章 25: Bitterbridge Part VI
Alysanne looks both ways and sees five men approaching them, two from one direction and three from the other. These men are not thugs or criminals, they are dressed in the clothes of the guards who work for the Merchant Guild. On their leather breastplates is engraved the symbol of a coin and a hand, a symbol that they wear with pride and haughtiness.
Those men look at her with lecherous smiles and two of them have visible erections. Alysanne feels like an icy hand has gripped her heart and it's squeezing.
`No! I will NOT be a victim!`
"What is the meaning of this Lucan?!" She turns her attention to Lucan and glares at him, her voice sounding high-pitched and with a hint of hysteria that only emboldens these nasty men.
"Master Alec is not at all happy with your father's rebellion, little bird." Lucan shows a toothy smile, showing his yellowed, crooked teeth. "But you don't have to worry your little head about it, good Master Alec is a noble and merciful man, we won't kill you."
Alec, she recognizes that name. He is one of the richest men in Bitterbridge, his family was one of the founders of the Merchant Guild of Bitterbridge and they enjoy enviable immunity as they have both the town guard in their pockets and several members of the court of Lord Caswell. In fact there are rumors that Lord Caswell's heir took Alec's daughter as a mistress and some believe the merchant is aiming to climb the ladder through a marriage with House Caswell.
That family is also the most unpleasant and greedy of all the leading members of the Merchant Guild of Bitterbridge, known for getting rid of their rivals, or anyone who crosses them using very dark and macabre methods.
Alysanne saw Lucan's eyes lower to her chest, she watched as his pupils dilated and as he licked his lips. She knows what these monsters plan to do to her, she knows what monsters do to pretty and helpless girls.
`I am not a defenseless maiden, I never have been and never will be!`
This is not the first time someone has tried to rape her, nor the second or third. Unfortunately, a beautiful young woman like her often attracts the attention of monsters like these men. The last time something like this happened it was Benton who intervened, back then he still didn't work for her father and yet he stood up to the two thugs who ambushed her and killed them both with a skill that a half drunk man shouldn't have.
That is why her father hired him as captain of the guard, and if his attitude were a little less hostile and antagonistic...
Before that it was Jeremy who always protected her, the same man she came looking for. Even when the boy's attitude was unpleasant and sour, he was always a decent boy and protected her on several occasions, for that very reason she was willing to risk entering the town to look for him. She owes him at least that.
Alysanne grits her teeth and mentally says farewell to the kind and honest boy she once knew, with Alec's men involved in this she is sure that her friend is already dead in some alley in this town full of vermin and dirt. When she opens her eyes, she relaxes her entire body and gives the impression of having given up, of defeat.
Lucan looks at her defeated posture and smiles even wider, he chuckles and unconsciously relaxes his grip on Alysanne's wrist. Feeling the grip on her wrist loosen she moves lightning fast.
("Your body is small and weak, you can't hope to surpass a grown man in strength or stamina. That's why you have to use every possible dirty trick, be imaginative, hit fast and hard where it hurts." -Damian`s Dirty Fight Tips)
With the speed of a snake that lunges for its pray Alysanne lifts her knee and strikes Lucan square in the groin. The traitor groans in pain as he feels his balls being crushed against his pubic bone and before he can move his hands to protect that sensitive and vulnerable area Alysanne knees him several times in the same place in a row.
("A common misconception is that a single hit to the groin will incapacitate a grown man. It does hurt, a lot. But a single hit won't incapacitate your opponent, it will only give you a few moments before he recovers. If you don't have a way to finish him in those moments, then hit him over and over again until he's crying on the ground. They say that the second hit on the groin hurts less than the first, is a lie: all hits in that area hurt." -Damian`s Dirty Fight Tips)
Lucan falls to the ground whimpering in pain, he falls hunched forward and as soon as he hits the ground he curls up in a fetal position. Alysanne doesn't wait a second as she doesn't want to give the men around her time to react, she kicks Lucan in the face leaving him completely dazed and bleeding from his now broken nose.
She turns her gaze to the men around her and quickly assesses the situation she is in. Two men block the street in one direction and three in the other, all five of them are shocked and still processing what just happened before their eyes in the last minute. She sees that more than one of them closed their legs and moved their hands to cover their groins, trembling slightly.
Alysanne takes a shaky breath as her mind calculates the best escape route. Her knee and foot throb with pain and she feels how every second the grip that that invisible hand has on her heart tightens. She also feels like someone has stuffed cotton wool into her airway making it harder for air to get into her lungs.
Moving her hand to the hilt of the dagger she's hidden under her dress, she discreetly pulls it out and crouches into the position Damian said will give her extra momentum when accelerating to full speed.
("Most bandits don't wear armor, the ones that do they usually wear leather or cheap iron armor. Common folk tend to underestimate the protection that a leather breastplate offers, and while it is not as durable as one made of iron or steel, it protects you quite well. A good leather armor can block slashes from a sword or treacherous stabs, of course, like a wooden shield, that protection is quite fragile and after several blows- Well, I'm deviating from the topic. When you fight someone with armor, be it leather or steel, always aim for the unprotected parts; those parts are many if you know where to look. The neck for example, the head if they don't wear a helmet,... " -Damian`s Dirty Fight Tips)
Alysanne runs in the direction where there are only two men and remembering her friend's advice she planned where to hit.
The two men snapped out of their stupor and prepared to intercept her, neither of them saw her dagger so they think she's just planning to run away. They crouch slightly and extend their hands. The street they are on is quite narrow and the two men are effectively blocking her escape route.
She doesn't slow down in the slightest, when she's close to the man to her right she places her dagger forward and grabs it with both hands. Alysanne feels her lungs burn but she ignores the sensation and tightens her grip on her weapon, and just before colliding with that man she jumps with all her might.
The man only catches a glimpse of the silver gleam of her dagger before it enters his slightly gaping mouth, slices through his lips, and plunges through his throat, the tip of her dagger sticking out the back of his head.
For a second time slowed down and Alysanne's green eyes meet the shocked eyes of a man whose name she doesn't know. She watches as his eyes unfocus and pupils dilate before his body loses its strength and goes limp.
Panting with exhaustion, Alysanne pushes his limp body toward the other man with a push that nearly saps all of her remaining strength. The other man instinctively grabs the corpse of his partner and before he can react properly Alysanne pushes her body forward.
`Almost there, I just have to get off this street and get to Iron Street.`
Her breathing is heavy and her heart beats like drums of war. She feels the beats in her ears, in her head and in every part of her body, it's almost like she has a hundred hearts beating everywhere.
Alysanne keeps running even when her whole body feels like it's turning to stone, even when air is no longer reaching her lungs no matter how much she breathes through her mouth and nose, even when little black dots start to appear in her vision and the world feels like she's on the deck of a ship on the open sea.
`It is as if I have a muzzle covering my mouth and nose preventing the air from entering my body.`
She feels something tackle her from behind and she crashes to the ground violently. She flung her hands forward to break her fall and heard a crack as her left wrist hit the ground.
The pain is fast and intense, spreading like wildfire, and the dull throbbing she feels throughout her body only intensifies it.
"You won't run away bitch." Growls a man above her. He grabs her by her hair and she grunts in pain. Her hair, her back, her leg, her knee and especially her wrist. The pain is everywhere and intensifies with every beat of her heart.
Alysanne feels her eyes water and she clenches her teeth, refusing to let the tears fall.
`I will not cry, nor will I beg. I will not give them that satisfaction.` She fights against the darkness that is taking over her being.
"I wasn't going to kill you but now-" He pants and growls like an animal. "Now you will suffer, you little whore."
The man pulls her hair and smashes her head into the hard ground. He starts pulling at the seams of her dress and she trembles with disgust and fear.
She no longer has the strength to fight or run, her whole body aches and every second that passes she feels how she is losing the fight against unconsciousness.
"Wha-" The grip that man has on her hair loosens and he stops smashing her head into the ground or trying to rip her dress off.
Alysanne barely hears the sound of something falling to the ground, metal crashing against metal before the man on top of her falls and pins her to the ground. She thinks she hears someone yell her name before everything went dark.
***(A while ago.)***
Damian is leisurely strolling through a market, he is whistling and looking at the products displayed in the many stalls that line both sides of the street. There are not many people in the market and therefore he is calmer and more relaxed as he does not have to wait in any line or worry about thieves.
The smell of corn frying on a grill hits his nose and he begins to salivate.
`It's been a few hours since breakfast.` He feels his stomach growl and decides that an aperitif wouldn't do him any harm.
The line at the stall selling fried corn and roast potatoes is very small, there are barely two men in front of him, and Damian patiently waits for his turn.
"Have you heard? Those traveling merchants set up a market on the outskirts of the town."
"I thought they were just rumors."
"No, I heard several people promoting it a while ago at the Marble Market."
"The Merchant Guild will not be happy at all."
The two men in front of him continue to gossip, Damian pays for his corn and as he walks away from the stall those words can't get out of his mind.
`It has nothing to do with me, I warned them.` He chews his corn and not even the delicious taste of fried corn can take away the bitter and sour taste in his mouth.
`It has nothing to do with me.` He repeats the same thing over and over again but his steps lead him to the Marble Market. `I just want to see who is promoting the market, just a quick look.`
Damian crosses a side street and freezes as he hears someone groaning in pain. He takes several steps back and after turning a corner he sees some blood stains that lead him to an alley.
There, lying on the ground, he sees a man bleeding to death on the ground with a stab wound to the abdomen and his body full of bruises. He recognizes that person.
"Jeremy!"
***
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