Wow, guys. This story's almost finished! It's amazing. I never thought that it was going to be this long (over 100 pages on my computer!)
Tiger Lily21: Mostly. ((wink)) I love Princess Bride! 'Do you think it'll work?' 'It would take a miracle. Bye now!' Funny, funny movie. The early morning, or late late night is when I'm most hyper. Yay for adrenaline!
Akwyn: Thank you! I'm glad you're liking the story. I sure have loved writing it.
rainkisser: I don't think it's physically possible to strangle yourself, because as soon as you pass out, you start breathing again. Hmm... You're probably right. I think it's because I'll sit down and write something, then I'll come back later in a different mood and write something else, so their talking is different. And Danni is pretty pathetic. Yay! UPDATING!
naughty little munchkin:I didn't really want the cave to be full of monsters mostly because it is supposed to be a faerie cave. And most people wouldn't find it anyway. She's pretty much always in the dark about feelings. Poor Danni. I hope you had a lot of fun on your trip! Where was it to?
Phillipa of the Phoenix: There will be a small orb appearance again, yes. And I do have anideafor my nextstory. I'm just hammering out little details right now beforeI start it.
shopping: Thank you! I'm glad you like it!
Glaze:So, so true. ((girlish sigh))
Just as a random note: this chapter is the same number as mybirthday day. Woot!
Keep on truckin'
-Lulai
Chapter Twenty-Two: Into the Castle
Danni stared ahead resolutely. She wanted to look backwards, but, sitting in front of Aiden as she was, there was no way to look at him without his seeing. And she knew that simply looking at him will swell his ego to the size of his castle.
And that kiss! That breath-stealing, toe-curling, soul-shattering kiss! Danni couldn't get it out of her mind. What did it mean? And, more importantly, did it affect him as much as it did her?
Danni gave herself a mental shake. No thinking about that kiss, Danni commanded herself. We have more important things to worry about.
"What's wrong, Danni?" Aiden asked her. "Your hands have each other in a death grip."
Danni looked down and realized that she was squeezing her hands together so tightly that her knuckles were white. She released her hands, but didn't know where to put them. She rubbed them along the thighs of her pants.
She debated with herself about telling him what she was thinking. Pride won out over timidity, and she said, "I just wanted to let you know that it wasn't because of Gorner's hitting me that I was crying." There, she had said it. "I don't want you to think me a complete weakling."
She saw Aiden's hands tighten on the reins, and she hastily continued, "It was just that when he called my mother names, I was hit with an overwhelming sense of loss. I miss her terribly, Aiden."
She suddenly began to sing in a soft alto.
"A woman went walking, out into the sun,
Tra-la-la, Tra-lil-lil-lee-la,
She met a small frog, out for some fun,
Tra-la-la, Tra-lil-lil-lee-loo.
Croaked the frog, 'Where are you going, my lady?'
Tra-la-la, Tra-lil-lil-lee-la,
'All alone, with no one to save ye?'
Tra-la-la, Tra-lil-lil-lee-loo.
'I've come to find a husband,' she said to the frog
Tra-la-la, Tra-lil-lil-lee-la,
'One who'll keep me safe and warm in the fog,
Tra-la-la, Tra-lil-lil-lee-loo.
To Danni's delight, Aiden joined in with a pleasing baritone.
'A kiss, a kiss, most lovely miss,' the frog cried.
Tra-la-la, Tra-lil-lil-lee-la,
'Just a little kiss, please, afore I die,'
Tra-la-la, Tra-lil-lil-lee-loo.
So the woman kissed the frog, right on the nose.
Tra-la-la, Tra-lil-lil-lee-la,
And he turned into a beautiful prince, or so it goes,
Tra-la-la, Tra-lil-lil-lee-loo.
They were married first thing in the early morn,
Tra-la-la, Tra-lil-lil-lee-la,
And they lived happily ever after, love forsworn,
Tra-la-la, Tra-lil-lil-lee-loo.
"You know that song?" Danni exclaimed happily.
"Yes," Aiden replied. "Theo's mother used to sing it to him as a lullaby."
"So did my mother," she said, looking at him with glowing eyes. They sat there, smiling at each other for a few minutes.
"Look!" Aiden exclaimed suddenly. "The castle!"
Sure enough, the towers of Drewery Castle could be seen just over the horizon.
Danni frowned. "This won't work," she said.
"What won't?" Aiden asked.
"We can't come flying in on a horse and expect no one to see us," she explained.
Aiden frowned. "You're right. But, I doubt the guards will let us into the city. We'll have to land somewhere just inside the walls."
It actually proved to be easier than either of them expected. Most of the people were in their homes, or out working the fields and very few people even took notice of them. They set down just inside the south wall.
They walked up to the invisible wall in silence. Danni was the one who found it. She sat on the ground, rubbing her nose, trying to stop the tears from spilling.
"Ow," she said unnecessarily. Aiden helped her to her feet. He felt the wall and drew his sword.
"Here goes nothing," he said and shoved the sword into the wall.
"I don't think it's working, Theo," Lynn said from beside Lark.
"Probably not," Theo said, looking at the axe in disgust. "Nothing we've tried so far has worked."
"I thank you both for trying," Lark said with a raised eyebrow, able to keep his sense of humour despite his gaunt appearance, "but I do believe I told you that no mortal weapon can cut these bonds."
Theo threw the axe behind him. "Well, it's better than sitting in our rooms, waiting. At least we can keep you company, and try to rescue you."
"It was a good thing we found that passage down to the dungeon behind the fireplace," Lynn added. "It was easy to get weapons."
"Yes," Theo agreed, "although it looked like no one had used it in years. There was some armour wedged behind the other section of the door."
Lark permitted himself a small smile.
"What's that?" Theo asked suddenly, moving to the small window facing the south side of the kingdom.
"Lynn! Look!" he said excitedly.
Lynn rose to her feet from her cross-legged position on the floor and crossed over to him.
"Lark!" she said, equally as excited. "It's Aiden and Danni!"
"Aiden seems to be cutting through the wall," Theo reported.
Lark let out a sigh of relief. "Then they found the sword. I'm glad."
"Come on, Lynn," Theo said, tugging at her hand and pulling her towards the secret passage, pausing only to pick up the weapons.
"What?" she asked, following behind him.
"We need to make a diversion, so that Vardon doesn't see them."
They reached the library and carefully closed the door behind him, leaving the weapons behind in the stairwell.
Lynn disengaged her hand from his. "I'll make a diversion. You have to show them where Lark is hidden."
Theo nodded and pulled his fiancé in for a brief kiss. "Be careful."
She gave him a cheeky grin. "I'm always careful."
Aiden cut away a hole in the wall. The edges glowed blue faintly.
Aiden stepped through and Danni followed him.
"Now what?" she whispered, as if Vardon could hear him.
"I don't know," he whispered back. "Find my family, I think."
She nodded once, and they snuck across the grass, and into the shrubbery that circled the castle. They crept in the servant's entrance and listened down the hall to hear if anyone was coming.
"My parent's rooms are down that way," Aiden whispered, pointing. They began walking down the hallway when a pair of hands reached out and pulled them into the shadows.
"Theo!" Aiden exclaimed quietly. "You scared the living daylights out of me."
"You can't go that way," Theo said. "They have your parents and my parents under lock and key. You have to come with me."
"Where?" Danni asked as they began to follow him down the back halls.
"Lynn is creating a diversion so that we can go and free Lark," Theo explained.
"What type of diversion?" Aiden asked, worried about his sister.
"I don't know, but I trust her."
Aiden nodded. Then he looked at Theo curiously. "Why aren't you under lock and key?" he asked.
Theo flashed them a grin. "I am, technically. I told them that I was just having a horrible stomach ache. Then I climbed out the window. The guards aren't very smart."
Aiden chuckled as they entered the library.
"Where is everyone?" Danni asked. "We haven't seen a soul around."
"Pretty much everyone is in the grand hall, having a feast, celebrating Vardon's second to last deed to all the kingdoms," Theo said, anger in his voice. "Here we are," he announced, pushing open the doors to the library.
They walked to the bookshelf with the secret entrance. "Up there," Theo instructed as the door opened.
Aiden and Danni nodded, and the three of them ascended the stairs.