I enjoyed writing this for my friend who told me I couldn't fit the story name into the story. Also I correctly predicted who would be the next to review this story. I'm kind of sad about that. Please leave more reviews.

I cried for hours. The moment I saw Leonel in that condition I had burst into tears. He was covered in whip marks and barely conscious. He was cold, almost every inch of his body either red from the cold or the beating. The back of his shirt was shredded and had blood on it. Leonel had woken up once and had told me to stop crying before going back to sleep. Someone came in later, she had long black hair and didn't say anything but cast what I knew was the cura spell on Leonel, healing his injuries until they weren't so severe.

The next day Leonel was taken away except that when he came back he was crying and had new lash marks on his back. I draped a blanket around him and cuddled with him.

"My dad's going to hate me," he cried. I tried to wipe his tears but they kept coming.

"What happened?" I asked. He shook his head and continued to sob.

"Th-they wanted t-to know," he choked out in between sobs. "They wanted to know if my dad had r-read the b-book. They knew someone in Alvarna could read Ath. I told them th-that my dad could." He cried into my arm more intensely. "They beat me Kei, I didn't want to give them Aria s-so I told them my dad could read it."

"Leonel, your dad loves you," I told him. "He won't hate you." He continued to cry. Leonel shouldn't be crying, I thought. This is my fault.

"Please don't cry," I asked him. He sniffled some more and lifted his head. His blue eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Barrett will be fine, he'll understand."

"He's really strict sometimes," Leonel admitted. "Aaron and Roy convinced me to sneak into the school late at night one time when were little. Dad came back for something and caught us, he dragged Aaron and Roy home and when he got me home he gave me a lecture and made me clean the classroom for the next three days." He started laughing and I did too.

"One time I climbed this really high tree after my dad had told me several times not to. I got all the way to the top before I got stuck and he made me sit in that tree for an hour before getting me down. I never did it again." It wasn't a fun experience and I was good and scared by the time he got me down but I looked back on it fondly because it was from a time when I had very little to worry about in my life.

"I guess our dads are just showing that they care," he said. The door to the small cabin opened again and the same woman came in and healed Leonel's injuries before leaving. I rested my head against his chest and began thinking about myself. Sharing the story from when I was little had gotten me thinking about what I wanted now. For a while now my life had been consumed by thoughts of surviving and any plans I had for my future had gone to the wayside.

"Kei." Leonel gently shook me and I realized he had been trying to get my attention for a while. "What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"I was thinking about what I wanted for my future," I said. "I haven't thought about what I wanted since all this happened and I was thinking that it would give me hope for a future."

"What is it you want?" He asked.

"I want," I said as I pondered my thoughts. "I want to stay in Alvarna. I want to live there with my dad and do stupid stuff without having to worry about someone getting hurt because of me." I took a deep breath. "I want to spend forever with you." He smiled and started laughing. "I'm serious Leonel. I don't think I would have gotten this far without you and Aria and the others. I would have given into them when I first got here. You're my light in this darkness, you give me hope that everything will be okay."

"I wasn't laughing at you, Kei," he smiled. "I was laughing because I want the same thing. I like having you around and things have been more fun with you. I don't care if the others are scared of you, dad and Kyle like you too and so do all our friends. I love you Kei and I'm happy that you have found a reason to want to live. And I know that if you were to die everyone would be sad." I buried my head in his bare chest as he continued to soothe me. "I'll always be your light as long as we're together. When this is over I hope that you'll be able to live with your dad in peace." Leonel stroked my hair and ran his hand down my back.

"Thank you," I said. Leonel was my hope, he gave me something worth living for. The door opened and I recognized Luis as he came in.

"Time to get moving kiddies," he said with a twisted smile. He slipped a loose shirt over Leonel's head before attaching the chains to our collars. As we were walked out I could see the small camp being packed up and loaded onto the wagons.

"Where are they taking us?" Leonel whispered to me.

"We have everything we need to perform the ceremony now," Luis answered us having clearly heard Leonel's question. "Thanks to your little boyfriend we have the last key needed to access the altar."

Key? I wasn't sure what he meant but I knew I probably wasn't going to like the answer. It was a long ride to wherever they were taking us. Leonel and I hugged each other tightly as the wagon bumped along. I began thinking that the only thing that kept us from trying to run was fear of what would happened to the other if we got caught. For the time being though I was glad Leonel was by my side, he truly was my light.

We were in the wagon for hours before stopping. It was a very rocky area located in a mountain that wasn't near Alvarna. The area was devoid of the snow that plagued the coasts. The area would have been beautiful if not for our situation.

Luis called over to one of the guys standing around. "They back with him yet?"

"Not yet," he said back. "They're on their way."

We spent about another hour for waiting whoever was supposed to come. Leonel and I huddled together trying to stay calm. I knew when they came back because there was a commotion. I recognized the three who had attacked the school and even more horrifying was who they had on a leash.

"Dad," Leonel sobbed. I could hear his heart racing as he realized what he had done. They took Barrett from Alvarna. Barrett was the final key to unlocking the ceremony.