[A/N
I got a lil naughty in this chapter, but have no fear, the rating stays the same! *phew* Read on!]

CHAPTER 3
Elena

We rode all that day, and into the night. I was too saddened to sleep, and kept yanking away from the man's attempts to get me to rest. Finally they stopped to set up camp on a low ridge.

The man lifted me down, and pulled me to a large tent. I resisted all the way there, unsure of his intentions.

"Agh! Women!" He grumbled, and threw me onto a bed in the corner. I scrambled up as he yanked off his shirt, fear showing in my eyes. He blew out the candle that one of his men had undoubtedly set in the corner, and reached for me. I shrunk away, he would not ruin me!

"Would you rather sleep with those on?" He nodded to my bindings.

"Don't touch me, ever!" I was shaking with an unexplainable emotion as I cowered in the corner.

He shrugged. "Suit yourself." I heard blankets rustle as he got into the bed, and I wrapped my arms around myself. I rocked myself back and forth, attempting to keep the tears at bay. Eventually exhaustion took over, and I fell asleep on the hard dirt floor.

I awoke early the next morning in the arms of my captor. He was still sleeping, his face peaceful. As soon as I realized where I was I bolted upright and flew across the tent. The man sat up slowly, and yawned.

"Inesa, come back... You haven't given me a goodbye kiss yet!" He mumbled, still half asleep. I looked at him in disgust. I did not want to know how many women he'd taken to his bed. I found my bonds had been removed, so I ran my fingers through my matted hair.

I've always believed that my hair was my best feature. It was a simple brown, but it hung to my waist. I quickly braided it, wishing I had a scarf or something to keep it out of my eyes. I felt selfish when I thought of it, my people were dead, and I was thinking of scarves? Tears welled in my eyes as I remembered my father's body lying prostrate on the ground. By now the man had come fully awake.

"What are you doing all the way over there?" I didn't answer him. He shrugged. "You will come to love me in time."

"Never," I whispered.

"We will see." He stood, and jerked his shirt and tunic back on.

"Who are you?" I asked as he reached for me again.

"Eadric, son of Egbert." I gasped, and tried to pull away from him. Egbert was well known as a bloodthirsty Saxon warlord. He did not pity women or children, but slaughtered them along with the rest. "Don't fight me, sweet, or I may have to tie you up again." He pulled me so my back was flush with his chest, and his lips brushed my neck gently. "I have a feeling you will serve me well."

Anger rushed through me, and I jerked my head back, hitting his face hard. He released me with an angry yell, and attempted to stem the flow of blood that rushed from his nose.

"Sir, is everything alright?" One of his men peeked into the tent, and his eyes hardened when he saw his leader's bloody face.

"Bring water." Eadric managed in a mangled voice. "You will pay for doing that, girl!" He spat the last word. He tilted his head back to keep the blood from dripping. I glared at him, and backed slowly away.

"I will never serve you. Every day I am in your presence I will make your very existence a living hell!" I hissed. He would never tame me!

"Filthy words don't become you." The man came back with a bucket of water and a clean cloth. "Bind her!"

"Yes sir." The man grabbed me roughly, and tied a piece of coarse rope around my wrists. I found I could barely wriggle my fingers.

Eadric wiped his face, and held the cloth to his nose until it stopped bleeding. Then he jerked me onto his horse.

That day I busied myself by working at my bonds. I ignored the man seated behind me, and slowly began to wriggle my way free. By dusk I had loosened the rope to the point that I could've easily slipped out of it, but I didn't. I had a plan, and that depended on my ability to fool my captor.

When we stopped he tossed me a piece of bread, and again threw me to the bed. I moved to the dirt floor, but he yanked me back beside him, wrapping his arms around me tightly. I fought him, but he just buried his face in my neck. I finally stopped, gulping air into my deprived lungs.

"Are you done?" His voice made me flinch, as his breath tickled my ear as he spoke. I elbowed in his general direction, and was rewarded with a satisfying 'thud.' He grunted, and rubbed his shoulder. "Can we talk civilly now?" I didn't answer. I guessed he took that as agreement, because he went on. "What is your family name?"

At the mention of them my eyes welled up, and I fought to keep my voice devoid of emotion as I answered. "Why does it matter? You killed them all." My voice broke at the end. Eadric stroked my hair in what was meant to be a comforting gesture. I pushed myself as far away as I could get from him.

"You also killed many of my friends and comrades, love." He reminded me.

"While trying to protect my family! You forget that you are the one who forced me to fight. Their deaths are on your conscience." I wiped futilely at the tears running down my dirty face. I would not allow him to see me as a weak little girl. He was silent for a time, but his arms tightened around me. "I warned the other villages. They will be prepared when you attack them. No matter what you do to me, they are ready to destroy you." I prayed with everything in me that my sisters had gotten there in time.

"Your people will eventually fall. There is no resisting my troops." His voice was deathly quiet.

"My people have survived this long under your king's rule. We will rebel, and crush your forces."

He turned me to face him, and traced my lips with his thumb. I pulled away. "You speak treason. I could have you killed for that."

I glared at him defiantly. "Then do it. I'm not afraid of you."

"Oh you aren't?" He raised an eyebrow. "We'll see about that!" His lips smashed down on mine. My eyes widened, and I fought him as he rolled on top of me. I felt him start to untie the top of my leíne, and my fist connected squarely with his jaw. We were both breathing hard as he pulled back, and ran a hand across his mouth. I punched him again, ignoring the searing pain in my knuckles as I did so. He grunted in pain, and promptly pinned my arms. I turned my head as he tried to kiss me again, and his lips landed on my neck.

He chuckled. "So you are afraid of me!" He yanked my hands above my head, and ran a finger across my jaw.

"No, I am not."

"Are you sure?" He ran his hand down my neck, and stopped just above my breasts.

"Positive." I brought my knees up as hard as I could, and hit him in the most painful spot possible for a male. His face screwed up in pain, and he released me. I scrambled away from him, and pushed aside the tent flap, running with all my strength toward the forest.

[A/N
Ooohh, I'm good! Three posts in a day! Only took me about a week to write too!

Mary Iris: Thank you so much for reviewing, your criticism was greatly appreciated, and I will be re-posting the first two chapters when I have the chance!

makzprintz: Thank you for reviewing, and that's the reason I started writing this story! I've always been intrigued by Robin Hood's story, so I decided to research more into early English culture, and voilà! There you have it!

Sadly, I go back to school tomorrow, so you may have to wait till next weekend for any updates! So sorry!]