Disclaimer: I don't own CCS/CC or the characters from that show and make no money from their use. The title and quote is from Les Miserables and is also not mine. I have no permission to use anything either.
Rating: Hmm, this is a toughie...I'm going to say PG, but if someone disagrees let me know and I'll change it.
Author's Notes: Well, the A Wounded Dove story actually turned into a series...go figure, eh? This one takes place right after Sunsets and Sunrises. You pretty much have to read the entire series (in order they go- A Wounded Dove, The Greatest Gift of All, Sunsets and Sunrises and then this story). If you don't read them, none of this will make sense. Also, I know a lot of people like Eriol and Madison together, but I wanted to use a character for Meilin that people knew because I already had one original character (Jakob). This also has some S&S in it (Sorry MeiLi fans- I just couldn't work it in...but don't worry more MeiLi stories are on their way).
This takes place roughly a year after Sunsets and Sunrises so about two years after A Wounded Dove. The gang then is about 24 years old.
Please review, but NO FLAMES! Thanks!
~*~
WITHOUT A WARNING
By: PhoenixB
~*~
"There's a darkness which comes without a warning."
~*~
Meilin grabbed her mug of coffee and sat at the small table. Li and Sakura were already off doing something for their wedding. The young woman smiled as she thought about the couple. Their wedding was only a week away and she was certain one, if not both of them, was going to have a nervous breakdown. Everyday there seemed to be a new "tragedy" that happened to their wedding plans.
Yesterday it was that the flowers could only come in pink, white and light yellow; there wasn't any blue. The day before that it had something to do with a band member being sick. Meilin, however, knew that everything would turn out beautifully and tried to remind the couple of that.
Of course, they didn't really listen, but she tried and that was all that mattered.
The raven-haired woman opened the morning paper and began to scan the news. She had only made through the millions of handouts thrown in with the paper when the doorbell rang. She moved and answered the door, however, no one was there, and Meilin silently cursed those "stupid ding-dong ditchers."
The young woman made her way back into the kitchen and sat back down. Two seconds later a clammy hand covered her mouth. Meilin started and dropped her mug of coffee on the hard floor. She pushed her chair back and stood, yet the person behind her moved with her and held her tight. The raven-haired woman was just about to elbow and flip the person over her shoulder when they spoke.
"You really should have read your paper." The voice stopped her cold. "You would have found some interesting news there."
Meilin's body began to tremble and her knees wobbled like jelly. The hand removed itself from her mouth, and she then felt a cold piece of metal placed against her neck.
"Don't make any moves or sounds and you'll keep your head, understood?" The young woman nodded. "Good, now sit yourself back down." Meilin did so. "Like I said you should have read your paper faster."
The attacker reached down and opened up the paper in front of the raven-haired woman. There, in big, bold letters of a title, stood the headline:
PRISON ESCAPE
Meilin quickly scanned the article and found the information she already knew; Jakob had escaped. The young woman felt the gun shoved deeper into her skull.
"Well, I really would like to stay around here, but we can't do that can we?" The question went unanswered. "Let's be going."
Meilin was pulled to her feet and dragged outside. She didn't bother to fight her ex-husband knowing she didn't stand a chance against a gun. Before long, the young woman found herself sitting in the back of a van that was parked in the driveway. The words "Father and Son Electric" were printed brightly on the outside making the van look inconspicuous.
"I'd let you sit in front, but well, I want where we're going to be a surprise. Enjoy the trip." With that Jakob slammed the door shut and put Meilin in blackness.
The young woman moved to the door and tried to open it only to find that there was a child-safe lock on it. Meilin felt tears come to her eyes and knew she was trapped.
For what felt like hours, the raven-haired woman was thrown about the back of the van as Jakob drove her further and further away from her home and those that could find her. She didn't know what was going to happen to her, but she knew she was in dire need of help.
~*~
Li and Sakura entered their house, shared by Meilin, bickering.
"I don't see why we need to invited her? I mean it's...it's her!"
Sakura stared at Li with wide eyes and an open mouth. "She's YOUR aunt!"
The young man made a grunting noise and shrugged his shoulders. "I still don't understand," he mumbled under his breath.
His fiancée pretended not to hear and walked into her home. "Meilin, we're home."
When there was no answer, Sakura put down her bags. "Must have gone with Eriol somewhere."
Li picked up the young woman's disregarded bags and moved them towards the kitchen. He had barely made it next to the table when he heard the crunching of something. Looking downwards, he saw the shattered remains of a mug spread all around the wood table. With concern slowly creeping in his bones, Li put the bags carefully on the table. It was then that his eyes caught sight of the paper.
"Sakura! Come here now!"
Startled by the young man's fearful voice, the young woman made a beeline for the kitchen, and found her way next to Li. "What is it?"
He didn't answers Sakura, but pointed to the paper. The auburn-haired woman read the front page and turned terrified eyes to her fiancée.
"You don't think he..." She left the rest of the sentence uncompleted.
Li gestured down towards the mug on the floor. "I do."
"What should we do?"
The young man moved towards their phone and pointed at Sakura's purse. "I'm going to call the police; get your phone and call Eriol."
The couple quickly moved into action and within moments the police, and Eriol, were on their way. The two took seats at the table and quietly held each other's hands. Neither could believe that this could possibly be happening; how on Earth had Jakob gotten out of prison? No one had an answer for that and doubted that they would receive one from the police.
However, even without that answer, Li and Sakura wondered what in the world Jakob wanted with Meilin. That was a question they didn't want answered, however.
A loud pounding at the front door brought both to their feet and the rushed into the foyer. Li practically torn the door off the hinges and found himself face to face with a pale faced young man.
"Eriol...I...I don't know what to say."
The dark-haired man stepped next to Sakura and faced her fiancée. "Please, are you certain it's Jakob?"
Li morosely nodded his head and Eriol rubbed a hand over his eyes. "How could this happen? WHY did this have to happen to HER? I thought everything was behind us finally!"
Sakura put her hand on Eriol's back and gently pulled him next to her. "We don't know why this has happened, but we can't focus on that. We just have to find her."
She felt the young man gently nod his head in agreement and felt a small amount of relief. She was glad that Eriol appeared as if he would keep his cool; the last thing they needed was to handle an irate and loony young man.
Sakura knew that Eriol cared deeply for Meilin and loved her. Since the trial, over a year ago, the couple become almost as close as she and Li. They spent most of their time with each other and Sakura was certain she had heard them speaking about moving in together. The young woman was truly happy for both of them and knew that, if anyone, deserved a wonderful male in their life it was Meilin. The raven-haired woman had a hard enough life with Jakob and had earned to have a caring boyfriend.
Another pounding fist at the door, brought Sakura out of her thoughts and she watched as Li opened the door and two police officers stood in the doorway.
~*~
Meilin felt the van come to halt and waited, in trepidation, for Jakob to make his way to the doors. Bright lights flooded into the darkness, which the young woman had been sitting in, when her ex-husband opened the doors. Instinctively, the raven-haired woman backed into the furthest corner of the van attempting to move away from Jakob.
The older man simply moved into the back and grabbed Meilin's arm. He viciously dragged her against the bottom of the van and yanked her out of the back. Due to the force, her feet were unable to meet the ground and the young woman fell hard on her knees, but Jakob didn't stop pulling.
The raven-haired woman pulled against her ex-husband, but the man had a death grip on her wrist and, since her feet were not cooperating with her, Meilin found herself being dragged across the ground. Finally, Jakob seemed to get frustrated with having to drag Meilin and stopped. He turned to her and made a reach for her hair. The young woman saw this and attempted to dodge his hand, but move slightly too slow.
A soft cry escaped Meilin's mouth as she felt herself get pulled to her feet by her hair. Once standing, Jakob continued on his way without a word.
Since being removed from the back of the van, the raven-haired woman took the time to look around at her surroundings, hoping she could figure out a little bit about where she was. However, desperation hit the young woman when she realized she was in the middle of a bunch of trees. There were no landmarks, no signs- nothing to help her figure out where she was. The only distant feature in all of the foliage was the small wood shack that stood in front of her and another run down one just down the way.
Meilin realized that her ex-husband was taking her to that "home" and, deep inside, knew that if she ever got stuck in that house, she would never leave. Making up her mind, the young woman kicked out with her right foot making contact to Jakob's knee.
The man hit the dirt and released his ex-wife. Meilin didn't think twice before sprinting away into the trees. She only made it a few feet when a soft 'pfft' sound hit her ears and a needle prick hit the nap of her neck. ~A tranquilizer gun...wonderful!~ Jakob had brought a tranq gun not a real gun.
Meilin felt her knees buckle beneath her and, between a drugged haze, she could see Jakob standing over her smiling. His evil smile was the last thing she saw before her world turned black.
~*~
The police left the three adults telling them that they were going to send out a missing person's announcement and attempt to track where Jakob went. Though they tried to sound promising, the fact of the situation was that Meilin was more than likely to come back a body; a thought that no one wanted to consider, but had to.
~*~
Consciousness returned to Meilin in a blur of colors. She tried to focus on something- anything- around her, but it all ended up blending together. The remnants of the tranquilizer from the dart she had been hit with was still messing with the chemical balance of her body. The young woman sighed wearily while closing her eyes and taking deep breaths.
A few minutes later, she opened her eyes and found the world had stopped its spinning. Meilin looked around and found herself lying on a small bed inside a small room. The room was bare with light tan walls and brown carpet. The bed was actually an old cot with a white sheet thrown over it. The raven-haired woman pushed herself to an upright position and sat on the end of the bed. Her eyes locked with the door and instantly escape came to mind.
Moving as swiftly as she could, the young woman moved to the door and began to see how to open it. Clawing at it only proved to Meilin that the door was locked from the outside. With a wistful smiled, Meilin thought about how much she wanted some of Sakura's old cards right now. The smiled ran from her face as she heard the door open.
Jakob moved into the doorway, blocking the raven-haired woman's escape. "Nice to see you're awake." He held out a tray. "Eat."
Meilin stared at her ex-husband and with a quick flick of her wrist sent the tray to the ground. Jakob looked at the spilled food and water then back to the young woman.
"Very well." He turned and began to leave. "Starve." The door shut behind him and Meilin just stood in place.
Slowly, the young woman moved back to her bed and took a seat. She brought her knees to her chest with a sigh and place her chin atop of them. She suddenly felt very alone.
~*~
Eriol was, for loss of a better word, panicking. The calm attitude he had before had faded and was only a memory. Sakura and Li, for all the years they had known him, had never seen him so unruly. It had been a little over forty-eight hours since Meilin had been kidnapped and Eriol, along with Sakura and Li, hadn't slept. That exhaustion was now catching up with all of them.
Li had fallen completely silent, Sakura had begun to randomly clean things, and Eriol had taking up panicking.
"Why haven't the police called us? Don't they know how to do their job? Are they really that incompetent?"
No one answered the young man's questions, but went about their tasks.
"I can't take this waiting!"
Finally Sakura had reached her breaking point. She slammed a dish into the sink hearing the cracking sound, but not paying it any heed. "That's it! You are going to go take a nap before you drive me crazy."
Eriol turned to the young woman. "I am not sleeping while Meilin is in the hands of that...that psycho!"
Sakura stepped closer to her friend and held a finger straight out at him. "You." She poked him in the chest. "Are going," Poke. "To sleep." Poke. "Now!" Poke.
Eriol squared his shoulders to face Sakura in a battle of wits when Li stood.
"Please, we need to rest if we have any hope of finding her." The dark haired man turned to Li.
"Why do you care if we find her? You don't care about her. It's your fault that she even met Jakob, so don't you dare tell me what to do when it comes to Meilin!" With that Eriol turned and stormed out of the door.
Sakura moved next to Li and put her arm on his shoulder gently squeezing it. "He didn't mean that; he's just worried."
The young man looked to his fiancée, "I know, but he won't do her any good like this. None of us will."
The young woman sighed deeply. "Meilin's strong- she'll be just fine." ~I hope~ Sakura added silently.
~*~
Meilin kicked the door again. "JAKOB!" For the hundredth time, there was no answer., but that didn't stop her. Again and again she kicked, knowing he had to, one time, get annoyed and see what she wanted.
Finally, that one time came.
"WHAT?" He screamed as he flung open the door.
The young woman smiled. "I have to use the restroom."
Jakob growled, but grabbed Meilin by the arm and pulled her in the direction of the bathroom. He shoved her inside. "Two minutes." She raised an eyebrow. "Five minutes." He added and shut the door.
The raven-haired woman quickly did her business, and then began to look frantically around the room, hoping to find something that could help her. She, by a sheer miracle, found a small vent just above the toilet. The hole, though dusty with cobwebs would allow her body to pass through. Using the toilet for leverage she punched with her fists until the dusty cover fell. She caught it and silently laid in on the ground.
Gritting her teeth, she jumped. Although, not in her top shape, she had begun to workout more with Li and found the task of pulling herself into the hole easier than expected. Within seconds she was on her stomach shuffling through the dank, dark and dusty vent.
Careful to be a quiet as possible she slide around until she felt the vent drop drastically. Stifling her surprised shriek, she surfed and landed with a painful thump against another vent wall. However, the young woman realized, she had also found her exit.
Up in front of her was the metal vent that lead outside and to her freedom. Smiling at her ingenious creativity and Jakob stupidity, Meilin moved to the end and promptly kicked open the grate. She moved completely out and once her feet hit the ground started to run.
Her relief was short lived when she felt feet taken out from under her.
She had underestimated Jakob.
Chances were, he had known of the vent and had been waiting for her this whole time. Silently, she cursed herself, but kept her focus on the problem at hand. She had been surprised by her ex-husbands attack and hadn't been able to brace herself for the fall, thus she landed hard on her elbows and chest, but years of training both old and somewhat present, allowed her to fight to her feet. She kicked out backwards and felt contact with Jakob chest, enough that he loosen his grip and she was up and running again.
However, she had not only underestimated Jakob's intelligence, but also his physical ability. The man was again upon her and this time he tacked her, but held Meilin's arms at her side. He landed on top of her, crushing her with his weight.
"That was very, very stupid of you." The young woman struggled against his hold, but to no avail. Suddenly, something caught her eye. A teenage girl was standing just down the street, at the other wood shack, watching the whole exchange.
Taking a deep breath, Meilin screamed. Her cry was cut off by Jakob's hand, but the girl had already turned and ran away before her ex-husband even noticed.
The raven-haired woman only hoped that help would come soon because she had just lost her only chance of escape.
Jakob dragged his ex-wife back into the home and into her room. He shoved her inside, but this time he stayed inside. Meilin slowly backed away from the man until she felt the bed behind her.
"I told you that was a very stupid thing to do. You've made me angry, and you know what happens when I get angry."
Jakob advanced on the raven-haired woman and she realized she was trapped. As she saw her ex-husband's hand descend towards her face she closed her eyes and prayed that the young girl had gone to get help.
~*~
The young couple had fallen asleep on the sofa resting their heads against each other. A loud thumping at the door, however, brought both them out of their slumber and to their feet. Li flung open the door and saw the clearly anxious face of Eriol.
"They have a lead."
~*~
The young woman's hitching breath caught in her throat as she attempted to keep her composer and not start sobbing. Last night, for she assumed it was morning, had been a trip back into her past. She awoke to find her body sore and speckled with bruises. A large knot on her cheek was throbbing and causing a headache. Meilin shifted her body, which instantly protested by sending painful messages to her brain.
She groaned and rolled gently to her side. Unlike in her past when Jakob had abused her, she didn't feel like she had no escape this time. Now, she felt anger. Meilin continued to roll until she was sitting with her back against the wall and her feet hanging off the bed. Other then her anger at Jakob's strength and his ability to conquer her as he had done in the past, the young woman was frustrated. She wanted to get out now.
Meilin laid her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Not only did she want to get out, but knew she had to leave soon if she wanted to survive. There was no doubt that her ex-husband had gone completely insane and had a death wish for the raven-haired woman.
For the first time since she had left China, Meilin felt utterly alone. For almost a year, she had the support from Sakura and Li and the love from Eriol but now, when she needed it and wanted it the most, she had nothing.
Sighing deeply, the young woman closed her eyes and tried to relax as best she could.
~*~
Eriol twisted the piece of paper nervously in his hands. On it held the address of the hideout the Jakob was thought to be at. Earlier that morning, the police had called him letting him know that a call from a young woman had matched both Meilin and Jakob's description. The police were already stacking out the place and now Eriol, along with Sakura and Li, were on their way.
The ride moved in terribly slow motion for Eriol while time whipped quickly away from him. Since he first heard that Jakob kidnapped Meilin it had been like he was in a dream. He realized how much the young woman had grown to mean to him. Faced with the possibility that life could continue without her, he realized how much he did love her.
It was just the littlest things that he missed most right now. The small arguments that she would begin and fight with such tenacity that Eriol always ended up laughing and giving in. The way she always put her heart into everything she did, from cooking a small dinner to practicing fighting. Most of all though, Eriol missed the way she smiled. When he first met here, she smiled so little that each one was a gift he never took for granted, but now her smile was a daily occurrence. Each day, he could watch her face lit up and her eyes sparkle just a bit more.
He only hoped that he would see her smile again.
~*~
The door slamming open jerked Meilin out of her impromptu slumber. As her eyes focused she saw the highly agitated face of Jakob storming towards her. Without any preamble her grabbed her wrist and yanked the young woman to her feet.
The raven-haired woman stumbled and crashed to one knee with her other hand supporting her body. "Wha-" She began to question, but her ex-husband pulled her harder.
"Shut up!" He screamed and Meilin fought to get to her feet. Once she did, she planted them to the ground making Jakob come to a stop.
He swung around and slapped her soundly on the cheek, making the bruise throb even worse. Tears welled in the young woman's eyes, but she didn't allow any to flow. Jakob turned back and pull hard enough to make Meilin move.
She struggled, but he was stronger and successfully moved her out of the room and into the living area. Cursing to himself, while holding her, the man pulled out a piece of rope. Turning her around, Jakob began to bind Meilin's hands behind her back. Once he successfully accomplished that, even around Meilin's struggles, he kicked at her knees. The young woman crumpled to the ground landing on her knees.
He had to finish what he wanted to accomplish now. Earlier that morning he had awoken to see police cars driving through the woods. It would only be a matter of time before they rushed in to his shack and got Meilin.
But, he was determined to succeed.
Meilin felt Jakob double check the bonds on her hands and then heard his voice speaking behind her.
"I really did love you at one time..."
The young woman closed her eyes as she heard the distinct sound of a gun being loaded.
"...you were beautiful when I first met you..."
She was out of time.
"...with your long hair and ruby eyes..."
She was out of hope.
"...but others thought you were beautiful too; I had to change that..."
The gun was cocked and placed against the back of her skull.
"...I had to make you ugly..."
~I'll miss you, mother, and father~ She thought.
"...I had to make you unworthy of their attention..."
~I love you, Li, and Sakura~
"...I had to make you mine..."
~I'll always love you, Eriol, and I'm sorry~
"...and now you're mine again."
The gun exploded in a fury of sound.
~*~
Eriol was not going to let the police hold him back and he broke into a sprint as soon as the shack came into view. A few officers yelled at him, but he plunged forward; desperate to find Meilin. He found himself standing in a doorway with officers a few steps down ready to barge in. He stood silently by and barely registered the loud crash as they busted open the door.
The young man pushed his way inside, not listening to the warnings of the officers and not caring about the consequences. He moved inside and stood in a small kitchen area looking around frantically until he heard the soft voice of a male.
"...unworthy of their attention..."
He moved towards the voice.
"...I had to make you mine..."
Eriol turned a corner and felt his heart jump into his throat. Not ten feet in front of him, with their backs to the young man, was Meilin and Jakob. The young woman was kneeling on the ground with her hands bound and a gun to her head. A few soft tears ran down her cheeks, but she made no sound. Jakob stood behind her, talking slowly and holding the gun to her head.
"...and now you're mine again."
Eriol wasn't sure how it happened, but the next instant he was springing towards Jakob as the police came storming in. Through it all, the distinct sound of a gunshot spilt the noise. A second later, the young man crashed into Jakob and both tumbled to the ground; Meilin fell forward into the floor.
Police stormed forward as Eriol untangled himself from the man under him and moved to Meilin's side. He was vaguely aware of the men pulling Jakob to his feet- all he saw was blood by his love's body. He crawled to her and gently flipped Meilin over; he almost passed out at the sight.
A pair of large ruby eyes stared at him and then blinked. A voice followed the action: "Eriol?"
The young man let out the air he had been holding and looked the young woman over. Her face held a large bruise on her right cheek and her bottom lip was spilt, but she was alive and without a bullet hole. He looked up to the police and Jakob; Meilin's ex-husband had a large bleeding wound in his shoulder.
An uniform officer looked at Eriol and gave him the thumbs up while dragging the unconscious Jakob outside.
"What happened?" Eriol looked down into the confused face of Meilin. He bent down and laid a soft kiss to her forehead.
"Jakob's been shot." He informed as he gently moved her so she was leaning against his chest; her face resting on his arm. He moved to her wrists and began to untie them- freeing her in a matter of minutes.
"Is he dead?"
"No. He's going to jail and he'll stay there this time."
Meilin nodded her head and sighed once her hand were free. She moved them around and grasped one of Eriol's hands. He gently took it and began to smooth his hand over her back. Hitching sobs soon took hold of the young woman.
"Shh, shh, it's over Meilin."
She removed her hand from Eriol's and took a hold of his shirt, grasping it tightly like a lifeline. "I was ready to die. I thought I was going to die."
"It's okay. It's all over." Eriol reassured.
The young woman moved her neck and looked up into Eriol's dark eyes. "Thank you." She whispered and promptly passed out. The pure exhaustion and stress taking its toll.
The young man gently stood, taking Meilin with him. "You're welcome." He whispered into her ear just as medics took the still form from him. He let them, but stood protectively by Meilin's side, even in the ambulance.
~*~
The beeping noise brought the raven-haired woman out of her dreamless sleep. Her ruby eyes opened slowly and instantly three faces swarmed her vision and made her eyes go out of focus.
"MEILIN!" She distantly heard Sakura squeal.
The young woman closed her eyes in a long blink, trying to get her vision to focus better. When it did, she made out the faces of Li, Sakura, and Eriol standing on either side of her bed.
"How do you feel?" Li questioned just as Eriol took her hand. She smiled at him and then the others.
"Okay."
Sakura let off a relived sigh and then pointed a finger directly at the young woman. "Don't you EVER scare us like that again! Do you understand?"
Meilin smiled at the concern. "Of course I do."
Sakura's face broke into a smile. "Good. Now Li," She turned to her fiancée. "Why don't you get me something to eat."
Li rolled his eyes dramatically, but Meilin could see the smile. He bent over and laid a gently kiss to the raven-haired woman's cheek. "I'm glad you're okay." He said softly and then followed Sakura out.
Eriol and Meilin sat in comfortable silence with him holding her hand. She closed her eyes for a moment, but opened them at his voice.
"I have something to ask you, Mei." She smiled at the nickname.
"Okay."
The young man ran a hand through his hair. "When I realized that you had been kidnapped everything turned upside down for me. I was lost and it was then I realized how much you meant to me and how much I needed you. I have never known anyone like you in all my life- you're special. Special to me that is. And I...well...that is..."
Meilin let off a small laugh. "You were going to ask me a question, you know."
Eriol blushed. "Yeah, I was."
The young woman felt sleep pressing at her and her eyelids get heavy. They began to close just as the young man spoke.
"Would you marry me?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah sure." She answered sleepily.
Silence fell into the room for a beat until...
"MARRY?!?"
~*~
"You may now kiss the bride."
Almost ten years in the making and the moment had finally come (even without the blue flowers)- Sakura Avalon and Li Showron were finally married.
Meilin sighed contentedly as the couple kissed and her eyes caught Eriol's. He smiled and she returned the gentle gesture.
Things had certainly changed in a short time. The bruises that Jakob had given her, faded leaving her looking as she always had. Her ex-husband was back in jail- a more secure jail- serving a life sentence. At times, the young woman would awake from a terribly realistic nightmare, but, for the most part, things had been sorted out and put behind her.
Sakura and Li broke their kiss and headed back down the isle towards their car and honeymoon. Eriol moved next to Meilin and grasped her hand. She smiled at him as they followed the couple.
Not only had things changed, but they continued to. Meilin had moved out of Sakura and Li's home, wanting the now married couple to have their own home. She had planned on living in her own place, but Eriol insisted that fiancées should live together.
And so she moved in with him.
The couple, after Meilin got over the shock of the proposal, talked and she accepted. They had not begun to make any plans, but that suited Meilin just fine. For now, she was content to let things move slowly and to enjoy every little thing.
Eriol and Meilin stopped and watched the car pull away with the 'Just Married' sign on back. He leaned down to her ear and whispered. "That will be us one day."
The raven-haired woman nodded. One day it would be and she was already looking forward to it.
THE END
Well, that's the last story in the A Wounded Dove Series. Like I already said, I actually never expected it to become a series, but it just did. Hmmm, dang plot bunnies! A review would be nice! **hint hint**
Rating: Hmm, this is a toughie...I'm going to say PG, but if someone disagrees let me know and I'll change it.
Author's Notes: Well, the A Wounded Dove story actually turned into a series...go figure, eh? This one takes place right after Sunsets and Sunrises. You pretty much have to read the entire series (in order they go- A Wounded Dove, The Greatest Gift of All, Sunsets and Sunrises and then this story). If you don't read them, none of this will make sense. Also, I know a lot of people like Eriol and Madison together, but I wanted to use a character for Meilin that people knew because I already had one original character (Jakob). This also has some S&S in it (Sorry MeiLi fans- I just couldn't work it in...but don't worry more MeiLi stories are on their way).
This takes place roughly a year after Sunsets and Sunrises so about two years after A Wounded Dove. The gang then is about 24 years old.
Please review, but NO FLAMES! Thanks!
~*~
WITHOUT A WARNING
By: PhoenixB
~*~
"There's a darkness which comes without a warning."
~*~
Meilin grabbed her mug of coffee and sat at the small table. Li and Sakura were already off doing something for their wedding. The young woman smiled as she thought about the couple. Their wedding was only a week away and she was certain one, if not both of them, was going to have a nervous breakdown. Everyday there seemed to be a new "tragedy" that happened to their wedding plans.
Yesterday it was that the flowers could only come in pink, white and light yellow; there wasn't any blue. The day before that it had something to do with a band member being sick. Meilin, however, knew that everything would turn out beautifully and tried to remind the couple of that.
Of course, they didn't really listen, but she tried and that was all that mattered.
The raven-haired woman opened the morning paper and began to scan the news. She had only made through the millions of handouts thrown in with the paper when the doorbell rang. She moved and answered the door, however, no one was there, and Meilin silently cursed those "stupid ding-dong ditchers."
The young woman made her way back into the kitchen and sat back down. Two seconds later a clammy hand covered her mouth. Meilin started and dropped her mug of coffee on the hard floor. She pushed her chair back and stood, yet the person behind her moved with her and held her tight. The raven-haired woman was just about to elbow and flip the person over her shoulder when they spoke.
"You really should have read your paper." The voice stopped her cold. "You would have found some interesting news there."
Meilin's body began to tremble and her knees wobbled like jelly. The hand removed itself from her mouth, and she then felt a cold piece of metal placed against her neck.
"Don't make any moves or sounds and you'll keep your head, understood?" The young woman nodded. "Good, now sit yourself back down." Meilin did so. "Like I said you should have read your paper faster."
The attacker reached down and opened up the paper in front of the raven-haired woman. There, in big, bold letters of a title, stood the headline:
PRISON ESCAPE
Meilin quickly scanned the article and found the information she already knew; Jakob had escaped. The young woman felt the gun shoved deeper into her skull.
"Well, I really would like to stay around here, but we can't do that can we?" The question went unanswered. "Let's be going."
Meilin was pulled to her feet and dragged outside. She didn't bother to fight her ex-husband knowing she didn't stand a chance against a gun. Before long, the young woman found herself sitting in the back of a van that was parked in the driveway. The words "Father and Son Electric" were printed brightly on the outside making the van look inconspicuous.
"I'd let you sit in front, but well, I want where we're going to be a surprise. Enjoy the trip." With that Jakob slammed the door shut and put Meilin in blackness.
The young woman moved to the door and tried to open it only to find that there was a child-safe lock on it. Meilin felt tears come to her eyes and knew she was trapped.
For what felt like hours, the raven-haired woman was thrown about the back of the van as Jakob drove her further and further away from her home and those that could find her. She didn't know what was going to happen to her, but she knew she was in dire need of help.
~*~
Li and Sakura entered their house, shared by Meilin, bickering.
"I don't see why we need to invited her? I mean it's...it's her!"
Sakura stared at Li with wide eyes and an open mouth. "She's YOUR aunt!"
The young man made a grunting noise and shrugged his shoulders. "I still don't understand," he mumbled under his breath.
His fiancée pretended not to hear and walked into her home. "Meilin, we're home."
When there was no answer, Sakura put down her bags. "Must have gone with Eriol somewhere."
Li picked up the young woman's disregarded bags and moved them towards the kitchen. He had barely made it next to the table when he heard the crunching of something. Looking downwards, he saw the shattered remains of a mug spread all around the wood table. With concern slowly creeping in his bones, Li put the bags carefully on the table. It was then that his eyes caught sight of the paper.
"Sakura! Come here now!"
Startled by the young man's fearful voice, the young woman made a beeline for the kitchen, and found her way next to Li. "What is it?"
He didn't answers Sakura, but pointed to the paper. The auburn-haired woman read the front page and turned terrified eyes to her fiancée.
"You don't think he..." She left the rest of the sentence uncompleted.
Li gestured down towards the mug on the floor. "I do."
"What should we do?"
The young man moved towards their phone and pointed at Sakura's purse. "I'm going to call the police; get your phone and call Eriol."
The couple quickly moved into action and within moments the police, and Eriol, were on their way. The two took seats at the table and quietly held each other's hands. Neither could believe that this could possibly be happening; how on Earth had Jakob gotten out of prison? No one had an answer for that and doubted that they would receive one from the police.
However, even without that answer, Li and Sakura wondered what in the world Jakob wanted with Meilin. That was a question they didn't want answered, however.
A loud pounding at the front door brought both to their feet and the rushed into the foyer. Li practically torn the door off the hinges and found himself face to face with a pale faced young man.
"Eriol...I...I don't know what to say."
The dark-haired man stepped next to Sakura and faced her fiancée. "Please, are you certain it's Jakob?"
Li morosely nodded his head and Eriol rubbed a hand over his eyes. "How could this happen? WHY did this have to happen to HER? I thought everything was behind us finally!"
Sakura put her hand on Eriol's back and gently pulled him next to her. "We don't know why this has happened, but we can't focus on that. We just have to find her."
She felt the young man gently nod his head in agreement and felt a small amount of relief. She was glad that Eriol appeared as if he would keep his cool; the last thing they needed was to handle an irate and loony young man.
Sakura knew that Eriol cared deeply for Meilin and loved her. Since the trial, over a year ago, the couple become almost as close as she and Li. They spent most of their time with each other and Sakura was certain she had heard them speaking about moving in together. The young woman was truly happy for both of them and knew that, if anyone, deserved a wonderful male in their life it was Meilin. The raven-haired woman had a hard enough life with Jakob and had earned to have a caring boyfriend.
Another pounding fist at the door, brought Sakura out of her thoughts and she watched as Li opened the door and two police officers stood in the doorway.
~*~
Meilin felt the van come to halt and waited, in trepidation, for Jakob to make his way to the doors. Bright lights flooded into the darkness, which the young woman had been sitting in, when her ex-husband opened the doors. Instinctively, the raven-haired woman backed into the furthest corner of the van attempting to move away from Jakob.
The older man simply moved into the back and grabbed Meilin's arm. He viciously dragged her against the bottom of the van and yanked her out of the back. Due to the force, her feet were unable to meet the ground and the young woman fell hard on her knees, but Jakob didn't stop pulling.
The raven-haired woman pulled against her ex-husband, but the man had a death grip on her wrist and, since her feet were not cooperating with her, Meilin found herself being dragged across the ground. Finally, Jakob seemed to get frustrated with having to drag Meilin and stopped. He turned to her and made a reach for her hair. The young woman saw this and attempted to dodge his hand, but move slightly too slow.
A soft cry escaped Meilin's mouth as she felt herself get pulled to her feet by her hair. Once standing, Jakob continued on his way without a word.
Since being removed from the back of the van, the raven-haired woman took the time to look around at her surroundings, hoping she could figure out a little bit about where she was. However, desperation hit the young woman when she realized she was in the middle of a bunch of trees. There were no landmarks, no signs- nothing to help her figure out where she was. The only distant feature in all of the foliage was the small wood shack that stood in front of her and another run down one just down the way.
Meilin realized that her ex-husband was taking her to that "home" and, deep inside, knew that if she ever got stuck in that house, she would never leave. Making up her mind, the young woman kicked out with her right foot making contact to Jakob's knee.
The man hit the dirt and released his ex-wife. Meilin didn't think twice before sprinting away into the trees. She only made it a few feet when a soft 'pfft' sound hit her ears and a needle prick hit the nap of her neck. ~A tranquilizer gun...wonderful!~ Jakob had brought a tranq gun not a real gun.
Meilin felt her knees buckle beneath her and, between a drugged haze, she could see Jakob standing over her smiling. His evil smile was the last thing she saw before her world turned black.
~*~
The police left the three adults telling them that they were going to send out a missing person's announcement and attempt to track where Jakob went. Though they tried to sound promising, the fact of the situation was that Meilin was more than likely to come back a body; a thought that no one wanted to consider, but had to.
~*~
Consciousness returned to Meilin in a blur of colors. She tried to focus on something- anything- around her, but it all ended up blending together. The remnants of the tranquilizer from the dart she had been hit with was still messing with the chemical balance of her body. The young woman sighed wearily while closing her eyes and taking deep breaths.
A few minutes later, she opened her eyes and found the world had stopped its spinning. Meilin looked around and found herself lying on a small bed inside a small room. The room was bare with light tan walls and brown carpet. The bed was actually an old cot with a white sheet thrown over it. The raven-haired woman pushed herself to an upright position and sat on the end of the bed. Her eyes locked with the door and instantly escape came to mind.
Moving as swiftly as she could, the young woman moved to the door and began to see how to open it. Clawing at it only proved to Meilin that the door was locked from the outside. With a wistful smiled, Meilin thought about how much she wanted some of Sakura's old cards right now. The smiled ran from her face as she heard the door open.
Jakob moved into the doorway, blocking the raven-haired woman's escape. "Nice to see you're awake." He held out a tray. "Eat."
Meilin stared at her ex-husband and with a quick flick of her wrist sent the tray to the ground. Jakob looked at the spilled food and water then back to the young woman.
"Very well." He turned and began to leave. "Starve." The door shut behind him and Meilin just stood in place.
Slowly, the young woman moved back to her bed and took a seat. She brought her knees to her chest with a sigh and place her chin atop of them. She suddenly felt very alone.
~*~
Eriol was, for loss of a better word, panicking. The calm attitude he had before had faded and was only a memory. Sakura and Li, for all the years they had known him, had never seen him so unruly. It had been a little over forty-eight hours since Meilin had been kidnapped and Eriol, along with Sakura and Li, hadn't slept. That exhaustion was now catching up with all of them.
Li had fallen completely silent, Sakura had begun to randomly clean things, and Eriol had taking up panicking.
"Why haven't the police called us? Don't they know how to do their job? Are they really that incompetent?"
No one answered the young man's questions, but went about their tasks.
"I can't take this waiting!"
Finally Sakura had reached her breaking point. She slammed a dish into the sink hearing the cracking sound, but not paying it any heed. "That's it! You are going to go take a nap before you drive me crazy."
Eriol turned to the young woman. "I am not sleeping while Meilin is in the hands of that...that psycho!"
Sakura stepped closer to her friend and held a finger straight out at him. "You." She poked him in the chest. "Are going," Poke. "To sleep." Poke. "Now!" Poke.
Eriol squared his shoulders to face Sakura in a battle of wits when Li stood.
"Please, we need to rest if we have any hope of finding her." The dark haired man turned to Li.
"Why do you care if we find her? You don't care about her. It's your fault that she even met Jakob, so don't you dare tell me what to do when it comes to Meilin!" With that Eriol turned and stormed out of the door.
Sakura moved next to Li and put her arm on his shoulder gently squeezing it. "He didn't mean that; he's just worried."
The young man looked to his fiancée, "I know, but he won't do her any good like this. None of us will."
The young woman sighed deeply. "Meilin's strong- she'll be just fine." ~I hope~ Sakura added silently.
~*~
Meilin kicked the door again. "JAKOB!" For the hundredth time, there was no answer., but that didn't stop her. Again and again she kicked, knowing he had to, one time, get annoyed and see what she wanted.
Finally, that one time came.
"WHAT?" He screamed as he flung open the door.
The young woman smiled. "I have to use the restroom."
Jakob growled, but grabbed Meilin by the arm and pulled her in the direction of the bathroom. He shoved her inside. "Two minutes." She raised an eyebrow. "Five minutes." He added and shut the door.
The raven-haired woman quickly did her business, and then began to look frantically around the room, hoping to find something that could help her. She, by a sheer miracle, found a small vent just above the toilet. The hole, though dusty with cobwebs would allow her body to pass through. Using the toilet for leverage she punched with her fists until the dusty cover fell. She caught it and silently laid in on the ground.
Gritting her teeth, she jumped. Although, not in her top shape, she had begun to workout more with Li and found the task of pulling herself into the hole easier than expected. Within seconds she was on her stomach shuffling through the dank, dark and dusty vent.
Careful to be a quiet as possible she slide around until she felt the vent drop drastically. Stifling her surprised shriek, she surfed and landed with a painful thump against another vent wall. However, the young woman realized, she had also found her exit.
Up in front of her was the metal vent that lead outside and to her freedom. Smiling at her ingenious creativity and Jakob stupidity, Meilin moved to the end and promptly kicked open the grate. She moved completely out and once her feet hit the ground started to run.
Her relief was short lived when she felt feet taken out from under her.
She had underestimated Jakob.
Chances were, he had known of the vent and had been waiting for her this whole time. Silently, she cursed herself, but kept her focus on the problem at hand. She had been surprised by her ex-husbands attack and hadn't been able to brace herself for the fall, thus she landed hard on her elbows and chest, but years of training both old and somewhat present, allowed her to fight to her feet. She kicked out backwards and felt contact with Jakob chest, enough that he loosen his grip and she was up and running again.
However, she had not only underestimated Jakob's intelligence, but also his physical ability. The man was again upon her and this time he tacked her, but held Meilin's arms at her side. He landed on top of her, crushing her with his weight.
"That was very, very stupid of you." The young woman struggled against his hold, but to no avail. Suddenly, something caught her eye. A teenage girl was standing just down the street, at the other wood shack, watching the whole exchange.
Taking a deep breath, Meilin screamed. Her cry was cut off by Jakob's hand, but the girl had already turned and ran away before her ex-husband even noticed.
The raven-haired woman only hoped that help would come soon because she had just lost her only chance of escape.
Jakob dragged his ex-wife back into the home and into her room. He shoved her inside, but this time he stayed inside. Meilin slowly backed away from the man until she felt the bed behind her.
"I told you that was a very stupid thing to do. You've made me angry, and you know what happens when I get angry."
Jakob advanced on the raven-haired woman and she realized she was trapped. As she saw her ex-husband's hand descend towards her face she closed her eyes and prayed that the young girl had gone to get help.
~*~
The young couple had fallen asleep on the sofa resting their heads against each other. A loud thumping at the door, however, brought both them out of their slumber and to their feet. Li flung open the door and saw the clearly anxious face of Eriol.
"They have a lead."
~*~
The young woman's hitching breath caught in her throat as she attempted to keep her composer and not start sobbing. Last night, for she assumed it was morning, had been a trip back into her past. She awoke to find her body sore and speckled with bruises. A large knot on her cheek was throbbing and causing a headache. Meilin shifted her body, which instantly protested by sending painful messages to her brain.
She groaned and rolled gently to her side. Unlike in her past when Jakob had abused her, she didn't feel like she had no escape this time. Now, she felt anger. Meilin continued to roll until she was sitting with her back against the wall and her feet hanging off the bed. Other then her anger at Jakob's strength and his ability to conquer her as he had done in the past, the young woman was frustrated. She wanted to get out now.
Meilin laid her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Not only did she want to get out, but knew she had to leave soon if she wanted to survive. There was no doubt that her ex-husband had gone completely insane and had a death wish for the raven-haired woman.
For the first time since she had left China, Meilin felt utterly alone. For almost a year, she had the support from Sakura and Li and the love from Eriol but now, when she needed it and wanted it the most, she had nothing.
Sighing deeply, the young woman closed her eyes and tried to relax as best she could.
~*~
Eriol twisted the piece of paper nervously in his hands. On it held the address of the hideout the Jakob was thought to be at. Earlier that morning, the police had called him letting him know that a call from a young woman had matched both Meilin and Jakob's description. The police were already stacking out the place and now Eriol, along with Sakura and Li, were on their way.
The ride moved in terribly slow motion for Eriol while time whipped quickly away from him. Since he first heard that Jakob kidnapped Meilin it had been like he was in a dream. He realized how much the young woman had grown to mean to him. Faced with the possibility that life could continue without her, he realized how much he did love her.
It was just the littlest things that he missed most right now. The small arguments that she would begin and fight with such tenacity that Eriol always ended up laughing and giving in. The way she always put her heart into everything she did, from cooking a small dinner to practicing fighting. Most of all though, Eriol missed the way she smiled. When he first met here, she smiled so little that each one was a gift he never took for granted, but now her smile was a daily occurrence. Each day, he could watch her face lit up and her eyes sparkle just a bit more.
He only hoped that he would see her smile again.
~*~
The door slamming open jerked Meilin out of her impromptu slumber. As her eyes focused she saw the highly agitated face of Jakob storming towards her. Without any preamble her grabbed her wrist and yanked the young woman to her feet.
The raven-haired woman stumbled and crashed to one knee with her other hand supporting her body. "Wha-" She began to question, but her ex-husband pulled her harder.
"Shut up!" He screamed and Meilin fought to get to her feet. Once she did, she planted them to the ground making Jakob come to a stop.
He swung around and slapped her soundly on the cheek, making the bruise throb even worse. Tears welled in the young woman's eyes, but she didn't allow any to flow. Jakob turned back and pull hard enough to make Meilin move.
She struggled, but he was stronger and successfully moved her out of the room and into the living area. Cursing to himself, while holding her, the man pulled out a piece of rope. Turning her around, Jakob began to bind Meilin's hands behind her back. Once he successfully accomplished that, even around Meilin's struggles, he kicked at her knees. The young woman crumpled to the ground landing on her knees.
He had to finish what he wanted to accomplish now. Earlier that morning he had awoken to see police cars driving through the woods. It would only be a matter of time before they rushed in to his shack and got Meilin.
But, he was determined to succeed.
Meilin felt Jakob double check the bonds on her hands and then heard his voice speaking behind her.
"I really did love you at one time..."
The young woman closed her eyes as she heard the distinct sound of a gun being loaded.
"...you were beautiful when I first met you..."
She was out of time.
"...with your long hair and ruby eyes..."
She was out of hope.
"...but others thought you were beautiful too; I had to change that..."
The gun was cocked and placed against the back of her skull.
"...I had to make you ugly..."
~I'll miss you, mother, and father~ She thought.
"...I had to make you unworthy of their attention..."
~I love you, Li, and Sakura~
"...I had to make you mine..."
~I'll always love you, Eriol, and I'm sorry~
"...and now you're mine again."
The gun exploded in a fury of sound.
~*~
Eriol was not going to let the police hold him back and he broke into a sprint as soon as the shack came into view. A few officers yelled at him, but he plunged forward; desperate to find Meilin. He found himself standing in a doorway with officers a few steps down ready to barge in. He stood silently by and barely registered the loud crash as they busted open the door.
The young man pushed his way inside, not listening to the warnings of the officers and not caring about the consequences. He moved inside and stood in a small kitchen area looking around frantically until he heard the soft voice of a male.
"...unworthy of their attention..."
He moved towards the voice.
"...I had to make you mine..."
Eriol turned a corner and felt his heart jump into his throat. Not ten feet in front of him, with their backs to the young man, was Meilin and Jakob. The young woman was kneeling on the ground with her hands bound and a gun to her head. A few soft tears ran down her cheeks, but she made no sound. Jakob stood behind her, talking slowly and holding the gun to her head.
"...and now you're mine again."
Eriol wasn't sure how it happened, but the next instant he was springing towards Jakob as the police came storming in. Through it all, the distinct sound of a gunshot spilt the noise. A second later, the young man crashed into Jakob and both tumbled to the ground; Meilin fell forward into the floor.
Police stormed forward as Eriol untangled himself from the man under him and moved to Meilin's side. He was vaguely aware of the men pulling Jakob to his feet- all he saw was blood by his love's body. He crawled to her and gently flipped Meilin over; he almost passed out at the sight.
A pair of large ruby eyes stared at him and then blinked. A voice followed the action: "Eriol?"
The young man let out the air he had been holding and looked the young woman over. Her face held a large bruise on her right cheek and her bottom lip was spilt, but she was alive and without a bullet hole. He looked up to the police and Jakob; Meilin's ex-husband had a large bleeding wound in his shoulder.
An uniform officer looked at Eriol and gave him the thumbs up while dragging the unconscious Jakob outside.
"What happened?" Eriol looked down into the confused face of Meilin. He bent down and laid a soft kiss to her forehead.
"Jakob's been shot." He informed as he gently moved her so she was leaning against his chest; her face resting on his arm. He moved to her wrists and began to untie them- freeing her in a matter of minutes.
"Is he dead?"
"No. He's going to jail and he'll stay there this time."
Meilin nodded her head and sighed once her hand were free. She moved them around and grasped one of Eriol's hands. He gently took it and began to smooth his hand over her back. Hitching sobs soon took hold of the young woman.
"Shh, shh, it's over Meilin."
She removed her hand from Eriol's and took a hold of his shirt, grasping it tightly like a lifeline. "I was ready to die. I thought I was going to die."
"It's okay. It's all over." Eriol reassured.
The young woman moved her neck and looked up into Eriol's dark eyes. "Thank you." She whispered and promptly passed out. The pure exhaustion and stress taking its toll.
The young man gently stood, taking Meilin with him. "You're welcome." He whispered into her ear just as medics took the still form from him. He let them, but stood protectively by Meilin's side, even in the ambulance.
~*~
The beeping noise brought the raven-haired woman out of her dreamless sleep. Her ruby eyes opened slowly and instantly three faces swarmed her vision and made her eyes go out of focus.
"MEILIN!" She distantly heard Sakura squeal.
The young woman closed her eyes in a long blink, trying to get her vision to focus better. When it did, she made out the faces of Li, Sakura, and Eriol standing on either side of her bed.
"How do you feel?" Li questioned just as Eriol took her hand. She smiled at him and then the others.
"Okay."
Sakura let off a relived sigh and then pointed a finger directly at the young woman. "Don't you EVER scare us like that again! Do you understand?"
Meilin smiled at the concern. "Of course I do."
Sakura's face broke into a smile. "Good. Now Li," She turned to her fiancée. "Why don't you get me something to eat."
Li rolled his eyes dramatically, but Meilin could see the smile. He bent over and laid a gently kiss to the raven-haired woman's cheek. "I'm glad you're okay." He said softly and then followed Sakura out.
Eriol and Meilin sat in comfortable silence with him holding her hand. She closed her eyes for a moment, but opened them at his voice.
"I have something to ask you, Mei." She smiled at the nickname.
"Okay."
The young man ran a hand through his hair. "When I realized that you had been kidnapped everything turned upside down for me. I was lost and it was then I realized how much you meant to me and how much I needed you. I have never known anyone like you in all my life- you're special. Special to me that is. And I...well...that is..."
Meilin let off a small laugh. "You were going to ask me a question, you know."
Eriol blushed. "Yeah, I was."
The young woman felt sleep pressing at her and her eyelids get heavy. They began to close just as the young man spoke.
"Would you marry me?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah sure." She answered sleepily.
Silence fell into the room for a beat until...
"MARRY?!?"
~*~
"You may now kiss the bride."
Almost ten years in the making and the moment had finally come (even without the blue flowers)- Sakura Avalon and Li Showron were finally married.
Meilin sighed contentedly as the couple kissed and her eyes caught Eriol's. He smiled and she returned the gentle gesture.
Things had certainly changed in a short time. The bruises that Jakob had given her, faded leaving her looking as she always had. Her ex-husband was back in jail- a more secure jail- serving a life sentence. At times, the young woman would awake from a terribly realistic nightmare, but, for the most part, things had been sorted out and put behind her.
Sakura and Li broke their kiss and headed back down the isle towards their car and honeymoon. Eriol moved next to Meilin and grasped her hand. She smiled at him as they followed the couple.
Not only had things changed, but they continued to. Meilin had moved out of Sakura and Li's home, wanting the now married couple to have their own home. She had planned on living in her own place, but Eriol insisted that fiancées should live together.
And so she moved in with him.
The couple, after Meilin got over the shock of the proposal, talked and she accepted. They had not begun to make any plans, but that suited Meilin just fine. For now, she was content to let things move slowly and to enjoy every little thing.
Eriol and Meilin stopped and watched the car pull away with the 'Just Married' sign on back. He leaned down to her ear and whispered. "That will be us one day."
The raven-haired woman nodded. One day it would be and she was already looking forward to it.
THE END
Well, that's the last story in the A Wounded Dove Series. Like I already said, I actually never expected it to become a series, but it just did. Hmmm, dang plot bunnies! A review would be nice! **hint hint**