Sprinting up the stairs, sounds like thunder echoed so loud it made the wooden walls tremble. Heavy, thudding footsteps followed just a step behind me and as I glanced back over my shoulder, the middle-aged man I called my Master, chased after me. He was old and drunk and it was just enough for me to slip into the first room, slam the door shut behind me and slide across the floor and under the bed which was pressed against the wall.

Now, all I could do was cower under the bed, my entire body trembling as fire from outside made the night seem as bright as day. The Unchained was finally here and with them, the war followed. "Annika!" My Master shouted as the door opened, slamming against the wall so hard it nearly closed on his hand again.

I watched his heavy boots stomp across the old, wooden floorboards, opening the closet door and scanning inside first. "It is no time for games, girl. We need to go." There was a pause as he raised one foot and kicked the dresser over. It hovered, completely diagonal for a second, before crashing down and shattering just inches from me.

Even though my mouth was covered, my screams were not muffled enough. "Come out now before I make you regret it," there was a dangerous growl in his voice as he slowly walked over to the bed I hid under. "The monsters are coming and they're coming to take you. I want to protect you, Annika, don't make me hurt you."

My ash blonde hair fell in front of my face as I kept my cold hand clamped over my mouth. There was plenty of evil in this world and while the Unchained would drag me off to a place far from home, I knew anything they could do to me was going to be far better than the wrath of my Master. "Fine," he huffed and began to kneel down as I curled up in the far corner.

From outside, cries of battle echoed through the streets, the army coming closer and closer. Magic users and warriors alike rushed along the cobblestone roads and entering every house. As always, humans were collected to be given the choice and any slaves they owned, were brought away from the Masters.

A clammy hand started to swat blindly under the bed, trying to catch the bottom of my nightgown or any limb which wasn't safely tucked away. "Annika," he growled again, practically laying down on the floor so he could peer under. His beady eyes locked onto me and he gave a yellow-toothy grin, "Come on, don't make this harder than it has to be," his peppered beard dragging across the floor as he attempted to reach further under the bed.

From downstairs, there was a loud crash. My Master barely flinched, "Come here you," he hissed as he managed to find my ankle.

I let out a scream and went from defence to offence. "No, let me go!" I screamed, kicking as I was flipped onto my stomach. "Please no!" I sobbed, clawing desperately at the floor as I was slowly pulled from safety.

Footsteps rushed up the stairs as the back of my calf dragged painfully along the bottom of the bed as my Master stood up, now tugging my ankle at a painful angle. "Quickly now Annika!"

One second I felt his sticky hand around my foot, blood appearing on the back of my leg, the next, my foot was falling through the air. I didn't question what happened to make him release his grip until I was curled up once again under the bed. Tears clouded my view and once again, I covered my mouth seeing my Master's body hit the floor.

"It's okay," it was a different voice, thick with a west coast accent. "He cannot hurt you anymore." The foreigner whispered as I watched blood slowly pooling under my Master's overweight body, an arrow in his back.

I let out a trembling breath and a small squeak as the puddle grew, "Annika... That's your name, yes?" The male spoke up again and I noticed him take a couple steps away from the bed, kneeling down and holding out a hand. "Don't look at the body, look at me," his voice was soft, comforting. "Why don't you come out and I'll take you somewhere safe."

The longer he spoke, the more comforting his words were. I uncurled and slowly moved towards the edge of the bed, staring out at the man waiting patiently for me, two more in the doorway. I flinched back and the man sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. His grip tightened in the front, longer pieces which remained standing once he let go. "We will not hurt you, do you know who we are?"

I nodded, slowly moving forward again, "The Unchained."

He nodded, his dark eyes smiling sweetly at me as he continued to hold out his hand. "Yes, and do you know what we do?"

I had only heard stories. "You take elves and mages away from their home," I whispered, staring up at him as his smile slowly faded. "You make them into soldiers and force mages to use their magic for you."

"Oh, no... No, Annika, is that what your Master told you?" He watched me, his expression now sad as I nodded. "We don't do that," he promised, "We are the type of people who would take those restraints off of you and then we do our best to help you go wherever you'd like to go." He pointed at the golden cuffs around my wrist. "Do you have a family, a Rixo-fir?"

The human boy thought I was an elf. While it was a tad bit insulting, it was also comforting; he didn't know what I was. I shook my head once again and moved out more from under the bed, "Then we have a town for people with nowhere to go. It's different than your life here, you are not a prisoner or a slave. You can come and go as you wish, work for who you want, be paid for the work you do."

It was a trick, I knew it had to be for it sounded too good to be true. Still, I came out from under the bed and moved closer to the boy, "That's a good girl," he smiled, "My name is Elias, Elias Kane, why don't we get you somewhere safe and someone can look at the leg, yes?"