It was clear that there was only one direction they could go and that was out of the cave. The smoke was coming in fast now but it hadn't reached a level where breathing was too difficult. There wasn't much time left, though.<br/><br/>The assassin's eyes locked with Elizabeth's. He retrieved a tiny dagger, hardly more than 2 inches long from his boot. Moving over to the princess' side, he kept his voice low as he whispered in her ear. "These men are here to get you, but make no mistake. They will not hesitate to have some fun with you before returning you to your daddy. They will blame me for anything they do. Likely, they will make sure you are unconscious by the time they get back to your palace so you cannot discount their claims." Distaste was clear in his voice. Glaran despised rapists. If he was required to kill, he killed quickly, mercifully. He did not hurt for the sake of hurting.<br/><br/>He paused a moment to gauge Elizabeth's reaction, then continued, pressing the small knife into her hand. "You have only one chance at getting out of this unhurt. When I give the signal, use the knife. Don't try to make it pretty and don't aim to kill. You can't. Aim to disable and to hurt. The throat or the groin. Both should be easily accessible. They will expect you to resist, but they will not expect you being armed. Use that."<br/><br/>He did not wait for her to nod her assent. The smoke reached their eyes as he spun suddenly, pushing Elizabeth hard. Somehow she managed to stay upright as she stumbled out of the cave, half-blinded by tears. Behind her, she heard Glaran coughing. Rough hands grabbed her arms as she blinked furiously.<br/><br/>"'Ello love." This was a different voice than before, coarser. The mouth the voice belonged to smelled of beer and tobacco. As she was half-dragged out of the cave entrance she saw that Glaran had been right; three men occupied the small clearing. One was tending the fire, fanning the smoke towards the cave entrance. Another was watching the cave, not paying her any heed at all. He was dressed finer than the other two and it wouldn't suprise Elizabeth if he was the owner of the pleasant voice. Finally she looked at the last man, his hand like a vice around her upper arm. He was big, bigger than some of the guards in her father's palace. How was she supposed to be able to disable one like him? As he looked down on her, there was no mistaking the intention in his eyes.