A/N: Here's where things get different.

Disclaimer: Tortall, the surrounding countries, and the characters do not belong to me.

Chapter 2: Despair

"Easy Lady Knight, if you don't fight we won't have to kill this silly sergeant." Dom watched as Kel lowered her glaive and cursed himself for his foolishness. If he had never thought to put ants in Raoul's tent none of this would be happening. He watched hopelessly when one of the masked strangers tied Kel's hands together behind her back and then cried out when another of the men clouted her in the back of the head.

The man with the blunt instrument then began approaching Dom. He focused his eyes on Kel, his beautiful Kel, hoping against hope that this wouldn't be the last time he saw her. There was a painful explosion in his head and then he knew no more.

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He woke up to find himself untied, but securely locked up in a prison cell. When he took a look around he saw a large, human shaped heap in a corner and crawled closer to investigate. With horror he saw that it was a battered and beaten Kel and she was crying silent tears.

He reached out to try and comfort her, but she violently jerked out of his reach then spat at him, "Stay away from me!"

Bringing his hand back close to his body, he stared at her in shock. Why had she reacted to him in such a way? Did she blame him for her capture (he would agree with her if she did) and thus couldn't stand the sight of him, let alone his touch?

Even if that was the case, they were in this together. In order to survive they needed each other. They would need the other's strength and companionship to make it through the coming days. He had to do something to broach the gulf between them. "Kel, I'm sorry. If it wasn't for me we wouldn't be here, I know, but please just talk to me, look at me, do something!"

He sat there and waited for her to respond. When she finally did, he couldn't help but wish she hadn't. All she did was turn her head and look at him, but what he saw in her eyes smote him. They were not Kel's normal dreamy hazel eyes, these ones were filled with despair and pain. There was a hopelessness there that proclaimed her wish to die. They also told him what had happened to her while he had been unconscious.

Anger rolled through him. How dare they do this to her! How dare they harm his Kel! He saw read and the only thing he wished to do at the moment was kill the one's that had done this. He also began to feel guilt, he had been right there and had failed to protect her.

They sat there in silence, not noticing the passage of. The few times Dom had tried to talk to her, Kel had shown no signs of hearing him. It broke his heart to see her like this and to know that it was his fault.

Fear gripped his heart when he heard a key in the lock and the click of a handle being turned. He watched as three men entered the small cell. When the one in front looked over and saw that Dom was awake he grinned with unparalleled mirth. "Oh look, the little sergeant had decided to wake up and now wants to watch us have our fun. Rasgar, Lendarf secure him and make sure he sees all of this."

Dom was helpless and unable to stop the two men from taking hold of him. One grabbed his hair viciously and forced him to watch as the leader of the three slapped and kicked at Kel. Knowing what was coming, Dom fought against his captors with all of his strength.

He couldn't let this happen, not to her and not with him less than three feet away. It was useless though, no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't get loose. He continues to fight though, as he watched the man undo the flap of his breeches and force himself on Kel. Although she didn't cry out once, Dom did, numerous times.

It got worse after that; each of the men raped her over and over. When they were finished with that, they began beating on her. Punching and kicking her tender flesh. When the three men finally left she looked at him with a tearstained face and dead eyes.

"Oh gods, Kel. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Dom reached out and gathered her in his arms. Her hot tears soaked his shirt and broke his heart.

They sat like that for several hours, Dom wasn't sure how many. When Kel finally pulled a little away she looked at him again with those bleak eyes and whispered the words that he knew were coming. "I just want to die."

Reaching down Dom carefully grasped her lips with hers and they exchanged a soul wrenching kiss. The passion that he felt for this woman crashed over her and the kiss increased into a heated, passionate exchange that neither want to end. The kiss started evolving into something more. Dom didn't stop to think about what they were doing.

As she climaxed he gently wrapped his hands around her neck and stopped her breath from flowing. Tears leaked out of his eyes as Kel's soul left her body. He could feel when the Black God came for her. He released her delicate neck and pulled her body to him. "I love you Kel. Great Mother Goddess, how I love you."

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A/N: I know that was horrible. I think there's only going to be one more chapter to this. Please review!

Wind to thy wings!