A Reluctant Slave - 27

Thomas chuckled, shaking his head, "no, Maria – last time you got stuck."
"Please Tom!"
"No!" Thomas laughed only to receive a pout from his younger sister. They were walking through the fields outside of their small village, watching the sunrise over the land. Ever since the nearby city of Solace had been taken over by vampires he didn't trust the night and as such made as much as he could out of the daylight hours. Having an overly enthusiastic younger sister tended to help that as she hurried through the long grass in front of him. "Don't go too far ahead!" A wave from his sister was all he got to show that she'd heard him.
Thomas's mind settled on Solace, once a rich, vibrant city with traders from across Iann going to exchange goods within its walls. Now people feared entering the city; people disappeared there and even though there was no confirmation that Lord Vincent was a vampire, it was strongly suggested that he was. None of the other cities could prove it, however, so no action could be taken against the Lord. But Thomas tried to stay out of politics; as long as the vampires and Lords left his village and family alone, he didn't care what they got up to.
"TOM!" His body went rigid as he heard the panic in his younger sister's voice. Without thinking or hesitation he sprinted ahead, searching for her copper hair amongst the long grass. He soon found her, kneeling down as she inspected something but seeing she was ok, he let out a shuddering breath.
"Don't scare me li..." he trailed off, seeing what Maria was looking at. A woman lay amongst the grass, her breathing soft though from the position she was in it looked as though she had collapsed. His eyes widened as he saw that she was completely naked, apart from a rough blanket that only covered her calves...and it was then he saw the blood. He shuddered, the woman had obviously been raped, but the blood around her mouth and front made him pause; she wasn't a vampire, or she'd be burning in the sunlight.
"Tom – what do we do?" Maria looked up at her brother with concern in her emerald eyes. He didn't reply instantly, wondering where she had come from and what had happened. He knew that he couldn't leave her here, not when her shaky breathing was a clear indication that she was still alive. He glanced around, looking for any signs of danger before kneeling and picking up the blanket to cover her up.
"We'll take her back to the house," he said, gently lifting the unconscious woman into his arms and turning, making his way back towards their village.

Lucy wasn't sure where she was, or how long she'd been asleep. All she knew was that the pain she'd been feeling had subsided a fair bit and she was feeling stronger. The warm feeling of a fire brushed over her and the smell of stock bubbling away over it – it was the smell of safety, of a warm home that was tended to and loved.
Her eyes flickered open with a slight groan, raising her hand to her head. The last thing she remembered was running through a field as fast as she could, away from Solace and her uncle, but her memory stopped then. Shifting her aching body, she sat up, feeling the scratchy blanket that covered her fall away. She touched her chest, realising she had clothes on where she hadn't before; a simple cotton shirt and pants.
Where am I?
It was then she heard laughter and her blue eyes snapped around. There were four people sat around the fire, eating from bowls as they shared stories and laughed together. The house around them was a single room, the beds being to one side and just made up of blankets with curtains to hide them from view. There was a fire in the centre, with a chimney just above it. She recognised it as a simple village home like in Iann, and from the darkness around her she knew it was night.
Lucy at first wondered how she'd gotten here but then she focused on the family before her; the young girl was giggling as what appeared to be her older brother tickled her. The older man scolded them, telling them not to get food everywhere whilst a woman sat back, watching with a fond smile on her lips. Lucy blinked, unmoving and not saying a word for a moment; she didn't know their names, she didn't know where she was or their situation...but a stab of jealousy pushed through her at the sight.
"TOM!" The young girl giggled and her brother merely grinned.
"Say mercy."
"Never!"
The mother watched them, chuckling before her gaze shifted to focus on Lucy. Lucy stiffened, sitting back to hide amongst the shadows but the woman merely smiled at her uncertainty. She pushed to her feet, setting her bowl to one side as she moved over to Lucy, her family falling quiet as they realised their guest was awake.
Lucy watched as the curtain covering her sleeping area was pushed back, and the woman smiled down at her, "there's no need to be frightened." She told her and Lucy believed her words, but her mind span with thoughts of how this could be a cruel trick, that something was going to go wrong. "My name is Zaria, and this is my family Thomas, Maria and James," she indicated to each of them in turn before sitting at the end of the bed, giving Lucy some space. "Our son found you a couple of days ago...we've been nursing you back to health."
Lucy's blue eyes focused on the kind woman, her greying, copper hair tied back and wrinkles showing signs of her age but there was nothing but kindness within her eyes. She let out a shaking breath, feeling their attention was all on her. These people had found her, brought her in without knowing anything about where she was from and had nursed her back to help. She knew that without them that she would have died in the field.
"Thank you," Lucy breathed, still hugging the blanket to her front as she sat back from them all, drawing in on herself.
"It's alright – would you like some soup?" Although Zaria was curious as to where the woman had come from, what had happened to her she focused on helping her relax and feeding her. There was no rush or need for them to uncover the nightmares that the woman had been through.
She was safe now.