Elizabeth wept loudly as she embraced the ork’s cold body. The child desperately tried to wake him up, to hold on that he was only sleeping, but he was gone. The boy watched over her with tears on his face as well, but he looked back at the direction where the guard went.

Coren knew that if anyone found out there was another girl among them, they would take her away. He heard the screams of the other girls when they were taken when they arrived, and after that, they all just stayed in the large building, never to be seen again.

He only met Elizabeth and the old ork when they were in the carriage on the way to the mines. When they met, the old ork named Ogrhan borrowed his hair. The ork then carved runes on its own body and performed a ritual to change Elizabeth’s appearance to match his. For a week, she looked exactly like him, and Ogrhan made them act as though they were twins while he secretly planned how to escape from the mines.

The old ork soon tried to find a way out for all three of them while he protected both Coren and Elizabeth from the guards. Ogrhan would even give his drinks and measly rations to both of them as well. But during the previous week, Coren could see that whatever magic he used to protect Elizabeth was slowly making the old ork sick and weak. Blood seeped from his runes every day, then, out of the blue, Ogrhan told them of his plan to escape.

He told the two children that his life force was almost spent and that they should stick as close to him as possible. Ogrhan knew that if the slavers found out that someone was dying, they would have the other slaves dig the grave far away from the compound, with only one guard to keep an eye on them.

It was at that moment that the children needed to do everything they could to take down the guard and get the key. They had to remove their collars and head for a gap in the walls that he had found not too long ago.

Coren never imagined that the opportunity would come like this.

He also did not know that once the old ork died, the magic that protected Elizabeth would disappear along with him. Ogrhan knew this too, as the old ork begged and made him promise he would protect her. But as Coren stood there with tears running down his face as well, he did not know if he could keep that promise.

“Elizabeth, you need to hide!” He tried to wipe away his tears and urged her to get up. “Orghan said you can't let anyone find out you’re a girl!”

But she didn’t hear him. She hugged on to the old ork. Elizabeth wailed and called out to him to wake up.

“Elizabeth!” Coren shook her, but she clutched on. The boy now attempted to yank her from the corpse, but she held on tightly. “You need to hide! They will hurt you! They will take you away!”

But she would not budge. Coren looked back to the camp and feared the guards' return. He ran to the tree and tried to untie the chains, but it was firmly locked. He tried to remove the chain from his neck, but it was firmly held in place too. He struggled vainly to try and pry open his collar or remove the chain from his collar, but it was both equally useless.

Coren then saw a cloth tarp where the guard picked up the chain. He got it and covered Elizabeth with the filthy cloth. He then stayed close by her side and picked up a trowel as he began to dig.

It was only a matter of time before the slaver came back, but he would do whatever he could to protect her.

Whatever it takes.

After a while, a light came from the camp and caught his eye. It was the guard who walked back with a lantern in one hand and his rifle slung over his shoulder. Coren dropped his trowel and rushed to Elizabeth, who was still knelt down next to the dead ork.

He heaved her up and sat Elizabeth down beside him. Coren then fixed the tarp, making sure it covered her with their backs that faced the guard. His hands started to sweat and shake as he was unsure of what to do.

“That hole better be nice and done by now!” The guard said as he got closer.

The two children did not even acknowledge him.

“You filthy brats!” He yelled. “You've been slacking off?!”

As the steps came closer, Coren held the trowel firmly in his hand. It had a sharp point, which should be enough. He looked at Elizabeth, who was looking back at him under the tarp. Coren put a finger to his lips and Elizabeth, with tears that welled up in her eyes, nodded and closed them tightly.

He was breaking out in cold sweat now as his feet and hands started to feel numb.

“You don't even want to look at me now, huh?!”

The guard got close enough and grabbed his shoulder to turn him around. But when he did, Coren, with the trowel in hand, tried to stab the guard.

The guard, however, managed to step back in time, causing him to slip and fall. The guard took the opportunity and stomped down, which landed with a loud, sickening crunch. His boots, the trowel Coren held, and the hard ground crushed the boy's small hand. Coren yelled out in pain as the guard repeatedly stomped on his body.

“You dogs! You have the spine to fight back huh?!” The guard roared and cursed as he continued to stomp down on the child. “Fight now! C’mon fight now!”

Then he felt a heavy blow come from the back of his head. He looked back as the other child, who wore a huge tarp, had thrown a large rock at him. He placed his hand where it had hit him and felt a wet patch that trickled down his nape. He walked towards the child who tried to run, but he merely grabbed the chain on the ground and jerked it hard, which caused the child to fall flat on its back.

The guard then removed the tarp the child was wearing to reveal a blonde haired little girl with sparkling blue eyes. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up. Her feet flailed in the air.

“Where have you been hiding, huh?” He said, with a large grin on his face.

Elizabeth screamed and struggled as the guard noted she had very smooth, fair skin.

This girl was the daughter of someone rich, and no doubt they could sell her off for a large amount, but where did she come from? But as he looked back at the dead ork, he finally pieced it together.

“You clever brat, did that ork use blood magic on you?!” He continued to choke and shake Elizabeth furiously. “You think you can hide? Huh?! Your Warlock pet can't protect you anymore!”

Coren’s vision was blurred, but once he heard the screams, he picked up the trowel with his other hand. He ran towards the guard and screamed with rage. The guard looked back at Coren, but in the moment he looked away, Elizabeth pulled her trowel out and stabbed the slaver's arm, which caused him to cry out in pain and drop her.

Coren tried to tackle the guard’s leg, but the slaver, enraged, grabbed him by the neck and punched him hard on his stomach with a loud thud. He crumpled to the ground while Elizabeth, with her trowel in hand, tried to attack from behind. But the guard saw and kicked her, and she fell flat on her side.

The slaver then grabbed his rifle from his shoulder and aimed at her when a large explosion rang from the encampment.