"Nooo..." I screamed. The sound of battle was all around me, but I had eyes for only one person. I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

The arrow was heading straight at me but I was to distracted to see it. By the time I realized what was happening, it was to late; or so I thought. I was pushed out of the way and the sound of an arrow piercing flesh was loud in my ear, like the sound of thunder. I turned to look at who saved me and my breath was cut short. I looked upon the face of the love of my life, my betrothed. Blood was flowing out of the wound, like a waterfall.

"Why, why did you do it?" I asked, my voice ragged with grief. I put his beautiful head on my lap, knowing there was nothing I could do to save his life. Tears were flowing down my face, blinding me.

Despite the pain, he still managed a smile. "I couldn't live without you. I had to save you." He said to me, comforting me even on his dying bed. He winced. It took much effort for him to talk.

"What about me? How can I live without you? You promised me, you promised to never leave me. Please, don't live me. Please-" my voice broke as I was overcome with grief. I cried tears enough to rival Niagara falls.

"I love you, but you must move on. I did what I did to save you, and I would gladly do it again." He said to me his voice ragged with pain and sorrow. "I love you very much. More than my life." Those were his last words to me before he passed away.

The sound of swords clashing, arrows whistling through the air and the shout of soldiers were all around me but I couldn't hear. My heart and soul were laden with sorrow and my eyes were blinded with tears. I couldn't think and I was numb with pain.

I had know idea I passed out when I found myself in a cold, dark room. Room was an overstatement. The stalls for the horses in the palace stable were larger than this room. The earthy smell and the sound of dripping water led me to the conclusion of being underground. It took some time but my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

I quickly analyzed my situation and realized what must had happened. The mission was a failure. What was supposed to be a touch and go mission turned into a bloodbath.

Fresh tears welled in my eyes. I had lost so many people. I dried up my tears knowing very well it was not time to grieve. I'll have enough time to cry later once I get out of this situation. I thought to myself.

I tried to get up but, I fell back down. I didn't even have enough energy to stand, how I my supposed to find a way out. The hopelessness of my situation hit me like a rampaging bull. I wanted to curl up on the floor right there and then but I didn't. I was not trained to give up. I couldn't even see where the door was in the room. I felt along the walls and finally made out the features of a door. Of course, this would have given me an advantage had I been stronger.

The only thing I could do was to wait in the darkness until someone decided to talk to me. The silence and darkness have me to much room for thought. The events that happened seemed sureal,Ike a dream. It was hard to believe. I closed my eyes. It as almost like I could hear the sound of the arrow and see the blood flowing.

I was feeling claustrophobic. The walls and darkness seemed to close around me. I couldn't stand the solitary confinement any longer. It will drive me insane. Finally, the door was opened and food and water was pushed into eat.

"Eat up!" A gruffy voice shouted at me. "The boss wants you to have some energy before he talks to you. I personally think it would have been better to kill you off and get it done with." I heard the sound of his receding footsteps echo in the the tiny cell.

I shuddered at the sheer venom in his words. They reminded me I was in hostile territory and that I should be careful. One wrong move and I will be kissing my life goodbye.

I crawled towards the food, which turned out to be a mouldy piece of bread. I stared distastefully at it for a while but decided to eat it anyway. I had no choice in the matter. I drank most of the water and used the rest to wash my face. I felt a bit refreshed, but not strong enough to kick butt.

I settled down and decided to get some rest. My energy was depleted and there was no use wasting more of it fretting about like my grandma looking for her glasses.

The rattling of keys in a lock woke me up. The door was swung open and what I supposed was a man stepped into the cell. I couldn't see very well in the darkness.

"Hello," a rich deep voice called out to me. "How do you like your new accomodation?"

The nerve of him. "How dare you hello me you monster! You have locked me up without reason and you still have the nerve to hello me." I spat at him.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, why so much anger? Can't we all behave like civilised people."

"Civilised, you dare tell me to be civilised. You ambushed my men and killed them all in cold blood and you tell me about being civilised. I'll show you civilised when my fist meets your face!"

"Indeed, the women are always feisty." He chuckled softly to himself.
"Well then, why don't we go right down to business. I'm sure as smart as you are, you've probably figured out who I am."

"Indeed, all I see is a selfish, bloodthirsty monster standing in front of me. A person who kills and plunders without remorse. You're are a sorry excuse for a man."

"Do not speak of what you do not know of." He responded, my comments having clearly affected him.

"What I do not know of?" I demanded. "All I know is that you have locked me up and killed all my comrades. You steal from people who work hard to satisfy all your selfish needs. You care about no one and because of you, my love is dead." I was practically shouting now.

"Selfish! You dare call me selfish! All of you aristocrats are a bunch of lying, scheming, people. People starve whilst you gouge on the hardwork of the people. Children die of hunger and you talk to me about being selfish.

"At least I don't kill people!"

"You don't kill people," he said incredulously and laughed. "You and your royal friends kill more people than I could ever. People starve to death and you imprison them when they try to steal because they have no choice. You are the monsters."

"Who do you think you are, some sort of Robin Hood?" I asked scornfully.

"No, someone who wants to do the right thing."

"If this is what doing the right thing means, then you are doing an amazing job." My voice was dripping with unsuppressed sarcasm.

He glared at me and the intensity of his gaze scared me. I stumbled back in shock. He stomped out of the room.

"Make sure you lock the door, and guard it day and night." He ordered the guards.

I sat down. The little courage and strength I had completely deserting me. All the pain and grief I was holding in came out like a n overflowing dam.

I was not ashamed to cry. I knew I had to be strong but sometimes, the tears make you stronger than ever. My tears remind me that I can still feel pain, they remind me that I have been loved for a heart that feels pain is a heart that has been loved. I allowed all my anger and grief out. The tears like fresh rain that leaves everything greener and clearer. My body racked with sobs and I cried like a newborn baby. I didn't know for how long I stayed like that or when I fell asleep but when I woke up, I felt refreshed. The pain was still there but it wasn't as searing as the furnace that had consumed my soul and heart before.

The slot in the door was opened and food was pushed through it. "Eat up quickly. The boss wants you to take a clean bath and change out of your muddy clothes."

I drew closer to the food. It consisted of runny stew and bread. My brain protested. I didn't want to eat this but my stomach won.

I finished the food quickly and knocked on the dungeon door. "I've finished eating." I called out. The door was opened and the guard came into the room. He picked up the bowls and led me out of the room.

"Jessica! Jessica!! Jessica!!!" He bellowed. A young girl who looked about the same age as me scurried to is.

"I'm here." She said  stuttering, clearly frightened. "What are your orders?" She bowed low to the big beefy guy whose name I later found out was Patrick.

"Yes my lord." The girl, Jessica said with a bow.

"Come along my lady," the girl said to me, "the bathhouse is this way."

I followed along meekly until we were out of sight and hearing of the guard.
I saw my chance and I took it. I tripped the girl with my leg and run off. I didn't get far though, I was pinned against the wall from behind.

"Where do you think you're going," a very familiar but sinister voice whispered in my ear. I recognised it to be Jessica's voice. "Do you really think the boss will allow just anyone to go along with you? He is very much aware of your reputation."

I bit my lip to stop the tears from flowing. Since when did I become a snivelling weakling. Of course I shouldn't have underestimated them. I struggled with her for a while. "I didn't expect you to be soo strong." I said, giving up. I was too weak to fight back.

"And I didn't expect you to be soo weak." She said. This was an intentional jab to my ego. I prided myself to be one of the strongest women and I could go toe to toe with any man.

"Leave me alone." I growled at her.

"Such brave words for someone pinned to the wall." She said scornfully. She roughly took me by the arms and hauled me forward. She dragged me along. We passed many rooms and hallways before we got to the bathhouse. In the dim light of the bathhouse, I finally got a look at my captor. She had long auburn hair and large green eyes. Her hair was tied in a lose ponytail which suited her beautiful face. She narrowed her eyes at me, "don't try anything foolish at you might not live long enough to regret it." She smiled at me, a sinister smile that made me shiver.

I decided to ignore her and walked into the one of the bathrooms. I  walked to the one of the mirrors. I looked a mess. My thick, curly dark hair was matted with blood. My smooth dark face was now sullen and lined. I looked like a shadow of my former self. My beauty which had been a source of pride for me as well as my strength was no longer with me. I felt lost and hollow. I took a deep breath and decided to work on my hair. I washed my hair with shampoo and rinsed it with water. I rinsed my face with soap and water. I looked in the mirror again. I looked better than I did a few minutes ago but I still had a lot of work to do.

I took of my blood stained clothes and got into the bathtub. I rubbed myself with a sponge until I felt sore all over. I emptied out the dirty water and filled the tub with warm, clean water. I got into the tub and had a long, sweet soak. I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up, I saw fresh clean clothes laid out for me outside the bathroom. I shuddered at the thought of one of these people seeing me naked. I should have been more careful. I wiped my self with the towel and put on the clothes I was given. It was a simple yellow day gown and shoes. I walked out of the bathhouse, ready to face what the day had in store for me.