Sacrifice
A Sequel to Quietly into the Night
Conventional Couples
Rating: PG-13
Chapter Ten
"Auntie Isabelle," cried Lexie, sliding out of Jereon's grasp. She ran across the room and hugged Isabelle's leg. "That's Jereny," she said. "He had some boo boo's, but I made them better."
"Jeremy," said Isabelle faintly. "Boo boo's? Oh Lexie, what have you done?"
"Some bad guys came and Sarena hid me."
"Serena?" questioned Isabelle.
"Please, Your Highness, if I may?" asked Jereon. "I am the Jeremy of which the child speaks. Actually, it's Jereon, I am the son of Naloch, and Serena is my sister Saranara. I think perhaps our Antarian names are a bit difficult for the young princess to say."
"Lexie's not a princess," said Isabelle forcefully. "I don't know what you are talking about."
Jereon slid from the bed and walked across the room. "Please Princess Vilondra, I understand why you are wary. Perhaps if I tell you that your friend Kyle speaks highly of you, then you will believe me."
"Kyle," said Isabelle. "You've seen Kyle? Where is he, can you take him to me?"
"I'm sorry Princess, I cannot. He lives in the Royal House of Antar. He is not quite a prisoner of Kivar's, but neither is he a free man."
"I'm not a princess, and I'm not Vilondra. She is dead. I am Isabelle. What do you mean he isn't a prisoner and he isn't free? I don't understand."
"I will explain all, but please, won't you sit down?"
"It's ok Auntie Isabelle. Jereny's nice."
"His name is Jeremy, I mean Jereon sweetie," said Isabelle, bending over to pick up the little girl.
"Please, if it pleases the little Princess to call me Jeremy, she may do so," said Jereon.
Isabelle scowled at the man. "I told you, she isn't a princess. She's just a normal little girl."
"A normal little girl with the ability to heal. A gift she got from her father. But you are right, she is no longer a princess, and it is safer for her if she is not one. Perhaps you could tell me how she arrived here?"
Isabelle took a deep breath. She was afraid to trust the handsome stranger standing in front of her, but she also knew she had no choice at this point. She thought carefully for a moment before answering. "Lexie was playing with the orbs while her father was asleep. Somehow, she figured out how to put them together with the pendent and she ended up here."
"She is as clever as she is beautiful," said Jereon. "She looks very much like her mother."
"You've seen Liz?" Isabelle asked excitedly. A bang from the other room drew her attention, and she tightened her hold on Lexie and surveyed the room, looking for a place to hide.
"Behind those storage containers," whispered Jereon, pointing to the area where Lexie had hidden earlier. Isabelle and Lexie dove behind the containers as the door opened.
"Jereon, I couldn't find a healer anywhere. I don't know what to do," cried Saranara. "Your injuries are too severe for me to try and," her voice trailed off as she looked at her brother standing before her, completely healed. "Jereon, you are not injured any longer. That is incredible. What happened? You could never have healed yourself."
Jereon took his sister by the hand, and pulled her all the way into the room and closed and locked the door behind her. "Calm down Saranara, our guest was able to heal me. Truth be told, she is quite adept as a healer already.
"Lexie did that?" questioned Saranara looking around. "Where is the child, did you do something to scare her?"
"Lexie, will you come out please?" asked Jereon. "Serena's back."
"Serena?" questioned Saranara.
"Yes, it seems as though our small friend has a difficult time with our names. I am Jeremy and you have become Serena."
"Serena," she tested the name. "I like it very much." Lexie came out from behind the storage containers, her hand held tightly by Isabelle.
"Saranara, may I present to you," began Jereon.
"Princess Vilondra," finished Saranara. "I am honored to have you in our shop. Welcome back to Antar."
Isabelle felt comfortable with the Antarian woman right away. "Please, call me Isabelle," she said smiling. "And thank you for caring for my niece."
"It was a great pleasure," replied Saranara. "She has only been here for several hours."
"But that's impossible," said Isabelle. "I followed Lexie almost immediately. It was a matter of minutes before the orbs had charged again."
"Princess, if my sister says your niece has been here for several hours, then she has been here for several hours. Saranara is not in the habit of lying."
"You pompous son of a bit,"
Isabelle caught herself before she finished.
"I wasn't implying that your sister was lying. I was merely expressing my confusion at the large gap in the
time." Saranara looked at her brother
and Isabelle with confusion. The two
seemed to be at each other's throats over nothing.
"Stop it, now," commanded Saranara. "We don't have time for this. Isabelle, what about King Zan, I mean Max."
"Actually, Max was the one who was going to come after Lexie first, and I was supposed to follow with Michael later."
"How is it that you came to be here before him then?" questioned Jereon.
"Simple, I shoved him out of the way and used the orbs first," said Isabelle, shooting him a look that clearly implied that he was stupid. "Max was quite distraught over the recent events with Liz, and I knew if he came here now, without thinking, he'd just try and rescue her right away."
Saranara looked at her brother and then turned back to Isabelle. "What events do you speak of?"
"Liz and Kam have been communicating with Lexie recently, just as Kyle has been communicating with me." Isabelle purposely mentioned Kyle's name to see what type of reaction it provoked in the Antarian woman. She was pleased to see Saranara's face blush delicately. "Kyle's probably my best friend in my world, or yours," said Isabelle. "I was heartbroken when I thought he was dead."
"No Isabelle, he is very much alive, I am pleased to say," said Saranara. "But I am confused, how was he able to contact you?"
"While we were running from what we thought was the Special Unit on Earth, Kyle developed the ability to communicate with the rest of us telepathically," explained Isabelle. "Max and Michael think that since I was the first person he ever spoke with in this way, our bond was stronger, so as his skills grew, he was able to reach out to me on Earth. To be honest with you, I thought I was losing my mind. We were all so certain that he and Liz were dead. I am just so happy to know that he is alive and well. Do you think I will be able to see him soon?"
Saranara was saddened by the thought of her beloved Kyle returning with the beautiful woman that stood before her. How could she compete with a princess? "We never know when Kyle will be allowed to leave the Royal House Isabelle, but when he does, he always comes to our shop.
"Well of course he does," said Isabelle. "How could he keep himself away from someone as beautiful as you?" Saranara flushed again at Isabelle's words. "Oh no, Kyle is just a friend. He promised my father that he would look after me," said the Antarian woman.
"Well, I'm sure this is all quite exciting, but we need to find a better place to hide the Princess and Lexie," said Jereon. "Kivar's guards could return at any time, and there is nothing from stopping them from searching the storeroom. It really would have been better if your brother and Michael had come instead. They are warriors, they will not expect to be pampered," said Jereon, implying that Isabelle would need to be pampered.
"I told you, Max was not in any state to make this journey right away. He needed some time to decompress, and Michael's wife has just had a baby. I don't even know if he will return with Max!" said Isabelle angrily. She had never met a more infuriating man in her life.
"I've got it," broke in Saranara. "What about the tunnels?"
"Tunnels," questioned Isabelle.
"Relax Princess," said Jereon. "They aren't as bad as they sound. Our Father created a network of tunnels to hide those who were sympathetic to the Royal Family. While I am certain that they won't even begin to measure up to your high standards Princess, you will be reasonably comfortable."
"My God, what is your trauma?" said Isabelle. "I am not some hothouse flower that needs to be pampered. Lead me to these tunnels." She turned to her small niece. "Hey, Lexie, want to play a game with Auntie Isabelle? We're going to hide under the ground in a kind of cave. Won't that be fun?" She turned to Saranara. "You are so lucky to have Kyle for a friend Saranara. Living with this oafish bore must be very difficult for you. Saranara smothered a giggle as Jereon glared at Isabelle. He proceeded to move some of the storage bins to reveal a trapdoor hidden in the floor. Lifting the door, he then removed an item from his belt and pressed a switch. A light beam shot out and filled the tunnel with a comforting glow. "I'll go down first Princess, just to make sure it's safe."
"Call me Isabelle," was all she said as she followed him down the ladder.
Once they were down the ladder, Jereon swept the light around the room and revealed several beds. He stopped suddenly and held his arm out to stop Isabelle. She looked over to the beds and saw that one of them was occupied.
"Is he?" she began.
"I don't know. Stay here, and I will check." Jereon walked over to the body and saw the chest rise and fall as he breathed. "He's alive," he whispered. He moved closer and shined the beam of light on the face of the intruder. "Father!"