Young Writers Society

She rolled onto her back, gasping for breath, and tried to ignore Kaynen’s pathetic gurgling. The stars above her seemed to dance and bend before her eyes. Her arm shot out and grabbed her captive’s heel . “Don’t think about it, kid.”

“B-b-but why d-do you-you-you-you want me-me?” he screamed, tired and terrified. “I-i-i - d-didn’t do-do anything.” He tried to crawl away again at her cold laughter but wound up beating his fists against the ground, her fingers digging painfully into his skin. Overwhelmed and too worked up to have any endurance of any kind, he soon gave his beating away to sobbing, and that soon wound down to desperate panting as tears continued down his blotchy face. "J-j-j-j-just let me-me-me g-go." He lifted himself up and twisted himself around to look down at her face. "I-i-I won't t-t-tell anyone." He wiped his snotty nose with his hand. "P-p-please Eira."

She studied him silently and let him go just as suddenly as she'd grabbed him. She took the edge of her tunic and began to rip it.

He sat up, his breathing returning to normal. His front was mud smeared, and his shoes were completely ruined. "Th-th-thank you-you." He didn't move as he stared at the unfamiliar landscape, hiccupping.

"Don't," she said shortly and pulled at the strip of cloth she now had, testing its strength. "You have two choices as I see it, Kaynen." She tied one end to her own wrist, knotting its expertly, and looked up at him, unable to keep a smirk away at his puzzled expression.

"Wha-what are you-you d-doing?"

"Preparing to give you your choices." She cleared her throat and said calmly, "Either you can run as fast as you can and I'll catch you and beat you up a little or you can cooperate with me." She met his wide eyed gaze with a still one of her own. "I'd suggest the second one."

"You-you're n-not l-l-letting me go?" He flinched when she laughed again.

"No. I'm not letting you run back to take Daddy's place in charge, to tell everyone exactly who killed him."

He stared at her, staggering to his feet. "You-you-you k-k-k--"

"Killed him," she finished for him, looking incredibly nonchalant about it. Groaning, she stood as well and watched him carefully. "I'll catch you if you try to run. Don't do it. Use your head, Kaynen." She glanced at the sky, as if asking for help, as his lips started to wobble again. "Don't start that again."

A tear slipped down his cheek, and he started backing away from her, shaking his head. "L-leave me al-al-alone! You-you-you're a-a-a-a murd-d-der…er." His face was scrunched up with the effort of speaking, and he was watching her with the flat, unseeing eyes of a trapped animal. The more agitated he got, the harder it was for him to spit the words he wanted out.

She prowled forward, her staff swinging easily against her leg, the strip of cloth wrapping around it, bright green against the worn grey wood. Now that he'd made his decision, she wanted him to run. Her legs shook, and her mind was fuzzy with exhaustion, but she was ready to teach the brat a lesson he wouldn't forget.

He squeezed his eyes shut, still shaking his head. "D-don't. D-don't. P-p-please d-don't." Tears ran down his face. His nose started to run.

Eira continued to approach, slowly measuring her steps, so she didn't reach him too soon. The fear was part of the lesson. It would never slip his mind to be afraid of her again, and since they were going to be spending a little time together, that was a lesson he was going to have to learn now.

When she was too close for Kaynen to think she was bluffing, he turned in an attempt to flee, but he never had a chance, not even if he had run from the beginning. His breath was coming in shallow, high pitched sobs as he felt her steps thundering behind his own. They were quicker and didn't pause when his stumbled, sprawling in the mud. He let out a shrill scream when she caught him, whirling him around, and threw him on his back. He wriggled underneath her when she straddled him, pushing her staff underneath his trembling chin, so he had to wheeze instead of gasp. He soon gave up though, going completely lax underneath her, refusing to meet her eyes. He stared sullenly at the hill he had just come down.

One hand still firmly holding the staff, she grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. Leaning down, she hissed in his face, "You will never run again. You are mine to order around. You will do what I tell you to do. You will not argue. You will not cry. If you do, I will kill you." She leaned down on the staff, and he started struggling again in earnest as his air was completely cut off, kicking wildly. She got off of him, scoffing when he curled up in a tight ball. "Give me your arm."

He stuck it out, glaring at her with bloodshot eyes that were still watery. "I-i-I… hate… you." He seemed to focus on each word to make sure it sounded like he wanted it to.

She met his glare evenly. "That's okay, kid. Hate me." She tied the other end of the strip around his wrist deftly. "When we're too far away for you to be dumb enough to risk it, or when I decide to trust you, I'll cut the cloth, not before."

He stared at his chain darkly, pulling at it. Her knots weren't coming loose. He clenched his jaw, so it would stop trembling. "That-that-that's my-my g-good hand."

"Learn how to use your left." She laid down, her body and mind demanding sleep. She opened one eye when Kaynen crawled as far away as the cloth would allow, about three feet, and stretched his right arm out. She shook her head as he turned his back to her and brought her left and across her chest, jerking him closer to her. She closed her eyes for true sleep then.