Obey!

"Let her live, and I will do what you say," you tell him as calmly as you possibly can. "Kill her, and I... I swear to you, one of us will die next."

The giant relaxes his hand slightly, and Trina draws a ragged breath, but she lacks the strength to do any more. He reaches into a large pouch at his side and pulls out a set of iron manacles. "Lock her hands," he says, tossing them to you.

"Did you kill Abdul?" you ask him.

"Lock her hands, or she dies."

His eyes are absolutely cold and bereft of anything that looks human; you have no doubt that he will do exactly as he says, and then easily overpower you if you tried to avenge Trina's ****. And, you don't truly need him to answer; this must be the man who crushed Abdul's skull. You pick up the manacles and approach Trina slowly. Her arms dangle at her sides; the giant is allowing her to breathe, but only enough for her to remain barely conscious.

"Run," she manages to whisper, turning pleading eyes to you; the giant tightens his grip for just a moment to silence her.

I cannot, you tell her with your eyes alone. You reluctantly place her wrists into the irons, and as you slide the bolt in it feels like you drive it into your own heart.

Once Trina is chained, the giant tosses you a black hood with the eyeholes sewn shut. "Put it on, and get on your knees," he says.

Again, you do as he says. Once you have done so, you hear a soft thud as Trina is dropped to the ground, and a deep gasp as she draws in a desperately-needed breath. For a heartbeat, you think of leaping back to your feet and putting up a fight; but you know you would stand no chance, and such a rash action would only get both of you killed. You hear approaching footsteps, the clank of a second set of irons, and your own hands are soon manacled in front of you. Then, the giant pulls you back to your feet, with surprising care, as if he does not want to injure you in any way. He puts a rope around your neck and tightens it enough so that it will not slip off, but not enough to **** you - yet.

"You take that horse," you hear the giant say. "You will ride. Try to run, and he dies."

"Only - cough - the King can ride... that horse." Trina's voice is weak, but it lifts your heart (if only slightly) to hear it at all!

"Tell her," the giant says, and he gives your rope a yank - not enough to hurt, but enough to make it very clear the position you are in.

"Do as he says, my Lady, and do not lose hope," you tell her. It was a good attempt at subterfuge on her part, as it is well-known that Steelheart has been trained to allow no one but you to ride him; it is much less well-known that he has also been trained to accept the Kingsguard as riders. But either the giant knows this secret, or he does not care.

"Yes - cough - Yes, Sire." You hear the clank of her chains as she struggles to climb into the saddle, and then the shuffling of hooves as Steelheart adjusts to the weight of a rider.

The giant picks you up and tosses you over your horse's back, just behind Lady Trina. She tenses for a moment, clearly feeling the impulse to put the spurs to Steelheart's flanks and escape with you, but the rope is still around your neck and she knows the consequences of such an action.

"We go north," the giant says. "If one of you talks, the other will be hurt. If one runs, the other dies. Go now."