A/N: Wow, it's been a while, I know. I am so sorry. I hope you all are still interested in hearing the end of this. Other things have directed my attention, and I apologize. Read on…
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PART 2-- Chapter 10:
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Yan Lin stopped talking for a moment, looking at her granddaughter with a strange and curious look. The restaurant was silent.
"You haven't interrupted me in a quite a while, Hay Lin," she observed. "Are you sure there is nothing you wanted to say?"
Hay Lin thought for a minute, then shook her head.
"No…"
"Nothing about Tred, or the queen, or Dante, or even Nerissa?"
Hay Lin shook her head again.
"No… I trust that my questions will be revealed soon enough if I just stay quiet listen to you. Please go on, Grandma."
Yan Lin frowned in bewilderment, then took another breath and continued on…
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Dante led Halinor through the halls, his face angry and of single-minded determination. He had most likely prepared himself mentally for the cruel action he was about to perform. He had no doubt done this sort of thing before.
Halinor shook furiously in her fear, not knowing what to expect. Was there torture to be involved here, or was he just going to get it over with quick? Either way, she was not seeing tomorrow's sunrise, or her friends, again. It was a concept she would never be prepared for.
She was the fearful one. Now she was the one with her fears upon her.
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Sydrin and the four remaining Guardians stared up at the looming castle, one they had seen only once before, with disastrous result. This castle promised pain and maybe even death, but it was something they would have to brave today.
"For Halinor," Nerissa told the others, then lifted up the Heart to eye level. "Guardians, unite."
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Dante walked rather quickly, in a pace that Halinor found hard to keep up with. He carried himself as one would when they were quite cross with their company, and wanted to be rid of them as quickly as possible. Halinor couldn't read his thoughts by the expression on his face, but he seemed pensive, even worried.
Then suddenly, he stopped. The halt was so abrupt that Halinor almost lost her balance putting on the brakes. Dante then proceeded to take out a ring of keys. He concentrated on her shackles, putting the keys in the lock, and taking them off her wrists as he spoke:
"Take a right, and then a left along this hall, and go down the stairs."
He said it so quickly that Halinor had to take a moment to register his directions and keep them in the forefront of her mind.
"When you see a door with no handle, push it and go out through the stables. Do not be seen." Dante fiercely yanked her by the collar and brought her close to his nose. "DO NOT be seen."
He shoved her away as if her presence offended him. Then he stormed back the way he came in long, infuriated strides.
Shocked, Halinor glanced down at the open shackles in her hands.
"But… why?"
Dante paused for a moment in his tracks, glancing at her over his shoulder out of his peripherals. Just enough to see the hope in Halinor's eyes and for her to see the longing in his.
Then he continued on his way without another word.
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"Alright, here's what we're going to do," Nerissa said, gathering the girls together to see the game plan she'd drawn in the dirt with a stick. "We'll enter through here, and at the fork, Sydrin and I will go down to the dungeons to get Ashlee, while the rest of you will search the upper towers for--"
"Oh my gawd, is that Halinor?' Cassidy squealed, pointed off into the distance where a blonde woman was running full speed out a large wooden door.
"I think it is!" Nerissa exclaimed, waving at the fleeing girl to get her attention without making noise. She didn't seem to notice, just continued running.
"Allow me," Kadma offered, picking up a small stone from the ground and flinging it at Halinor with some force. It hit Halinor square in the temple, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.
"Kadma," Yan Lin scolded. Kadma just shrugged.
"It worked, didn't it?"
True to her word, Halinor arose quickly and stopped to search for her assailant, spotting the brightly clothed Guardians hiding behind the cover of the trees. An overjoyed look came across her features, and she sprinted to them excitedly. When she arrived, she hugged each of them in turn, while Sydrin hung back and watched fondly. When she got to Kadma, she paused.
"Kadma," she said cautiously.
"Halinor," Kadma greeted back, her gaze cold and heartless, until it softened a bit. "Pity they didn't keep you. We did so splendidly in your absence."
"How did you escape?" Cassidy asked.
"A friend helped me…" Halinor said dreamily, then grew gravely serious as she realized something. "A friend that will probably die for doing what he did. I have to go back!"
"What?!" the other girls exclaimed.
"He needs my help!" Halinor explained.
"You're the one that needs help!" Cassidy cried. "You just free, now you want to go back?"
"Are you quite certain this is what you want?" Sydrin asked her seriously. Halinor nodded to assure him of it.
"He saved me, now I have to go return the favor," Halinor replied.
"Then," Sydrin sighed. "We will await your return. I wish you luck."
With that, Sydrin leaned down to Halinor and pressed his lips to her cheek, much to Nerissa's horror.
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But she wasn't the only one appalled by this, as Dante watched from the window of that tall tower, gazing upon Sydrin's mouth so close to Halinor's with spite and hatred in his eyes. His eyes filled with the anger of betrayal, an unfamiliar stabbing feeling creeped up to his heart. Dante stormed off with a loud huff, not standing any more of the sight.
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"What the heck was that for?" Halinor bellowed, jerking away from Sydrin with wide eyes. Sydrin frowned in confusion.
"Nerissa informed me that was the common earthen wish for good fortune. Did I perform it wrong?"
All four other Guardians gave Nerissa a knowing look, while the black-haired girl blushed deeply with embarrassment, scowling angrily and not meeting their condemning gazes.
"No, Sydrin," Halinor chuckled. "You 'performed' it fine. Now, if you'll excuse me…"
With that, Halinor trotted back up the way she came, leaving her rescuers behind.
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Dante marched through the hall, silently scolding himself for becoming what his master had always feared… Soft. In wide, infuriated steps, he burst into the throne room, bowing before his superior with respect. Dante's fury set the room ablaze with thick tension, and it was hard for anyone present to ignore.
"You enter my throne room unannounced?" Roarke growled. "You had better have good reason."
"The Guardian escaped, My Lord," Dante reported with disdain.
"What?!" Roarke sprung from his seat at the royal throne, his robe flailing about in his upheaval. "How did this happen? Are you completely incompetent?"
"No sir," Dante said, looking up at his master square in the eyes. A sadistic smile spreading on his young features. "I have a plan."
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Signed,
--RedRogue