The Captured

Chapter 3

Days passed, with both tribes working day and night. The knight was preparing surprises secretly to contribute to his victory over the tribe leader. One night, two young men whom the tribe leader had expelled from their lands attacked some guards who were on night duty outside and killed them. Another group of guards rushed towards them and killed them. This angered the tribe leader, who declared, "Prepare to attack the knight and his men."

One of his men quickly responded, "But these two are not from the knight's men."

The tribe leader, angrily, said, "I know that, but if they hadn't dared to challenge us before, they wouldn't have gathered their courage and attacked our guards. Therefore, I declare them as the knight's men or even collaborators, sent here by him to serve as our pretext for attacking him."

The man immediately said, "Your command, my lord."

The tribe leader relaxed in his seat, then looked at his man and inquired, "Have you received any news from the man cooperating with us from the knight's tribe?"

The man replied, "No, my lord. The knight operates in complete secrecy with his men, in whom he has full trust, and the rest of his tribe members are not privy to his plans."

The tribe leader smirked sarcastically and said, "So it seems he's being cautious around him, doubting him due to his constant opposition and attempts to undermine him in front of others."

The man replied, "Yes, it seems so, my lord."

The tribe leader gestured with his hand and coolly stated, "Tell him to act wisely in his presence and try to earn his trust so that we may know what this cunning man is planning."

The man said, "Your command, my lord."

The tribe leader rose from his seat and headed to the tower to see the girl. The guard opened the door, entered, and smiled, saying, "Our wedding date is approaching, my beauty. You will be mine alone soon ... on the night of the full moon."

The girl narrowed her eyes and spoke with anger and pride, "I will never be yours as long as there is one person who remembers and cares about me. It seems their numbers are increasing, and I heard they taught you a lesson you won't forget in your life." She smirked sarcastically after her last statement.

The tribe leader tried to mask his disappointment and smiled, saying, "What lesson is this? I emerged victorious; I destroyed their homes, burned their possessions, and killed their families. So, what lesson are you talking about?"

The girl responded forcefully, "But you didn't defeat them. You didn't break their spirit. You revealed your savage fangs against the weak, children, and women as usual. This is your nature, and you will never change."

The tribe leader became angry and said, "This is the fate of anyone who dares to try to approach me and take you from my hands. I will do more than that if necessary."

The girl shouted with anger and frustration, "Why? Why me? There are girls more beautiful than me, so why me?"

The tribe leader smirked sarcastically, "Do you really not know?"

The girl felt he was hiding a secret and tried to calm herself down, asking, "How will I know if you don't tell me? Speak and tell me why you made me suffer in captivity all these years?"

The tribe leader coldly smiled and replied, "Very well, I will tell you since you will become my wife. Long ago, my tribe roamed the land as we had no place to call home. We were forced to disperse among other tribes, sharing their land and strength. However, they got tired of us and couldn't tolerate our presence because we had different customs and traditions. Some began to despise us, treating us as inferior. Then, some tribes attacked individuals from our tribe living on their lands, killing them in cold blood and burning everything."

The girl sarcastically smiled and said, "Don't try to gain my sympathy with your words. I'm confident that you did something terrible to them. I don't believe your words, and they don't justify your crimes."

The tribe leader shrugged indifferently, "It doesn't matter to me whether you believe me or not. What I do know is that this happened."

The girl tried to contain her anger from his provoking indifference and added, "Alright, continue. I want to know the reason for your captivity of me all these years."

The tribe leader, pacing back and forth in front of her, continued, "After the suffering endured by my people, the tribe's Wizard told us that a beautiful girl would be born in another tribe. Whoever marries this girl will gain power, wealth, and status. If we don't find this girl, we will remain displaced and scattered in the land, our luck forever hindered. If she marries someone outside our tribe, it will be our end at his hands."

The girl mocked with clear sarcasm, "Do you truly believe this tale?"

The tribe leader confidently replied, "Of course, I wholeheartedly believe in this. You don't know this Wizard, and my people have passed down this story through generations. We awaited the birth of this girl and searched for her until we finally found you. You are destined to be mine." His final words gleamed with greed in his eyes, which angered the girl, and she retorted, "How did you know that I am the sought-after girl? What if you were mistaken, and the girl you seek is elsewhere?"

He confidently replied, "Don't worry, the Wizard gave us detailed specifications of this girl, and you match them perfectly, my beauty." The tribe leader smiled and slowly approached her, admiringly noting, "These honey-colored eyes like golden water, those deadly cherry lips, the long brown hair resembling the earth's color, and your stubbornness, resilience, and pride that you've clung to all these years like a tree with roots firmly planted, refusing to bend despite strong storms. The fierceness in your gaze is unparalleled in my life."

The girl responded firmly and confidently, "And you will never see anything like it in your life."

As the tribe leader moved closer to her, attempting to touch her cheek, she raised her chained hand and slapped him across his face. He looked at her with anger and said, "You still hold onto your pride? Isn't it time for you to surrender? You are my captive, and no one will free you from my grasp."

The girl defiantly replied, "I will be freed by those who care for me. Don't worry, I will marry the person who frees me... Do you know why? So that he can kill you and prove to you that, no matter what you do, I will never be yours. A girl marries a man who deserves her, sacrifices for her, not a man who captures her, kills her people before her, and exploits her for his personal gain."

The tribe leader, indifferent, responded, "I don't care about your words. Our wedding date is set, and I will marry you despite your reluctance. Do you understand?"

The girl tried to find a way to end the marriage and said, "Then the marriage will be invalid. I will not accept you as a husband no matter what. Didn't your Wizard tell you that your marriage to the awaited girl must be with her consent to fulfill the prophecy and save your people? Or is that not important to you?"

The tribe leader was taken aback by her words, appearing puzzled as he had not considered this before, and the Wizard hadn't mentioned this possibility. He then said, "What? No, that doesn't matter. What matters is that you become my wife, and this will happen in a few days. It's best for you to surrender and accept reality as there is no way for you to escape."

He hurriedly left, leaving her to glare at him in anger while he felt worried and puzzled by her words, contemplating them. He thought to himself, "What if she's right, and the prophecy won't be fulfilled by marrying her because I forced her into this marriage? What if things turn upside down and something happens that I didn't want?! I need to be cautious."

The tribe leader rushed to the head of his guards in anger and said, "Prepare to attack the tribe of the knight."

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