'Annabeth? Baby? What is it? What happened?' his breath- short was coming rapidly upon my cheek tickling it softly.

'I-I' I moaned softly clutching my face desperately, concealing the torturous agony below. 'I'm fine Luke – honest.' I tried to sound brave, I tried so hard. And failed. I was useless and weak and tired. So tired. Of pain, of stress, of life. The blood seeped through the gaps between my fingers as my clutch tightened. He moved in closer until I could count the freckles on his nose I could feel the distance between us like the equator, hot and dividing our closeness. His blue eyes meet mine searching for answers, for anything. His fingers clasp mine and begin forcibly prising them from my face. He gasped. My face was a mess of torn tissue, tears and blood. His face echoed the pain that seared through my body at intervals, sending shock shudders down my spine. I started to rock to and fro, to and fro, sobbing like a baby. His fingers trace the gashes on my face and as he does I hear the whip. Again. Coming in over and over. I pleaded, I cried, I screamed. To no avail. Swish.

'Annabeth I've had enough – you've had enough, we're leaving!' And for the first time that night I laughed. A real pure sound that rang through the air tearing through the morbid atmosphere of the world I live in. My knight in shining armour…Huh?

'Luke, we've been waiting to leave for like forever, and we still have only saved up enough for one ticket! Don't kid yourself. I'll just go back to work, get whipped a little mo-'

'NO! 'he snarled harshly ' we've seen too much of the whip for a lifetime.'

'Luke' I say softly stroking his face – he's got such a handsome face, just saying – 'we've got no choice'

'We do Annabeth, we could use the sale trick plan.' I stopped my rocking – and my stroking. No way!

'You mean the plan where we sell ourselves off on the slave trade pocket the money and run away?'

'That's exactly the plan I mean' he smiled 'don't worry Annie babe we've got one leg out of here'

'Don't call me that! And no that's too dangerous!' he grabbed the sides of my face and shook me.

'Annabeth we've got to act now! Before one of us winds up dead! We've got to leave this stupid country right now!' I looked around the horizon tentatively, my country, my birthplace, my prison. Egypt its towering beauty, riches and grace disguising the poverty and pain of the undernourished dying in the masses. I swallowed hard.

'Okay, as long as it's just the slave trade not the you know -other one.' He smirked.

'come n we'll fix your face, get you something decent to wear and let's go. It's a long journey.'

I got up to get myself together and found my eyes welling up. I grabbed his face kissed him on the cheek and held him close. He was all I had and I was scared to let him go. Even for a little while.