Abducted! (Cass, Dante, Henry)

[Dante Grixis]

Dante gagged and bound the marauder. As he was tying him up he whispered into the man's ear, "You're lucky my friend is so forgiving. I would've just killed you."

"About an hour." He replied to Henry and started walking at a faster pace then before. They were getting close now, and soon they could rescue the girls and be home by tomorrow evening. Dante heard some noise, it sounded like a struggle, echoing through the woods. He cursed inwardly and drew his swords out, if they killed Gill and the other girl than Henry would most likely forfeit his own life in revenge. Dante began to run towards the noise and after a few moments came upon a girl alone in the woods. She was bleeding slightly and Dante wordlessly put cloth over the wound and held it in place with another piece he tied around her arm.

"How much further ahead are they?" He asked quietly as he took a step back from the girl.

[Henry Renold]

Henry struggled to keep up with Dante, despite his more agile frame and the determination that he had found. The other boy never seemed to tire, but in truth it was probably better that way. Henry rarely needed an excuse to get moody.

It was a bit of a blur when Dante rushed off into the trees. Knowing something was wrong, Henry backed himself up against a tree, nerves on edge. Something was wrong here, he could sense it.

"Where is she?!" A voice yelled suddenly and Henry froze- Someone is here. He silenced his anxious breathing as best he could and listened, trying to make out exactly where they were coming from.
"I can't believe you did this!" Another gruff voice spoke, he sounded angry at the first man but the reason why was unclear. As the pair emerged through the trees though, Henry could see that the first speaker was holding a heavy sword and was covered in blood- seemingly not his own.
"If we don't get our money, I'll kill you myself. Shame she didn't!"

That was enough to force Henry into overdrive. With a surge of adrenaline he leapt from his hiding place behind the tree and clung to the blood-covered mans back, digging his nails in as hard as he could. All he could think of was Gill. This man had hurt her, taken her and he would pay for it.

"You dog! You filthy excuse for a man!" Henry was fuming and as much as the big man struggled against him, Henry was wily and quick and he managed to avoid most of the mans blows at him, swinging to the left and right like some sort of animal. In truth he felt like an animal, feral and angry.
It didn't take the other man long to notice his friend was in trouble and he began pulling Henry's legs, stretching him out above the rough ground. If Henry were to let go of the larger man, his face would surely be smashed to pieces on the ground, but he was losing grip fast and there was no way to free his legs.

He suddenly remembered how Dante had said that subtlety and caution were an assassins friend and wished for once in his damned life he had listened. He could feel every muscle in his torso and abdomen stretching as far as it could and pain seared through him. There was only one thing for it, and with a click he undid the catches to his blades.


The mans body crumpled like it was made of paper, spraying blood from the six inch gash in his neck. Henry landed on top, the other man still gripping his legs but from fright rather than anger now. It was easy to escape him and he held a blade to his throat too, his eyes dark and wild. Never in his life had he killed a man like that, but something about it had felt good. Just.

"Walk away." He said calmly, and without another word the kidnapper turned to flee. "But before you go..." Henry caught the mans cloak and pulled him close, close enough to feel the mans rapid breathing on his cheek.
"Tell me where she is."

Before the man could answer voices broke the silence and without another word, the man was gone.

[Dante Grixis]

Damn it Henry!! Dante cried out in his mind as he heard a fight break out behind him. "Wait here." He said to the girl and gave her a reassuring look as he grabbed his blades and bolted off to the clearing where he heard the fighting.

He entered just in time to see Henry kill one of the men. He winced slightly as he watched blood spray onto his friend. He also saw two more men approaching Henry with swords drawn. Time seemed to move in slow motion. If only Henry had waited... Dante had to act not to save Henry. He ran forward and jumped over Henry's form on the ground just in time to intercept one of the mens swings.

Unfortunately he hadn't blocked it. The sword cut a deep line across his face and down his chest. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground as his own blood began to seep from the wound. His armor was old and didn't hold against the powerful swing. It was excruciating but not life threatening. Not yet anyway.

Dante stabbed up and drove his blade into the stomach of one of the two assailants and sent him sprawling to the ground in a heap of blood and gore. Dante called out to Henry as the fourth and final marauder ran towards Henry.

Dante gripped at his chest and traced the line of the cut. It went from just above his right eye to the left side of his navel. Blood was beginning to burn his eye and he hoped that Henry would be able to deal with the other man because Dante knew that he was useless in this fight.

[Lady Gillianne Auvray]

The edge of the forest.

The men came to a standstill where the line of trees thinned to scrub, and stared out at the distant fields of another land. Gill shuffled forward in order to hear what they were saying; the man in charge seemed angry, and was exchanging heated words with the others. "We were supposed to meet them here... the edge of the forest." he shouted, kicking at the ground angrily as he spoke.
"Maybe they had trouble with the other girl?" the man holding Gill's rope piped up.
"I doubt it."
"Or maybe they took 'er to sell for themselves, keep the money that way..." This came from a man who Gill had not heard speak one word the entire journey. His face was gaunt and he reminded her of some kind of serpent, he amused himself by cleaning some dirt from under his nails with a dagger.

The group fell silent, and everyone including Gill turned to look a little way back into the forest where crows wheeled out above the treetops, shrieking in some disturbance.

"You reckon that's them?" one inquired. The man in charge looked back over his shoulder, thinking, then made his decision.
"We've got time 'til the cart arranged gets here. We'll double back, see if it's the others with the lady."
"The lady?" Gill piped up, suddenly interested, "You mean Casalynn? What have you done to her? Is she al--" here she was cut off by a swift backhand from the man in charge, which split her lip and silenced her immediately. "Raff, you stay here with the wench. Keep yourself amused, and if the cart comes early hold it 'til we get back with the other girl..."
At this, the leader and two men turned on their heels and headed in the direction of the disturbance at a swift pace. Gill looked over to Raff, the snake-like man, who her rope had been handed over too. He regarded her with piercing eyes, and a menacing look that sent a shudder through her body.

"So my pretty..." he began to coil the rope around his arm, reeling Gill slowly towards him, "What can we do to kill some time?" He laughed to see her struggling and glancing around the forest as if someone or something might help her.
"We're quite alone, no need to be so nervous..." Raff crooned, grabbing her forcibly by the arm when she came within reach.
"Don't you dare touch me!" Gill cried, pulling away and elbowing him sharply in the face at the same time. She ran full pelt in the opposite direction into the forest, but no sooner had she gone a few metres did the rope suddenly snap taut and she fell forward onto her face. She rolled over onto her back with a groan, her nose and mouth bloody, to see the man's tall, dark figure towering over her. He knelt down, keeping her pinned to the ground.

"Now that was a big mistake..." he snarled. Gill screamed.

[Casalynn Laymont]

It took Casalynn a while to wind her head around what had just happened. It was all over so quickly she barely had enough time to take it in. Her once bright, clean elegant dress was now dirtied and covered in mud. Her cloak had a build up of bark at it's bottom where it had dragged messily behind her, taking most of the forest floor with her. Casalynn decided to take a quick rest; her energy was not at its best after having no food or water for a day or two but she was just glad at least she had had some rest. Cass felt her stomach growl in complaint and with a swift breath she ignored it and proceeded to compose herself before carrying on her journey.

Her eyes widened when she heard the sound of footsteps following behind her. Were there more than just the two men who were out to get her? She internally panicked and froze still as a man of whom she did not recognise approached her. Silently the man placed a cloth around her wound and asked how much further they were. Cass had no clue who the man was and was not ready to trust him with that sort of information. For all she knew he could be one of the men looking to catch up with the rest of his gang and he did look a little 'shifty'. She dropped her eyes to the cloth on her arm and back up again as the man told her to 'wait'.

No way Her mind told her and she watched as he left her line of vision. She tried to remember her position and with muffled footsteps she continued to run frantically. She was glad that a few nights ago had brought some recent rain as mixed in with the trees fallen leaves it hid her footsteps very well. She hoped that the men wouldn't follow her and all she wanted was to feel safety again. Her bare exposed feet connected with the mush ground giving her a cold sensation which made it's way up her body. She shivered as a ripple of cold wind tore through the trees followed by an ear splitting whistle which echoed through the forest.

"Ahellian iodan staepe" She whispered, the trail of footsteps began to disappear behind her, covering the holes with a fresh layer of thick mud; albeit a different colour from the already black, stale mud from the night before but she was running too fast to notice she was in fact making it worse. Cass stopped in her tracks when she heard a distant scream, sounding almost muffled as if it came from miles away. She tried to pinpoint the location she had heard it from and changed the course of her direction to follow it.

[Henry Renold]

Blood was everywhere.

Shortly after Dante had been cut, Henry had sprung into action once more, spurred on by his urge to have revenge. He leapt from the ground to his feet, and in one swift movement, practically cleaved the final attacker in two. The spray of crimson covered Henry from head to toe and hastily he rubbed it from his eyes, spitting and cursing.

With the last of the immediate threat dealt with, and as soon as his face was clean enough to see, Henry ran to Dante's aid.
"Are you ok?" He said, forcing the boys head back so that he could inspect the wound better. He was no healer, but it didn't look so bad, not yet anyhow, but the amount of blood seeping from his wound was incredible.
"You need to get yourself back to Camelot. This could get much much worse. Can you walk?" Henry was torn between his love of both Gill and Dante, but he knew he had to choose Gill this time. Not only did he know how Dante's situation stood, but he also knew he was strong and full of determination. Who knew how Gill was?

A ear shattering shriek suddenly interrupted the boys and Henry knew straight away that it was Gill. She didn't sound too far away and without a second thought for poor Dante, he was gone.
He soon came upon the edge of the forest, and glance ahead at the foreign land that stood before him. He had never been this far away from the slums before and it felt strange to know that there was a whole other world out here. Perhaps one that held more promise than Camelot.
He glanced left at a whimpered noise to see the silhouette of a man standing over a crumpled form on the ground.
"Gill"Henry whispered and slipped back inside the trees, his heart beating a thousand times a minute. Somehow he had to stop this situation before it got too far but his head was mixed up and he didn't know what to do. He struggled to think of Dante's advice and teachings over the last few months and as he did so he rubbed his temples, closed his eyes and walked backwards, right into the thick trunk of a tree.

[Lady Gillianne Auvray]

Gill writhed on the ground, hoping to squirm free of her captor's vice like grip around her wrists. Her legs felt numb under the weight of his body pressing down on them. She tried to roll on her side, but her body was firmly pinioned and only her head free to move. As she glanced to the side she could have sworn she could see a figure standing in the trees. Everything seemed the wrong way up, and her dark hair masked the view. She had barely screamed "Help, please!" and the figure was gone.

The man was distracted, if just for a moment, looking in the direction of Gill's scream and she managed to loosen one of her legs, bringing it up with all the force she could muster the hit him in the fork of his legs.

The man made an oddly subdued cry of pain, and toppled off of her with an "Oof," his eyes watering but still tightening his grip on her wrists to keep her on the ground. In this new sitting position, Gill twisted round to where the figure had been standing. Trees, and nothing more. The man, red-faced now, had partially recovered and turned back to her with a murderous glint in his eye.

[Henry Renold]

As Henry's back smacked hard into the rough bark of the tree something clicked into place. His eyes flew open, his jaw was hard set into a grimace and he gripped the trunk with such force that he felt part of it crumble into his fingers.
Somehow now, he knew what he needed to do, and with a determination like none he had ever experienced before- even when fighting the black knight- he walked forwards out of the trees.

He could see the man now, forcing himself onto Gill, trying to clamber on top of her and Henry began to run. His feet pounded the ground and blood pounded his ears as adrenaline kicked in, forcing Henry to leap forwards right onto the thugs back.

He bit, he scratched and he spat as the man struggled against his grip. Henry may have started out with the element of surprise on his side, but the man had strength and had easily managed to knock Henry off of him and onto the floor.
"Leave her!" Henry yelled kicking up at the mans stomach with his feet. He flew a few feet back, giving Henry enough time to spring into his feet, quick as a cat, and assume a low position where he might have some leverage against the other.

Despite being bruised and in a serious amount of pain, Gill's captor kept coming back. He laughed, a gentle hiss through his missing teeth that made the hairs on the back of Henry's neck stand up and no matter how hard he tried Henry just couldn't seem to get the upper hand.
He knew that within a couple of second he could have his blades unsheathed and the man laying dead before him. But he didnt want to kill in front of Gill.

Again and again he kicked out, punched and dodged attacks but still to no avail. He couldn't see Gill now, didn't know if she had run into the trees for safety or if she was still on the ground somewhere. He hoped Dante would arrive soon, if only to look after Gill while he distracted this guy.

Suddenly amonst all of the noise of a normal fist fight, Henry heard a familiar sound. The soft scraping of blades on sheaths. He turned just in time to dodge a heavy swipe from one thin rapier blade but left himself open to another flick from the other. The blade sent a short spurt of blood from his arm and Henry yelled, twisting under the blades which kept coming over and over.

He needed to do something and fast.

[Dante Grixis]

Dante quickly made a makeshift bandage and put it over the wound to stem the bleeding. He then jumped to his feet and half blindly staggered towards the sound of the fight that was coming from through the hedge line. The blood and bandage made it impossible to see out of his right eye and he sheathed his blades. Fighting in this condition would only get him killed.

He peeked through the brush and saw Henry fighting with another bandit and Gill laying on the ground. Henry looked like he could handle this himself, or so Dante hoped. He quietly made his way through the brush and over to Gill and gently grabbed her arm. "We have to leave. Now!" He whispered and pulled her to her feet and in the direction of some thick brush. They would be hidden, but he could keep an eye on Henry. It would also give him the chance to attend to Gill's wounds as well as his own.

[Lady Gillianne Auvray]

Gill squeezed her eyes closed, sure that she was going to die at the hands of this man. She clenched her fists tight, waiting for the inevitable...

And then suddenly his weight was gone from her, and Gill breathed out sharply, wondering if this was what dying felt like, and if it was... it wasn't as painful as she'd anticipated.
"Leave her!"
She opened her eyes as these words were shouted to see her captor on the ground a little way off, and another man crouching close to her. Her eyes widened in recognition... and she opened her mouth to form the words 'Henry?' but nothing came out. Just about managing to pull herself into a sitting position, she watched the fight before her in mute awe feeling like she was watching a theatre show. Was Henry really here? Why? How was he fighting so adeptly? Had he come for her on purpose, or was in just a coincid--

"Henry!" this time the words flew from her mouth in a scream as the man Henry was fighting drew, what looked to Gill, a small sword and slashed at him. Blood fell heavily from the wound, splattering on Gill who was close by his feet. She made an odd choking noise, somewhere between a scream and a gasp when she felt his warm blood on her own hands. It wrenched her heart to see Henry injured. Someone grabbed her arm, and she turned around clawing like a wildcat, expecting it to be another one of the kidnappers.

"Wh..what?" Gill stammered, freezing as she looked up into the eyes of Dante, the man she had met in the pub a few days ago after Henry had been thrown in prison. What was he doing here? This was all too much for her to comprehend, and she allowed herself to be have led, half carried away from Henry and into the scrub. As soon as Dante's arms loosened their grip she slumped to the ground in a daze, her head swimming as if with drink.

"Is Henry? Why are you here, do you know? The men, Casalynn... Henry, he's hurt..." she babbled incoherently staring at Dante's legs, and ending by thrusting her palms covered in Henry's blood towards him.

"You have to help him."

[Dante Grixis]

Dante calmly began to look over Gill and saw that her wounds were not great, mostly small scratches and bruises.

After her incoherent babble episode was over Dante began to explain. "Henry and I heard that you had been kidnapped while we were in the Bear. He convinced me to come along with him to rescue you, because the King wasn't going to send anyone. We've been tracking you for over a day now. I was wounded during our fight with the first set of kidnappers and I don't think I can help Henry."

Through his one eye he looked at Gills hand's and saw Henry's blood. "I'll explain the rest later." He said quickly and dashed through the bushes, ignoring his own wounds, the blood dripping from the bandage on his face, and drew the throwing knife he had stashed in his boot. He saw the wound on Henry's arm, it wasn't big, but it was bleeding a lot.

"Oy!" He yelled. The man paused and looked over his shoulder to face Dante. Dante cocked back his arm and let the blade fly end over end towards the marauder. Ranged weapons were not Dante's strong point. It stuck deep into a tree near the attacker, but he was distracted. This was Henry's moment of opportunity, and Dante prayed to God that Henry would seize it.

[Henry Renold]

Henry swung hard with his blade ignoring the searing pain and flood of blood from his arm. He had lived most of his life with pain of one form or another and this was nothing- especially when he had Gill's safety as his number one concern.

He slashed and he struck out with his feet whenever he got the chance, but the villain was bigger than him, stronger than him and Henry couldn't see any advantage of being small and agile when faced with such a brute. He tried his hardest, to break the man down or to cause him some injury that might slow him, but it was to no avail and Henry was beginning to tire.

Just when Henry didn't think he could go on, a voice broke the silence making both Henry and his attacker turn. Dante stood with a long, heavy blade in his hand and Henry winced as he saw the state of his friend. A blood soaked bandage covered one eye, and more blood coated his arms and face. He had never seen anyone so strong look so desperate and wounded but it made Henry want to fight all the more.
Catching Dante's good eye for just a second was enough for Henry to know what was coming next and he stood back, waiting.

Click, Click
As that tough blade struck the tree, the thug in front of him laughed and turned back to Henry who was ready and waiting, and with one swift movement- cut his throat. Blood spurted like nothing he had ever seen before, covering him in yet more blood. He coughed, spitting it from his mouth as in front of him the man sunk to the ground.

The only thing on his mind then was Gill. He screamed her name, running to where she had been when he last saw her. Not finding her there, he sank to his knees, tears streaming from his eyes as the revulsion at his murders and the relief that it was all over now overwhelmed him, as well as the worry that she might not be alive anyway.

[Dante Grixis]

Dante walked to the tree and grabbed the knife from it and slid it back into his sheath. He then walked to Henry who was panicking. He wasn't sure if it was because he had just killed three men or because he didn't know where Gill was. Regardless dante dropped to one knee and pulled out a piece of cloth and began to wipe the blood from Henrys face and patch up the cut on his arm.

"She's alive." He said quietly. He knew that was the only thing that he wanted to hear right now. As expected he attempted to stand and Dante forced him back to his knee. "Wait! Do you want her to see you like this?" He half grinned and it showed from the side of his mouth that wasn't covered with a bandage. He helped Henry finish cleaning himself up and let him go, motioning to the bush where she was hidden. Dante sat down on the spot and began to pull the blood soaked bandages from his face and reapply clean ones. He figured it best to let Henry's reunion with Gill be private.

His bleeding had mostly stopped, but small amounts still seeped out from the gash in his face. He tied the cloth tightly to his face and laid down on the ground and stretched to relax. He hadn't slept in over a day now and he was tired. He barely took note of the bleeding, still warm corpses that lay a few yards away from him as he closed his eyes. He wasn't going to fall asleep, just relax until Henry got back.

[Henry Renold]

Henry struggled to form sentences out of the barely audible noises that were his words. After he had got over the worst of his panic and terror and Dante had firmly told him to stay still, he sat quietly until Dante had cleaned him up as best he could, although nothing could clean the blood from his hands as far as he was concerned. Still, with his bloody shirt drying stiff and his hair stuck to his forehead he finally mustered the courage to go and see her. Gill.

As he walked to where Dante had told him she was waiting, he tried to imagine what this reunion would be like, he hastily tried to scramble an apology together but found the words were missing from his mind. Suddenly, without warning she was there in front of him. Pale and tired looking and almost completely hopeless.
Despite having worried constantly on the way here about what he was going to say, suddenly Henry knew exactly what to do. He rushed to her side, enveloping her in a suffocating hug and burying his face into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." he cried into her unusually scruffy hair. "I'm so sorry."

[Lady Gillianne Auvray]

When Dante left, Gill remained sitting on the ground, her confused mind turning the actual time of a few minutes into a seeming forever. She pulled her trembling legs up to her chest, hugging them tightly. She was only dimly aware of the sounds of fighting ceasing and a distant scream of her name. She began to focus purely on the red welts the rough ropes had chafed around her wrists, it was like looking at a picture, Gill couldn't feel anything. They must hurt she thought to herself, and concentrated on nothing else until she was aware of the pain pulsing through her, everywhere. She could feel all her bruises, aches and cuts now with a painful clarity, but it also drew her out of this temporary reverie and back into reality. Gill stood, gasping at a pain in her chest when she breathed in, if she'd had been better at biology or medicine she would have recognised it as a broken rib immediately.

All thoughts of bodily pain disappeared as she turned to face Henry. He was wounded and looked about as rough as Gill felt. She stared at him, unmoving, a confused tumult of thoughts racing through her mind: Henry saving her life in the tavern. The palace kitchens. The orchard. The prison. The stocks. Since she had known Henry, Gill had swung between feeling inexplicably drawn to him, being rejected by him and hating him.

All of these thoughts were condensed in the tiny fraction of time that lapsed before Henry threw his arms around her. After a few moments with her face buried in Henry's shoulder, feeling his wet face against her neck, she pulled sharply away holding him at arms length,
"You saved me again." she acknowledged in a quiet voice and then suddenly slapped him hard. Before he would have had a chance to react, she threw her arms around him and fervently kissed him, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. She was forced to pull away after only a few moments (she couldn't breathe properly), but kept her arms wrapped tightly around his waist,

"Don't leave me again, don't ever leave" she mumbled, speaking these words into his clothes, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand and wincing when it stung. When she finally let go of Henry, she still kept her hand firmly gripping his as if afraid she would lose him.
"There's so many questions." she half-whispered, trying to explain her bewildered state of mind, "How, how did you find me? Who are you?"