Losing Hope

The sounds of morning beckoned for the young redhead to wake up. She reluctantly did so , slowly, opening her eyes. The grogginess of morning suddenly gave way to feel of the cold ground which jolted her more awake.

A look around, the gain of her bearings and the realization of where she still was came to her. Islana had slept but she was unclear how.

The sleep though had been plagued with dreams. Dreams of people in boar heads, of things Lord Vasant had done to her and being sold to him. She had dreamt of Jiyn's death, of Hendrick's death,of being marched through crowds of people to her own execution. Dreams of animals being tortured and slaughtered of children being sacrificed. The dream where the child was her and the executioner Lord Vasant had returned, as well. So many dreams but the young woman had stayed asleep though all of them. There was no need to dwell on the how of her rest, it didn't matter. Islana tried to shake the images from her mind, she moved her body into more of a sitting position, drew her knees towards her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

The young huntress hadn't dared look over where the body lay last night. Now, though, she took a breath and did just that. Much to her relief the body of the dead laborer had been removed.

There was something else to notice, a sheepskin had been placed in the burrow. Not just that but fresh water and food. Islana slowly made her way over to the things left for her.

Not feeling much like attempting the food despite the growl in her stomach, the sheepskin and water were taken and moved over to where she had just been.

The redhead sat back down. It was clearly morning and with the passing of each moment, Islana knew her chances to be rescued, in time, were getting slimmer and slimmer.

She could feel that cautious hope that was felt last night slipping from her grasp. What was replacing it was thoughts of her short life. Thoughts about how the young woman never thought it would end like this. The things she had done that held no regrets and those things she certainly had regrets about, and the things she never had a chance to do

Never did Islana think this was how it would end. She closed her eyes and tried to retreat to her safe place in her mind, the memory. It wasn't working. The young woman tried to pray but what should she pray for, exactly? A rescue that was unlikely, at best. That she had a quick and painless death? What?

The young woman rested her forehead on her knees, that were once again against her chest, and felt that thing people call hope fading from her.