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Anna winced in pain as her thin arms were grabbed roughly and the sharp sound of the rest of the glass hitting the floor rung out in her ears. She glared up at him, trying to pull her arms free. When she managed to slip from his grasp she whirled around, watching as the door slammed shut and it was locked. She sighed and walked to her hammock, laying against the smooth blankets and thinking of what they could've possibly wanted her for. She knew nothing about the ebt her family was in and she would have tried to reason with these men, if only she knew.

When Channing returned to his fellow men they had already cleaned the tables off and assigned a man to get them scrubbed clean and put away. Channing rubbed his brow in a stressed manor, walking back through the door and down the other long corridor. He was heading to his office. He had a small cot in there in which he slept on and he loved being in there to write his stories. As he walked farther down he took one last glance at Anna before disappearing into his sanctuary. In that room the candles were dully flickering as small breezes slipped in and out of the room. On his oak desk there were papers scattered along the table and a knife sitting on the edge, his knife. Channing glanced at it but pay it no mind as he went to his desk and sat, pulling out one of the drawers and grabbing a small leather booklet. He grabbed a small pencil and began to write;

Mission Successful November 17, 1823

Journal,
Today was a successful capture as I took the princess of the Southern Kingdom into my prison. I have yet to figure this woman out though. A tall, young, beautiful, slender girl with hair as gold as wheat fields and eyes as green as the lush fields. Though her appearance strums the heart strings, it's plain to see that a fire in her eyes is burning ablaze and will not dim for even the dullest of situations. She reminds me a bit of myself. Feisty, arrogant, tricky and by all means a true fighter by heart. Her soft eyes lure you in as though a Venus fly trap would, just before they clamp shut and end your life. Her grip is like that of a vice, strong and hard to break free from. I take it that she has had some former training, but then again I doubt that. From here I must wait till the month of December to bring her to General Wolfe. He can decide what to do with her from there, and I shall be glad to have this bother taken away from my hands.

Which was all he managed to write before beginning to suddenly sketch Anna at the bottom of the book, incase they were to separate he wanted to always have a picture of his very first Princess captive. He drew her with a very stealthy body with a beautiful dress on and golden hair that curled behind her ear and fell onto her shoulders. A beautiful woman and a beautiful drawing. He soon found himself daydreaming about the girl, shaking his head in rebellion to the idea of keeping her around.

Anna sighed, glancing over at Channing before he disappeared again into a different room. She shook her head sadly and looked around, it was about mid-afternoon noun and things were just getting started. As she lay on the hard hammock Anna couldn't help but think of her parents and of her friends. Thoughts of her childhood and the regrets she had as a teenager became more clear and she began to pay more attention to them. "If I ever get out, I'll tell my mother and father I'm sorry." She said quietly, not thinking if anyone would be walking around or paying attention. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brock, turning her nose up from the beast of four legs.

"Never live life to regret it." A voice from behind said. A figure soon stepped into the light, it was Channing. The tall male stepped over to the cell and put his hand on the cold iron bars. "I can relate." He said and looked out the window instead of at Anna. The scars he wore all over his body were not on the skin, but something deeper. On the soul. Though it did feel good to speak a bit of his past he didn't feel as though Anna should know all about him and his past, since of course she was still a stranger. Channing sighed inwardly and quietly, hoping not to draw attention to himself. His dog Brock roaming around freely outside in the cool mid-afternoon air. Channing glanced down at Anna.

Anna jumped at the sound of his voice, sitting up on her hammock and turning to face him. She didn't trust laying down right below him, at least not yet. She shot him a glare before realizing what he had said. Inhaling deeply she looked around, now uneasy about what to say next to this man. "Oh, is that so? You can relate nothing to me, for I am a superior to you and I have a greater responsibility and challenges." She said and turned her nose up at him. This was so out of character for Anna and she honestly didn't know why she chose to act like this around him. Maybe if I act tough enough, he'll release me and I'll be able to run free again. She thought anxiously, looking him over again.

Channing smirked and her and grabbed her roughly by the arm, knowing she wasn't smart enough to try and fight him away. "You keep thinking like that, your life will be even more dreadful." He said, releasing her in that instance. Channing looked over at her again and grinned once more, "But of course, you could never understand were the honest and hardworking people come from. Since of course you've always had everything handed to you and since your the liking of several people. Others like myself have to work to stay alive, but see, you'd know nothing about the life of the commoners. Of the average day people." Channing paused for a moment. "My parents are dead! So I can never go back and tell them how much I'm sorry for what I've done and how much pain I had caused my family. Greater responsibility? At least you get to go back and apologize for your mistake, but me, I'll never get the chance to go back and rewrite history. So don't act all high and mighty to me sweet heart, you know no pain." He said before turning on his heels and beginning to walk away.

Channing smirked and her and grabbed her roughly by the arm, knowing she wasn't smart enough to try and fight him away. "You keep thinking like that, your life will be even more dreadful." He said, releasing her in that instance. Channing looked over at her again and grinned once more, "But of course, you could never understand were the honest and hardworking people come from. Since of course you've always had everything handed to you and since your the liking of several people. Others like myself have to work to stay alive, but see, you'd know nothing about the life of the commoners. Of the average day people." Channing paused for a moment. "My parents are dead! So I can never go back and tell them how much I'm sorry for what I've done and how much pain I had caused my family. Greater responsibility? At least you get to go back and apologize for your mistake, but me, I'll never get the chance to go back and rewrite history. So don't act all high and mighty to me sweet heart, you know no pain." He said before turning on his heels and beginning to walk away.

Anna gasped when she felt his tough hand around her arm again, this time not fighting back. She drew back quickly before stumbling against the walls, glaring at him. His words made sense to her and soon she felt as though she was the bad guy, sighing before turning her attention to the floor. When his voice finally stopped and the sound of shoes began again she rushed back over to where he was standing. Reaching as far as she could to him. Her fingers gripped deep into the excess fabric of his shirt, holding onto him tightly. "Please don't leave." She said, getting slightly choked up on her words. "I need someone to talk to." She admitted quietly, gazing into his beautiful eyes.

When he felt a grip on his sleeve the taller male stopped, turning his head slightly to the side to hear what she had to say. Lowering his head Channing turned around again, walking over to the cell and leaning his shoulder against one of the bars. Lazily he stuffed his hands down into his pockets. The cold pieces of gold coins were moving around in the pockets, Channing fingering them curiously. he looked over at Anna finally, "What do you want to talk about?" He asked, a hint irritated and a hint sleepy. It was becoming night time and Channing needed the sleep for the journey and hard days work tomorrow morning, and he hand to get up earlier than everybody else.

Anna looked down at her hands as she slowly released him. "What exactly are you planning to do with me? If it's something bad please, please don't hold back just tell me so I'll be ready." She said, now looking back into his eyes again. She saw a tough, cold man on the outside but his eyes couldn't lie to her. On the inside, he was a loving caring man with a big heart. Anna was always able to read people, no matter whom. A lovely little gift her mother had taught her. Anna could remember her mother telling her, "Beauty is only skin deep. Look into the eyes and his whole life will be revealed onto you." Such a wise woman for someone only in her mid 30s.

The bigger male took in a deep breath before looking from the floor to the beautiful princess. "Our, me and my men, mission is to ride to the southern kingdom and capture you, then I will bring you back to the Northern Kingdom and we will hold you for ransom. When the King and Queen give up their thrown we will take over that kingdom. Then we shall grow our nation strong with the guards and rogues of this kingdom and our power will over come all." He said and looked back down to the cold floor. "All you are to us is a pay day, a big pay day. The sooner your parents pay the sooner you'll be returned to your family and dethrowned." Channing said, glancing over into her eyes again before drifting down to her dress. Beautiful He thought as he studied the fine stitching and the beautiful material, that vibrantly matched her eye color.

The small blond smirked and shrank to the floor, looking sadly at the stone flooring. "They won't pay it and they will not give up the thrown for one, unexpected, daughter whom they barely loved anyway." She said, knowing that her parents did love her very much and that she was lying to Channing. She sighed and looked up once at him, noticing a scar that she hadn't pay much attention to before. Anna was curious about it but decided not to ask, in concern that he might give a smart remark to her and make her mad again. She paused a moment as the birds quieted and the frogs began croaking from the lake nearby. Oh how she hated the sound of those little things, though she did appreciate them being around.

Channing smirked, not surprised at all by the fact that she was unexpected by her parents. "They'll pay it." He reassured, not to make her feel better, "Or else they'll have your dead body to deal with." He said and glared at her. "If I were you, I'd try to at least write a letter and convince them to pay it. Besides, you and your mother will most likely be sold at market if the Northern King and Queen decide against keeping a fare babe such as yourself." He said and shrugged his shoulders. Honestly, deep in his heart he was against being so mean to her but he would do anything to get that money from her. He noticed her small tiara and her necklace, wondering how much value it had to it. I could slip it from her neck when she sleeps and she'd never even notice. He thought, deciding against it for now. Two of his men came towards him, reporting to him the news from Anna's parents hadn't come yet. Channing grunted, impatient with this entire ordeal now. He ran his rough hand through his thick blonde hair and shook his head.

Princess Anna sighed and looked up at him again. Wait, he complimented me. She thought, a smile slipping onto her face. "What might your name be?" She asked finally, trying to fit all the possible names to his face. He didn't look like a Chase or a Felix, but something more royal and regal than that, though she couldn't quite pin point it. She sighed in boredom as she leaned against the bars once more, grabbing the bars with one hand and running her hand across the uneven floor with another hand. She wanted to go on a ride to explore this kingdom, and since it was only late afternoon it was still possible for the ride. Meanwhile back at the castle Anna's mother and father were arguing about saving their daughter, the only aire to the thrown! Her father, a cold man he was, told his wife Miranda to not worry about it so much, that it was probably his daughter's way of telling them that she was independent. Another runaway act like she had tried back when she was 15 years old. Deep down her mother knew there was something wrong but decided to put it off, wanting to wait until tomorrow to have a search party in motion. She sighed, placing her hand on her chest and watching the window.

Channing took a breath and looked down at her, trying to recall if he had told her his name earlier. Shrugging his shoulders as he couldn't recall it. "Channing. Channing Wolfe." He said, wondering what she might be thinking. He glanced over at his men as they were all returning to their duties outside before the land grew dark. The young man inhaled a bit and coughed into his sleeve, making sure to not cough over Anna. This may be a light cold. He said, recalling back to the time when he had been working and training outside in the cold rain. Ice cold water droplets pelting against his bare chest and back as lightning cracked through the sky. Channing sighed quietly, the men outside chopping up fire wood and gathering all the supplies they could. A few men were in the process of gathering enough supplies to build a wooden jail cart and horse supplies, so that they would be able to transport the princess without having to deal with her thrashing around on the horse.