Highborn

If I tried to flee now, I'd end up tripping and falling flat on my face. Not to mention that was assuming he didn't make me do anything else while my shadow was bound to his. Why the hell was this happening to me? Things were looking great for me, but now I'm being kidnapped by some asshole who thinks I'm someone else.

I fell forward when the man released me from the shadow bind. I would have hit my face had he not caught me, his disgusting arm wrapped around my belly, pinning my arms flat against the sides of my chest. I fought against his hold fiercely, squirming and swinging my hips to dislodge myself from his grip. Unfortunately, he was just too strong and held tight.

He grabbed my wrists, forcing them behind my back in an x pattern. He stole the duct tape that I dropped on the floor after he released me and used it to bind my wrists. Twenty wraps around my wrists, first horizontally, then he did another twenty between my wrists, taping vertically over the horizontal wraps. Having secured my wrists tightly, the man did another twenty passes around my stomach, gluing my hands to my back.

I was not a prisoner to this awful man. My tears flowed freely as he forced me to the ground. I squirmed violently, grunting on the dirt path, praying someone would save me.

"Might have stood a chance against me if you had tried to fight earlier, girl."

"N'm nrh r hrcchnng hnghhrrn!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Sit there and behave, brat, I got a phone call to make."

True to his word, the man pulled a cell phone from his back pocket and began dialing a number. I wasn't going to just sit here, waiting for whatever terrors awaited me in the near future. I only got a few feet before he planted his knee in my back, pinning me in place.

"Inform the client, I have the girl. It'll take me three days to meet his associates in Aegris. And tell that dragonborn snob I expect payment on delivery." He cut off the phone call, putting the phone back in his pocket. "I thought I told you to behave, bitch?"

"Hrcch mrr hrncch!" I shouted from underneath my gag.

"Sorry girl, but you're worth a lot of money to someone. You'll be their problem in a few days. Till then, you'll be in the trunk."

I wasn't sure how long had passed since my kidnapper threw me in the trunk. I kicked as best I could in the metal confines of my prison. My fight did little to relieve my anger or earn me freedom. Bored out of my mind and exhausted from struggling, I felt a wave of sleepiness set in. I spent so much energy fighting only to end up just tiring myself out. With nothing better to do, I concluded rest was in my best interest. I'd need my energy back whenever he takes me out of this trunk.

My captor shook me awake, the sun just starting to set. We had stopped in some grassy plains in the middle of nowhere. I didn't get the chance to fully wake before as my captor pulled me from the trunk. After sitting me down on the road, leaning me against the back of his car, he tore the strips of tape off my lips in a painful quick motion. He sat down across from me, holding two bags of food. One filled with apple slices and the other filled with cookies. My captor pulled out a green slice of apple and put it to my lips, close enough I could bite.

"Eat," he ordered. I kept my mouth pressed shut, breathing through my nose and refusing to comply. "Look, I don't like you, you don't like me but you need to eat. No point starving yourself."

"What do you care? You kidnapped me, asshole!"

"Finally going to admit who you are?" He asked.

"I'm not a highborn. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that. Maybe if you got it through that thick skull of yours, we wouldn't have to deal with each other."

"So that's a no. You realize it's pointless to lie. I will not let you go, even if you are the wrong girl."

"How are you so fucking sure, huh?" I barked.

"Cause I'm a seeker, brat. You almost convinced me you weren't when I watched you for the past few days. You seemed like such an ordinary lowborn. The second I used my seeker magic to be sure, I could sense the extensive dragon blood in your veins."

"You're delusional. I am a lowborn. My adoptive parents raised me as their own, never once lying to me. Hell, they even told me they adopted me when I was born while I was still a kid. If I was a highborn, they'd have told me."

My captor took a bite of the apple, chewing on both it and my words. It felt like the silence developing between us had gone on for ages. Then he took another bite of the apple, finishing it with a loud crunch. My hunger was overwhelming me as I watched the jerk eat. I was a moment away from snapping at him to share when he put a slice of apple to my lips. I huffed, resigned to obey for now, and took a bite of the tart green apple slice.

"You really believe that you're a lowborn, don't you kid?" My captor asked.

"I don't believe, I know I am."

"Then I'm sorry to break it to you so late in your life, but there's no arguin'. There's dragon blood in you. Unreal amounts too."

"You... You're wrong."

"Cecilia, I got no reason to lie to you. Prince Erik paid me over six hundred thousand gold to find and capture you. And now I'm getting another four hundred thousand to deliver you. I'm not risking that much gold over a potential case of mistaken identity."

I didn't know what was more shocking, that someone was hired to kidnap me or that Prince Erik, a son of the king, was paying an insane price to have me captured. If he was telling the truth about his employer, then I really was a highborn, right? Why wouldn't Bella or Mervus tell me I was a highborn? Did they even know?

A concerning question entered my mind. What would one of the royal princes want with me? I was a nobody. There was nothing special about my life that stood out as interesting enough to catch the attention of a prince. There had to be something I was missing. Maybe this man would know.

"Do you know why the prince wants me?" I asked.

"Didn't need to know, so didn't ask."

"Oh..." There was a light tremble in my voice that he picked up on. "What... What did you do to my parents?"

"The stand-ins? Or your real folks?"

"Both."

"Didn't know your real folks. Never even heard of your name before they sent the contract my way. The stand-ins, well they would have noticed you were missing."

"No... you didn't... please no."

"Sorry kid. Had to be done. I don't leave loose ends."

"You... You killed them?" I asked, hardly able to believe the words.

"What? No, I didn't. I just convinced certain police officers to turn up your 'dead' body in a few days. Everyone you know will think you fell down a cliff, winding up a corpse. Better it looks like an accident then killing two people in cold blood. Would make crossing borders a lot harder."

I breathed a little easier knowing my parents would be safe. Though, my heart shattered knowing they would mourn thinking I was dead. That they would have to endure such sadness was another torture in this living nightmare. He prodded my lips with another apple slice, staring at me, silently ordering me to eat.

"I can feed myself, you know."

"I'm not cutting your hands loose. Deal with it."

I let out another huff and took a bite of the red skinned sweet apple slice. It surprised me the fruit was relatively fresh. As a lowborn, I was accustomed to more... rotten produce. Fresh fruit, veggies and meat was a luxury reserved for highborn and dragonborn. The lowborn had to make do with scraps, yet another social injustice just because a person wasn't born the right way.

"What were you studying?"

"Does it matter?" I countered.

"Considering I'm the only person you're gonna get to talk to for the foreseeable future, I'd thought you'd want to have some conversation when I feed you."

"Human biology. I wanted to be a doctor."

"For the money?" my captor asked. I scoffed at his juvenile question.

"You probably find this hard to believe, but I want to help people. I'm not a greedy person like you... whoever you are."

"Straze. My name is Straze."

Straze pulled a cookie this time for his bag of food, offering it for me to bite. I happily took a large bite of the chocolate chip snack. I tried enjoying the food while I could; Straze might not be so kind later on with food.

"You seem more... docile." Straze gave me another cookie. "Good thing you can do that, no one likes a bitch."

"Don't call me either of those things. I don't appreciate slander, Straze."

"Hit a nerve have I?." Straze took an apple slice for himself. He chewed it slowly while his eyes examined my body. "Surprised you didn't have a boyfriend, you're quite the looker."

"I'm so flattered by your compliment I feel disgusted. Good job."

Straze let out a disappointed sigh, pushing yet another apple slice to my lips for me to eat. I continued to eat the slices of apples and cookies Straze fed me. I must have hit a nerve because Straze had gone silent. As the food dwindled, my interest in Straze rose.

Was he an evil man? He could be doing this job to feed his family back home or something. Highborn or not, no human really lives well these days. Surely there had to be a reason he was being so gentle, caring even. Straze wasn't forcing food down my throat, he wanted me to eat willingly, trying to convince me when I wouldn't. This probably would be my one time to ask questions about him, I guess.

"Why did you take the contract to find me?"

"Need the money."

"What for?" I replied.

"Personal."

His curt tone and short replies were enough for me to know it wasn't something he liked to talk about. Bad guys normally didn't have those things which to me meant that he had something he needed to protect. What could it be? A family? A sibling he promised to look after? A girlfriend? My interest only grew the more I thought about it.

"Too personal to tell someone who might not be live much longer. Don't you think I deserve something before you hand me off to be slaughtered."

"You don't know he'll kill you."

"Stop dodging the question."

"Why do you want to know so bad huh?"

"Cause I... I don't know."

Straze put the bags of food down on the ground. He closed the distance between us, giving me the first whiff of the vanilla aroma that danced lightly around him. I always loved the smell of vanilla since I was a child and the smell on him lowered my defenses a little. I wouldn't have noticed the small change in my attitude had I not been hyper focused on the moment.

Straze was so close he could kiss me. I felt the heat rise in my cheeks, nervousness dominating my mind. A few inches were all that separated our faces, his body hovered just as close. All I had to do was lean a bit more into him. Why would I want that though? Could I be finding myself getting attached to him? Abruptly he pulled away, sitting himself back in his spot.

"I have a little sister, names Alli. She doesn't know what I do but I do it for her. We haven't lived any better than a common street beggar since our parents passed away. After I found out I was a gifted, able to use both shadow and seeking magic, I started doing these jobs."

Straze's expression was stern, almost lacking any expression. There was a little shift in his posture when he grabbed a cookie from the bag but he never broke eye contact with me. The intensity was intimidating, almost making me want to hide away.

"Eventually, I had done enough work to get us some decent clothes and food. The pay got better the more I did. I used the extra money to buy us a home and necessities. Once the real money started rolling in my sister was able to attend classes. I bought her a tutor to catch her up. She's barely a teen and I'm giving her a better life than our parents had."

Straze took a deep breath before leaning back, his two hands pressed into the road steadying him.

"Couple times she asked me how I got all this money. I never had the heart to tell her." Straze slowly moved his eyes back to mine. "So what will I do with the money? I'll buy Alli a better life than she can ever dream of."

I was speechless. That story, the way he told, it all felt so real. There was no way that could have been made up. The tale didn't stop me from wondering what she would think of the things he's done. Kidnapping people who would end up as slaves, whores or murder victims isn't exactly something an innocent girl could stomach.

"You get your hands dirty, so she'll never have to," I commented offhandedly.

A short time later Straze had polished off the rest of the meal. Finished with the food, Straze pulled me up and threw me over his shoulder. I let out a yelp of surprise and frustration of being handled like this. Instead of throwing me back into the trunk, Straze instead helped me into the back seat of his car. He buckled my seatbelt, then disappeared to fetch something from the trunk. When he returned, I paled, for in his hand was the roll of duct tape.

"Oh, come on. Who will help me out here!?"

"Sorry but I don't take risks."

Straze's apology amounted to jack shit as he pressed strip after strip firmly over my lips, keeping my aggravated groans to a low grumble. Satisfied I wouldn't be screaming for help, Straze threw the roll onto the seat next to me. Slamming the door shut. Being in the back seat was definitely nicer than the trunk. For starters, it was a comfortable leather and wasn't a dark prison. I could see where I was going, even if I didn't know where I was.

Taking in the sights helped distract me from my situation a little, but fears of what a prince wanted with me lingered in the back of my head. A prince wouldn't pay so much, or even pay someone at all, to fetch him a whore. So what was I to him? Was there some secret to my past I was missing?

"Obviously I'm fucking missing something. It wasn't even a few hours ago I learned I was a highborn. There were likely to be more secrets hidden in my past, obscured in the misty corners of my mind."

It amazed me, with the vast openness that made up the rest of Yulum. I had only visited Port Town and Tilithan. Most of the inner land in Yulum was empty miles of grasslands. Occasionally, we'd pass by a farm or a small village, but it was considerably barren away from the coast.

Straze made another stop some hours later, when the sun had finally set and the light of the moon shined on the road. We stopped in a small town with gravel roads. The sign just outside of the city said "Welcome to Velia". Straze stopped the car in front of a large, wooden building with a rotting sign nailed above the entrance. The symbol carved into the wood was used to mark human friendly inns and taverns.

"Maybe I could get someone here to help me."

Straze had gone in alone, leaving me in the car pondering if I would spend the night in this stuffy car. It was comfortable to lie in, but I was hoping I'd at least get the chance to stretch my aching muscles. Not to mention the added benefit of being able to cry for help. After what like an eternity, Straze returned wearing a triumphant grin. He opened the trunk, pulling out a few bags, then came to open my door.

"I paid off the innkeeper and got us a very secluded room. Before you think you can plead with him to help you, I paid even more to get him to look the other way. So do me and the other guests a favor and keep your voice down. You trying calling for help and... well, you won't like what happens." Straze unbuckled my seatbelt, then tore off the tape on my lips, causing a loud yelp from me. "Got it?"

"Fine," I replied angrily.

"Good."

Straze pulled me out of the car, sweeping my leg the moment I was upright putting me into a bridal carry. I flushed, both surprised and embarrassed, as Straze carried me inside. The outside of the inn looked like just another average building among the town, the inside however, was a different story. The floors were chipped, pieces of wood lying everywhere. Rugs of scratchy wool covered a few places, which judging from the damage that poked out from underneath, were the worst parts of the floor. The walls were the best-maintained part of the inn. Fresh coats of paint and several pictures of varying sizes. The paintings themselves looked cheap, but it was better than nothing, I suppose. The entry hall lacked any tables or seating. There was a long desk towards the back of the hall, an elderly gentleman standing behind it. Straze and the man exchanged a nod of understanding. I scowled at the old man for letting his greed dominate him. After seeing my expression, the man quickly bowed his head in shame, refusing to meet my eyes again.

"Coward," I thought spitefully.

Straze made a left-hand turn after reaching the front desk, down a long hall, going further and further until we reached a wooden door labeled "17". Setting me down, Straze fetched a key from his pocket, using it to open the door. With our room for the night unlocked, he pulled me inside the dark room. When Straze lit some oil lamps, I got my first glimpse of the poorly kept room. The bed, oddly decent looking, had a mess of sheets piled atop the mattress. Pillows had been thrown around the room in various locations.

.

"Couldn't have sprung for a nicer room?" I goaded.

"Oh, shut it. I've slept in worse places than this. You can always go sleep in the car."

I groaned, both my options shitty, but at least it was warm inside and the bed was comfortable. I shook my head, agreeing to stay in the room with him. Suddenly, I felt my face flush from the thought of having to share this bed with him. I tried desperately to hide the embarrassment from him, but he caught it quickly.

"Don't get so hot and bothered, girl. I'll sleep on the floor."

"How do I know you won't slip in the bed and rape me while I sleep?"

"You think I need to wait for you to sleep to rape you?" Straze stole some sheets, laying one out on the floor where I assumed he would sleep. "So do I have to tape your pretty mouth shut again? Or you gonna be quiet?"

"I'll be quiet if you cut some of this tape off. I just want to stretch a bit before bed." Straze scratched his head, pondering my request.

"Fine. I'll cut some of it off. Wrists stay bound."

I sighed, disappointed that I couldn't flex my wrists, but at least I could get up and walk around. True to his word, he cut every wrapping of tape around my legs and the tape that pinned my hands to my back. Strangely, he didn't mind watching me stretch my legs or walk in circles around the room. It was kind of creepy the way he kept staring at me, as if my movements tempted him to let the devil within have its way with me.

I tried hard to ignore him, stretching out my legs on the edge of the bed. I looked over to my left, a window left open to let a cool night breeze in. The moonlight shone brightly through the portal into our room. I examined the large luminous sphere in the star-filled sky. Since the moon controlled the tides, many considered the moon to be the spirit of Akylios often praying to it for succor. So for the first time in my life, I closed my eyes and prayed to the dragon goddess of water. There was a slight tingle in my back, then my hands and feet. The sensations quickly faded, leaving me feeling confused from the unnatural nature of their occurrence.

"You religious?" Straze questioned.

"No, I don't believe in gods. Although I guess I do now. Tried praying to the moon for safety."

"From me?"

"From the prince."

Straze said nothing more after that, not that I minded. The silence was pleasant, and easy to fall asleep to. Pulling the sheets over my body was an unpleasant task and took over five minutes just to get it over my body. The asshole was already fast asleep by the time I got the sheets to cover me. I contemplated running, hoping that I could make it to one of the guests for help. Fear was too significant of a factor, knowing he could just catch up and use magic on me anytime, So I remained in bed, closing my eyes. There was a shift in the weight on the mattress that woke me up. The muscles of my body tightened, anxiously wondering what was going on. I could smell the faint scent of vanilla that Straze had on earlier. Why was he in my bed? He said he would leave me alone. Straze disturbed my sheets, but instead of pulling them down, he pulled them over me.