Left At The Crooked Pine

Shivering violently Bianca curled up tighter on the hard straw mattress. The damp from the floor and walls had soaked the thin straw mattress until it was damp and mouldy and now the cold chill it caused had soaked through Bianca's chemise and into her very bones. How she wished she still had Mitchell's great coat but her kidnappers had taken it away before she had awoken. The room she was in was small, dark and windowless with a strong barred door. She could not escape. And she wasn’t sure she would be rescued this time. Mitchell didn’t like her, why would he rescue her when she was just an inconvenience to him? Tears streamed down her cheeks as she thought of all the ways her life could have been different, if she had been different. If she was more normal, had met Mitchell under normal circumstances, had acted like the lady she should be would Mitchell have liked, loved her more? She was roused from her negative thoughts by a loud clunk and the grating scrape of the stiff door being dragged open.

“’Ello darlin’, sleep well?” a man asked from behind his mask, prodding her with the toe of his muddy boot. Bianca just stared up at him, wide eyed, bruised and pale. She would not talk to him he deserved to know nothing about her or anything else she knew.

“Now then I want to talk to you about your ’usband. Would you like to start willingly?” she shook her head. He scowled at her.

“Its quite simple really I want to know his full name.” Bianca didn’t refuse or agree to tell him, she didn’t move at all. “His name.” she stayed silent. His scowl deepened. “Tell me who your husband is, what harm can it do it is just a name.” silence. He reached down and pulled her to her knees by her hair. Bianca's eyes watered from the pain but she gritted her teeth and refused to cry out at the pain. “A name!” she shook her head the best she could with his vicious hold on her hair. He cursed her profusely and back handed her fiercely, leaving a vivid red welt on her cheek from his ring. She glanced up then. A ring? Had the evil bastard left her a clue to his identity? She focused bleary eyes on it, squinting to make out the symbol on it, trying to memorize it to her fuzzy brain. As she stared at his hand she realised he was asking her something else. She didn’t care what he was asking her this time she knew her answer already.

“No.” he swore again, yanking her head back more and striking her across the mouth. This time she let the tears fall down her cheek mingling with the blood from her split lip. But even her tears were quiet and she stayed quiet no matter what he asked her or how he hit her. Two hours later her chemise was mostly ripped and stained red by her blood, her face looked purple from bruises and cuts and she slipped quietly into unconsciousness, focusing on the emerald green eyes of her dreams.

~

Mitchell cursed himself for the hundredth time as he paced inside Frank’s office. This had to be the worst honeymoon in history and it had nothing to do with his beautiful bride it was entirely his fault. Jon and Frank listen silently as he told him what had occurred and what he had found. He glossed over his mistakes to an extent, simply saying he had made Bianca distraught with his trying to explain how their marriage would work and that she had left for a while to be alone. When he had followed a short while later all he found was his great coat screwed up in the mud covered in boot prints and a splash of blood.

“Do you have any idea at all who the people you are trying to hunt are? Where they might be?”

“Yes and no to both questions.” The others did not look impressed by his vague answer. He expanded. “I know the identities of some of the lower members of the gang and have a some ideas about the higher members but no proof. I also know some of their hideouts but they constantly move. Will you come with me to some of the know locations?”

“Of course!” all three men agreed without hesitation, leaping to their feet collecting various weapons from a large glass cabinet that stood against the far wall of Frank’s office. Mounts were saddled with haste and they all charged in to the woods, looking as black as storm clouds, frowning deeply.

It was already late in the day when they set out and it was full dark when they finally approached the third of five possible locations the enemy might be keeping Bianca. This time hope sparked in Mitchell as they approached stealthily as they had the other two times but this time he could hear people. This base was still in use. Abandoning the horses in a nearby clearing the four men circled the building carefully. They worked in quick easy precision taking out four guards in total, swiftly and silently. Dragging one as silently as they could back to the clearing, Ellis manhandled the captive so he was propped up against a tree and Jon threw a canteen of water in his face. The man spluttered and stared up at the group of men in a dazed pain.

“Who are you?” he wheezed

“Your worst nightmare.” Mitchell told him ruthlessly. It took little time or effort to extract the information they wanted from the captures mercenary. Returning to the lone building they found it still silent and unguarded just as they had left it. Whoever the enemy was they were not at all worry about capture it seemed. The first door was not barred and no one was awaiting them in the corridor. Mitchell hoped to god Bianca was in there. They burst through door after door but they were all empty of people. Cursing and pacing in an empty office impatiently, Mitchell waited for Ellis to finish rifling through the desk for information about where Bianca might be being kept. An even louder curse interrupted all their thoughts and they all turned to see Jon clutching his hand and a large dent in the wall behind him.

“Frustrated?” Frank asked wryly. Jon cursed at him and cradled his now bruised, bloody hand. Mitchell was thankful for something to break the tension and laughed at his new brother in law heartily. He sobered quickly however when Ellis coughed to get their attention and held up a piece of paper.

“What is it? What does it say?” Mitchell exclaimed snatching the paper from Ellis.

“It’s a list of names; nothing to do with Bianca unfortunately but it may be beneficial to your investigations.”

Mitchell's heart sank. They were hardly any closer to Bianca and he did not want to think about what might be happening to her. He also didn’t want to examine in detail the depth of the feelings he had developed for Bianca in the short time he had known her. But he did know he did not want to be with out her any time soon.

“Fine, let’s move on we have more place to raid before dark. I will NOT leave my wife out there with THEM over night!”

“We won’t my friend, we won’t.” Frank replied softly resting a consoling hand on Mitchell's shoulder briefly before leading the way back out the building. They crowded back around the man they had captured earlier kicking him back into consciousness. He coughed and heaved, looking up at them through swollen eyes.

“There is no one there! Where are they keeping her?” Mitchell demanded her.

“Who?” the man wheezed. He knew they were raiding bases but this was the first time they had given him a clue as to why. But he knew of no one being held captive by them and he resigned himself to the knowledge he would likely suffer at their hands for his lack of rank and knowledge. “I know of no prisoner.” He hung his head and waited for the next blow. It was swift and hard and he sank gratefully into oblivion.

“What did you do that for?” Jon objected trying to resist punching something. Mitchell shrugged.

“He knew nothing. We should move on to the next base. If he is unconscious he can’t follow us or warn anyone.”

“Fine,” Jon grumbled and they swiftly mounted their horses and charged of to the next base. This one was completely abandoned and the men were all on edge. They needed to find Bianca soon and Mitchell only knew of one more base but it was a three hour ride away.

~

Numbness. That was all Bianca felt or didn’t feel as the case was. It was dark outside and she was cold, so cold. She had been unconscious for a while she knew that much, but she was unsure of how long a while was. It felt like a long time. But maybe it had just been hours rather than days. She curled up tighter in a ball, ignoring the stabs of pain that ran through her body. Her eyes drifted closed and she let herself sink further into oblivion. Yelling stirred Bianca slightly from her sleep a short while later.

“No,” she mumbled in half awareness thinking they were trying to question her again. But the expected blow she had received each time she refused to answer never came. This startled her into full wakefulness. She forced her swollen eyes open a crack and looked around her vaguely. Darkness and she didn’t think it was just her this time. Night had fallen and the room was empty. Then where was the shouting coming from, she wondered vaguely. It got louder and louder, nearer and nearer but she could still see nothing. Then light blinded her. She cowered back into the corner.

“I’ve found her.” Came a shout from the open doorway.

“Finally.” Came another shout in reply. The sound of footsteps on bare wood floors sounded like thunder to Bianca's ringing ears and she shut her eyes again against the pain. Someone crouched next to her and gently felt her wrist for a pulse. She struggled to open her eyes again but they refused to work, instead she focused all her remaining energy on one last word before the darkness swallowed her up again.

“Mitchell?” she felt warm solid arms envelope her and then Bianca blacked out. Mitchell cradled Bianca to his chest, pulling his coat open and wrapping it around them both. She was as cold as ice, pale as death and covered in vivid purple-green bruises. If he hadn’t already beaten all the occupants of the building they were now in, he would beat them all to death for doing this to his delicate, beautiful wife. He got carefully to his feet, trying not to jostle her in the process.

“We need to get her home now.” He instructed the others. They nodded in agreement crowding around to check Bianca out first before trailing out the building behind Mitchell. He bent his body over hers to shelter Bianca from the rain as they stepped outside to the awaiting horses. A movement at the edge of the woods made the group start and spin to look.

“Someone is getting away!” Jon cried, running after the cloaked figure. The figure turned and stared at them briefly, before running faster towards some tethered horses. He leapt onto one of the horse’s backs and at a fall gallop disappeared into the woods. The men cursed in unison and Frank and Ellis set of on their horses in silent, synchronized pursuit. Jon held Bianca while Mitchell mounted and then handed her up to him, leading the way back to the road so they could make the long journey home.