Chapter Fourteen*
SARAH LET A dainty tear break free of her eye, before she swiped it away.
"I...I..." She couldn't breathe. The world before her eyes was exploding.
Fire licked at the trees, burning at the ground.
Helicopters from up above whirred and tried to splash water and solutions onto the fury. They hardly succeeded.
Sarah's throat was lodged. She couldn't speak.
The blaze was consuming all life and color.
Fintan just chuckled as if his opponent lost at chess. As if this was no big deal at all.
"You! H-how could you?" Sarah sputtered.
"Remember, Karcey, you did it... you did it..." His voice faded and so did the scene.
Everything went black.
Sarah blinked her eyes open and sat up. She was in a small wood building. In a tiny cot, set in the corner. Sarah slipped off the bed and blinked again. Where was the fire? Where was the forest she was just in? What happened?
"Ah, I see you're awake," a pleasant and yet slightly cold voice said. A figure stood at the door. Through it, Sarah could see a small room with a large symbol painted on the floor, or somehow made into the floor.
It sent chills up Sarah's spine. "What do you want?" she snapped.
"Your cooperation," Lady Gisela said simply.
"You do realize that I'll never-"
"We have Keefe, remember?" Lady Gisela stated, flicking at her cloak. Lint, probably, if elves actually had lint on their clothes. They were almost picture perfect.
Almost.
But the Neverseen ruined that image for Sarah. Sarah's shoulders sunk. Of course. They had her at all sides. Pinned down to the floor with hardly any options left but reluctant cooperation. "Okay," she whispered. "But don't hurt him!" she added loudly.
"We would never." Lady Gisela gave a snide smile. Oh, Sarah had no doubt the Neverseen would hardly hesitate to kill Keefe, if necessary.
"I'm glad, then," Sarah said coolly.
"I am as well. Glad we could come to an agreement without having to do things the hard way." Lady Gisela faked a shudder. "I hate to imagine what would have happened without your easy acceding."
Sarah resisted the urge to tackle Lady Gisela and punch her in her oh-so-pettily turned up nose. To put a smack in her disgusting pride. Sarah took a deep breath. Calming herself. For now. If it's needed, I'll get ready to summon my fire, Sarah told herself. I'll burn Gisela to ashes! Then she remembered what Alden had said a long time ago. When she met the mysterious Black Swan. "Elves' minds can shatter if they let guilt seep into their minds." Alden had seemed extemely serious when he had said that. It was no joke, that was for sure. He had also admitted, more morosely, that it had happened to him. He advised her to push away any guilt the moment it came in her mind. She couldn't murder Lady Gisela and not feel any guilt; she wasn't evil. Alden had a point. Tears formed in the back of her eyes as Sarah remembered how caring and considerate Alden had been. She would probably never see him again. Well, if she couldn't escape, that was. She decided she was going to see Alden again.
She was going to escape.
"Remember our deal," Lady Gisela told Sarah with a thin smile on the edges of her lips. "If you struggle, we will not hesitate to get rid of him."
"Even though he's your own son? Your own flesh and blood?" The last word hung on Sarah's tongue as she rollicked it for Lady Gisela to realize just how much Sarah knew about Keefe and Lady Gisela's rocky relationship.
Well, that was technically understating it.
Lady Gisela had drawn pools of Keefe's blood simply to open a door.
She was vicious.
Lady Gisela seemed to be slightly hit by Sarah's emphasizing. "Yes," she said quietly. "I would not hesitate to dispose of him for the greater good."
And that was the first time Sarah ever believed Lady Gisela's words. "You're pure evil." Sarah shook her head, sighing. Then to try to lighten her sinking despair, she added, "A terrible mom, too! Did you buy Keefe those discount diapers off the market?"
Keefe struggled through his tightly-bound ropes on his hands. The ropes cut some of his skin, but he didn't care.
He needed to get to his sister.
Sarah.
They said they'd kill her in an instant the second he escaped.
He couldn't try anything.
This was the first time he felt truly helpless.
He was just a useless pawn.
Sarah crinkled her nose at the terrible stench floating through the air.
Alvar was carrying in a tray of contorted...fruit? It was rotten and mossy.
"What's that?" she said, trying to read Alvar's expression.
Alvar set himself beside Sarah on the cot. She tried not to shrink back. He was a member of the Neverseen, regardless of how amusing he could be.
"Have some," he offered, holding out a yellow-green cylinder.
"Eww. No. I'd rather starve," Sarah complained.
"Okay," he shrugged, but his eyes reflected concern. "How... how are you doing?" he tried.
Sarah gave a raucous laugh; Alvar flinched. "HOW AM I DOING?" she screamed. "I WAS JUST KIDNAPPED BY THE NEVERSEEN FOR THE SECOND TIME IN MY LIFE! AND THEY HAVE MY BROTHER! AND I MIGHT DIE! AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO ASK ME HOW I'M DOING! DOES THAT KIND OF QUESTION ACTUALLY HAVE AN ANSWER? I"M NOT FINE!" she ranted, punching the wall. Some wood chips crumbled, and dust rained down on them.
Alvar cringed. "Wow." Then he grinned. "I like strong character."
"Eww." Sarah moved herself to the end of the cot. Away from the crazy psychopath.
"Look," Alvar said, moving himself closer to Sarah, "I don't like everything that's happening, either. But do you really like the other option better? Ignorance and weakness? I'd prefer a balance myself, but... we don't get to decide everything that happens in life."
He put a hand on Sarah's shoulder, and she let it stay there.
"I guess," she mumbled.
Alvar smiled. A smile that had depths of worry and a slightly proud, appraising look to it. "I knew I liked you the moment you came."
"You mean when you kidnapped me?" Sarah snapped, shaking his hand off.
Alvar's smile faded and he stared down at the ground. "I'm sorry, Sarah," he said quietly. "I know you might never completely forgive me for that- and I totally get that. But could we start- as friends?"
"We... We can try," Sarah said eventually, offering her hand.
Alvar gratefully took it. "Friends?"
"Friends," Sarah shrugged. "I guess I forgive you. Kinda. Not really."
Alvar grinned. "We'll work on that. But for now, friends is fine." He squeezed her hand and they smiled at each other.
Sarah's hid more than Alvar's.
It felt so wrong. To actually like a kidnapper.
But then again, life wasn't black and white.
It had all shades of grey.
And Sarah had to accept that.
A/N: Not going to say much, but could Arah/Salvar be a ship? If you have any ideas or suggestions, don't hesitate to tell me!
