Victim of Fate by Jason Halstead Page A

many
times, searching for safer passage through the swampy forest. He
stopped at last and stared ahead, peering straight at Rosalyn
through the mirror. His eyes widened and his lips parted, and then
they curled up into a faint smile. Rosalyn realized she was smiling
as well.
    "You fool, he's not looking at you," she
chastised herself. Or was he? When Therion had brought her to his
home, they'd come through a marsh. Maybe he'd found the wizard's
house? Rosalyn stiffened and looked down at herself. She had no
clothes, just the cruel tattoos imbedded in her skin. He couldn't
see her now, even if he was coming to rescue her!
    Rosalyn looked back up, torn between wanting
to cry out for help and her fear of this handsome young warrior
seeing her in such a scandalous state. Surely he'd turn his back on
her, maybe even kill her for being so brazen and shameless. A
whimper escaped her throat. She stared into his eyes and felt
herself drawn to them. She felt a connection, as though he was her
lifeline. Her path to freedom and sanity. The warrior turned away
from her to look behind himself.
    The spell broken, Rosalyn followed his gaze
and saw what he could not: a magnificent white horse moved through
the marsh. The mud kicked up by its hooves failed to gain purchase
on its pure hair. It was no simple horse, she realized. A straight
horn emerged from its forehead, marking it as a unicorn.
    Rosalyn was confused. Unicorns were supposed
to be beautiful and pure creatures, not the unwholesome corruptions
that the warrior had fought earlier. Yet he was squaring up against
it and raising his sword aggressively. Didn't he know any better?
What sort of a fool was he?
    The unicorn came to a stop in front of him
and shook its head. It stamped its foot and blew. The warrior
lowered his sword and, after the unicorn bobbed its head up and
down, he sheathed it. He reached out and ran his hand along the
majestic equine’s face, and then moved to rub its neck and side.
The unicorn stamped its foot again, showing impatience.
    The warrior grabbed on to the mane of the
horse and vaulted onto its back. He nearly slid off but righted
himself just in time. The look on his face made a giggle slip out
of her mouth. The warrior looked like he'd never ridden bareback
before.
    If he was able to ride a unicorn, surely he
had a heart as pure as she'd hoped for. Something to match his
boyish and handsome face. She felt her chest swell with hope. They
were so close; they just had to ride through the marsh to the
wizard's home and come inside. Her cage was only two rooms in from
the front door.
    The unicorn turned away. The warrior held on
tightly and lowered himself before the beast bolted through the
dark forest in a gallop. She watched it go, expecting the rider and
horse to crash into a tree at any moment. After a few moments of
the unicorn gracefully navigating the runways of the forest, she
realized she'd been left behind. He'd been so close!
    Rosalyn found herself on the floor of her
cage. Her legs had given out. She stared at the floor, her mind
trying and failing to wrap around the foiled rescue.
    "Pity, he was so close to finding you."
    Rosalyn looked up to see Therion staring at
her. She reached up to brush the tears off her cheeks.
    "When given a chance at escape, you're not so
important after all," Therion said with an air of dismissal.
"Embrace me, Rosalyn, and I'll show you how to make yourself
important. You can make that boy rue the day he turned around. You
can show them all!"
    Rosalyn rose up to her knees and bowed her
head. Her last hope was gone. She had to rely on herself if she
wanted to escape. And perhaps along the way, Therion could teach
her things that would not only make escape possible, but would
allow her to show the world that she wasn't just a stupid farm girl
worth casting aside! She lifted her eyes to his smirking face and
then dropped them again. "How can I please you, Master?"
     
     
     
     

Chapter 9

    Alto clung to the