Dedicated to xx_staygold_xx who went on a huge voting and commenting spree, totally spamming my notifications and making my day! Thank you for the support, I couldn't stop smiling! :) x 
~~~

Tristan left the ball feeling exuberant and joyful. The ball had been a huge success and had run smoothly – and to make it even more perfect, he had managed to spend some time with Rose. He chuckled to himself as he recalled her expression when Suzanna saw them together. He probably should have told Rose he had confided in his sister, but he had so badly wanted to see her reaction. He had not seen Rose for the rest of the evening – not even from a distance, but he had been distracted having to socialize with the guests.

He left the ballroom and nodded to a few of the guards on duty. He began walking to the staircase that would lead to his chamber, tired and eager to rest.

"Tristan," someone called quietly. Tristan looked around curiously, half expecting to see Rose waiting for him. He blinked when in the distance he noticed his sister. He walked up to her and was surprised to see her face anxious. Next to her stood Mistress Eudora who had her hands up to her cheeks in worry.

"What is wrong?" Tristan asked as he approached them.

"Rose is missing," Suzanna stated. Tristan's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets.

"What?" He asked, as his heart plummeted.

"I gave her a break from serving, Your Highness," Mistress Eudora began.

"And when I saw her she said she was going to step outside to clear her head," Suzanna continued.

"And?" Tristan pressed.

"She never returned, my lord," Mistress Eudora whispered. Tristan stopped himself from bolting out of the room in search for her – he needed facts.

"Have you searched the castle? Perhaps she is only resting in another room."

"We have searched everywhere we could think of. The servants and guards have not seen her since she left the ballroom," Suzanna told him. The breath was sucked out of Tristan. A pain so great swelled from his heart as panic flowed through him. Rose... missing.

He turned around and tried to catch his breath; it would not help anyone to panic about losing her. She could not have been gone for more than a few hours. Perhaps she was safe and just taking a walk. But with the current threat of the rebel group, Tristan knew it could not be true. Something had happened to Rose.

Tristan clutched his chest. His heart seemed to ache at the thought of her being gone. How could he lose the one thing that was most precious to him? Rose... He needed to find her and bring her home. Tristan turned around to look at the women.

"Where was she when she told you she was going outside?" He asked Suzanna.

"The hallway by the library," she responded with wide eyes.

"Oh, my lord, you do not think something terrible has happened to her?" Mistress Eudora asked anxiously.

"I do not know, but I am going to find out. I will find her if it is the last thing I ever do," he vowed. "If she was by the library, she probably went to the closest exit of the castle. Excuse me." Tristan turned and ran in the right direction. He gestured to a few of the guards to follow him.

Tristan ran to the closest exit from the library – a small door in the side of the castle. He stepped through and looked outside anxiously. No Rose. A groan caught his attention. Just up ahead, a man was on his knees, struggling to stand up. The guards raced forward to help him.

"Elijah, what happened?" Tristan asked his knight as he was pulled up. Through the darkness, Tristan could see Elijah's face was almost white. Elijah spat on the ground and rubbed the back of his head.

"That bastard Eliad knocked me out with the hilt of his sword," Elijah hissed. Tristan went cold. It was if time itself had stopped. Eliad.

If Eliad had Rose, he could - and probably would - kill her.

"Who is Eliad?" A younger knight whispered quietly to his friend.

Tristan turned to them to explain. "Eliad Kane was once a Knight in our region. He was caught in the act of treason – he tried to poison my father. He had concocted a plan to murder the King, and it is believed he murdered people beforehand. That bastard should have been executed long ago for his crimes – and he would have been, if his lackeys had not swept in and saved him. He disappeared nearly a decade ago. If Eliad has returned, it means he has a plan." The Knights' exchanged worried glances. "Elijah, did Eliad have a girl with him?"

Elijah shook his head. "Nay, my lord, he was alone."

Perhaps Rose had been taken after Elijah had been hurt. Tristan moved to study the ground nearby, he hoped he could find where Eliad had gone. In the moonlight he could just make out the signs of small footsteps – it was likely they were Rose's. He followed them until they stopped next to where Elijah had been. Her footsteps did not continue from there. He strained his eyes in the darkness, hoping to find the tracks of Eliad. He could not find anything – had Eliad covered his tracks?

Tristan widened his eyes as realization struck him. The covered tracks matched the concealed tracks of the rebel group. Eliad was the rebel group – he was probably the leader and mastermind behind it. But why had he taken Rose? Tristan breathed in deeply as he looked out past the castle and into the night. There was only one place Eliad could be going, only one place Rose would be taken.

"Eliad has taken Rose into the woods. We must leave at once. It is time to end this once and for all – we will not leave the forest until we find this group of rebels and cease their plans," Tristan instructed.

"Sire," one Knight spoke up nervously. "You cannot leave without consulting the King and assembling a tactical plan."

"Then I will find my father now and leave in an hour," Tristan declared. His heart raced with a burning restlessness – he would not cease until he had found Rose and had her safely back in his arms.

Tristan marched up to his father's chambers, but a guard stopped him before he could enter. Tristan glared at the Knight, furious at being stopped in his pursuit of Rose. Every second he wasted was another second that she was taken further away. He could not afford to waste time – Eliad could plan to have her killed.

"I need to see my father," Tristan said to the Knight.

"My lord, he has retired to bed. He ordered me not to let him be disturbed. You will have to wait until the morning," the Knight responded calmly.

"This cannot wait. Let me in at once."

"I cannot ignore the command of the King, Your Highness." The Knight stared at Tristan, unblinking and unflinching. Tristan huffed out a breath and turned around angrily. The pent up energy inside of him was almost unbearable. How could he wait until the morning to find Rose? He walked to a window and looked out at the darkness. The gloomy shape of the woods could just be seen. Rose was in there somewhere, moving further and further away from him.

He could not wait until morning. He had to go after her now. His father would be angry, but the safety of Rose was the most important thing to Tristan. Tristan turned away from the window and caught the arm of a nearby passing manservant. The servant looked at Tristan calmly and waited for Tristan to speak.

"I need you to go to find the stable boy and tell him to ready my horse immediately," Tristan said. The servant bowed his head.

"Of course, Your Highness." He left without another word. 

Now to find Samuel. Tristan ran down the hall, hoping he could find his friend still in the ballroom. He almost let out a cry of relief when his hopes were proved true. Samuel stood talking to a few of the remaining guests. Tristan caught Samuel's eye and gestured for him to come over. Samuel bowed to the guests and walked over to Tristan.

"Ye-" Samuel began.

"Rose has been captured by Eliad and is being taken to the forest. I cannot wait to speak to my father – I leave immediately. I need you to explain the situation to the King tomorrow and have him send out a group of my Knights after me," Tristan interrupted. Samuel blinked.

"You cannot go alone; there are far too many dangers and predators in the woods."

"I have to, Samuel," Tristan insisted.

"Then I am coming with you. Gadiel can speak to the King instead," Samuel suggested, referring to Tristan's third in command. Tristan would have smiled if he was not so worried. He could ask for no better companion than Samuel.

"Very well. You find Gadiel and pass on his instructions. I will meet you in the stables." Samuel nodded and they parted ways. Tristan left to change and gather his sword and equipment.

I am coming Rose, hold on.

~

The first thing Rose became aware of was a very constant, very uncomfortable thudding motion against her cheek. She opened her eyes slowly and was alarmed to find she could not see. Before she could panic, she realised that her head was covered by something. Where am I? What happened? She forced herself to think through the fog in her mind. With a silent gasp, she remembered being hit in the head at the castle. The back of her head ached painfully in confirmation.

Rose slowly became more aware of her surroundings. She could hear the sound of horses' hooves and the constant chirping of crickets. There were no voices. She was lying uncomfortably on her stomach, presumably slung sideways over the back of a horse. The constant thumping on her cheek must have been coming from the rhythm of the horse's movements. Rose tried to raise her hands to pull off whatever was covering her head, but she realised her hands were tied together behind her back. Panic filled her.

Was she in danger? Who had taken her – and why? How long had she been unconscious? Had people realised she was missing? The horse moved suddenly, causing her to bang her head against its side. Rose groaned as pain flowed from her wound.

"Halt," someone said. "She is awake." The horse stopped moving. The thing covering her head was suddenly removed. She gasped and blinked a few times. Rose raised her head; it was night and she could just vaguely make out her surroundings. There was no one in front of her. She gasped when she realised she was in the woods. Tree after tree surrounded her – there seemed to be no clear path, no logic to where she was.

Suddenly she was yanked up harshly and pulled off the horse. She landed before she could catch herself and crumpled to the ground. She looked up anxiously to see three horses towering over her. Two men sat atop two horses, and another man stood on the ground with his arms crossed. Rose shrank back as she stared at the formidable figures. She could not fight them off – and even if she could, she had no idea where she was.

All at once she felt very small.

"Are you sure this is the right girl?" One man on a horse muttered.

"She matches the description," the other responded.

"But I thought-"

"All right, that's enough," the man on the ground said gruffly, effectively stopping their conversation. "It is her. I do not make mistakes. Now tie her up and put her on the horse properly," he ordered. One of the men dropped down from his horse and approached her.

"No!" Rose cried, trying to move away from him. With her hands already tied behind her back, it was difficult to get very far. The man reached her and pulled her up by her forearm. "Let go of me," Rose ordered, trying to wiggle out of his grasp. The man said nothing but hoisted her up into the air by her waist. Rose kicked her legs, but her efforts proved futile. She was placed onto a horse sideways. Before she could kick the man, he grabbed her ankles and tied them together with a rope.

"So you do not try to run away," he sneered, grinning and revealing one missing tooth. Rose wrinkled her nose in disgust. The man who had been standing on the ground pulled himself up onto the horse behind her. He placed his arms around her so he could reach the reins.

"You may as well get comfortable, Rose. We have a long way to go," he told her as the horse began walking. Rose shrank away from him as far as she could without falling off.

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" She asked, terrified. The man did not respond. Rose tried to observe him out of the corner of her eye.

The man had short, almost black hair. His beard, likewise, was short – more like stubble. His eyes were a light green colour. Rose would have thought him to be awfully handsome, if not for the fact he had kidnapped her, tied her up, and refused to answer her questions. He was dressed in brown leather pants and a green long cotton shirt with a brown leather doublet over that. Very odd.

Rose gasped inaudibly when she realised his appearance matched the description Keira had given her of the man from the rebel group. Was this the same man? It had to be. What did he want with her? Was he dangerous? Would he try and hurt her? Rose swallowed and closed her eyes, fighting away panic.

Oh God, help me. I am alone with three men whom I do not know. I do not know where I am and I do not know what they are going to do to me. Help me, please save me. I am scared.

Rose opened her eyes slowly. Tristan. Surely he would come for her when he realised she was missing. Surely he would not rest until she had been found. Rose looked out into the blackness. Hurry, Tristan. Hurry.

Rose observed her surroundings. Perhaps she would eventually find a way to escape and could make her way back, or at least to the point where Tristan could find her. Inside her heart, she knew it would be futile. The woods were almost impossible to navigate, so vast and chaotic were they. She would probably make herself more lost.

That begged the question – how did these men so effortlessly seem to know where they were going? Rose could not even figure out what direction they were headed. How would Tristan ever find her?

An idea came to Rose and she widened her eyes in excitement. Perhaps she could leave a clue for Tristan. On her feet were some simple working flats. She could kick them off easily and the men would probably not notice. Slowly Rose wiggled her feet. It was much harder than she thought it would be with her ankles tied together. One shoe slipped off the heel of her foot. She only had to point her foot and it would fall off. Rose held her breath and let the shoe fall. It landed on the ground without a sound. None of the men spoke or made a move that suggested they realized what she had done. She released her breath with a racing heart.

She waited about five minutes before she began working on her other shoe. She did her best to keep her head raised and shoulders straight, so that the men would not suspect anything. The shoe fell off a moment later with a quiet thud. Rose held her breath. The men did not seem to notice the sound. She sighed and relaxed her shoulders. That was all she could do for Tristan right now. She prayed with all her might that Tristan would find the shoes and be able to follow them.

It was about an hour later that the men stopped to stretch and relieve themselves. Rose was pulled off the horse once more, and once more she crumpled to the ground. With her legs and arms tied she was completely unable to move. She was grateful for the long, full skirt of her dress as she was easily able to hide her bare feet under the material.

She sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, watching the men warily. They took turns relieving themselves so that she was always watched. The two other men she had not observed before bore a remarkable resemblance to each other – she assumed they were either siblings or twins. Both were muscled and appeared fit; they looked like well-trained warriors. Both had short blonde hair, pointy noses, and gruff expressions. Rose wrinkled her nose and looked away. Their relentless stares intimidated her.

The man who seemed to be the leader returned and observed Rose briefly. He turned to one of the twins.

"Untie her legs so she can stretch, but hold onto her so she does not escape," he ordered. Rose paled. The man would untie her ankles and see that she no longer had shoes on. Rose curled up as tightly as she could and glared at the approaching man.

"Do not touch me," she warned as ferociously as she could. The man simply rolled his eyes and squatted next to her. He yanked the bottom of her skirt up roughly, ignoring the cries of protest from Rose. He was untying the rope calmly when the leader approached. He took one look at Rose's feet and glared.

"Where are your shoes?"

"I must have lost them when you first kidnapped me," Rose said innocently. The man's glare did not cease, and Rose did her best to keep her innocent expression intact.

"I am certain you had them on," he replied, his hand resting on the top of his dagger.

"Nay," Rose replied as her heart raced. What would happen if they realised what she had done? Just how dangerous were these men? If they had willingly poisoned Keira's father, then surely they would have no qualm with harming Rose.

"Garrett, did she have her shoes on when you tied her up?" The leader asked, turning to the twin who had paused with untying Rose. The man called Garrett looked up with fearful eyes.

"I... do not remember," he said slowly. He swallowed loudly and fidgeted in place. He was obviously scared of the wrath of his leader.

"Gah!" The leader spat, glaring furiously at Garrett. He turned to stare at Rose with a cold, harsh glare. Rose shrank away from him fearfully. "If you try to escape, I will knock you unconscious again. Is that what you want?" He challenged. Rose shook her head as she felt the blood drain from her face. "Where are the shoes?"

"I-I do not know," Rose stammered. The leader tightened his grasp on the hilt of his dagger that rested in its sheath. Fear almost overwhelmed Rose. Would he try to kill her? Could he actually do such a terrible deed?

"You are lying," he said angrily.

"I would not lie," Rose lied.

"ARGH!" The man released a cry of rage. In a heartbeat he had his dagger flying toward Rose. The dagger flew past her ear and landed in the trunk of a tree behind her. Rose gasped and her body shook. She stared at the man warily. "Next time the point of that dagger will be in you, and not in that tree," he warned as one of the twins went to receive the dagger. "Now where are the shoes?" He asked quietly. "WHERE ARE THEY?" He roared when Rose did not answer. The tip of his sword came to rest against Rose's throat.

"They-they fell off," Rose cried out as the point of his sword dug into her skin.

"Fell off... or perhaps you pulled them off," he murmured. Rose closed her eyes and swallowed. She did not answer. "Since you are so eager to be without your shoes, perhaps you will not mind walking the rest of the way – you obviously have no need for mere footwear," the man stated. The tip of his sword moved from her throat and Rose opened her eyes. "My horse could do with a rest – carrying two people is such a burden for the poor beast. You will walk behind us. I have never tried it myself, but I have heard walking barefooted through the forest terrain is awfully painful. Thorns, pine needles, roots and rocks... imagine them digging into your skin," he taunted.

Rose stared back at him blankly – she would not show him how defeated and scared she felt. She would not show him that his words filled her with fear. The leader turned to his men after a moment. "Tie her hands in front of her," he ordered. The twins instantly moved to approach Rose.

She stayed still as they worked at the knots holding her arms behind her. As soon as she felt the bonds loosen, Rose swung her fist out forcefully towards the closest man – Garrett. Her fist met his nose with a fair amount of pressure, but it appeared to do little damage to the man. Garrett groaned and held his hand up to his nose, but other than that he did not react.

"You little brat," he hissed behind his hand. Rose turned to try and hit the other twin, but he caught her fist mid-air. She swung her other hand out, hoping to catch him unaware. Another hand reached out to catch her own. It was the leader. His hand squeezed her fist tighter and tighter, until she felt sure he would crush her fingers. Rose let out a whimper and tried to pull away from the man. The leader stared at her with an evil glint as he began to bend her arm behind her and twist it.

Rose tried to bend with her arm as it twisted further behind her. Pain shot up her arm in warning. It was agonizing. Her arm bent more and more until she was sure it would snap.

"Stop," she begged, gasping as her arm screamed in protest. "Please, stop!" The leader paused, seconds away from breaking her arm.

"If you ever try to escape again," the leader whispered dangerously, "you will be punished. Do not test me, Rose," he warned. Rose whimpered and closed her eyes submissively. "Do not touch my men again." The pressure from her arm was released and she gasped in relief. Her arm felt bruised and tender, but at least he had not broken it.

The twins made quick work of tying her wrists together in front of her. Garrett finished untying her ankles. Rose was tempted to run, but the fear of what would happen if she was caught held her in place. The leader nodded, satisfied, as if realising Rose would not try to escape again.

Another rope was connected to the rope around her wrists. It was long. One end was tied to her hands, and the other was connected to the saddle of a horse. So the man had not been lying about making her walk. Rose's heart pounded as the men mounted their steeds. She took one nervous step. Immediately the terrain of the forest bit into her skin. She winced quietly. The horses began moving forward, but only at a walking pace so Rose could keep up. The rope pulled taut and Rose was forced to walk.

"Where are you taking me?" Rose cried as she was pulled along. At first Rose did not think any of them would respond, but finally the leader turned in his saddle to look at her. Each step was painful. In the darkness she could not see where to step to avoid the sharp objects. Her dress seemed to snag on every twig that they passed.

The leader smirked and finally spoke. "We are going deep, deep into the forest. Far, far away, where we will not be found."

Dread filled Rose as she stared into the blackness of the night. Oh God, save me.