A/N: Alright, I like the way the last chapter ended. Spooky, but enticing… So, since it was so enticing, you will probably want to get back to it. I own nothing.
Manfred laughed.
"Emma, Emma. You foolish girl." And he switched his gaze to her. Tancred snapped to consciousness and saw what Emma had done.
"Emma no!" He went to pull her away from Manfred's gaze. Just as his hand reached her shoulder a second figure appeared in the door. Manfred found himself on the ground, entombed in a casket of stone. Only his head remained out of the rock.
The figure in the doorway was, of course, Erik. Apparently Manfred had gotten his complete crew back together.
Emma was now almost completely under Manfred's control. He sent thoughts to her head, telling her to join him, that his cause was just, and would help the world.
Emma wanted to believe him. She was trying desperately to fight it, but could not. Every ounce of her being was being converted, turned to what Manfred wanted. A horrible feeling of helplessness came over her.
All of the thoughts in her head were not her own. They had been planted there, twisted to Manfred's liking.
Then one thought permeated the darkness that was overwhelming her. A thought of white light. Of pureness beyond imagining.
This thought was of Tancred. His brilliant blue eyes, his electric yellow hair. Embedded within the thought was a feeling. Love. Her love for him.
The light of the though spread. It overwhelmed her consciousness. It drove Manfred out, but it did more than that.
Somehow the light pursued the darkness. All of it, not just Manfred.
Emma felt her eyes go unfocused. She didn't lose consciousness, just sort of lost control of herself. She blacked out, but she was still standing. She was slightly aware, but not enough to tell what was going on. She heard a shout, and then lost all sense of herself.
Part Two
Tancred was desperate. He knew that Emma wasn't strong enough to withstand Manfred's gaze. No one was, except for Charlie. Tancred made a mental note that if they ever got out of this alive, he would have to ask Charlie how he did it.
Tancred saw Emma's head loll forward. She was submitting. He tried to shout, but found that there was only enough air in his lounges to inhale and exhale, but not whisper, let alone shout.
Suddenly something happened. A light shone in the previously dingy room. A brilliant, blinding light. Tancred looked up to see Emma, her eyes glowing a silvery white. He saw Manfred quailing in front of her.
Manfred let out a shout of pain. It was almost as if the light was burning him. Erik turned toward Manfred, his concentration lapsing just enough for Tancred to escape his earthy bonds.
Tancred swung his arms. He had to get Emma away from the two, and the best way to do that was to send a blast of wind between the two parties, throwing Emma back towards him, and the other two out the door. He caught Emma, and realized that the light had vacated her eyes.
She shook her head, and then started, jumping in Tancred's arms. She quickly stood, and prepared herself for the battle that was sure to come.
Manfred and Erik waked shakily through the door. Apparently Manfred had instructed Erik not to do anything, seeing as there was no stone flying at, and or entombing Emma and Tancred.
" Clever trick. But not clever enough." Both Emma and Tancred were careful not to look into Manfred's eyes. They had learned from their mistake.
" You see, we have grown more powerful. You remember how our ancestor was the red king? Well, obviously he had ten children. Five dark, five light. Two of the dark were Borlath and the oldest girl, Count Harkens wife. Now, long after these two were deceased, two of their descendants met. They fell in love. They got married, blah, blah, blah. Their son, Marcun, was one of the most powerfully endowed in the history of the children of the red king. It is Marcun, that Count Harken's old supporters went to, it was he who commanded them."
" Harken himself did little of the leg work, and the actual magic. What he did was parlor tricks compared to what Marcun could do. It was Marcun that made it possible for Harken to take the throne. It is Marcun that we now follow."
Tancred processed the information. It was a lot to take in. Emma, however, was on the ball. She took it all in, and more, in a matter of seconds.
" See, when we…" Manfred seemed to have trouble at this point " moved away." He finally settled for. " We met some of his followers. And they convinced us that Marcun could make us more powerful than we had ever been before. They were right. I can overwhelm a person in a matter of seconds, and Erik here is no longer limited to animating carved stone. Now, anything that is earth, he can move it."
As if demonstrating this fact, Erik stepped forward and put his hands up. " Finish it. They won't escape this time." Manfred's order was cruel, with no emotion behind it at all.
Erik grinned wickedly and closed his eyes. The room started to shake. Emma straightened in defiance, though every nerve in her body was telling her to run and not look back.
Tancred's eyes clouded over. However, before he could do anything, parts of the ceiling started to collapse on themselves, bringing chunks of rock down around them.
" Ta-ta!" Said Manfred, and he walked out the door. Erik backed out behind him, his hands still raised, his spell still in effect.
A large chunk of ceiling above Emma started to rumble. She apparently didn't notice, as she was watching Erik with complete and utter hatred, only the smallest spark of fear showing in her eyes.
Tancred wasn't even aware of the fact that he was moving towards Emma toward he was only a foot away. Seeing as he was going very fast, this did not take long.
Tancred wrapped his arms around Emma on the fly, bringing her to the ground. A second later the chunk of the ceiling fell, Emma completely underneath Tancred, shielded from anything that might come at her.
Emma felt a horrible pressure come to her legs, and Tancred's head fell hard against hers. The second before she blacked out she heard a shout.
" I found them! They're here!"
A/N: OOOOOOOOOOOH! That didn't turn out quite as I had expected, but it came out well, don't you think? Anyway, I would like to point out that this is the longest chapter I have done coming in at a grand total of 1152 words. I'm going to stop counting now. Anyways, R&R please!
