Captured by the Elves Ch. 09

He said, "Well now, that's right cute that is, blondie," He was silent for a moment. Then: "It's very rude as well. You know, I already got me the cutest elf girl, and my lord agrees that she's the one. So, I just don't really need to bother with another, do I?"

He drew back his arm. I beat against him with everything that I had, but it was to no avail. He ignored me. Lloyd struck Katania in the face with his gauntlet and a spray of blood coated my face. Katania fell back into the water and ceased moving.

"No! "I screamed. "Why? Why?"

Could I even explain it to Lloyd what he'd done? The answer to his lord's personal quest was right there in front of him, and he...gods...he destroyed her.

Lloyd sighed--shaking the blood off his gauntlet. "Look at this mess," he said. "I've lost some good men today. Then again: it was a bit of fun, wasn't it, cutie? Alright, time for us to get back."

Lloyd turned to begin the trek back. He attached a leather cord and a collar to my neck. I fought and he grabbed my throat.

He said, "You know better, don't you, darlin'? You're the smart elf as well as being the cute one."

"You killed her."

He shrugged. "You mean blondie? Well, it's possible. Sometimes I forget how strong I am. Comes in handy."

He yanked on my leash. "You be a good girl, and you won't end up the same."

Lloyd was about to turn around and start back when I heard the sound of steel crashing into steel. It was one of the most visceral things that I'd ever experienced. Something warm and wet hit my face again, and I realized that Lloyd had coughed up blood onto me. From behind him, there was a voice, and though I couldn't see the person I knew her husky voice intimately.

Ericka said, "Guess who's back, Lloyd. All those hours that I spent polishing this armor...I was going to learn where the weak spots were. But you didn't think that someone as weak as me would ever do this, did you?"

Ericka had retrieved the short sword that Katania had dropped, and buried it to the hilt in the big man's back.

The big man let go of me. He looked to be fighting against all creation to move, but couldn't do it. In a way, I suppose that, despite everything, I felt bad for him at the end.

Ericka told me to move away from him. She stepped around Lloyd and took hold of my leash. "Are you all right?" she asked.

I nodded. "Katania," I said. "We need to help her."

Ericka agreed. She turned to Lloyd. "Well, time for us to go. Here, let me help you out, big man." She tensed, and then with all of her strength broke the blade off of the sword while it was still inside Lloyd.

"Oh, sorry, Lloyd," she said. Then with a mighty kick she sent the big man over the falls and there was a mighty splash in the river below. That was the last that I ever saw of him.

I scampered over to Katania, and pulled her out of the water. Ericka came over and helped me get her to the shore. It had been shallow fortunately, but Katania wasn't moving.

I remembered some of what Braith had taught me. I turned Katania's head to her side. I pumped her chest with my hands. Then I blew air into her mouth. When I was tired of doing it, I had Ericka take over. Then we switched back.

After a time, Ericka said, "Look, I'm very sorry, Kiari, but we lost her. You were a soldier. You know that it happens."

I kept trying. "She's important," I said. "It's her, don't you see? She's the one!"

Ericka understood, and assisted me with renewed effort. After several minutes of struggle, Katania took a ragged breath.

"I can't believe she's alive," said Ericka. She pulled her up. "Let's go," she said. "Lloyd would've had men standing by. We need to leave now."

I followed, and as ragged and beaten down as we were, we set off towards home.

Note: Thank you guys for your interest. I'm sorry that it took so long. The day to day can be brutal sometimes. I considered splitting this into two parts, and maybe I should have. Sometimes things just work out the way they do. Feel free to rate the story and by all means leave a comment if your wish. I love hearing from you. I hold up my coffee mug as this is before work. Cheers, my friends.