Writing Prompt: Understanding dawned.

Morning all. I’m running a slight bit behind on this overcast Friday morning, but not too bad. Only one swipe of the snooze button not five. so I’m counting that as a win. So shall we jump into the last prompt of the week? I’m ready if you are. Timers set? Fabulous, let’s go.

Okay this was so not where I expected this prompt to go when I first saw it on the list last week. But I really like it. Not sure what that says about me though.

Friday, February 24^th: Understanding dawned.

Understanding dawned. My eyes slowly widened. “No,” I said.  “No there has to be another way.”

Heads shook sadly and while I saw some sympathetic faces and some who would not meet my eyes,  No one turned away.  The matter had been settled.  I glanced towards the door hoping escape would be possible, but before I could take a step in that direction I was grabbed from behind.  Faster than I thought possible I was bound and hefted over the shoulder of Trandio, one of the largest men in the village.  I wiggled in his grasp but there was no escape, the bonds were too tight and he was too strong.  I knew I resembled nothing more than a wriggling fish newly caught from the stream but I couldn’t stop trying to fight the bonds.  My brain knew it was useless but I simply couldn’t let myself simply give up.

Nothing helped and soon enough Trandio was lowering me onto the ceremonial platform.  I was made to stand and my arms were lifted, hooked by their bindings to a hook above my head.  They gathered round.  A few murmured words of thinks for my sacrifice, a couple threw flowers on the platform.  I had never attended one of the sacrifices before thinking them both needless and barbaric, but I thought there would be more ceremony. More ritual.  There wasn’t. 

The platform began to lower, my hands and feet were still bound.  I wriggled but it did no good.  When I was lowered far enough that only my bound hands were above the rim of the pit, one of the elders, Heorna leaned down and cut the bonds to my wrists. I had never been fond of the man and he knew it.  She smiled wickedly down at me as I looked up and wondered at this show of mercy.

“He likes them with a little bit of fight in them,” he whispered.  There was evil glee in his face.

My hands were free and I lowered them but before I could do anything, the platform lowered further and the lid above slid into place and was locked down.  There would be no help from above.  I knelt down on the still lowering platform and unbound my feet wanting to be free when it finally came to rest.

The pit was dark but not as pitch black as I feared.  The beast, if it existed apparently did not require complete darkness. Despite the low light level, I found my eyes adjusting.  I crouched low on the platform trying to peer into the shadows.  There was a stone wall behind me, the channel for the platform having been curved into the side.  It was smooth and offered no hand hold.  I membered they had not searched me.

The few times I had seen victims taken, they were men or boys and I remembered them being searched, their weapons taken from them.  As a female, they had not taken such a precaution.  I had been gutting fish that morning by the river, and still had the knife tucked into my waistband.  The knife and it’s makeshift sheath were hidden by my shirt.  I lifted the shirt and took out the knife.  The sheath was nothing more than a cloth to protect me from the blade.  I simply needed my hands free, I wasn’t carrying it into battle.  The cloth I tied around my wrist wrapping it securely before tying the knot.  With my other hand I gripped the knife.  The platform came to a stop with a soft thump as it hit the ground.