The Captured

There was a girl of extraordinary beauty who fell captive to a group of oppressors. They killed her family before her eyes, leaving only her old grandfather and her younger brother. The grandfather pleaded with his neighbors to free the girl from the hands of the oppressors, but to no avail. Everyone abandoned them, one after the other. Years passed, and the girl grew up, becoming even more beautiful and captivating. The jailers began to spread word of her beauty to the extent that the chief of the tribe that imprisoned her declared his desire to marry her. The talk reached neighboring tribes, and it was then that the grandfather realized that his granddaughter was still alive after news of her had ceased. Young men started to think about this girl, whom people praised for her beauty. They became curious to see her and longed to marry her. However, there was no hope for them unless she was freed first, which seemed extremely difficult because no one dared to confront the men of the tribe holding her captive. The leader of the tribe set a wedding date and secretly transferred the girl to a room in the tower in preparation for the wedding. The girl cried, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks. She sat on the edge of the window, gazing at the moon between the iron bars that she had grown accustomed to seeing, with the reflection of the golden moon in her honey-colored eyes. Her brother learned of the news, and fury seized him. He rushed to kill the guards and free his sister, calling out her name. When she saw him, she recognized him, smiled through tears in her eyes, and felt a mix of hope and fear at the same time. The boy entered, striking the guards left and right. They swarmed him, seizing him and taking him to the leader of the tribe. Leader of the tribe said, " What brings you here after all these years? I thought you had forgotten about her". The boy said, "How could I forget about her? She has never left my memory." Leader of the tribe, "I will marry her in a few days, so why don't you relieve yourself of your responsibility? I will make you one of my close associates, give you money and a prestigious position, but forget about her, as she will become my wife." The boy angrily replied, "Do you think I would forget about her for money, position, and power? Who told you I would accept such a price? Are you out of your mind? How could you think I would sell my honor to a despicable person like you?" The leader of the tribe smirked mockingly, saying, " What sale are you talking about? She has been my captive for a long time, with no status or identity. She didn't even have one since she lived among you. You didn't give her the care and respect she deserved; otherwise, she wouldn't have become our captive." The boy shouted in his face, saying, "You are a liar! We all love her and care about her, but you betrayed us, lured us on a dark night, and mercilessly killed all the family members. You killed men, women, and children; you destroyed our homes; and my grandfather and I became homeless after everyone abandoned us for fear of you." The leader of the tribe retorted with sarcasm and coldness, "If people are cowards, what's our fault?" The boy exclaimed vehemently, "Yes, cowardice made you think you were strong and unbeatable, but in reality, you are the most cowardly people I've ever seen. You stained your hands with the blood of the innocent to show your strength, but that's a sign of your weakness and failure." The leader of the tribe's anger flared as the boy's words lashed at his cowardice hidden behind his toughness. He ordered his execution at sunrise. The guards took him outside to take him to his cell for his last night in this world. The girl saw her brother among the iron bars, her heart squeezing in pain for him, tears burning her beautiful eyes. After a while, the leader of the tribe came to her room in the tower and said coldly and mockingly, "Did you see your brother?" The girl screamed in his face, saying, "Leave him alone; he is still young." The leader of the tribe smirked mockingly and said, "If you beg me, I will consider it. Beg me to save him." The girl's gaze intensified with innate fierceness inherited from her ancestors, "And who are you to beg? Life and death are in God's hands alone, and there is an appointed time for everything." The leader of the tribe, in a sarcastic tone, said, "This talk won't benefit you or your brother. Accept the marriage and be content with reality. I will make you a queen spoken of for generations." The girl smirked sarcastically, saying, "Don't deceive yourself with false hopes, for I will not be your wife even if my death is the price." The tribe leader retorted through clenched teeth, "The price will be your brother's death." The girl responded with pain and strength simultaneously, "Then so be it. My entire family died before him, and my heart won't ache more than it has in the past." The tribe leader replied disdainfully, "Where does this stubbornness of yours come from?" The girl smiled, saying, "I was born with this stubbornness and determination to challenge rogues like you." The tribe leader threatened, "Very well, I will tame you like one tames a wild horse. Oh, do not forget the date of our wedding, for it has been determined by my personal seer on the night of the next full moon, and also make sure you are awake at sunrise to witness your brother's head rolling on the ground." The girl's anger flared up, tears welling up in her eyes, but she remained silent to maintain her composure in front of him. She knew full well that pleading with him and submitting to him wouldn't save her brother; all he wanted was to break her pride, which had troubled him for years. He sneered mockingly, saying, "Do the long chains bother you? But you can still reach the window, can't you? See you later, my beauty." The girl remained seated on the edge of the window, crying, while her brother prayed to God to send someone to rescue her from these rogues until the sun began to rise. The guards hurried to the cell, and they took him out to the square across from the tower to watch her brother's execution. Her heart raced, tears streamed down her face, and the fire burned every corner of her body as she hoped for someone to come and save her brother, but to no avail. The guards seized him and cut off his head with a sword before her eyes, and she fainted from the horror of the scene. The girl remained for days and nights, knowing nothing but crying while people spread rumors about her brother's execution. The young men started rallying to liberate the girl, and when the grandfather saw this interest, he was overcome by some hope and desire for revenge against the tribe leader and his tribe as a whole. He announced among the people that whoever freed his granddaughter would be her groom, and her dowry would be the head of the tribe leader. People started talking about the beautiful girl who lost her entire family and remained captive to the unjust tribe leader, and her marriage was scheduled against her will after her brother was killed before her eyes. Some young men were filled with zeal and jealousy for this girl and wanted to go to that tribe to liberate her. So, some young men from several tribes gathered, equipped with weapons, water, and food, and set off toward that tribe to liberate the girl. They were welcomed by the grandfather, who prepared a place for them to rest from their journey, provided them with food, drinks, and whatever means of assistance he could offer, and guided them to the shortcut, describing the place of the tribe leader and his soldiers. At night, a group of young men sneaked into the tribe's place, killing some guards quietly without the rest of the tribe's men noticing. They managed to enter the square across from the tower where the girl was. The girl felt a strange movement, looked out of her window, and recognized that they had come to rescue her. A glimmer of hope filled her eyes, but it didn't last long as the guards surrounded them in moments and trapped them in the square. The young men took out their weapons and tried to use them, but to no avail. They looked at each other in shock, and one of them said to the other, "What happened? Why aren't these weapons working?" Another replied, "We should have tested them beforehand. We relied on these weapons to kill these rogues. What do we do now?" The tribe leader appeared smiling and approached them, saying, "And what can you do? You will die just like those before you. Did you really think you came here by your strength and bravery? I knew of your arrival, you fools." One of them said, "How did you know? It was a secret among the lords of our tribes and the girl's grandfather?" The tribe leader smirked sarcastically, saying, "From your lords, you fools. Did you think they would sacrifice their security, stability, and positions for a girl who means nothing to them?" ......................................