“Quite beautiful, Leah,” he replied, strolling alongside her.

“Promise me you’ll always cherish Mother Nature as you do with me on our walks.” Leandra looked up at Krosia with a certain earnest in her gaze. He just smiled simply at her.

“I promise, dearest Leah, but why the favor?”

“I don’t know why, Krosia, but I just want to make sure you never mistreat the dearest gift our Antar could receive. The gift of nature and it’s simplest but most loveliest beauties.” Krosia nodded, wrapping a friendly arm around her shoulder and pulling her close to his side.

“Krosia! Krosia!” Leandra and he turned to see a servant running quickly towards them.

“What is it?” Krosia asked the servant.

“The king! He needs your attendance right this instance.” Both Krosia and Leandra glanced at each other in suspicion.

“Did he say as to what he needed me for?”

“No. Just that it is urgent you be in attendance right now.” Krosia nodded to the servant, but looked apologetically at Leandra.

“I’m so sorry-”

“Don’t worry, Krosia,” Leandra replied, smiling again. “Zan needs you more than I do.”

“All right, but Leandra-”

“I know, Krosia. Stay inside the palace walls and don’t take candy from strangers! Now go!” Krosia placed a tender kiss on her cheek and ran off towards the palace.

Sighing, Leandra strolled out into the garden, one of her most favourite places on the whole palace grounds. The luxurious aromas of it’s wild and exotic flowers and its’ descendants tickled her nose, causing her to giggle to herself.

She didn’t expect it. She didn’t expect the cold, harsh hand clamping down on her mouth, ceasing all intelligible thoughts other than desire for immediate escape. Hot terror ran down her throat as appalling bile rose up, threatening to take Leandra away from the world of consciousness. The horrific ideas of what to come were enough to knock her cold to the ground.

“Don’t fight it,” the husky voice whispered into her ear, wanting to frighten her. But it energized her instead, causing her to fight more desperately against her captor. She bit his hand fiercely, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth and a string of curses damaging her ears. Pulling away, she ran only to be stopped by more captors. There was at least three, maybe four of them. Too many.

Leandra cried out in fury, no matter where she turn, ending up in the arms of another evil.

“Please,” Leandra cried breathlessly.

“LEANDRA!” The howl was so distant, so out of reach to Leandra.

A rough hand grabbed her arm and pulled her close to the stench of a sickening man.

“Let her go,” Zan’s voice growled with a fierceness not even his worst enemies had ever heard.

The man never lost his grip, instead tightening his hand around her arm. Leandra winced at the pain that flooded her.

“We can work this out,” Krosia’s kind voice floated. “Just don’t hurt our Leah, we’ll do anything.” Again, the man stayed silent.

“I SAID LET HER GO!” Zan roared, his hand already aiming at Leandra’s present captor. Leandra flinched at Zan’s violent lost of temper.

“Don’t move!” the man screamed into her ear. Leandra lost all sane thought and began to struggle with the man, pulling and tugging her body away from his staggering grip.

“LEANDRA, NO!” Zan’s shout filled her ears, as an excruciating burning sensation flooded her body from the inside out. She didn’t feel the hand touch her back, and she still couldn’t feel it. All senses were fleeing her, and so was consciousness. The painful ache that seared her whole body was overpowering, and she could barely form any words.

Leandra’s body fell to the ground, her captor shocked at what he had done.

Zan fell next to her body, crying in deep anguish. His hand cupped the side of her face, watching the agony plummet through her body, and feeling it through his own being.