Yours truly has a broken leg. Cheer her up. Leave a review.

Four

Two weeks later, we took the cast off of Cynthia's dog's leg and I was sent to fetch his owner. She beamed like the sun when the animal took three wobbling steps toward her.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed and launched herself onto Danielle. The older woman looked startled, and then wrapped her arms around the child. I saw in her face the love of a mother and wondered not for the first time what had happened to her daughter.

"You are very welcome," she said, one hand stroking Cynthia's tangled gold hair.

Just as the girl went to leave, carrying her dog, there was a loud roar, followed by a piercing scream. We rushed outside to see a huge white bear lumbering into the marketplace, far from our hut. People were fleeing in all directions, overturning baskets and stalls. It caught someone, but from where we were, it was impossible to tell who. Armed men came running into the square moments later, holding crossbows aloft. The bear reeled, standing on its hind paws and clawing the air, and we could see the men reloading their bows. The beast charged and trampled one of them, catching another in its jaws, and then stumbled drunkenly to one side, to the other, and finally fell.

Gradually, people began to crowd around. We left the house to join them, Cynthia clinging tightly to Danielle's hand and to her dog in her other arm. It was a fairly long walk, and by the time we arrived, almost all the village had encircled the bear.

Lord Benjamin was there, looking on as his men dragged the arrow-ridden corpse away. People were questioning what it was, and where it had come from, but he ignored them. He caught sight of me and pushed his way toward me. Danielle slipped away before he got near enough to see her, losing herself in the crowd.

"Hello again," he greeted me. I curtseyed politely, knowing better than to give him any attitude. "Have you been considering my offer?"

"Yes, my lord," I said to the ground.

"And?" he questioned.

"I have decided to decline, my lord," I said, still looking down. Though I could not see his face, I could tell he was angry.

"Thompson, Allen!" he barked. Metal clattered on metal and two new sets of boots came into my field of view. "Take her to the fort."

Two hands clamped onto my arms and pulled. I twisted, trying to break free. "No!" I cried, pulling uselessly. I looked pleadingly over my shoulder at Jack, but he stood helpless, watching me be taken away. "Jack! Jack, help! Do something!" He couldn't do anything, though, or risk harsh punishment, and I watched as his form got smaller and smaller as I was dragged, quite literally kicking and screaming, to the fort.

They pulled me inside and up several flights of stairs, and finally deposited me onto a cold stone floor and shut the door. I heard a heavy bolt slide into place but I flung myself at the door nonetheless, beating my fists against the wood and yelling. "Let me out! You can't do this! Let me out!"

"It's useless," said a soft voice from behind me. I whipped about to face a young blond woman in a simple dress. She was pretty, with clear blue eyes and sharp features.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"My name is Juliet," she told me, going over to the fireplace and poking at the glowing logs. "I am Lord Benjamin's maid. You are Katherine, are you not?"

"How do you—"

"He speaks of you often," she said, blowing on the embers to restart the fire. "You may as well get comfortable; Lord Benjamin will come soon." She took a tray from the mantle. "Tea?"

"What? No," I shook my head and moved to the couch, which wasn't nearly as soft as it appeared.

"He will prefer you to wear this." Juliet held out a light white dress. I stared at it.

"Well you may tell him that I will do no such—"

"No such what?" queried a voice from the door. I turned to see Benjamin standing there. "Ah, Katherine. So nice of you to come." He turned to his maid. "Juliet, please leave."

She curtseyed low and swept out the door, closing it behind her. A moment later, a knock came and Ben barked out a "Yes?"

A young woman pushed the door halfway open and looked through, and then began to close it again. "I'll come back—"

"No, Alexandra," Ben caught her as she retreated, "Come in. I'd like you to meet Katherine."

The woman entered, and I saw that she was, in actuality, little more than a child, perhaps sixteen or seventeen. She had long dark hair, and very familiar eyes. I stared at her, trying to place her face, but the only thing I could come up with was Danielle. Then it occurred to me: Danielle. Of course. This woman-child was my friend's daughter, stolen from her as an infant.

Alexandra curtseyed to me and I returned it. "Katherine," said Ben, "This is my daughter, Alexandra."

His daughter? I stopped myself from frowning in confusion. There could be no mistake, Alex was Danielle's child, but she'd told me that she had come to this village with her baby, which would imply that she had not known Ben before now. So he must be lying, but Alex wouldn't know it. I made a silent vow to myself to free her and return her to her mother.

"Did you want something?" Ben asked Alex.

"Yes, Father," she said politely and moved to whisper in the older man's ear. His eyes darkened.

"Thank you," he said formally and strode out the door. I could see him in the corridor outside, talking to a guard. "Put her downstairs," he ordered, and spun on his heel and went out of my sight. The guard came into the room and grabbed me roughly by the arm, very much in the same manner in which I'd been brought into this place. He pulled me callously through the hallways at a run, so fast I hardly had time to look around. I caught glimpses of many doors, all closed, and then almost fell down the stairs when I tried to look out a tiny window.

Finally, we slowed, and I got a chance to register my surroundings. It was dark, darker than the other rooms, and cold, and the floor beneath my bare feet was slimy stone. Other than that, I could see little, but I could hear keys rattling, and then the door in front of us swung open. He shoved me through and I fell, landing hard on my hands and knees. As I scrambled back up, the door slammed shut and took with it the only light, leaving me in pitch blackness.

I lost track of time very quickly. It seemed to crawl by as I sat there, the darkness playing tricks on my eyes as shadows danced on the edges of my vision, with only my own voice to keep me company. At first, I'd counted seconds aloud, and when I gave that up, the silence pressed on my ears almost painfully. I endured for a while, and then began to talk.

I said hello to marshal who'd been with me on the plane, told him that I hoped he was okay, that he really wasn't such a bad guy once you got past the no-bullshit-will-be-tolerated-so-don't-even-think-about-it exterior. I had a very much one way conversation with Jack and Danielle, asking them how things were and wondering if they'd come after me. Then, when I ran out of things to say, I was left with my demons and dancing shadows.

I think I drifted off to sleep at one point, but being as there was no difference between open and closed eyes, it was hard to tell. Then my mother walked into the dungeon, in her waitress uniform.

"Hello Katherine," she said and sat down in front of me.

"M-mom?" I whispered. "What—how—?"

She just kept smiling. My father, the real one, the one I'd killed all that time ago joined her.

"Hullo Kate," he said. He was horribly mangled, scarred and burned, barely recognizable. "So, how long has it been? One… no, two years?"

Two years? Had it truly been that long?

My fake father, the kind one, plunked himself down beside my mother. "Hey Katie," he said. I felt my eyes burn with tears to see his face again and I reached out a hand to him. He took it. "How are you?" His grip tightened, becoming painful to the point where I thought my bones might break. I twisted, trying to free myself.

"Stop—"

"Stop what?" he asked lightly.

Tom came in and sat down. I gasped, still in pain from my hand, and stung even more to see him. He smiled warmly at me. "Hey Kate," he said softly and touched my cheek. My father released my hand and I clutched it to me, nursing the poor thing. Tom leaned in to kiss me but stopped suddenly, and I stared in horror as blood left a crimson trail from his mouth to his chin.

More and more people appeared, each with the wound I'd given them. Gunshots, knives… even the marshal who I'd just been 'talking to' appeared, bleeding badly from a cut on his head and from a piece of shrapnel in his leg. They leaned toward me as one, a thousand bloodstained hands reaching for me.

I screamed, and the nightmare vanished.