Rescue

One of the guards checked that Emily hadn’t been hurt while the other stormed toward Alan. She heard the taller man shouting at Alan as the frame lifted up, freeing her hands and her neck.

‘Come with me,’ the guard said kindly, trying to ensure that the girl was able to walk, but not wanting to touch her without permission. She staggered a little, rubbing her wrists and flexing her neck as they moved toward the little tent. Once inside she looked around as the man untied the door flap and allowed it to roll closed. He looked around for a blanket, or anything she could use for cover, finding nothing. He unclipped his breastplate and handed it to the girl. ‘Here, it’s not much. I’ll get you some clothes in a second.’ There was a small polystyrene cool box in one corner, and he fished out a bottle of water and placed it on the floor near to Emily.

‘Look,’ he wasn’t sure what to say. ‘Whatever just happened, it wasn’t cool. I’m sorry.’

Emily looked at him and smiled. ‘It’s fine, don’t worry,’ she said. ‘They just got overexcited.’

The guard nodded. ‘Well it’s not fine. You work here, and we are meant to look after our people when, you know…’ he tailed off. ‘Will you be okay here for a second while I get you something to wear?’

Emily nodded and the man ducked through the tent flap. She could hear the other man shouting, presumably at Alan. She could just about catch the drift of it, and it sounded like Alan was in the process of losing his job.

She thought back over the last few minutes. She was a little disappointed that she had been rescued from the stocks rather than escaping under her own steam. And the catch had come loose too, she was so close to being able to free herself, dammit! And the boys who had been crowding around her, for some reason the thought gave her a little bit of an excited tingle. Being close to her had driven them all a little bit wild; she had done that. Obviously none of it should have happened, but could she blame them? No, she blamed Alan for putting everybody in that position. And something else… pride? She was going to have to think this through. But for now, she had a job to do. She was Alexa, Champion of the Holy Order, and she needed to save her Queen. She picked up the bottle of water and turned the plastic breastplate over in her hand. It was very light and flimsy, but was a shiny silver colour on the outside. It would cover her crotch or her breasts, but not both at the same time. She decided she would be able to find something else to wear on the way, so she ducked through the back of the tent and ran toward the treeline.