After a while they reached a clearing with tents scattered around and a fire pit in the middle.  Ildri was dropped to her feet hard and she staggered a bit at the impact.

"Come," said the handsome man in the same methodical voice and Ildri felt even more dejected.  He obviously thought that she was a troublesome pest at best.  She knew that she should not even care what some random attractive captain thought when Saul was not even cold in his grave yet, but she could not quite help herself.  She was clearly a terrible person.  She had obviously never deserved Saul.

Ildri followed him into the largest tent, feeling terribly miserable.

Inside was a makeshift table and several men sat around it.  There were parchments scattered across.  Several other armed men lounged at the edges of the tent.  All of them looked up as Ildri was brought in to the room.

"What is this, Sir Rhys?" said the man in the middle of the table.  He had an accent that was unfamiliar to Ildri and his clothing looked rich but strange.

"We found her as we searched for the spy.  She claims that she is of Wildwood and saw a man named Saul murdered by a scarred man," he said.  Ildri heard an odd note in his voice but she had no idea what it might mean.  A meaningful look passed between a few of the men.

The man with the accent spoke again, but this time he looked at Ildri closely.  "Who are you, girl?"

"Ildri of Wildwood."  Her best chance was certainly to cooperate.

"Tell us, Ildri of Wildwood, how you came to be hiding in the woods this day."

Ildri swallowed hard, and started at the beginning.  "My lord," she began, because it seemed to be the way to address the man, "I was simply meeting my beloved Saul in a clearing in the woods last night, when I saw him murdered by a terrible man.  He discovered I was there and he and his horrible wolf chased me and forced me to come with him.  He said he was taking me to the king, but I did not think he intended to, and then I realized that we were not heading towards the capital, so when I saw your men I screamed for help.  I hoped that they would capture him, but when I turned around, he was no longer there."

"Indeed," the leader of the group said musingly.  "Know you anything else?  Where he was going?" he asked her.

"He said Valence."

"Send some men to Valence, although he will no doubt change his plans now that we have her."  He looked at Ildri again.  "Why were you travelling with him?"

"He forced me.  He said that I was selling secrets to my future husband and would not listen when I told him he was wrong.  But I think it was because I saw him kill a man.  He was probably going to kill me."

The man in the center nodded, then spoke to one of the men lounging at the edges of the tent.  "You, sir.  Tie her up securely and remove her.  Don't kill her yet lest I think of more questions.  We must expand our search for this... rebel."

"Tie me?" she squeaked.  Don't kill her yet?

"Yes, my lord," said the man who had been ordered to guard her.

Ildri was dragged outside and tied to a tree.  The guard stood a short way away, watching her.  He did not seem pleased with the task he had been given.

Who were these men?  They could not be the king's soldiers because surely the king's soldiers would not do such a thing.  Or would they?  What did she know of the world other than that it was a terrible place?  Yet, there was no way Lord Wildwood would support a king who would allow something like this, but then who was the man who had forced her to come along?  Was he really on the king's side or was no one on the king's side?  Was anyone honourable and decent beside those at Wildwood?  If only she had not stepped foot outside the safety of the walls.

Ildri's arms began to hurt almost immediately from the way that they were tied.  She missed Wildwood and she missed Saul.  If he were alive he would not allow such things to happen to her.  Saul would have saved her because he loved her.

The handsome captain she had so stupidly placed her hope in walked right by her position without even looking at her.  Ildri let her head hang.  She was such a fool.  Just because he looked a bit like Saul it had been foolish of her to put herself at his mercy.  Clearly he had none.  Would they really kill her?

Ildri did not want to die.  Ildri wanted to live.  Ildri wanted time to mourn Saul and then to fall in love again and get married and have some children.  She surely might never love anyone as much as Saul but surely someone else would come to Wildwood.

She had to find a way back there.  Perhaps she could convince the men who held her to allow her to let her cook for them.  Anything so that they might not have a reason to kill her.  If she was alive, surely she could escape.

* * * * *

After hours of sitting in the same position, Ildri's body was sore and numb and her hands felt as if they had lost all circulation.  She tried to get the men guarding her to loosen the bonds, but it was to no avail.  She became evermore convinced that these men were not of the king or if they were the king's men then the king did not deserve to rule.

It was nearly dark before anyone acknowledged Ildri's presence among them.  One of the men that she recognized from the council table with the leader came out to her.  "What more do you know of the spy?" he asked her in a cold voice.

"Nothing.  He has a horribly disfigured face and he has a great wolf with him," she tried to think of more to say, but nothing came.

"What is his name?" the man asked her.

"He never said."  He did not look pleased with her response.

"What were you at Wildwood?"

"A kitchen maid," Ildri said and continued quickly.  "I thought that perhaps I could cook for—"

He turned to the man who was guarding her as if he had not heard her.  "We have no need of this woman.  Get rid of her."

"Get rid of me?  What do you mean?" Ildri asked.

"And she makes too much noise."

The soldier who had been guarding her began sliding his sword from its sheath and Ildri was suddenly horribly certain what getting rid of her had meant.

"You don't need to kill me," she babbled, trying frantically to think of something that might make the soldier reconsider.  He did not look sympathetic to her plight.  "I won't be a bother!  Just let me go and you'll never need to think of me again.  Please, don't do this, I haven't done anything wrong!  I don't want to die!  I just want to go home!  Please!"

He did not answer her.  Panic overwhelmed Ildri, and her whole body shook.  She pushed air past the horrible heaviness in her chest and screamed.  And screamed, with blood curdling intensity.  The soldier winced at the terrible noise, but continued to advance until there was no more than a step between her and his cruel blade.

She did not want to die.  There were still so many things that Ildri had left to do, she wanted to  cook a million more meals for everyone at Wildwood.  She wanted to go home again.  She was not ready yet.  She screamed louder and pulled on her bonds until her skin was raw and tears pushed out of her eyes.

Ildri was so busy panicking that she was the last person to notice the commotion.  It started with yells throughout the camp and even the soldier in charge of getting rid of her paused to look.  Finally, Ildri noticed the thick, black smoke rolling throughout the camp in an ever widening circumference.  The smoke billowed, and enlarged until it covered the whole camp and much of the woods beyond.  Ildri could hear coughing and cursing coming from the cloud.  Her throat ached from the screaming and from the unnatural smoke.  She forced herself not to make a sound while she desperately tried to free her hands.

And then the ropes suddenly slackened.  Blood flooded back into Ildri's numb hands and they screamed at the feeling.  It hurt so badly yet it was the best sensation she could imagine.

Then a whisper and someone grabbed her by one numb hand.  "Come quickly now."

And she knew who it was.  At that moment it did not matter what he had done to Saul or that his face was something of her nightmares.  Ildri felt gratitude well up in her and she grasped onto the stranger's rough hand.  She did not want to let go.  She supposed that she would have felt so kindly towards anyone who had saved her from such a precarious situation, even though her peril had been his fault in the first place.  She hurried to keep up.