"Borin!" called a voice, and it was the farmer's turn to freeze in shock.
"Gods be damned!" he hissed, racing to Kyra's head. Images ran through his mind of his wife peering in the barn door just in time to see him raking at Kyra's young soles. He'd never, ever hear the end of it.
He stuffed the gag deeper into Kyra's mouth and snarled into her ear while she gagged. "Not a word, girl! Not so much as a hiss! If my wife finds you, I swear on all the spirits I'll call you a witch and say you enchanted me. My wife won't believe it, but that won't stop her from having you burned at the stake. She's a jealous woman and whatever pain she'll inflict on me will be damnably worse for a thing like you."
He straightened and raced from the barn.
"Over here, over here, woman," he called, and the sounds of voices began to sink away from the barn.
Alone and still tied, Kyra was unsure what to do. She was alone, and for the moment, the attack on her feet had stopped. She wasn't sure if Borin was likely to return, or if his suspicious wife would drag him back to the farmhouse. Should she make a noise and risk the woman's possible fury? Kyra was certain about one thing: the gag in her mouth had to go. It was vile; filthier than any cloth she'd ever been near. She chewed and spat and worked the cloth again out of her mouth. At least Borin was no trained bandit, she thought. Accentuate the positive!
Next, she continued to wiggle her wrists. Borin had clearly been careful when he bound her, and the knots were practiced and tight. Kyra's only hope lay in her thin frame--she twisted and pulled and turned her wrists, struggling to slide them out of the ropework.
"Stay calm," she whispered to herself. "You don't know how long you have. He could be back. He might not. Just stay calm and be careful. You can do this."
Kyra meant what she said. She'd never yet, in her young life, found a problem she couldn't solve. She was pretty, funny, charming, intelligent, energetic, and if all else failed, wealthy. Now, though, she had to rely on her exceptional agility and flexibility.
"This might hurt," she grumbled, once her hand was in position. With a great tug, she pulled her fingers through the somewhat-loosened binding.
"Yes!" she cried, using her free, if somewhat sore, hand to attack the loop around her other wrist. Within a minute, her arms were free and she shoved the gag away from her body entirely. Now she lay on a bale of hay, her feet still tightly looped in leather above her, annoyingly hard to reach. By performing the most awkward sit-up of her life, she could reach her ankles, but Borin's knots were out of reach. The best Kyra could do was attempt to pull at the bindings and make them looser. Again, her tiny feet were crucial to her escape.
She was making good headway when a noise outside the barn sent her heart racing.
"Almost, almost," Borin's voice announced. "I'm just to check the harness for a moment, and I'll be right in. Yes, yes. No, just a moment. No, I don't look sweaty. It was just some heavy lifting, is all."
"Go time," Kyra said, trying to keep from whimpering. Whatever Borin had planned for his 'moment,' she wanted no part of it. Time was running out...
A moment later, Borin stepped into the barn. His eyes widened when he saw
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