CHAPTER 6

Vaughn slowly made his way into the room. The eerie silence frightened him. What if I am too late? He thought suddenly. Lighting a small candle, Vaughn's fingers trembled as he stepped beside the cot. Bringing his light close to the now still figure he observed a small girl a few years younger than himself. The discovery both surprised and confused him. What does father want with her? She looks harmless. Looking at her again, he saw thick curls of brown and blonde streaked hair that was practically sweat soaked. Placing his candle on the floor, he gently wiped off her brow. But as his fingers touched her damp skin, a tiny flicker flashed around his fingers. Shocked, Vaughn jerked his hand back, finding that his fingers were not singed nor burned. He looked at the sleeping figure once again. What happened?

~*~*~*~

Sleep was impossible for Prince Connor. His mind plagued him. Every impulse in his body told him to leave the village immediately. But his conscience argued his duties to the villagers as well as Carmella and Harmen. He could not simply pick up his belongings and leave in the dead of the night. Yet his mind was filled with paranoid thoughts that placed those he held dear in trouble. Connor could no longer remain in the small enclosure of his tent. He picked up his staff, and with Tip following behind him, he walked outside into the cool night. A few paces later, he was surprised to see another figure standing in the distance. Quickening his pace, he recognized Carmella, who was on her night shift.

"Your highness." She quickly bowed as he approached. "A nice evening for a stroll."

Connor groaned inwardly, his hopes of being referred as Connor never went well with her. "Good evening Carmella. I had some trouble falling asleep." He paused, his gaze falling towards Harmen's tent. "Is there any news on Harmen?"

Carmella could sense the anxiousness of Connor's question. "He is recuperating well. His injuries are well taken care of and should be up and around as soon as tomorrow."

"Wonderful news. Well I believe a will take a small walk. Thank you for the update." Turning to leave, Connor felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Your highness, is there problem? You seem troubled." Carmella, her eyes filled with worry and quickly added, "Your journey remains unfinished; perhaps you should take leave soon."

"Carmella, my duty to everyone is incomplete. Though their training progresses it would be wrong of me to abandon them."

"The training you have offered us is invaluable. You have more than helped us all, but your journey and other duties must not be overlooked. Though your presence will certainly be missed, abandonment is the furthest explanation for your leave. "Besides, added Carmella with a smile, everyone in the villages loves you."

Connor gave her a small smile. "I have immensely enjoyed the past days here in the company of this village and the great hospitality shown to me. I have never felt so appreciated and I thank you for finding me in the woods and bringing me here. But…" his voice trailed off as he looked at his summons ring. Mixed feelings swirled in Connor's mind. He appreciated the kind words Carmella offered him, but he was torn between his duty to the villagers and an unfounded fear for his friends. How was he to justify his leave on a hunch? The guilt would be too much if he misjudged either scenario.

His thoughtful silence was enough for Carmella. "If something does not feel right in your heart, ignoring it may lead to bigger consequences."

Connor glanced up from his hand. "…I feel as though I am needed elsewhere…a strange feeling of anxiety has overwhelmed me while in my tent this evening. I cannot describe the dread I feel, I just know something is amiss." Connor sighed, grateful to finally share his burdened conscious with another.

"Instinct is apart of us all, helping us to warn us of danger, and should never be ignored. I think it would be wise for you to pack your belongings and follow your heart."

"Thank you Carmella…for everything." Connor replied as he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Please make my apologies to the others for not having a proper farewell." Quickly, the young prince and his small four legged friend raced back to his tent to return to Wren and the others.

The prince was surprised to see that Carmella has summoned everyone to give him a proper parting. Connor was filled with emotions as he stepped from his tent, to see the many that he had gotten to know during his short visit. But they all understood the sudden leave of their newly founded friend, and only wished him the best of luck. Giving his final good byes and equipped with the knowledge that hard riding would take him into Cantimoor by dawn, Connor was ready to leave. Promising to return when he got the chance, Connor rode off into the night.

~*~*~*~

Huddled around a small fire, Tyron, Tess, and Kai sat speaking in hushed tones. After Kai described Wren's canteen and her seemingly desertion of her camp, all signs abduction appeared clear. They had spent a large portion of the night discussing the possible scenarios for Wren's disappearance, though all of them leading towards Andreus.

"Why do all our possibilities point to Andreus? The war has stripped him of all his power. He shouldn't be a threat, however, it seems as though it is the only explanation for Wren's evaporation into thin air."

"But it's impossible. How could he subdue her? She probably has more power than he." Tess reasoned.

"That is understandable. But we should never underestimate his resourceful nature. He may be overconfident and evil, but he never seems to amaze me with his craftiness."

Tess shivered. She hated discussing the scenario of Andreus capturing Wren, yet it all seemed to fit in perfectly. After the stand-off between them, Andreus had deserted his castle and vanished. Everyone in Cantimoor knew that he would never really stop stirring up trouble, though no one could believe that he would do so again, so soon after the war. But Andreus was not one to stand and watch, he was a bitter man seeking revenge on all those who crossed him. She remembered his violent nature to her father and Idres, and her kidnapping. But Wren has freed her from her unpleasant cell and reunited her with her mother and father. Surely it was up to her to do the same. "Tyron, what do we do? We must find out what we can and help Wren."

"I believe the bigger question to ask is if Andreus has in some way found a way to regain his former magical abilities." 

"Why does this man want Wren?" Kai asked.

"Wren has foiled a few of his plans in the past and has an infamous memory for all who have opposed him."

Kai nodded; confused that anyone could dislike Wren. He suddenly yawned, though not meaning to. The events of the day had drained him, even with the delicious meal in his belly. It could be possible that was another reason for his exhausted state. Tyron and Tess had shared their provisions with the young boy as they discussed Wren. But he wanted to help his new friends find Wren. However Tess and Tyron saw this and immediately suggested that searching for Wren could resume at dawn. By the time Tess and Tyron relocated their camp closer to Wren's; Kai fell into a deep slumber.

"Poor dear, he must be tired, looking for Wren for the past two days. He is such a loyal friend." Tess whispered looking at the sleeping boy.

"Yes, I fear without his loyalty, it would have been impossible for us to discover Wren's camp."

"What is the plan for dawn?"

"Searching the woods would be silly since we know she would be long gone by now. I suppose we could return to the palace to get a search party."

"That could take days to assemble! We must act quickly. Wren could be in serious danger. Who knows what Andreus is up to?"

Tyron sighed and hung his head. Tess is right. What do we do? I can't even figure out what to do! We are losing precious time! Think Tyron!!! What could we do? If I anything happens to her, it will be my fault because I didn't act quickly enough.

"Tyron, don't blame yourself." Tess replied stepping closer to her troubled magician. "I know that look. Please look at me." Redirecting his gaze to her, Tyron's expression betrayed his gloomy feelings. Giving him a long hug, Tess whispered into his ear, "Don't do this to me Tyron, I need you to be ready in the morning. You don't think Wren would be taken to easily do you?" She felt him relax and released him.
"Thank you Tess. We probably should get some rest. We have much to do at dawn."

"Good night Tryon." She replied. "What do you think Connor is up to?"

"I suppose that he must be on his way to his heritage by now. I wish he were here. He would know what to do. He was always better at searching than I was."

Lying under the stars, Tyron didn't know that his wish was about to come true.

~*~*~*~

The laughter never ceased. Wren's screams could not drown it out, and only left her tired. Her strength was leaving her and she feared that without her screams, her sanity would be lost. Slowly her screams became tiny whimpers as she slowly sank to the floor. But just when she thought she could no longer take the nauseating of sound of Andreus' cackle, a bright spark lighted her darkness and she was suddenly free of her echoing nightmare.

~*~*~*~

Andreus paced in his bedroom. He was giddy with excitement. The experiment was a success and soon he would put his plans in action. Prior to his encounter with Wren and her three companions, Andreus had discovered and deciphered a text describing alternative means of acquiring magic. At that time he never really gave it a second glance, for he already possessed a great deal of magic, but now he clutched that parchment as thought it would run and hide from him if it ever left his sight. This was what he needed to seek revenge on Verne, Idres, Wren and all the others who stood in his path. The text contained a complicated spell allowing Andreus, in his present condition of power to leech another magical essence to him. But the spell demanded specific requirements. A link of blood was needed.

At first this necessity was a troublesome barrier for Andreus. The only blood related family he had was Vaughn. But Vaughn was not like a son to him, but more of a nuisance he took pity on. He never revealed to many the secret relation between Vaughn and himself. He couldn't have his enemies knowing about him having a son, and do as he did to Princess Teresa. Not that kidnapping Vaughn would be any sort of leverage. Vaughn was nothing his father could ever be proud of. His idea of power was from books, not magical ones, but literary. The thought of his son with magic was laughable in Andreus' mind. But he had learned that his son was now a valuable asset for he did indeed possess some magical abilities that rivaled his own. Had it not been for Vaughn's magical abilities, Andreus would have most likely been left him in Senna Lirwan with the other useless servants. The boy was a pest, but the sacrifices he was about to make to his father were costly. Simply, extended or extreme usage of the spell would kill Vaughn, but at this point that was of no concern to his father, who planned steal every last drop of his son's essence.

The second priority tonight was the fate of Wren. It was impossible for him to drain her powers. There would need to be some sort of link between them other than hate for him to successfully gain her magic. But he was not worried of her escape, for he had used some of his stolen magic on her, setting her in a delirious state with a strong magical bolt to guard her. No one on the premises could penetrate either, he told himself. For if there was, he knew that would be trouble for him.

~*~*~*~

Vaughn was no longer in a state of shock, but mesmerized by the fact that the girl could use magic in her state. She truly is powerful…no wonder father's interest in her. In the dim light, Vaughn could see the unhealthy state the girl was in. Her face was pale, her cheeks sunken in, her lips dry and cracked, as well as her high fever. Watching her now sleeping somewhat peacefully he planned to help her escape the dungeon, but he needed to get her some food and water. Leaving the cell as silently as possible, Vaughn wondered a lot of things: who was this mystery girl, what was her name, what kind of power did she possess that caused his father to kidnap her and leave her in that state, and finally what was that flicker? He thought of all these questions as he made his way to the kitchen.

~*~*~*~

Wren no longer felt alone in a void. After that flash of light, she somehow felt at peace. Initially this new sensation scared her. Could I be dead? I don't feel any fear or pain. But she could not confidently banish these thoughts until she was conscious once again. Suddenly the world around began to blur and she was fading along with it…

~*~*~*~

Vaughn could see her stirring as he returned to her side. But he could not suppress the feeling that another strange magical occurrence would accompany any contact with her. Instead he brought a cup of water to her lips and hoped that she would know to swallow. She did, and slowly began taking tiny gulps of water.

He did not know why but when he saw that her breathing was no longer labored and that she was beginning to come out of her nightmarish state, relief flooded him.

~*~*~*~

Her eyes began to twitch, and Vaughn dropped his book onto the floor. He anxiously saw her come out her slumber, groaning in pain. He watched quietly as the girl's clear blue eyes began to focus to her surroundings. She seemed unaware of his presence and appeared to still be weak with her ailment. She began to turn her head, slowly towards his direction. For a brief moment his emerald eyes locked onto her cerulean eyes. She gaze became hateful as her whispered a single word that he hated most, Andreus. Her voice was cracked, due to her screams, but he heard the word clearly. 

It was in that instant that Vaughn realized that she was referring to his slight resemblance to his father. Very faint. Vaughn told himself. "No, not Andreus, Vaughn."

The girl suddenly looked at him with more care and he was pleased when her hateful stare disappeared. He heard her sigh as she closed her eyes. Could that be in relief? He thought curiously. He wasn't sure what her reaction would be with any sudden movements. So he waited…and waited. The silence and stillness between the two was almost unbearable for Vaughn.

Suddenly her eyes opened, and she stared at him. "I thought you were a dream." the girl's coarse voice whispered. "How did you save me from my nightmare?"

Vaughn, uncomfortable with her intense gaze, looked away. "I think you are mistaken. I heard your screams echoing through the hallway and came here. When I reached you, I tried to wipe your brow free of sweat and a spark of light appeared. But I assumed that it was you, some sort of reaction toward others. I have no magic."

 "But I felt something magical pulling me free of the void. It had to be you." The girl insisted, looking at him in puzzlement.

He was more confused than ever. Could it be possible that I possessed some sort of magic that is unknown to me? That's impossible. Surely I would have been told or noticed. Vaughn was so caught up in his thoughts; he barely heard his name being called.

"Vaughn, is that your name?"

"Yes. And you are…?"

"Wren."

He had heard that name before, echoing through the walls of the castle back in Senna Lirwan. His father's curses could be heard for hours, about a magician named Wren. Suddenly everything made sense; his father had captured Wren for revenge. This situation was now more dangerous, for he know about his father's notorious memory for his enemies.

"If you are who I think you are, we must move quickly and get you away from here." His tone suddenly serious.

She nodded. "I wish I were stronger. But I feel so weak, I am not even sure I can lift my arms."

The situation looked grim. Wren was ill with magical something he was sure. Though she was small girl, he wasn't sure he could make out of the castle without notice. But he would have to worry about those details later. What Wren needed now was food to help her regain her strength.

~*~*~*~*~

The ride was long and tiresome. Connor didn't know if he could hang on much longer. But each time this thought came to mind, he would silently scold himself and push on. By the time the sun's rays hit the horizon, he began to recognize the wooded area ahead.

~*~*~*~

A/N: Thanks for reading… hope it was good...please review!

~Charmgirl