Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks, or any of the characters. However I do own my characters Lis, Stealth, and Crystal. So please do not sue me.

Chapter Seven

Lis and Duke were moments from their lips touching; just waiting for their lips to close upon one another's. Sealing their breath for them to share. A long, warm breath that they would share.

Just then Crystal tapped on Duke's shoulder, breaking them from the enchanting dream that was so close to becoming real.

She was asking Duke to dance with her, stopping them deliberately for her own joy.

While Duke was trying to answer, he felt Lis pull away from him and leave him; fleeing to her bedroom. She felt so embarrassed and crushed. To nearly feel what it was like for the man she loved to almost kiss her, and then cease to grant her that wish she desperately longed for; it was a pain that she just couldn't bare, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to hide her tears from him.

"Lis?!" Duke called after her, but she didn't return to him.

Lis was in her room, feeling heart broken and humiliated; when there was a knock at the door. Lis answered it reluctantly to find Duke standing before her.

"Duke?!"

"Hey Lis, why'd ya leave?" Duke asked with concern, and even a hidden pain, in his voice.

Lis was silent.

"Lis what's wrong?" Duke enquired worriedly as he took her by both hands, "Ya know ya can tell me anythin' hun', don't ya?"

"Nothing," Lis lied, "I...I guess I'm just tired."

"Oh, I see, well I guess I'll see ya tomorrow then?" Duke said in a hopeful tone with a slight smile; but he still showed a great deal of concern. He knew that she was lying to him once again, but didn't want to get her upset with him for prying.

Lis nodded reluctantly.

Then he sadly turned away while Lis closed the door.

An hour later, and Lis could not fall asleep; so she started to go towards the library when she heard someone following her.

Lis stopped and she soon had a blade to her throat and a hand gripping her arm in an iron hold. She was too scared to even scream.

"You ruin everything!" Falcone growled from behind her, "Now let's see if Duke saves you."

With that Falcone brought the sharp blade closer to her throat, just barely cutting into the skin of her throat.

Tears ran down her face as she felt the greatest fear taking over her; but the pain wasn't as agonizing as the pain she felt when she was around Duke. Though now, she might be relieved from that suffering; and Duke could find someone that he could love and be happy with. Yet that made her feel so much more anguish deep in her heart.

Tears flowed freely down her face now as she whispered what may be her very last few words, "I love you Duke."

Then Falcone began to pull the blade closer to her throat, while Lis was helpless to stop him.

"FALCONE!"

Falcone stopped just before he slit Lis's throat, and he looked over his shoulder to find Duke glaring at him with anger in his dark brown eyes. Anger that no one had ever known Duke to have. For he was a very good hearted and noble man, even if he was a thief; and he rarely grew angry with anyone. Though what Falcone saw at this moment, was enough to make him wonder if it were Duke glaring at him with such rage.

Yet then Falcone realized why the younger thief was so enraged. Falcone was threatening the life of what he knew was Duke's secret choice for affection, and he desired her now more than he wished to be leader of the Brotherhood.

"What is it Duke?" Falcone asked with a wicked smirk spreading over his pointed beak.

"Let her go!" Duke growled with sparks of fury igniting in his dark eyes.

"Why should I?" Falcone questioned as he slowly turned to face Duke, with Lis still his captive; forcing Duke to see the poor girl crying. The one thing she didn't want Duke to see from her again, she wanted to be strong in front of him.

"'Cause it's me ya want, not her!" Duke snapped.

"Though if she lives she could tell the others of how I killed you; so I may as well take her life as well!" Falcone snickered.

"IF YOU SPILL EVEN A DROP OF HER BLOOD, FALCONE, I WILL MAKE SURE YA PAY DEARLY! YA COWARDLY RAT!!"

"WHAT?!" Falcone growled with his own rage erupting now.

"Ya heard me!" Duke hissed, trying to stop his quickly rising temper.

Falcone now pushed Lis to the hard ground, and then faced Duke. Both had their sabers drawn and held up ready to fight. Lis turned to watch as they circled each other. Now Duke was standing before her, as though protecting her.

"Duke, be careful!" Lis pleaded.

Duke looked over his shoulder at her briefly, "Don't worry sweetheart."

With that Falcone lunged at Duke and they began to fence.

Duke fought with great rage in his heart; he would not allow ANYONE to threaten his best, and only, friend that he had. She had been there to help him, she'd told him so much that she was too frightened to tell anyone else, and she had made him feel something that he thought he'd forgotten when Christina had left him so coldly.

Though when Falcone realized that he was losing, he turned and went after Lis!

"NO!" Duke's mind screamed as he tackled him from behind; and soon they were on the ground in a fist fight.

Then the falcon kneed Duke in the stomach hard, giving him the chance to pin the younger man down while the falcon beat him mercilessly. Poor Duke may have been better with a sword; but as for normal fights, he was still learning, and Falcone was older, and stronger than him in this.

That's when it happened, when the spikes on Falcone's knuckles met with Duke's right eye, and half of the young man's sight was lost.

An unwilling scream of pure agony and intense pain tore from Duke's throat as the wound began to bleed.

"DUKE!" Lis cried in sheer horror as she watched helplessly while this happened.

Then as Falcone was distracted by the girl's cry, Duke kicked the falcon off of him and sat up.

Duke tried to cover the injury with his hands, but the bleeding wouldn't stop.

Then Duke soon felt Lis's gentle touch upon his broad shoulders.

"Duke?" She half sobbed; yet he wouldn't even look at her.

Suddenly Duke heard a scream from Lis, and he looked up to see that Falcone had thrown her against the wall of hallway they had been in all this time.

Now he stood in front of her while she glanced up at him with fear spread across her face.

"Now I'll do the same to you brat!" Falcone snickered as he raised his spiked fist.

Lis was terrified as Falcone's fist came forward; but that's when Duke tackled him again and the spikes just barely missed her eye and gave her a scar below her right eye instead.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Duke shouted.

"You're a fool, boy, to risk your worthless life for this weakling!" Falcone hissed.

"She's my friend, an' I won't let ya hurt her!"

This time Falcone threw Duke against a wall, and then retreated; waiting for another time to attack Duke's one weakness when she was alone again; when Duke could not save her, but end up mourning her death instead.

Now Lis quietly crawled over to Duke as he covered his injured eye.

"Duke?" She asked gently.

"Are you alright?" Duke asked; but he didn't dare look up at her.

"I'm alright; but you're hurt," she said as she tried to carefully pull his hand away to see how badly Duke was hurt.

"Don't!" Duke snapped as he pulled away.

"Duke," Lis spoke as she began to cry; she felt that he had lost the sight of his right eye because of her; and he had.

Duke sighed, he hadn't meant to cause her to cry, or to be so harsh, "Lis, I'm sorry; I know you're jus' tryin' ta help me."

"We need to get you to the infirmary."

"But I can't see."

"I'll guide you," she said softly as she gently took his left hand.

When Duke felt Lis being so gentle, he allowed himself to look at her with his one good eye. Watching the Angel that was taking care of him with all the kindness in her heart. He knew that he had not been wrong to save her any of the times that he had. For Lis had shown him that he was a man with a heart. A heart that was very capable of giving love; and he hoped to give that love to her.

"Lis?" Duke asked when he noticed the blood leaking from her right cheek as they walked.

He stopped walking for a moment, and she turned to him with concern over her pretty face. Then Duke gently whipped the red substance off of her cheek with his dark, slender fingers. Then he tried his best to kiss the scar, and somehow succeeded.

"Duke, you don't have to worry about my one little scratch," Lis told him, trying to force away the dreams of receiving his love; when all it would do was cause her intense pain that she could no longer force away.

"Lis, ya sure?"

Lis nodded as she took back his warm hand, and continued bringing him to the infirmary.

Duke felt a little bit of his hopes being crushed; yet he was too stubborn to give up on what he knew he felt, but couldn't quite say the words he wanted to. How he longed to say them, Heaven only knew. Same for Lis. Every time she looked at Duke; depressed, charming, hurt, joyful, or even angry, it was becoming an inner war within her not to just shout out her emotions with all her might and wait for him to laugh in her face. Duke however was holding back, because of the pain desire and passion had given him not too long ago. He knew Lis would never kill him like Christina had; but she may very well want a better future for herself one day. Perhaps soon. Duke also couldn't help but know that if Lis did ask for her freedom back, he would risk all he could to give her that freedom. That was how much he loved Lis, whether he knew it or not; and he unknowingly loved Lis more than he had ever loved Christina. Simply because he and Lis shared so much more pain and emotion than he had shared before.

So now as Duke held Lis's hand while she guided him, he held on as tight as he could. He didn't want her to let him go; and he yearned for her to feel the same for him.