranger blocked the way she had come, so she leapt to her feet and ran the other way, into the deeper parts of the forest.  She had to find somewhere to hide.

She could hear the sound of her pursuer so she ran harder.  Ildri could barely see and nearly ran into trees.  She could no longer hear anyone behind her, so she moved more slowly.  She needed to get back to Wildwood.

She realized that she had no idea which direction she should go.  She swallowed, hard.  She was so scared and full of pain.  She had just wanted to be safe and happy, why was that so much to ask?

Ildri believed it would be hard for the stranger to find her in the darkness.  She could hide and she would be safe until it started to get light, surely.  She moved forward quietly, until she reached a fallen log.  Ildri slipped into the space beneath it silently.  Once the sun began to return, she could go back to the castle.

Ildri wanted to be back at the castle now.  Now that she was not running she could feel the same terrible pressure on her chest that she had every time she left the castle, but only a thousand times worse.  The world outside was just like when she had been small.  It was dark and scary and she was alone.

Everything good in her life had been taken away.  She wanted Saul to be safe but Saul had been stabbed by the ruthless stranger.  Like with her mother and father, there was nothing that Ildri could do for Saul now.

She could feel tears run down her cheeks.  Saul...  All her dreams of a happy life had been extinguished just like that.  She was alone again.  And it was all her fault.  If she had just been on time to meet Saul, the whole horrible incident probably would never have happened because they would have been long gone.  Saul would be alive and he and Ildri would be cheerfully planning their future.

Ildri gripped a handful of fallen, earthy smelling leaves and needles.  Was Ildri a plague that wiped out anyone she cared about?  She sniffled and wiped her face with the back of her hand.  She supposed not.  Lord Wildwood and chef and all the rest were all well, were they not?

Then there was the sound of shuffling footsteps.  Ildri held her breath, willing herself not to be heard.  The shuffling moved closer, and closer.  It could not be the stranger, could it?  There was no way for him to find her in the darkness, surely.  Ildri closed her eyes and prayed for shuffling creature to leave.

A low growl.  It was right next to her.  It was not a man.  She almost would that it were.  Her heart beat frantically as her mind whipped through the predators of the forest.  A bear?  A mountain lion?  A wolf?

A loud braying bark hurt her ears and confirmed her fears.  She shrank back farther into her little hole and prayed even harder that the creature would move on.  It did not.  She could hear it breathing in short pants.

Neither did it attack her.  It simply waited.

And then Ildri heard footsteps and she understood for what the creature waited.

There were noises indicating movement, and she pulled herself into a small ball.  Ildri felt a hand grasp her around the ankle and panic hit her like cold water.  She screamed and kicked at him, and tried to hold on to the ground around her, digging in her nails.  The stranger cursed under his breath and she was dragged out by a far superior strength.

Ildri was roughly dragged to her feet, and she tried push away.  She was held solidly by an iron grip.  "Please let me go," she begged and tried to twist herself free.

"Cease that at once," the stranger commanded in his terrible deep voice.  Ildri continued to pull at her wrist.  It hurt, but she did not care.  She only wanted to be away from this horrible man.

"I said, cease!" he said, and pinned her wrists against a tree.  "I want some answers."

"I don't have any," she half sobbed.  Even so close, she could not see his face in the darkness.

"What is your name?" he demanded.

"Ildri of Wildwood," she answered, hoping that he would let her go if she just cooperated.

"Why were you in the woods this night, Ildri of Wildwood?"

"I was meeting Saul," she sniffled.  Poor, poor Saul.

"Meeting Saul," he mused.  "And what were you going to tell Saul?"

"Tell Saul?  Nothing!  He's my...  He was my... boyfriend," she amended.  Saul was not anything anymore.  This monster had seen to that.  More tears flowed from her eyes.

The man pulled on her arms and it hurt.  "You lie.  What were you really doing?"

"No!  I was meeting Saul because he asked me to!  We were going to be married," she cried.

The stranger laughed bitterly.  "No doubt, you were.  And what secrets were you selling to him, Ildri of Wildwood?"

"Secrets?  I don't know—"

"Don't make me laugh," he interrupted.

"I really don't!  I just work in the kitchen!  I don't know any secrets, and even if I did, Saul would know them too!"

"You must have benefitted him greatly, if you worked inside the castle," the stranger said coldly.

"He loved me!" she insisted angrily, and tried to break the stranger's hold.

"He loved something, but it certainly wasn't you."

Ildri cried.  How dare this monster mock her love?  Saul was the only one who would ever have her heart, because he was a wonderful man.  What did this beast know of love?  She would mourn Saul forever!

She was momentarily stunned as he slackened his grip on her and Ildri almost fell forward.  Then he grabbed her wrist tightly again and suddenly she was dragged along behind him.  She stumbled in the darkness.

"You're coming with me, Ildri of Wildwood.  Come, Farrel."

"I'm not coming with you," Ildri said, feeling panic welling up inside of her.  She could not leave Wildwood!  She did not want to, she could not.  The terrible weight was in her chest again and she thought that it might kill her.

"Your opinion is irrelevant," he said in a voice that was starting to sound irritated.

Ildri knew that she should try not to make him angry.  She had seen what he could do, what he was willing to do.  But she could no more stop herself from speaking out of her mounting anxiety than she could bring poor Saul back to life.  "Please don't make me!  Just let me go!  Please!  I don't know who you are!  I can't tell anyone.  I won't tell anyone!  Just leave me right here!  I'll do anything!  Anything!  Please!  Don't take me from Wildwood!"

He continued to drag her as if she had not said a word.  Ildri continued to cry and beg.  She could feel liquid running down her face and she did not care.  She only cared to stay at Wildwood.  "Please!  I'm too afraid!"

His voice was harsh, "You should have thought of that before you sold secrets."

"But I'm telling you that I did not!  I would never!  My master is Lord Wildwood!  I would never betray him!"

"Nevertheless you are coming with me."

"No!" she howled as loudly as she could.  The beast behind her growled menacingly.

He clamped his hand over her mouth and she bit it.  He shoved her away and she crumpled to the ground.

"I'm sorry!  I didn't mean it!" she cried as soon as she realized how dreadfully she had trespassed.

Ildri did not need to be able to see the stranger's face to know that he was absolutely furious at her.  She could practically feel his anger radiating off of him as he crouched over her.  She did not dare to move, not even to run.  Even if she did he and his evil beast would track her down.

She thought he was going to hit her, but he did not.  Instead, he spoke.  "Hear my words, Ildri of Wildwood.  You have no choice but to obey.  It will be easier if you cooperate."

"What are you going to do with me?" she stammered.

"You will be brought before the king," he said firmly.

The king?  Why would this rogue want to be anywhere near the king?  "But that is..."

The monster beside her growled softly.  The man lessened his grip upon Ildri slightly and spoke, his voice low and urgent.  "Someone is coming and I have no doubt they are not ones I would wish to meet.  Be silent.  We must make haste."  He pulled Ildri to her feet, likely more gently than she perhaps expected after biting him.  She could still taste his blood in her mouth.

Yet, why should she make haste?  If the men pursuing him were his enemies, might they not restore her to her home?

He seemed to read her mind because he spoke.  "I would not alert them to our presence, if I were you.  They will not help you.  They are men without honour or decency and you may find yourself in an even worse situation than you are in now."

Ildri shivered and wondered if he told her the truth.  Was he trying to scare her into obedience?  She was already terrified of everything.

But she followed and did not fight as he and his monster wove through the forest.  She could see nothing and did not know how he moved so well.

The night wound on and Ildri nearly succumbed to exhaustion in her body and mind.  Grief surrounded her like a thick cloak, and guilt hovered at the edges of her mind.  She was with the one who had killed Saul and was not fighting him.  How fickle was she?  Yet she did not dare to stop.