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Chapter 15: The Rescue

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"You're trying to leave me," Cirdan repeated, growing angrier. Abby was panicked. His eyes displayed a fierce anger she had yet to see. She had seen him angry before, but he had never been like this. He gripped her arm tightly and pulled her up from her resting position.

"I take care of you, treat you well, and you repay me by trying to escape?" He squeezed her arm tighter and pulled her closer to him. Abby shook with fear, trying to figure out just what to do. His grip was getting tighter and he kept on shouting. She thought quickly, realizing it may be the difference between life and death.

"No, no I'm not," she said in a whisper. This stopped his ranting and he loosened his grip slightly. "I'm not trying to leave you." Cirdan thought for a moment before the malicious look returned.

"I don't believe you," he hissed, tightening his grip again. "I heard your thoughts. You want to find a way out of here." Abby thought quickly.

"No, no, that's not it," Abby insisted, shaking her head. "I was just thinking about how I'd like to go outside. I haven't seen the sun or breathed fresh air in a few days. I would never try to escape." Cirdan's expression softened.

"Do you mean that?" he asked hopefully. Abby gulped silently.

"Yeah, yes," she said, nodding. Cirdan smiled.

"You want to stay with me? Do you love me?" Abby's stomach retched, but she maintained her composure. She remembered Connor's words, "Do whatever you have to to stay safe." She knew what she had to do.

"Yes," she answered, her expression changing to a wide smile. "How could I not? You've taken such good care of me?" Cirdan became ecstatic. He wrapped his arms around her and then kissed her.

"I knew this would happen eventually, if I just had faith. I love you too, you know." He kissed her again and pressed himself hard against her. She kissed back but her stomach turned and it took all her willpower not to push him away. Eventually he picked her up and lay her back on the bed, climbing on top of her. Within a matter of moments he had discarded both of their clothing and proceeded to consummate their newfound love, with Abby outwardly appearing to comply but inwardly screaming.

~*~

Back at the palace the rescue mission was well underway. Immediately after contacting Abby and deducing her location, a reconnaissance team had been sent to find the correct location of the cave. This was done easily enough, as Cirdan did not cover his tracks well.

Now the forces were assembling. First there was the group that would break the outer defenses. Michael led this group, and it was comprised of a few palace soldiers. The outer defenses were few, a couple of guards at the most. Cirdan had tried to make his cave as inconspicuous as possible by posting few guards, but, apparently, he had little luck. After the entrance to the cave was secure, the search and recovery team, led by Nate and Connor, would enter and search for Abby. Connor would use their connection to attempt to find her and, as he did this, Nate's team would find and capture Cirdan. After everyone was safely out the cave would be destroyed, killing all of the rebellious Flad-adan within.

They had to be swift in their actions, because Abby's like was at stake. One small mistake, one delay, and she could easily die. It had been a day since the contact, and they were already ready to attack. With a word from the High King, the troops were on the move.

~*~

Abby lie in bed, staring at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep, and hadn't since she betrayed her husband in what she thought was the worst way possible. Cirdan hadn't left her side since, taking his meals with her and sleeping in her bed, among other things.

The constant attention, the constant supervision, the constant need to put up a facade, and the constant lying was quickly taking a toll on her health. She kept reminding herself she was only keeping her promise to do whatever necessary to stay safe, but it didn't help.

It was now almost a day since she had spoken to Connor and she was beginning to worry. What if it didn't work? What if he couldn't save her? What if he was killed? What if she was stuck here with Cirdan forever? She shuddered at the thought. Could she learn to love him? She looked at the man sleeping next to her and pondered this. No, she realized. She'd die before she would spend forever with him.

Sensing he was about to wake she closed her eyes and feigned sleep.

"Wake up, my love," Cirdan whispered, stroking her hair and lightly kissing her lips. Her eyes fluttered open and she faked a smile.

"Good morning," he whispered.

"Is it morning?" she asked. It was impossible for her to tell without seeing the light of the sun.

"Yes," he replied. "Come, dress. I'll ring for breakfast."

He walked over to the intercom and Abby went to dress. She looked in the mirror and shuddered. The lack of sleep, as well as the hunger from not eating as much as she should and the constant fear, was taking its toll. Dark circles had formed beneath her eyes and she looked thin and pale. She was revolted at her appearance, but smiled because maybe, just maybe, Cirdan would be too. Maybe he would stop wanting her and, eventually, she would be free. Or he would just kill her. The smile disappeared and she went to work dressing.

From the bathroom she suddenly heard Cirdan's voice rise and become panicked. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but something told her that her cavalry had arrived. Why else would he panic? She smiled again and began working faster. Cirdan entered the bathroom and smiled upon seeing her.

"I have to run out for a few minutes," he said, keeping his voice calm. Abby looked at him innocently.

"Why?" she asked. "Is something wrong?" He changed his expression for a moment as a shadow of doubt passed over his eyes, but he quickly brightened.

"No, no," he replied, kissing her lightly on the forehead. "A few of the Flad-adan are having some difficulties. Nothing I can't handle." She could sense the fear emanating off of him and she inwardly smiled, realizing she was correct. He quickly left and she hurried getting ready, confident in the knowledge she would soon be gone from this place.

~*~

A few minutes later Abby sat on the bed quietly waiting. Humming softly, she thought fondly on how wonderful it would be to finally see the sun again, to sleep in her own bed, next to her real husband, and to see her family. Joy emanated from her. She felt a voice touch her mind and her joy increased.

"I missed you," Connor said to her in her mind. She smiled.

"Not nearly as much as I missed you," she replied. "Are you coming to get me?" He replied in the affirmative.

"Yes, we're already in the cave. Your dad got us in and now we're trying to find you."

"Are you well armed?" Abby asked worriedly. "There's alot of Cirdan's soldiers here."

"Yeah," Connor replied. "We're very well prepared. Now, I need you to help me find you."

"How are you going to do that?" Abby asked. "I don't know where I am."

"Just keep talking to me. Your presence in my mind becomes stronger the closer I get."

"Ok," Abby said. "But hurry. I miss you so much." She continued talking to Connor for a few minutes, asking him about what had happened while she was gone and about her family.

Within a few minutes, however, Cirdan rushed into the room, obviously panicked. He ran over to Abby and hugged her close.

"We have to get out of here," he gasped, grabbing her hand. "They've come for you and they've got a larger force than I thought. They're trying to take you away from me." Abby didn't know quite what to say. If she kept up her show he might take her somewhere where Connor couldn't find her. If she revealed her lie, she might die.

"What do you want to do?" she finally asked. He looked relieved.

"There's a secret passageway out of here. No one knows about it but me, so no one will be able to tell where we've gone. Quickly, we need to go." He pulled Abby towards the door but she faltered a bit. Feeling her resistance, Cirdan knew immediately what was going on.

"You do want to go with me, don't you?" he asked, looking hurt. "You said you loved me." Abby stared at him. She was so scared, but couldn't stomach lying any longer. She didn't answer, though, and, within a second, his hand was at her throat. He repeated his question. She shouted in her mind for Connor to hurry before steeling her resolve and looking Cirdan in the eyes.

"No," she answered. "I have no desire to go with you anywhere. And I don't love you. I never have." Cirdan's face changed to that of incredible anger. His grip tightened on her throat, cutting off her air supply.

"So you have made your choice," he growled, crushing her throat in his hands. Within a matter of minutes Abby's vision went black.

~*~

Connor was running panicked with a few of his soldiers behind him. All had been going well. He was coming closer to finding Abby and, all of a sudden, she had shouted to him in panic and then been silenced. The shout had been loud enough to tell him her exact location, but the problem was getting there unhindered and quickly. He ran and left soldiers behind him as he went, fighting off any groups of Flad-adan that resisted.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, he reached the door. He could feel Abby's presence within, but it was muted quite a bit. He quickly dispatched the guards and opened the door, preparing himself for almost anything. He was not, however, prepared for what he saw.

In the room he saw himself. He was strangling Abby. He stood there for a moment, not knowing how to react. His image turned towards him and smiled deviously.

"You're too late," he hissed. "Your precious bride is dead." He released his hand and Abby fell to the floor. Connor needed little more than this to provoke him and he attacked. Within a moment Cirdan fell to the floor dead. Connor stood in the doorway in shock for a few minutes, looking at Abby's lifeless form on the floor. Eventually Nate joined him, having been called by the soldiers after Connor entered the room.

"She's dead," Connor said when he saw Nate standing next to him. Nate pushed Connor out of the way and ran to his sister's side. He couldn't bear the idea of his twin sister being dead and wasn't willing to believe it. He laid his head on her chest in sorrow, trying to keep the tears from forming. Suddenly he felt his head shift and looked up in amazement.

"No she's not," he stated simply. "She's not." Connor looked down at Abby in time to see her lips part slightly and a short gasp of air enter her lungs.

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Alright guys, there's only one more chapter and an epilogue after this to go and they're already written. To get them posted, you have to review. I know you're lurking out there; I can see you. I promise it won't hurt to submit a short lil review. Help me out a bit here, guys. If Nemis can have 1000 reviews by chapter 40, I can have at least 40 by chapter 18... pwease?