Stolen Hearts; Chapter Two

"We are never prepared for what we expect." -James A. Michener.
Argh!
Cala screamed out in frustration. The NEX had gagged her so firmly that the sides of her mouth were cut and bleeding. The ropes binding her hands together were rubbing her wrists raw and the violent lashing of short blunt knifes had created a reasonable amount of bruises. Her weaponry had been stripped from her expertly before she had even seen them coming for her and tossed to the ground. Eight against one was hardly a fair fight. Cala would have thought they were enjoying every second of her struggle but then NEX didn’t have souls. They are just empty shells of people who follow the orders of the person who took their soul. Consequently they feel no emotions such as joy, fear or guilt. Cala hated NEX, their name came from the Latin words to kill violently or slaughter and that’s exactly what the NEX did. They slaughter inconvenient people for Xandu when he has run out of killers like Cala.

She looked up into their cold blank faces as they strapped her tightly to the back of a dark bony winged horse whose eyes were rolling wildly. Their eyes were black, completely; the eye sockets had filled in so that their faces were almost all flat except for their noses. Their skin was pale against the night sky and Cala could feel the chilly and clammy feeling grip at her heart whenever one got too close.
As the last buckle on the leather straps holding her was pulled tight Cala thought of one positive thing about the NEX.
At least they can’t speak.
She felt the horse underneath her tense its muscles so she braced herself and the horse took off traveling at over sixty miles an hour. It would have been terrifying had it not been a still night or if Cala hadn’t spent half her life on the back of her own horse. Besides she was too tired to worry about the fear of falling or the throbbing caused by the extremely scrawny horses’ spine against her back and shoulder blades. Cala lay there with her eyes half open for about a minuet dreading the landing which would no doubt not be very smooth.

Just as the thought had left her head Cala felt the horse start to descend. She held her breath as the young horse collided to the ground knocking all the air out of her lungs. She now realized it would have been better to breathe out before the landing. The NEX were surrounding her before she could even glance around to see where they had landed. They untied the leather straps and two cold, grey, dank hands wrapped their lanky fingers around her arms. They dragged her to her feet and encircled her; all eight of them, Xandu’s complete set. They tugged her forward giving her a sharp slap every time she held back or hesitated.
They came to a stop very shortly and Cala had heard someone teleport near them, like static. Over the next few minutes Cala stood quietly trying to listen to the murmurs she could hear not far off, until the NEX suddenly started walking forward again. They walked into an even darker area of forest. Cala caught glimpses of hooded figures in long white cloaks between the NEX marching her forward.

Whites!
Cala thought to herself. Somehow she had almost forgotten it was them she was actually going to.
"Dimitto penus! Leave us!"
It was Xandu but he had spoken in Latin to the NEX. As the order was spoken the NEX instantly disappeared. Cala was left standing in the middle of a ring of people all dressed in white except for Xandu who was, of course, in full black.
"There, now you have her and I leave," Xandu barely spoke above a whisper and as soon as the words were spoken he had gone. Teleported to a random location and then to a Black base to avoid being followed Cala assumed. Cala now directed her attention to the Whites surrounding her.
This isn’t good, she thought to herself.
She was still gagged and had her hands tied. She could fight but then there were thirteen against one and very little options. Deciding that the best thing for herself was to go quietly, after all the NEX had beat her relatively dire already, Cala sat down with her legs crossed hoping that they took this as a sign of acquiescence.
One person walked towards her assertively from out of the circle. He looked quite short but she ignored this and let her gaze continue past him to the man he had been stood beside. He was staring at her with the same amount of venomous hatred a snake might give to a screaming woman. It was Ruffelm the headmaster of a white boarding school in Sphinx Valley.

The figure that had left his side reached for Cala's wrists so confidently that Cala was a little taken aback. She couldn’t face seeing the smug look under the hood so she hung her head and glowered. She could tell by the way that he handled her that the person now attaching chains to her wrists and untying the rope was a guy. However Cala was puzzled, his hands were small for an adult yet sure and slightly rough to the touch. That second she regretted not fighting. The boy behind her was most likely a boy called James Telford.

Ever since they had been little James and Cala had fought each other constantly. James was as White as you can get and the man who had been stood next to him a few moments ago, Ruffelm, was no doubt the person who had suggested his participation in her capture. Cala didn’t know Ruffelm’s actual age but he looked about seventy or so. He had wavy white hair that came down to his shoulders and a curly grey beard resembling the fake Santa ones you buy for Christmas. He had pale cerulean eyes, much like Cala’s but lighter and without the amber flecks, and the skinniest figure you could envisage. Cala detested him even more than James because Ruffelm was her grandfather and when she was only one her parents had died. Her grandfather, Ruffelm, was the only living relative and he had told whoever had found her that he didn’t want anything to do with Cala. Six years later she was fighting for the Black Nation and he sends James to find her. James and a group of raiders came to demolish the whole village of Sileona, where she lived in search of her. All because Ruffelm wanted Cala, his own granddaughter, dead.
Cala clenched her fists until she knew they were turning white. Unfortunately Cala realised that if James saw this he might take it as a sign of aggression so she released them. James would no doubt relish a chance to hit her after what she did to him in Shiyan. The chains were heavy but they were no tighter than the ropes before. James started to untie the gag in Cala’s mouth. It was painful as he tore it gently away from her mouth. The blood around her lips had clotted over the gag and to tear it away James had to open the cuts again. Cala's eyes were watering, it really did hurt, but it was almost over. There was just one last bit left were and enormous amount of blood had dried over it and James couldn’t pull it of without seriously hurting Cala.

"Just do it fast," Cala croaked, some of the blood had dried on the inside of her mouth. James shook his head.
"No if I do that it’ll take of half your mouth with it,"
"Since when do you care?"
James ignored the taunt, his eyes flashing dangerously and called over to one of the Whites. This particular one had a first aid kit in his hand. Cala snatched a glance at James when he wasn’t looking. His face had thinned his cheekbones unambiguous as ever. His straw blonde hair windswept in a disobedient order, thin brows sheltered his fervent topaz eyes roaring wild lion amber in the night.
"I need hot water or something,"
The man with the kit nodded and took out a flask, not from the first aid kit but from a satchel he had on his back. He walked over cautiously.
"She isn’t gonna bite doc’," James said sounding a tad irritated. The man nodded again and hastened over with the silver flask.
"Is tea ok?" He spoke to James and avoided looking at Cala completely. James nodded and took the flask.
"Can you tilt your head up?" James asked Cala. She nodded and did so.
"I hope you like tea because this is gonna go everywhere,"
Cala almost smiled, where’s the James who hates me?

He unscrewed the lid and started pouring the drink over her mouth. Cala recoiled involuntarily. The drink was scorching hot. James scowled impatiently. "I’m not waiting here all day for it to cool down,"
There he is.
The James she knew, who had built up strong emotional armour against her constant derision. Just as she had done with him, war had changed them over the years and she realized that he looked a lot older than a normal teenage boy should and yes it was in his eyes but more on his face. There were no stress lines but a permanently clenched jaw and a small scar on his neck did more to age him. Even in Mebenna where you were noticed as a threat straight from birth, at seven you were trained for combat, at eighteen latest you were expected to be married and by the age of twenty you were classed as very old.
"Sorry,"
Cala realized she was being pathetic and allowed James to tilt her head back into position. He began pouring again, a bit slower than last time. The drink dribbled down her chin and neck and James started to peel away the gag again. It came away slowly but surely and Cala started getting trickles of blood and tea in her mouth. Eventually it was all off and James gave her a towel to wipe her face with while he went over to Ruffelm and another man. They stood there discussing something confidentially. Cala started searching the rest of her body for the sources of her pains. She had one deep gash on her leg from a blunted knife but apart from that it was all bruising.
James came back over looking fractious "Can you stand?" Cala nodded. "Then stand and try to walk on that leg," James ordered pointing to the leg with the deep gash. Cala got up well enough but when she tried to walk she had to limp on her other leg as a large stream of blood flowed from the wound. James turned back to Ruffelm and the other next to him.

"I told you," he called back, more to the man next to Ruffelm than them both. The hooded figure grunted and walked over.
"Then you tell me how she walked here with the NEX boy! I say she is faking it to slow us down, she always has to obfuscate everything!" the ostentatious voice was un-disguisable. It was Sir. Grey the prime minister of the White nation, and a complete twit one may add. James turned to Cala looking even tetchier.
"Cala?" he asked exasperatingly.
"The NEX carried me," Cala explained. It had also helped that all the adrenalin from fighting them in the first place subdued the pain. James turned back to the minister with an expression which read ‘I told you so’ all over, but the minister took it the wrong way.
"Look here boy; I say she is fit to walk so she walks!" Cala opened her mouth to snap at the minister about expecting her to do what he says but he cut her off. "If she doesn’t make it then all the better for the White Nation," and with that he walked away, back to Ruffelm. James looked to Ruffelm for support but he merely shrugged apologetically. James now looked worn and tired as he turned to Cala.
"You’re on your own," he muttered and then he too took his place back in the circle. Before anyone could make the order to move there was a loud ripping noise. Cala had ripped the bottom off her shirt and was now wrapping it around her leg to give a little support and help keep out infection. If she kept it up she wouldn’t have much shirt left, it was now just above her tummy button and revealed several more brutal bruises. When she stood straight again Cala nodded to show she was ready. Two figures appeared either side of her and the circle got smaller, enclosing tightly around her. They started to walk forward at a brusque pace which Cala couldn’t keep up, meaning that as a result the two figures holding her ended up carrying her half the time.

It took until dawn to get to where they were headed, which was the castle situated in front of the rolling hills, on the Whites side of the lake. On two sides the castle was surrounded by grass ten kilometers in every direction and the forested hills for miles after. On the right side of the castle there was a huge gorge, Sphinx Canyon and at the front was a small lake which came off from the main one called ‘tear drop’ ,for its shape, anything beyond tear drop was Black territory and everything behind the castle grounds was White territory; everyone agreed the castle was most unfortunately placed.
The school castle had a warm mysterious feeling. The bricks were mixtures of brown, grey, white, terracotta and a sandy colour. It had several towers with hoary stone tiled turrets. The windows were magnificently decorated and the larger ones were stain glass with images of men and women on, all were famous for something or other. Cala had never really found buildings particularly interesting but this castle was magnificent and the more Cala saw of it the more she thought she never wanted to leave. Once upon a time she’d craved to enter the castle and destroy its very foundations and everything within.
Cala could see lights on in some of the windows even though it was only just becoming dawn. Without realising it she started to quicken her pace. She wanted to see the inside more than anything else in the world. James turned to look at her; he had done so several times over the journey. Each time Cala had looked back at him inquisitively. She thought she was imagining it but James seemed to have changed after their last encounter at Shiyan. Come to think of it, Cala thought to herself, he seemed a little different even then. James seemed calmer, subdued, like he didn’t want to fight anymore, almost insipid in nature.
But this time Cala didn’t look at him. She was transfixed on the castle ahead, hunger in her eyes.

Thanks for the poll results but more comments would be great guys. If i get enough positive feedback the next chapter should be out some time next week. Thanks again.
xx