Whoo, look at me upload. lol :D, not too bad, hu? A huge thank-you to everyone that reviewed my last chapter. And, because I always feel so special when people mention me in their A/N, I'll return the favor ;)
Jessie - lol, I'm glad you like the story so far. hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.
Veggie5 - Yes, yes, reviews always cheer me up. lol, my friends call me a review whore.. but, off topic.. lol. You're right about the name Avril. I wasn't going to use it at first, for that exact same reason, but I couldn't really find anything I liked better. And, yes, your chapter helped very much'ly. And while we're on the topic... Hippolita? There was actually an amazon named Hippolita?! lol, I've seen the episode, but I can't believe I don't remember that name. Who writes this stuff? lol. Speaking of witting, you go write (and post) another chapter. *taps foot* I'm waiting.. lol ;)
Sabrina - Hey, you never know. They might still kill each other. lol, we all know I'm not above killing off an explorer for added reviews. lol, but I'll try my best to keep these two alive ;)
Slappy_kid - glad you like it, and thanks for the compliment. Look, chapter six. And it took less than a week! Aren't you proud? lol
Ascamelien - Hey, you've done it enough times. I'm not above a little revenge. ;) Glad you're still loving it. And don't worry, I think this chapter is much less cliff-hanggy. (Me and my words..) And, thank-u for your support on the whole breakup thing. As far as your fic goes... why, yes, I was indeed thinking double. lol! Damnit, you update that soon! lol :D
And now, (drumroll please..) on to chapter six! See you all at the bottom.
=^..^=
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It didn't take long for them to stumble into another cavern. Much smaller than the first one, but the cave-in didn't seem to have reached this far. For the moment, they were safe. The only down side was that there didn't seem to be a way out.
"Everyone ok?" Roxton asked, trying to catch his breath.
"Oh God.. I don't want to be trapped in another cave." Marguerite said softly.
"There isn't a way out!" Avril exclaimed, her voice shrill. "We're going to die in here!"
"Hey, no one's dying." Roxton assured her.
"Besides, if you panic you'll breathe the air faster." Marguerite pointed out. "Don't think I won't knock you unconscious if that's what it takes to calm you down."
Avril calmed down noticeably.
"What do we do?" She asked.
Roxton sighed.
"We start digging."
~*~*~
No more than half an hour into the attempt to dig their way out of the cavern, both Marguerite and Avril collapsed, exhausted. Roxton grinned, finding it very amusing how alike they were.
"Is there something about this that is entertaining, Roxton?" Marguerite asked, her voice dangerous.
"I was just noticing how alike the two of you are." Roxton explained.
Both pairs of grey eyes immediately hardened, and Roxton regretted having said anything at all.
"I am nothing like her." Avril insisted angrily.
"Yes, as you've mentioned every ten minutes for the past week." Marguerite muttered.
"Well, I wouldn't want to be.." A smirk spread across Avril's face. "Confused with such a well known criminal. Not to mention an overall bitch."
Marguerite's hand made a sharp cracking noise as it connected with the side of Avril's face.
"You ungrateful little brat!" She spat.
Roxton watched on, his features twisted in shock. At that moment, he would have given anything for a way out of the cavern. Or, at least a chance to go back in time and keep from mentioning how alike the two sisters were.
Avril glared at her older sister, a red hand print quickly forming on her cheek.
"Remind me what I'm supposed to be grateful for." She spoke between clenched teeth. "Your abandoning me, or putting my daughter in danger?"
"I didn't abandon you and you know it!" Marguerite snapped. "Christ, you know I was more than ready to take you out of that hell hole."
"Three years after you got out!" Avril reminded her, her voice just as loud. "You waited three years to come get me. So don't act like I was your main concern."
"How was I supposed to know where you were!" Marguerite shouted. "How many times had we been moved around? It took me three years just to find you!"
"Three years, during which you also got married, and went to Egypt. Please. You knew exactly where I was."
They were so caught up in their argument, that they didn't notice what their elevated voices were doing to the cavern around them. Avril and Marguerite were shouting so loudly, that the vibration of their voices was actually starting another cave in. A large boulder had to drop from the ceiling before either noticed what was happening.
"You couldn't wait until we'd gotten out of here, hu?" Roxton demanded, herding them away from the worst of the cave in. Unfortunately, also away from the blocked entrance.
"We really are going to die in here, ar-" Avril was cut off mid sentence as Marguerite shoved her roughly out of harms way. Before Avril had even hit the ground, the medium sized rock connected with Marguerite, and she crumpled onto the floor.
~*~*~
"Oh God, Marguerite, can you hear me?" Roxton's voice was heavy with worry.
A rather nasty looking gash spread diagonally from Marguerite's right eyebrow to her hairline. The cut was laced with flecks of gold, and Roxton suddenly developed a deep hatred for the chunk of metal that had done this to her.
Avril sat up looking dazed.
"She.." Avril swallowed. "I didn't think she had it in her."
Roxton barely spared Avril a glance.
"What are you talking about?" He demanded a little to harshly.
Avril made her way to his side, looking at her sister rather strangely.
"Concern for others has never been her strong point." She turned her attention from Marguerite to Roxton. "Years ago, she just would have let the rock hit me."
"No." Roxton sighed. "I doubt that very much."
The hunter cradled Marguerite in his arms, his fingers tracing broken lines across her face. The gold-flaked blood was now streaming down Marguerite's cheek. Roxton removed his backpack and took out his waterskin, as well as the blanket he had been carrying.
He tossed the blanket to Avril.
"Try and tear it into strips." Roxton told her, using the water and his shirt sleeve to wipe away the worst of the blood.
Avril went about her task wordlessly, although she didn't take her eyes off of Roxton and her sister. With the help of the hunting knives Avril never went anywhere without, it wasn't long before long strips of cloth littered the ground around her.
"What now?" She asked, her voice void of any emotion.
"Now, we bandage her head before she looses any more blood." Roxton replied. "We should also check and see if that blasted boulder did any more harm."
Roxton attempted to bandage Marguerite's head, but after a few moments Avril stopped him.
"Here, let me." She insisted.
"Have you had medical training?" Roxton asked curiously after noting how good of a job she was doing.
Avril shrugged.
"Marguerite taught me how to do this a long time ago."
"Oh?" If anything, Roxton was more curious than ever.
"The other children.. they used to beat us up pretty badly." Avril's voice was steady, and didn't betray any emotion as she told Roxton her story. "Marguerite would steal medical supplies from the nurse's ward to bandage the really bad injuries." Avril sat back, checking over her work. "She got pretty good at setting broken bones."
Roxton couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"They.. they gave you broken bones?"
"We were the orphans. The others were convinced that there had to be something drastically wrong with us, for our parents to leave us all alone." Avril wiped away the final traces of blood with a spare strip of cloth. "You know how children can be."
"I don't understand.. why did Marguerite have to bandage your wounds? Why didn't you just let the nurse do it?"
Avril laughed, but it sounded rather heartbreaking.
"We couldn't go to the nurse. We'd get in trouble. The nuns.. they always said that it was our fault. That there must be a great evil in us, to make the other children act so mean. It was easier just to take care of it ourselves, and hide our battle scars." She smiled a sadly at the name Marguerite had given their wounds so many years ago.
Roxton didn't know what to say. No wonder Marguerite never wanted to talk about her past. If possible, he loved her more than ever. God.. she was so strong...
"If you'll turn around for a few minutes, I'll check her over." Avril interrupted his thoughts.
Roxton nodded numbly. He wasn't ready to let Marguerite go just yet, but they needed to make sure she was ok. He gently placed her on the ground before turning away.
"It sounds like she took pretty good care of you." Roxton spoke, starring at the wall before him.
"Once-upon a time." Avril agreed after awhile. "But, things change. She turned into a cold, heartless bitch. And, truth be told, I'm not really any better. Not that she ever needs to hear that."
"She's not the same person, you know." Roxton insisted. "She's changed."
"No." Avril argued. "She's just learning how to hide it better. People like me and her, we don't change. We're like chameleons, adapting to fit into our surroundings... but at heart, we're always the same."
Roxton didn't reply. He could see that he wasn't going to convince Avril otherwise, and didn't see the point in arguing about it. She'd get it eventually, just as Marguerite had. So, they spent the next couple of minutes in silence.
"You can turn around now." Avril said, finally.
Roxton did just that.
"She'll live." Avril assured him. "As long as that cut doesn't get infected, she'll be just fine. But she's going to have a hell of a headache when she wakes up. A bit of head trauma... but she's always been a bit hard-headed." Avril pulled a blanket out of her pack. "She'll be just fine." She repeated as she placed the now rolled up blanket under Marguerite's head.
"Then I'd better find a way out of here." Roxton spoke. "She'll be really upset if she wakes up and we haven't found a way out yet."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Aww, I know, so sad. But, then again, we always knew Marguerite's past was a sad one. 'Sides, angst is my specialty. Well, angst, and romance anyway. I don't see this fic having very many more chapter. Two.. three at the most. So, best get your reviews in while you can! What do you think? Will they make it out.. or will they die! *gasp* Hey, I've done it before.. be afraid! Be very afraid!
lol, no, don't worry. I highly doubt I'll be killing anyone. You can breathe again. But, I'm so proud of myself. Look at how fast I'm posting new chapters. I could get used to having time to write. lol, and lack of writers block. *knocks on her wooden desk*. Anywho, review for me, and I'll see you next chapter.
Dai stiho
~CrimsonCat~
Jessie - lol, I'm glad you like the story so far. hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.
Veggie5 - Yes, yes, reviews always cheer me up. lol, my friends call me a review whore.. but, off topic.. lol. You're right about the name Avril. I wasn't going to use it at first, for that exact same reason, but I couldn't really find anything I liked better. And, yes, your chapter helped very much'ly. And while we're on the topic... Hippolita? There was actually an amazon named Hippolita?! lol, I've seen the episode, but I can't believe I don't remember that name. Who writes this stuff? lol. Speaking of witting, you go write (and post) another chapter. *taps foot* I'm waiting.. lol ;)
Sabrina - Hey, you never know. They might still kill each other. lol, we all know I'm not above killing off an explorer for added reviews. lol, but I'll try my best to keep these two alive ;)
Slappy_kid - glad you like it, and thanks for the compliment. Look, chapter six. And it took less than a week! Aren't you proud? lol
Ascamelien - Hey, you've done it enough times. I'm not above a little revenge. ;) Glad you're still loving it. And don't worry, I think this chapter is much less cliff-hanggy. (Me and my words..) And, thank-u for your support on the whole breakup thing. As far as your fic goes... why, yes, I was indeed thinking double. lol! Damnit, you update that soon! lol :D
And now, (drumroll please..) on to chapter six! See you all at the bottom.
=^..^=
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It didn't take long for them to stumble into another cavern. Much smaller than the first one, but the cave-in didn't seem to have reached this far. For the moment, they were safe. The only down side was that there didn't seem to be a way out.
"Everyone ok?" Roxton asked, trying to catch his breath.
"Oh God.. I don't want to be trapped in another cave." Marguerite said softly.
"There isn't a way out!" Avril exclaimed, her voice shrill. "We're going to die in here!"
"Hey, no one's dying." Roxton assured her.
"Besides, if you panic you'll breathe the air faster." Marguerite pointed out. "Don't think I won't knock you unconscious if that's what it takes to calm you down."
Avril calmed down noticeably.
"What do we do?" She asked.
Roxton sighed.
"We start digging."
~*~*~
No more than half an hour into the attempt to dig their way out of the cavern, both Marguerite and Avril collapsed, exhausted. Roxton grinned, finding it very amusing how alike they were.
"Is there something about this that is entertaining, Roxton?" Marguerite asked, her voice dangerous.
"I was just noticing how alike the two of you are." Roxton explained.
Both pairs of grey eyes immediately hardened, and Roxton regretted having said anything at all.
"I am nothing like her." Avril insisted angrily.
"Yes, as you've mentioned every ten minutes for the past week." Marguerite muttered.
"Well, I wouldn't want to be.." A smirk spread across Avril's face. "Confused with such a well known criminal. Not to mention an overall bitch."
Marguerite's hand made a sharp cracking noise as it connected with the side of Avril's face.
"You ungrateful little brat!" She spat.
Roxton watched on, his features twisted in shock. At that moment, he would have given anything for a way out of the cavern. Or, at least a chance to go back in time and keep from mentioning how alike the two sisters were.
Avril glared at her older sister, a red hand print quickly forming on her cheek.
"Remind me what I'm supposed to be grateful for." She spoke between clenched teeth. "Your abandoning me, or putting my daughter in danger?"
"I didn't abandon you and you know it!" Marguerite snapped. "Christ, you know I was more than ready to take you out of that hell hole."
"Three years after you got out!" Avril reminded her, her voice just as loud. "You waited three years to come get me. So don't act like I was your main concern."
"How was I supposed to know where you were!" Marguerite shouted. "How many times had we been moved around? It took me three years just to find you!"
"Three years, during which you also got married, and went to Egypt. Please. You knew exactly where I was."
They were so caught up in their argument, that they didn't notice what their elevated voices were doing to the cavern around them. Avril and Marguerite were shouting so loudly, that the vibration of their voices was actually starting another cave in. A large boulder had to drop from the ceiling before either noticed what was happening.
"You couldn't wait until we'd gotten out of here, hu?" Roxton demanded, herding them away from the worst of the cave in. Unfortunately, also away from the blocked entrance.
"We really are going to die in here, ar-" Avril was cut off mid sentence as Marguerite shoved her roughly out of harms way. Before Avril had even hit the ground, the medium sized rock connected with Marguerite, and she crumpled onto the floor.
~*~*~
"Oh God, Marguerite, can you hear me?" Roxton's voice was heavy with worry.
A rather nasty looking gash spread diagonally from Marguerite's right eyebrow to her hairline. The cut was laced with flecks of gold, and Roxton suddenly developed a deep hatred for the chunk of metal that had done this to her.
Avril sat up looking dazed.
"She.." Avril swallowed. "I didn't think she had it in her."
Roxton barely spared Avril a glance.
"What are you talking about?" He demanded a little to harshly.
Avril made her way to his side, looking at her sister rather strangely.
"Concern for others has never been her strong point." She turned her attention from Marguerite to Roxton. "Years ago, she just would have let the rock hit me."
"No." Roxton sighed. "I doubt that very much."
The hunter cradled Marguerite in his arms, his fingers tracing broken lines across her face. The gold-flaked blood was now streaming down Marguerite's cheek. Roxton removed his backpack and took out his waterskin, as well as the blanket he had been carrying.
He tossed the blanket to Avril.
"Try and tear it into strips." Roxton told her, using the water and his shirt sleeve to wipe away the worst of the blood.
Avril went about her task wordlessly, although she didn't take her eyes off of Roxton and her sister. With the help of the hunting knives Avril never went anywhere without, it wasn't long before long strips of cloth littered the ground around her.
"What now?" She asked, her voice void of any emotion.
"Now, we bandage her head before she looses any more blood." Roxton replied. "We should also check and see if that blasted boulder did any more harm."
Roxton attempted to bandage Marguerite's head, but after a few moments Avril stopped him.
"Here, let me." She insisted.
"Have you had medical training?" Roxton asked curiously after noting how good of a job she was doing.
Avril shrugged.
"Marguerite taught me how to do this a long time ago."
"Oh?" If anything, Roxton was more curious than ever.
"The other children.. they used to beat us up pretty badly." Avril's voice was steady, and didn't betray any emotion as she told Roxton her story. "Marguerite would steal medical supplies from the nurse's ward to bandage the really bad injuries." Avril sat back, checking over her work. "She got pretty good at setting broken bones."
Roxton couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"They.. they gave you broken bones?"
"We were the orphans. The others were convinced that there had to be something drastically wrong with us, for our parents to leave us all alone." Avril wiped away the final traces of blood with a spare strip of cloth. "You know how children can be."
"I don't understand.. why did Marguerite have to bandage your wounds? Why didn't you just let the nurse do it?"
Avril laughed, but it sounded rather heartbreaking.
"We couldn't go to the nurse. We'd get in trouble. The nuns.. they always said that it was our fault. That there must be a great evil in us, to make the other children act so mean. It was easier just to take care of it ourselves, and hide our battle scars." She smiled a sadly at the name Marguerite had given their wounds so many years ago.
Roxton didn't know what to say. No wonder Marguerite never wanted to talk about her past. If possible, he loved her more than ever. God.. she was so strong...
"If you'll turn around for a few minutes, I'll check her over." Avril interrupted his thoughts.
Roxton nodded numbly. He wasn't ready to let Marguerite go just yet, but they needed to make sure she was ok. He gently placed her on the ground before turning away.
"It sounds like she took pretty good care of you." Roxton spoke, starring at the wall before him.
"Once-upon a time." Avril agreed after awhile. "But, things change. She turned into a cold, heartless bitch. And, truth be told, I'm not really any better. Not that she ever needs to hear that."
"She's not the same person, you know." Roxton insisted. "She's changed."
"No." Avril argued. "She's just learning how to hide it better. People like me and her, we don't change. We're like chameleons, adapting to fit into our surroundings... but at heart, we're always the same."
Roxton didn't reply. He could see that he wasn't going to convince Avril otherwise, and didn't see the point in arguing about it. She'd get it eventually, just as Marguerite had. So, they spent the next couple of minutes in silence.
"You can turn around now." Avril said, finally.
Roxton did just that.
"She'll live." Avril assured him. "As long as that cut doesn't get infected, she'll be just fine. But she's going to have a hell of a headache when she wakes up. A bit of head trauma... but she's always been a bit hard-headed." Avril pulled a blanket out of her pack. "She'll be just fine." She repeated as she placed the now rolled up blanket under Marguerite's head.
"Then I'd better find a way out of here." Roxton spoke. "She'll be really upset if she wakes up and we haven't found a way out yet."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Aww, I know, so sad. But, then again, we always knew Marguerite's past was a sad one. 'Sides, angst is my specialty. Well, angst, and romance anyway. I don't see this fic having very many more chapter. Two.. three at the most. So, best get your reviews in while you can! What do you think? Will they make it out.. or will they die! *gasp* Hey, I've done it before.. be afraid! Be very afraid!
lol, no, don't worry. I highly doubt I'll be killing anyone. You can breathe again. But, I'm so proud of myself. Look at how fast I'm posting new chapters. I could get used to having time to write. lol, and lack of writers block. *knocks on her wooden desk*. Anywho, review for me, and I'll see you next chapter.
Dai stiho
~CrimsonCat~
