Whisper struggled to open her eyes and stand up, but her strength gave away. She huddled under the blankets, and then she really did open her eyes. She gawked at the layers of blankets on top of her and the pillows her head was resting on. Sitting up slowly, she pushed the covers off to the side and put her bare feet on the floor. She struggled to lift herself off the bed, and fell back, her legs giving out. She tried to catch her breath, and finally closed her eyes and just lay there, halfway on the bed.

The door opened and footsteps came closer to where Whisper lay. "Now, miss, ya gotta take better care of yerself," a friendly voice greeted her.

Whisper felt a hand rest on her forehead, and she opened her eyes to gaze into a young girl her age. The girl grinned at her and brushed Whispers hair back. The girl had very long black hair and it was very un-kept and unruly, hanging down in front of her face. She had bright green eyes that seemed to never stop sparkling.

"Let's get ya back under the covers, now, miss," the girl said. "I'll bring yer dinner soon."

"…dinner?" Whisper croaked out.

"It'll be good this time, miss, with potatoes 'n gravy, ham, 'n stuff like that. Or I'll just get yer soup for the startin', aye, miss?"

Whisper gave a slight nod of her head and with the help of the girl; she was back under her covers.

The girl went and came back in ten minutes, and she was carrying a tray of steaming soup, and Whisper's stomach growled at just seeing it. The girl set the tray beside the bed and helped Whisper sit up.

"Now, I don't expect ya to feed yerself, so I'll just help, aye?" the girl said and started spoon feeding Whisper.

Whisper didn't mind getting fed this way. She accepted each food gratefully.

"And I also put some medicine in the soup that'll help your cough. It'll calm it down a great deal. You lucky, getting that kind of medicine. Only those kinds available in the Lord's keep."

"Thank you," Whisper said after the girl was done feeding her.

"Thank the Lord Tekachi. He's the one who got you from that dark cell where only demons should go."

"Why would he…?"

"That's just the Lord Tekachi, miss. He's kind to everyone here, even though we know and he knows that he can do evil deeds. But what me thinkin', is that its just his father's commands, yessir."

Whisper shook her head. "If he's so against it, he shouldn't do it."

"You don't know the Master Tekachi, miss. Nobody can escape under him. Lord Tekachi learned that many years ago."

"What happened?"

The girl looked around. "Me best not tell you. Only if the Lord Tekachi wants to tell you."

"Then how do you know?"

The girl gave a sad smile. "I knew people that helped him. They were hunted out and killed after the Master found out."

"What?"

"Shh… just rest, miss."

"What's your name?" Whisper asked, not wanting to stop talking.

"Meggan, miss. I know yers is Whisper, and I…" Meggan was cut off by Whisper's coughing. "Ack, there I go letting the sickie talk to much again. Go to sleep, miss, 'n let the medicine work its miracle."

Whisper nodded and laid back, falling asleep in less than a minute.

Meggan got up and took the tray out, closing the door silently. She bowed suddenly when she noticed Lord Tekachi coming down the hall. He nodded to her and kept walking.

"I wouldn't go visitin' the miss, Lord Tekachi," Meggan warned him. "She's asleepin' now."

"She was awake?" Tekachi said, turning to her.

"Aye. I gave her some of the medicine you gave me. She'll take about a week to regain her energy. I also felt a light touch of a fever, so I'll have to watch over that."

"That's good," Tekachi said and turned to walk away again.

"Um, Lord Tekachi…!"

Tekachi sighed. "Just call me Tekachi, please."

"I can't do that, Lord Tekachi. Not proper. Anyways… I wanna ask why the miss is here. She not from around here."

Meggan noticed that Tekachi's shoulders slumped. "That's a good question. A good question," he said quietly and walked away.

Meggan sighed sadly and went the opposite direction.

Whisper woke up many times, Meggan always there to take care of her and help her until she regained her strength. Meggan was the only company she saw, though once or twice, she saw Tekachi pass by her door, though Tekachi would never look towards her direction.

Meggan came in the following week holding a long white and red dress. She set it on the bed and woke Whisper who was taking one of her day naps. Whisper grinned at Meggan, but looked confusedly at the dress. "What's that for?" she asked.

"The Lord Tekachi said you should wear this. He said since yer healthy enough, that you should join him for dinner tonight."

"What?"

"Ya heard me, miss. Now, its time for you to get clean. It's tiring to take care of one so dirty," Meggan grinned at her. "Of course, yer planning on goin', right?"

"I guess I could," Whisper said quietly. "I need to thank him for getting me out of that cell."

Meggan beamed at her. "Yay! Let's get ya all cleaned then!"

Whisper smiled and clambered out of bed, tugging off the torn and ripped clothes she had been wearing. She was surprised to find her skin was a shade darker. She hadn't realized how much grime had piled up. She didn't realize how bad she had smelled either.

"Phew, miss, and I though I could smell bad," Meggan laughed.

Whisper ignored her laughing and sat in the tub, practically grinning. She grabbed the soap and started rubbing at her arms and legs. After about ten minutes of scrubbing, they were all sparkly clean, and she started to wash the rest of herself, but not before gasping at how skinny she was. That was another thing she realized.

"'n that's another thing I'm not jealous of, miss," Meggan spoke as she was washing Whisper's hair. "Yer so skinny I was afraid I couldn't fatten ya up."

"I hadn't realized how skinny I had gotten," Whisper said, speaking her mind. "I've never felt my ribs protrude this much."

"'n ya don't worry about that, miss. I'll fatten ya up in no time, that I will."

Whisper grinned up at her. "I'm sure you will."

"Today will be one of the starts. Tekachi will probably have a feast."

"Really?"

"Most likely. It's not often that he eats at a table. He'll go grab snacks from the kitchen and that'll be his dinner."

"That's not healthy."

Meggan nodded, and then stopped getting the soap out of Whisper's hair. "Uh oh," she murmured.

"What?"

Meggan got up and made sure the door was locked. She walked over to the curtains and shut them, but not before looking around. "Boys."

"What!?"

"Tekachi's younger half brother. He's the worst peeping tom you'll ever see. Let's just say he takes after Lord Tekachi."

"But Tekachi said he wasn't…"

Meggan grinned, and then shrugged. "The Lord Tekachi would always get into tons of trouble. He would hang out with the kids from the town when he was younger…"

Whisper didn't feel so comfortable anymore.

"But don't you worry, miss, Lord Tekachi has probably grown out of that."

Whisper still wouldn't believe it.

There was a knock at the door. Meggan walked over. "Who is it?"

A younger version of Tekachi's voice spoke. "This is Vess's room, right?"

"What if it was?" Meggan said, getting angry that it was the boy.

"I wanna meet her! Tekachi won't stop talking about hemmphh!" the boy stopped talking as it sounded like something was clamped over his mouth. The sound of feet being dragged could be heard very loudly from where Whisper was.

Meggan laughed and went over to continue washing Whisper's hair.

It took more than an hour to finally get Whisper out of the once warm tub. She dried off and brushed her hair out that was getting to be very long. She was glad to see the color it once was. She put on the dress with the help of Meggan, who tied the strings in the back. Whisper had not worn such a nice dress since the King's birthday party. The dress had a V shaped neck, coming just below her clavicles. The sleeves ran down to the floor, being embroidered with little shapes of flowers of deep red color. The torso was filled with little flower shapes of roses, and down to the tip of the dress it also ran. It made the dress looked like it turned from white on the torso down to a dark red on the tip.

Whisper thought it was gorgeous.

Meggan, meanwhile, was braiding Whisper's hair into one braid that ran down her back. She left two strips of hair run down both sides of her face. She placed a little headband made of a small band that had a small diamond tiara that rested on her forehead. The headband also had a design of roses made of metal that ran down the side of her face along her hair. It also wound with the braid.

"You overdid yourself, Meggan," Whisper said, gasping at her reflection.

"Yes. It distracts stares from your sunken cheekbones, miss," grinned Meggan.

Whisper clenched the side of her face. "Are they really that bad?"

Meggan laughed. "No."

Whisper smiled, thankful. But she turned back to her reflection. "Isn't this a bit overdoing it, though? Come on, Meggan, it is just a dinner."

Meggan's smile faded. "I know," she whispered. "I'm sorry, miss, its also a dinner with Tekachi's father."

Whisper stood up suddenly. "What?"

Meggan sat down on the bed, nodding. "He requested a dinner with you and Tekachi."

"Why? For all I know, he didn't care whether I died or lived."

"I don't know, miss. The Master has some plan up his sleeve. I just don't know, miss. I'm sorry. I know how scary the Master can be," Meggan said, her voice wavering.

Whisper sat down and put a hand on Meggan's shoulder. "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing, nothing to me, miss. It's… just what he does to the people of this village. It's… so hard to live here, in this castle."

Whisper nodded. "I understand." She took a deep breath. "I'm ready."

Meggan got up. "Follow me then," her voice back to normal.

She led Whisper out of the bedroom for the first time, taking her into a long hall of stone statues of random men and women. There were many pictures of grinning people and many weapons hung up for display. Finally they came to a large door made from thick oak. It had engraved symbols of two swords locked against each other.

"This is the dining room," Meggan said. "I leave you here."

Whisper nodded. "Thank you so much, Meggan. For taking care of me, and all."

"Hey, I'm still not done," Meggan grinned. "Still have to fatten ya up. I'll see you later, miss." Meggan turned and slipped away quietly.

Whisper turned to the door. Curses. Now I'm alone, and Tekachi and his father are probably waiting for me on the other side. She grasped the door handle, then let go. I'm not ready for this. I can't do this. It's gonna end up to be a battle or something in there. It'll be hard to attack in this dress. Maybe that's one reason why they wanted me to wear it. She sighed and opened the door. She peered in, and sure enough, Tekachi and his father sat at the table.

"And there she is! Lady Vess!" the father laughed, though not friendly. He walked over and reached out to take her hand.

Whisper stepped back. She shook her head.

The father scowled and took her hand anyways, placing a kiss on it.

Whisper tried not to flinch.

Master Tekachi took her arm and led her to the table. Whisper looked to the ground while she was being walked over. She tried to avoid Tekachi's gaze. She sat down and stared at her plate.

"Lady Vess, you're as beautiful as your mother," Master Tekachi drawled on.

Whisper picked up her fork and stabbed the little tomato, putting it all in her mouth.

"Now, what do you think of my kingdom? You love it, don't you?"

Whisper nodded, trying to get the conversation over with.

Master Tekachi growled at her. "You're not very responsive, aren't you? Your mother was much better."

"My mother was the greatest women out there," Whisper said definitely. "I don't expect to live up to her."

"Ah, I guess you wouldn't."

Whisper kept on at eating her meal.

"Lady Vess, I am very glad to see that you are well," Tekachi said to her.

She glanced up to him and gave a small smile. "Yes. I want to thank you for having someone take care of me."

"It's no problem."

Master Tekachi stood up. "I just realized I have some business to do. Lady Vess, I grant you permission to walk around the castle, but with Tekachi or a guard present. Now, I will request later that you visit my office. I want answers soon about your father, Lady Vess."

Whisper smiled up at him, though it was cold. "I shall not say anything about my father."

He laughed. "I'm sure. You, Lady Vess, just don't know anything yet," he warned her and walked out, slamming the door.

Whisper began to fiddle around with her food. What would happen if I didn't give him answers? What would he do to me?

Tekachi cleared his throat. "Lady Vess, is everything alright with you?"

"I'm fine," Whisper lied.

Tekachi sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to end up like that."

"You mean with getting locked down in the cell for three weeks with soggy and bread and hardly any water?"

"Yes. My father… he sent me out on a quest that day I left you. I tried to return home as quickly as I could."

"What did you do?"

"What my father wanted me to do."

"You didn't kidnap any other women from their homes, did you?" Whisper growled at him.

"No. We… we did something that I don't want to do again."

"What?"

Tekachi put his arms on the tables and rested his head in his hands. "I'm using the voice that means I don't want to talk about it." He grinned at her.

"Oh! I'm sorry…" Whisper mumbled.

"Though I will say it was nothing like… your village."

Thank God. "What happened to the cold Tekachi, the one who kidnapped me from the village?"

Tekachi sighed. "That's the side of me that's afraid to speak out against my father."

"So you'll do anything to not get in trouble," Whisper pointed out. "You had the chance to escape once you reached Edgeville!"

He shook his head. "My father has tons of men who work for him. Evil men. I was being watched the whole time, Whisper."

He used my name… Not evilly. "Are we being watched now?"

He laughed. "No, you don't have to worry about that."

"Tekachi, if I was able to escape…"

"Out of the question," he said sternly.

"But…"

Tekachi stood up and placed a fist hard on the table. "That is impossible. Even if you do escape, my father will hunt you down personally and kill you, or worse."

"What's worse then death?"

"Torture. And it's worse being a woman, Whisper."

"What, your dad isn't some sort of…"

"Maybe. You just don't want to know," Tekachi said quietly. He turned to leave. "I'm done here. I'll escort you back to your room."

"Fine," Whisper said, getting up. She walked over to Tekachi, who held out his arm. She slipped her arm through, not trying to get too close.

"I'm not going to bite, you know," he said.

"I'm sorry. I'm still a little uptight about…"

"I know. Uptight about getting kidnapped."

Whisper gave a slight giggle. "You're catching on!"

Tekachi grinned down at her.

"Tekachi!" the boy from before screamed behind them. "You're being with Vess!"

"That I am, though just escorting her to her room."

The boy walked up to Whisper and took her other arm. "Will you marry me?"

Whisper laughed at the boy about two feet shorter than her. "When you're older, I might consider it."

"Great!"

"Lady Vess, this is my half brother, Will," Tekachi said, scowling at the boy who scowled back.

"Do you two not get along?" Whisper asked.

"Well, we do, just not now. He's annoyed 'cause I'm annoying you two. But he stole my girl, what could I do?"

"I didn't steal…"

"You kidnapped her, loser!"

"I didn't…"

"You did too!"

"Will. Hold your tongue."

"Ok, I'm holding it. Now what?"

"Will!"

Will laughed and let go of his tongue. He ran ahead and waved. "I'll see you two later, then! Oh, and Whisper?"

"Yes?" she responded.

"You're beautiful! With and without your clothes!"

Whisper blushed and growled at Will who had ran away.

Tekachi sighed. "I'm sorry about my idiot brother."

"He takes after you, ne?"

"What…?" Tekachi said. "I didn't mean to see you in the tub a few weeks ago…!"

"So you DID see me?" Whisper yelled at him, blushing even more.

Tekachi reddened. "Well…"

Whisper turned around and held her face her hands, redder then ever.

"I'm sorry…"

Whisper walked into her room and shut the door. She leaned against the door and shrank to the ground. She heard Tekachi walk away and leaned her head back. Ack, she couldn't be more embarrassed…

But…

She closed her eyes and gave a small smile.

Will, you little devil XD

Ok!

Ready for another Oh Dear? It won't be written by me, but by Otaku93.

What will it be about? Their children! Not only Aay's and Patrick's, but whoever else was in the Oh Dear stories. (To many to count lol)

Say if you will want this! AYE or NAY. I wanna see it : D So AYE for me!

It will be sort of like an AU.

Ttyl till the next OD:AotN, or Hidden Away chapter!