3 reviews? Really? lol, was the last chapter really that bad? ;) Well, a huge thanks to the three of you that reviewed. So sorry it took so long to get this posted. (lol, to the three that are still following the story..)
For those of you who have forgotten, The explorers discovered a teenage girl in the jungle, who turned out to be a princess. Of course, they agreed to help her get her kingdom back from her evil brother. When we left, they had just gotten captured by the evil brother, and he was taking them back to the kingdom to kill them. Gasp! lol, so, on to the story!

=^..^=

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Keira awoke with a start as the cage she was in hit a rather large rock, the motion bringing her back to consciousness. Bright lights danced before her eyes and she winced at the pain in her head. It was her low moan of agony that let the others in the cage know she had finally woken up.

"Good, you're awake." Veronica sighed, obviously relived.

"How are you feeling?" Challenger asked.

Keira glared at him.
"How should I be feeling?" She demanded. "My brother has captured us, He's going to kill us within moments of reaching the kingdom, and my head feels like it's about to explode."

Challenger looked surprised at her sudden outburst, and Keira instantly felt guilty for talking to him like that.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "It isn't your fault."
Keira's hand strayed to the large bump at the back of her scalp. She winced as she touched it gingerly.

"That's going to hurt for awhile." She sighed, although a small smile played across her face. "Altais always said I was hard headed."

Almost instantly, the smile was replaced with a look of pure panic.
"Altais, where.." She started.

"He's all right." Marguerite cut her off. "He's in the other cage along with Roxton and Malone." The heiress had separated herself from the others, and sat alone in the corner. She was obviously mad, and Keira sighed.

"This wasn't supposed to happen." The young woman said softly.

"Oh, but it did." Marguerite snapped. "We should have gotten away while we could." She glared at Veronica and Challenger. "I *told* you we should have left them."

"Really, Marguerite." Challenger exclaimed. "We couldn't have just let them face this on their own."

"Don't want them to die alone? That's very noble of you Challenger, but you should have left me out of it."

"That's enough, Marguerite." Veronica snapped. "You're not helping. We're all scared."

"Who said I was scared?" Marguerite muttered.

"Just once, can't you let it go?" Keira demanded of her.

Marguerite turned to look at the girl.
"What?" She asked, confused.

"This. Your cold exterior. Your refusal to show any emotion at all." Keira paused, trying to keep her voice from rising any higher. "That's the only thing about you that bothers me."

"I can think of at least a dozen." Veronica muttered. "Give me a minute, I'm sure there are dozens more."

The look Marguerite gave her would have turned rocks to dust. Veronica childishly stuck her tongue out at the older brunet, and it had the desired effect. Marguerite sighed, and relaxed just a little.

"You know Marguerite, Human emotion isn't a weakness." Keira told her.

Marguerite turned her attention back to the scenery beyond the bars of their moving prison.
"Depends on where you grow up, I guess." Marguerite spoke, soft enough so that no one else heard her.

~*~*~*~

"Why are we stopping?" Malone wondered.

"It's getting dark." Altais noted. "To break camp, most likely."

The door to their cage was flung open suddenly.
"Out!" The guard barked.

The three men made their way out of the cage, eager for the chance to stretch their legs. The guard followed them into the forest where they did their business, and then marched them back to the cage.

"You'll stay in here for tonight." Keriko announced. "If you cause any problems, my men won't hesitate to kill you."

And so, other than a few guards, they were left alone within their cage. After about twenty minutes though, the women's cage was rolled up next to theirs. The men let out a collective sigh of relief, happy the others were all right.

"Altais." Keira reached out to him, and he took her hand.
The cages were right next to one another, so holding hands didn't require much stretching.

"How is your leg?" She asked.

"It will be fine." Altais assured her. "I managed to bandage it before I lost too much blood."

"Good." Keira smiled weakly, and then she sighed. "I didn't think that Keriko would be with the hunters."

"A flaw in our planning, but we aren't dead yet." Altais squeezed her hand.

"We might as well be dead." Marguerite muttered.
She and the others were on the opposite end of the cages.

"We've been in worse scrapes than this, and we always manage to get out alive." Roxton insisted. "Altais is right, we're not dead yet. As long as we're still alive, there's hope."

~*~*~*~

Marguerite sighed softly. She was the only one still awake, and the sun would be rising in a few hours. She had been up all night, trying to think of a way to get them all out of this alive. But so far, none of her usual plans had come to mind.

"Maybe I'm loosing my touch." She muttered quietly to herself.

A gentle rustle on the other side of the cage drew her attention. Keira was tossing in her sleep again. The poor girl didn't seem to be sleeping very well. Altais reached out to her, his fingertips brushing against her hair. It was as far as he could reach. Marguerite was surprised to see that Altais was still asleep. He reached out to Keira instinctively, wanting to
protect her even if he wasn't quite awake yet.

Marguerite made her way over to the younger girl, shaking her gently.
"Rise and shine." She murmured.

Keira's eyes flew open, as she inhaled deeply. Her body tensed, but she didn't move. Didn't make a sound. After a few moments, she locked eyes with Marguerite and seemed to relax a little. Keira eased herself into a sitting position, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"Bad dream?" Marguerite asked.

Keira nodded, a small shiver running over her body.

"Want to tell me about it?" Marguerite's voice was soft, almost motherly, and she was glad none of the others were awake to see this.

But still, Keira wouldn't speak. She just shook her head and bit down on her lip until a small bubble of crimson blood welled up from her pierced skin. Marguerite regarded the young girl sadly. She understood how frightening dreams could be. She understood why Keira didn't want to talk about it. So, she offered Keira what she had never had after waking up from a particularly bad nightmare.

"It's all right." Marguerite whispered soothingly.
The heiress pulled the young princess towards her, holding her tightly.

"Don't worry." Marguerite assured her. "I won't let them harm you." She smoothed back Keira's hair. "It's all right. You can cry." Marguerite whispered.

Another shiver ran through Keira's body as a single tear fell to her cheek. With a quiet sob, a few more followed. Marguerite held the small girl tighter. And she couldn't help thinking that maybe if someone had held her when she was younger, she might have turned out just a little
differently.


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Aww, I know, so sad :(

ok, I'm sorry this chapter was so vary short, but I couldn't help it! On the bright side, I think there will only be one more chapter until this is all done. lol, I'm really making quite the mother/daughter relationship between M and the strange little teen, aren't I? But, anywho, next chapter they'll reach the kingdom. Ah, but will they leave it alive? guess you'll have to keep reading to find out ;)

Also, please review. Assure me the story isn't as bad as I think it is, lol. And, before I forget.. *Happy dance* FFN is back up! Yaaaaaay!!! Ice-cream for everyone!
Dai stiho
~CrimsonCat~