Steps too Far...

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xUltimateTroublex

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Early morning was always the best for Ingrid. The morning dew still having from spiders webs and trees, the crisp air and the light sun always perked her up first thing, Ingrid had crept out. Under the strong control of her minder, this time meant it was the only time she could get away fast enough to not be caught, especially if she had piano lessons. As she got a safe distance away, she looked back to her home. A very understated place. Nothing like a manor. Her Father wasn't one for putting too much money into his home and family, more for business. She smirked and hmph'd triumphantly, striding along the grass.

Ingrid always sang or hummed as she went. It made time slip by much faster and out here, no one could hear her. She let herself daydream and lost her way quickly. Always did. A bit like a stray cat really, getting into places that she probably shouldn't.

Looking around coming back to reality, she was in a garden, or the woods? Forest? She blinked. She'd never walked this far before. Must've been about 9 now then, she thought, sitting on a falling over tree log and bringing a knee up to her chest to adjust her shoe lace.

She left out a sigh, putting her knee down and patting her skirt. "Well, if you're lost..Stay put, and someone will come find you" She thought out loud, resting her head back to see the clouds moving above her. Just waiting to see who'd show up now. Honestly, she didn't feel safe here, every noise nearly made her jump out of her pale skin. Another thing she hadn't realized til the cold breeze got in, was there was a slash in her dress. Fabric missing. It left all of the right side of the skirt open, so she tried folding it over and everything to try and stop the air getting in.

The darker it got the more scared she got. She couldn't even remember which way she came in by this point, having been sat in this round clearing for a while, every bit looked the same.. She tried singing again, hoping someone would hear her..
 
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Richelieu never liked the life of the common place person. Working for a living, paying taxes to the government, living by rules set by others. Instead of following what people told him to do, he decided to rebel and do what he loved. Being sneaky..and what was sneaker than being a thief? Living on the run, always another adventure, stealing and selling loot that you stole from people...he even dabbled a bit in the slave market when it struck his fancy. He did it all...a jack of all crimes.
As he and his three cohorts walked through the forest with their recent jobs earnings, the sound of a female voice caught his ears. "Hold up boys..hear that? Sounds like a meal ticket...."

They followed the sounds until the came across a little girl alone..singing. He smiled evilly. "Just as i thought...all of you, come with me and leave your loot here. We'll get it after we get her."
They set their money and goods on the ground and entered the clearing, allowing the girl to see all four of them as they surrounded her. "So tell me little girl...what exactly are you doing out here?"
His face was covered by a black mask, hiding his face from her save for the slight scar across his right eye. He knew immediately that this girl belonged to some kind of wealthy family. She was definitely coming back with them...she'd bring quite the price from whoever was missing her.

"Well...whatever the reason, I can honestly say that I'm glad." He pulled a dagger from his pitch black suit and glanced at her. "My friends here are going to tie you up now. Don't resist..or I'll hurt you." His tone was serious as the others came closer..one of them holding a rope and bandana for the gag.
 
Seeing the others come in, her singing faded out, her voice shaking towards the end before the silence caught a hold of her tongue... The looks. The way they were dressed... These people weren't nice people. Her face turned a deathly pale, like her body could've dropped with no pulse right there, but she didn't even have the courage to do that.

Slowly, she staggered to the stand, half injuring the threat, that only made her want to run more. As a child, she didn't really understand. She stumbled back over the log she was sat on, but found her back hit something.. The fourth one and circled behind and grabbed a hold of her. Her eyes slowly looked up to see that evil grin they all shared and pushed her back towards the rope and the gag. She opened her mouth, to try and talk, or scream.. but nothing came out. Not even a squeak.

She shut her eyes tight, hoping this was all jsut a bad dream and she'd wake up at home any minute...
 
Richelieu grinned as his boys tied and gagged the girl. He walked over and threw her over his shoulder. "Grab what we left there boys. We're heading back to camp."
One of his men came close and placed his hand on her back. "Can I have her boss? Just for a night? Been so long since i was with someone..." Richelieu glared at him. "No! This is business..She is business. If it falls through and her daddy can't pay..then we can take it our of her hide...not before! I'll decide how that works out if it comes to that..now get the loot."

The man grunted disappointingly, but obeyed. Richelieu had the authority and respect of his men, even of they did not agree with his decisions. this girl would make a fine catch...he just felt it. Him and his men made the 20 minute trek into the forest to their camp..where more than 30 men sat round campfires and drinking beers. They all had that same look when they saw her.

Richelieu brought her into his private tent and set her down..slapping her face gently to wake her. "I'm going to take the gag off. You scream and I'll cut off your tongue..understand?"
He waited for her to nod before he removed the gag. He wanted to know more about her so he could prepare the ransom demand properly.
 
She heard everything around her but really wished she hadn't. The man wanting her for the night.. Gross! She didn't want to even be touched. Being thrown around like a ragdoll wasn't setlling well, having the occasional wriggle of defiance before catching a glare off one of the men, and stopping, fearing for her life. Tears rolled out of her eyes before her brain just shut down.

As she passed out, the dream of waking up at home was over when she was slapped awake, wanting to scream but the gag muffled it all. The threat of her tongue being cut of.... It made her go pale and feel like she'd vomit just from the thought alone. Her head slowly nodded as the rest of her shook. Cold, damp, alone.. This wasn't what she expected from her morning walk.

As the gag was removed, she got the saliva moving around her mouth again. She couldn't look at Richelieu... She kept her eyes away from him and bit her lip hard to stop the urge of crying or screaming. Feeling his eyes bore into her, she just shuffled back. Unfornately, that made the slit in her dress fall open, leaving her legs mostly exposed as she curled herself up by the back of his tent.
 
He smirked as he watched her back away. His eyes caught her dress rip and her legs become exposed. Good thing i brought her into my tent. "Alright, i need you to answer my questions honestly..especially if you want to see your family again."
He stood and walked over to a table where he had some paper and a couple pencils.

"Come over here kid...you need to answer these. Tell me about yourself. What's your name first of all? Where and how far do you live? How old are you?"
His pencil was ready for her answers. Sooner she started talking, sooner he could work on getting money from her family.
 
Ingrid wasn't going to move from the back of the tent. No matter how much Richelieu called. She wasn't a dog and wouldn't let him get any closer if she could help it. She thought hard... If she didn't tell.. she was dead.. If she did tell, she couldn't see it ending much better. Part of her felt like they'd never hand her back over to her family as long as they kept asking for money, her father would give it out like sweets.

She took in a breathe and sighed lightly, gulping down her fear for a minute.. "Ingrid.. Arnstien. I... I don't know how far away.. I'm 12" she murred, hoping he'd just leave her alone. She wanted to move around and leave her back towards him, but with all the threats of stabbing and losing tongues, she wasn't sure that was a good idea...
 
He jotted the information down. "so you're the daughter to the Arnstien family eh? Yea, you'll definitely fetch a good price. I might even be able to retire with the money i could get for you. Don't worry kid..long as you do as i say..no-one in this camp will do anything to you. You'd do well to remember that...now come over here and let me get a look at you."
As he waited for her to come over to him, he jotted some notes on the paper. He'd have to hand deliver the note...always seemed to impact the family more when someone came holding the letter.
 
Ingrid, again, refused to move. She didn't want Richelieu anywhere near him. Every word came out of his mouth just sounded empty and lies. She looked away again, feeling her eyes well up at the thought of her mother's face. Hadn't he seen enough of her..? All she wanted to do was go home. She'd never walk off again, that was for sure.
 
He grumbled. The younger ones always were the most trouble. Least adults knew when to listen. He stood up and pulled a deadly looking dagger from his pocket and made his way over to her. "Now you listen and you listen good kid. I'm not known for my patience with people. You do what I say..when I say it. You continue with this and I'll give you to my guy out there..and anyone else who wants you. Worse case scenario..i'll sell you on the black market to someone who just might torture you or kill you. Now stand..up!"

His tone had gone from casual angry and serious. He was done fooling around with this kid. She would learn to respect and listen to him when he spoke. He had worse cases of prisoners who thought they could push the limits, but they all quickly learned to listen.
She would be no different.
 
Ingrid couldn't refuse at that point, now could she. Her legs were defiant, but it was easy to see she was trying to stand without falling over into anything. She finally got up, her legs and body shaking, keeping her eyes staring at her feet and away from the dagger that Richelieu had. All the threats had started to ring in her ears. She didn't want anyone to touch her or even breathe near her, keeping back from Richelieu, even if he called her over, she'd keep a certain distance, about a foot or so.

Her throat was closed up with the lump in it, trying to gulp it down as tears started down her cheeks again, watching them hit and wash the dirt from her little black shoes.
 
"Better. You best keep this mindset of listening to what I say little girl." He grabbed a torn section of her skirt and ripped it off, exposing even more of her legs. The tear was almost to her hips now. He chuckled.
"Now listen to me very carefully. My tent is your safe place right now. This is the only place in the entire forest that you are safe...trust me on that. You leave this tent and I will not protect you from whatever..or whoever..tries to get at you. Do you understand?"

He watched her nod barely. "Good. Now sit on my bed and get comfortable. This is your house till your parents pay up." He walked back over to the table and resumed writing the ransom note. I wonder how much those rich fools will pay for her return? The prospect of the reward made him smile gleefully as his hand rapidly wrote down the terms of the exchange.
 
Keeping her legs closed, even though that couldn't stop her feeling so exposed.. She moved herself onto the bed, sitting in a way to try and hide herself from anyone that would walk in. She really couldn't leave the tent.. She'd have no way of getting back and there was probably more people like Richelieu, but rivals of him, out there. They'd do worse.. At least.. Here she could keep.. covered. She didn't say a word. She couldn't anymore. It was far to painful to even think about conversing with people willing to just kill her off.

Her parents would pay up.. Hell, would even hand it over in person just in hope of getting ehr back, but she'd seen movies like this.. They won't hand her back.. They'd keep doing it til they'd bleed her parents dry and kill her anyway. That's what she expected anyway.

Her wrists were sore from the rope, trying not to move them because the friction was really damaging her fragile skin. She got herself somehow wriggling at teh back of the tent, knees up to protect her dignity, freezing, aching and straving. The thoughts of going home were getting less like dreams... More like hopeless wishes.
 
He finished writing the note and stood up, walking to the entrance of the tent. He knew she wouldn't go anywhere..not after all that had happened. "I'll be back soon Ingrid."
He exited the tent and signaled for his most trusted man. "I'm delivering the ransom note for the girl. Go in there and cut her bonds and get her some food. Under no circumstances is anyone allowed in there nor is she to be touched. I'll be back within the hour."

Richelieu grabbed a horse and took of towards the estate. His man entered the tent and watched her shift uncomfortably. Probably because it's the bosses tent. He walked over to her and pulled out his knife. "Don't move kid."
He cut the ropes holding her hands and legs and picked them up. "Stay there..I'm bringing you some food." The man exited the tent and went to go find some food for her.
 
She didn't even look at the man that undid her bonds, just did as she was told, mindlessly. After he bonds were cut loose, she brought her arms back around and used them to hug herself, not moving from that back corner. The thought of food made her stomach growl angrily that she hadn't had anything before now.. But.. Then again.. Food would be appareciated, even from these... things. Couldn't even call them men. Men were people like her father..Not these things.
 
Richelieu arrived at the home of his victim. It took him about an hour to get there at a casual trot. He jumped off the horse and knocked on the front door. A maid answered. "Of course...a maid. Get Mr. Arnstien for me." "Sorry sir, he's busy with work. Can I take a message for him?"
Richelieu shrugged and handed the maid the letter.
"Make sure he gets it quickly. He'll want to know what happened to his little girl." The maid looked concerned, but nodded and closed the door. He jumped back on his horse and snapped the reins, the horse dashing into a run. He wanted to get back to camp soon as possible.


The man brought a plate of food to Ingrid fairly quickly, setting it on the bed. It had fresh bread, some fruit and a small cup of water on it. "you better eat kid. You need food to stay alive..and healthy ya know?"
The man said nothing else, but exited the tent and stood guard outside..waiting for Richelieu to return. He estimated he'd be back in about a half hour or so. Till then, he'd make sure no-one got into his tent.
 
Ingrid watched as the food was placed, not looknig at the man that brought it, but didn't touch it til he started to leave. The bread was the best bet to be eaten first.. Filling. Dry though. With the water and the fruit, she was surprised how quickly she got through the food. Wiping her mouth on the sleve of her dress, she sighed slightly, hugging her stomach and lay on her side.

Richelieu's bed.. It looked warm.. And a lot btter then the bit of tarpe on the floor. She bit her lip, looking at the door. He wouldn't.. get mad.. would he? Well of course he would, it was his bed! Maybe.. He wouldn't notice if it was just one of the blankets that was missing. She risked it, feeling his toes were going to fall off. She kicked off her muddy shoes and grabbed the nearest blanket, tucking herself right up insdie it til she was a just recognisable lump of fabric and sniffles.
 
Richelieu arrived just about the time his man thought. He stepped off the horse as one of his men took it to the stables. "How is she?" "Far as i can tell boss she's terrified. To be expected i suppose."
He nodded and entered the tent. He saw a slightly moving bundle on the bed and smirked. So she took my bed and blankets eh?

He sat down at the table, taking out a small glass and a bottle of whiskey. "Your father didn't care to see me, though I imagine he's fraught with worry by now. One of his maids took my letter and more than likely he's read it by now."
He poured the alcoholic drink into the glass. He was more talking to himself than Ingrid at this point.
"Wonder what they plan to do once tomorrow rolls in?" He took a sip and sighed, standing and walking to the tent flap. "Sleep there tonight kid. We'll talk more tomorrow morning."

He exited the tent and walked over to the blazing fire, laughing and drinking with his men.
Tonight was a good night and he wanted to celebrate.
 
Richelieu's words went in one in and came out the other. Part of her couldn't care to listen.. She became more and more disheartened as the hours ticked on. She heard them outside, heckling.. Laughing.. Getting drunk. It was a familiar noise as her father held big parties often. She couldn't bring herself to 'sleep'. It wasn't safe to sleep her. God only knew what she would wake up to. Something barbaric.. probably.

She started to feel sick, maybe that fruit was disagreeing with her, or the thought of her parents going mental with grief didnt agree with her either. As the noise outside started to die down, her eyes closed as her body couldn't cope with the stress of being awake, and drifted off, hidden under all the blankets and sheets.
 
He fell asleep outside not too long after he left Ingrid alone. when the morning sun began to shine through the trees, he was usually the first one up.
As he sat up and yawned, he groaned..seeing one of his men had gotten sick on him last night. The stain was still on the leg of his pants and the front of his shirt.
"Lucky i don't know how stained my shirt and pants or I'd kill you!" He wasn't serious, but he was slightly upset.

He stood up and entered his tent, forgetting that Ingrid was in there. He stripped off his clothes and search in his dresser for new pairs.
 
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