Hi! I'm on another one of my writing rushes :] Anyways, read on and enjoy.

Lady Ravanna- As always, very interesting ideas =) I've definitely got something sort of along those lines in mind. Thanks for reviewing!

Guest- Thank you for the comments! I'm glad you're still liking it.

000000000000000

Early 1868

Eabha was pleased at how much her daughter had changed over the months. The child was a little more than a year old now, and it was certainly easy to tell. Her crawling habit had increased to the point where the woman had to work very hard to keep up with her. She'd fared well during the brutal winter, much to the relief of her mother. All sorts of things could make infants die in such cold climates, but Branna had shown incredible strength, not even catching a cold. Then again, it wasn't much of a surprise, since the little girl had yet to go outside the house. Despite her joy at being with her baby, Eabha still endured her torment. The Swede hadn't given her permission to set one foot past the front door, and she knew better than to ask it if he hadn't offered it. Had it not been for Branna, she surely would've gone mad.

Though her husband's nightly interest was just as recurring as it had been before the snow came, Eabha hadn't become pregnant again, which suited her fine. She didn't want to create another person for him to control. Thor hadn't harmed Branna in any way, but the woman knew she would be brainwashed into thinking her father was this miraculous saint. She could never know the truth. Eabha hated the thought of lying to her baby, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. All she could do was cherish their time together, while the child was too young to understand the evils of the world.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"Would you like to go outside, Eabha?"

The girl was surprised, but after a moment, she answered.

"Yes."

"Good." Thor opened the trunk and retrieved her green dress. "This should do. It's nice out today."

Eabha pulled the skirt on over her bloomers, trying not to show how thrilled she was. After all this time, she and Branna would finally smell real air. It would probably be a bit musky from all the dead plants underneath the melted snow, but it was worlds better than being trapped in this prison. Once she finished lacing her shoes, putting her hair in a simple braid, and buttoning the bodice, she turned to the crib. But Thor was already holding the baby.

"I'll stay with her while you're gone," he said, gazing down at his daughter.

"She…she's not coming with me?"

"Not today. Come back within fifteen minutes, and be sure to remain inside the gates."

Eabha was torn. She wanted to have relief from her torment, but at the same time, leaving Branna with her captor struck a highly false chord with her.

"I've already told you, wife. I'll never harm my own child…not unless you give me reason to."

"I…I won't. I won't tell anyone, nothing like that."

The Swede smiled beamingly and spoke again.

"Then you've nothing to fear. Now, go on."

Not wanting to anger him by refusing to obey, the young woman reluctantly left. Once she was gone, Thor looked at Branna and chuckled, tickling her belly. She giggled in response, which made his grin widen even more. What a perfect little girl he'd created with the perfect woman. All was coming together wonderfully. Even the tasks he was putting Bohannon to were working out. It was a fitting time to let Eabha go outdoors, since the viper was still going to be stuck inside the well. They'd never know of each other.

Ah, yes. The heavens are shining on this place indeed…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The gust of air felt like a cyclone to Eabha. Then again, she hadn't experienced any kind of breeze in such a long time. Everything seemed so colorful out here, and all the noises were amplified. It was refreshing, of course, but it was also a little unnerving.

She had just walked a few feet from the house's porch when two women approached her, one considerably younger than the other.

"Mrs. Dutson?"

It took the girl a moment to remember the ruse she had to uphold, but once it came to her, she straightened herself up.

"Yes?"

The older of the two strangers smiled and spoke.

"It's wonderful to finally see you out and about, sister."

Though she'd never met this person before, Eabha couldn't help but gravitate towards her.

"I'm Laura Wrentmore. This is my daughter, Sadie."

She shook both their hands and nodded politely.

"I'm Eabha Mall…formerly Eabha Malloye. I suppose I'm Eabha Dutson now."

"I was so sorry to hear of what happened to you out there," Sadie said gently.

"Thank you, miss."

"Oh, no need for such formalities. We're all brothers and sisters."

"And praise God for sending Bishop Dutson to save you," Laura added. "What a blessing he is to us all."

Despite feeling sick at her tormentor being celebrated, the woman made herself nod in agreement.

"Yes."

Saying these grossly untrue things brought tears to Eabha's eyes before she could stop them. Part of her started to panic, but when the older woman stepped forward to embrace her, the fright temporarily slipped away.

"Shh, it's all right," she said, tenderly cradling the back of her head with one hand. "You're safe here."

No, ma'am. I assure you, I'm not. None of us are.

Laura eventually pulled back as Sadie took Eabha's hand into hers.

"Your husband is with God now, sister. He'll always watch over you."

Eabha forced a nod after a little while. She wanted to believe that her parents were watching her from somewhere safe, but she still had the same doubts she'd spoken to Ruth about.

Ruth…

Though she'd spent months longing for the company of her old friend, the poor girl had to make do with these kind people, no matter how misguided their perspectives were.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Even when Thor let her walk around again a few days later, Eabha couldn't find a way to enjoy it, especially since Branna was still in the house with her husband. That was upsetting enough, but the girl felt as if she would burst if one more sympathetic person talked about how wonderful the "Bishop" was for rescuing her. Despite her agony, she'd always agree.

However, upon walking away from a random couple, something within her snapped. It was as if an invisible force was dragging her into a large rickety-looking barn. An overwhelming exhaustion suddenly hit Eabha full-force, and all she could think about was being tired. She was tired of letting herself be hurt, tired of worrying for her child, tired of ignoring what happened to Brendan and Catrina, tired of forcing smiles and acting like the Swede was a hero…it was too much.

After going through the barn and exiting out the back way, she rested against the outer wall and sunk to the ground. Her sobs came out in waves, getting louder with every second. But with how busy everyone seemed to be, the woman figured that nobody would hear it. That suited her just fine. All she wanted was a brief moment to become the person she used to be, if only for a little while. Still, her soul was buckling underneath everything, and she longed to just give up. Eabha covered her mouth as a numbing sensation swelled in her stomach. It felt like she was surrounded by an echo, and for a few seconds, it was almost peaceful.

Just then, she heard someone come out the back barn door and stop next to her. But before the heartbroken girl could compose herself, the stranger's voice nearly made her insides flip upside down.

"You all right, ma'am?"

She looked up to behold Cullen Bohannon through her tears. Upon seeing her, the man's eyes went wide. He kneeled next to her after quickly looking around to make sure they were alone.

"What're you doin' here?" he asked in a harsh whisper. "Where's your ma and pa?"

"They're dead," Eabha got out after a moment of utter shock. "He…he killed them."

Suddenly, the truth came pouring out of her. It wasn't speech as much as it was a blubbering mixture of words and tears.

"He's been…I can't tell anyone, or…my baby, he has my baby girl!"

She felt herself becoming hysterical, but Cullen reached out and carefully took her face with both hands.

"Shh, easy. Listen. Listen." He waited for her to calm down before looking into her eyes and continuing. "He's got me in a spot too. But listen…you don't need to tell them what he is, 'cause I'm gonna do it. I'll get us out of here."

Eabha could hardly believe the possibility even existed, but nevertheless, she made herself listen.

"You need to go on like everything's normal. Just be patient for another day, maybe two."

He let go of her and stood, skimming their surroundings once more.

"You didn't see me, and this didn't happen."

With that, he went back through the barn and was gone. Eabha sat there for a few more minutes and took in what had just occurred. One moment, it was as if two stone boulders were about to crush her sanity from every direction. Then, when all faith seemed to be lost, an angel had risen from the dead.

Despite this newfound miracle, she made herself weep for a bit longer. Thor would surely suspect something if her spirits were too high. But even with her tears, she silently wished for this blessing to come to fruition. Now that hope had entered her life again, the woman didn't know how much more suffering she could take.

000000000000

Let me know what you think.