The Threads of Life
Chapter 20
Saved!
A/N: Sorry! It's been like…four months. Eesh. I really don't have much of an excuse, except, schools really busy, and I had a draft written on a different computer, which is, as of now, broken. I also had responses written to all of your reviews. If you would like me to respond to any questions, just email me (email address in profile).
Here's your long awaited (and probably very short) chapter.
Keladry of Mindelan opened her eyes with a snap. For some reason, she could not remember at all where she was, or what she was doing wherever she was.
When she looked around her, however, she groaned loudly.
She was in a white room. Again.
This time, there were a lot of things in the room. There was a white down bed, a desk that had been painted white, with white parchment on the top. There were white feather quills to write with. There was even a white painting hung up over the desk with a white frame. After this was over, she decided, she would never so much as look at the color white again.
Suddenly, her ordeal in Mindelan came rushing back to her. But what had it been? She could not even remember if it had been a dream or not.
But then she remembered what she had seen after she had fallen. After that awful walk through those corridors.
A maelstrom of images and memories assaulted her as she landed, overwhelming her already tired body.
She remembered everything. The memories overcame her, and she succumbed, unable to do anything but experience the pain.
She remembered when Joren and his gang beat on her as a page.
She remembered that awful climb down Balor's needle.
She remembered her brother dangling her from the parapet at Mindelan, provoking her lifelong fear and hatred of heights.
She remembered the letter from Wyldon, saying she could be a page, provided she was on probation.
She remembered her room in the page's quarters, sacked before she even moved in.
And she remembered the Kraken…oh! The Kraken: the terrifying beast, the mechanical monster with a child's soul.
The incredible power of the memories consumed her, and she knew no more.
Kel swallowed back tears as she came back to reality, remembering those terrible moments after she had fallen. She realized that she was still sitting on the soft something that she remembered falling on to, but she did not have time to think before someone stepped into the door.
"Ah, it seems that our Lady Knight has finally arisen from her beauty sleep," said a familiar drawling voice.
"Dom?" she asked incredulously, then looked up.
She saw a smiling face, striking blue eyes, and curly smoke-colored hair, before she was consumed in an embrace. Kel took in the scent of him, happy for him to just be there, asking no questions. Unfortunately, the emotion was so strong that she felt tears leaking out of her eyes. She tried to squeeze them back in, but not before Dom noticed.
"You're crying?" he asked. She nodded in reply, too exhausted to try to contain her emotions.
"It was awful!" she sobbed into his shoulder. He lifted her off, forcing her to look into her eyes.
"Can you tell me what happened? We found you in Burchard's quarters. You were tied up screaming in your dreams, and he was in a trance."
Kel's eyes went wide with shock. "What!" she exclaimed. "But what about the corridors, what about the memories?"
"Kel," said Dom soothingly, "I think you're just very tired. Neal hasn't been up here yet to examine the full extent of the damages – he's down at the campsites gathering our things together?"
"Why?"
"Oh!" said Dom. "I forgot to tell you. Well, since Burchard was in a trance when we found you, we captured him. He's down in the dungeons. And the funny thing is, when we put him in there, everyone who had previously been so loyal to him, like his soldiers, suddenly came out of what seemed to be a trance. We took Mindelan with no bloodshed whatsoever. Actually," he amended, "a little man who was dressed in steward's uniform tried to run Merry through, but Owen killed him." At this, Dom grimaced, "that boy likes killing altogether too much. Anyway, that's the story."
Kel's face fell as she held onto Dom, trying to hide her disappointment. Dom didn't believe that she had seen all the things she had, and they had taken Mindelan without her. To cover up her feelings, she turned back towards Dom.
"I missed you," Dom said, and then kissed her. It was slow, filled with feeling, and Kel gave herself up to the kiss, as much because of the perfect feel of it as that it was a way to drown out her other misgivings. They finally drew apart, breath ragged, and Dom took her hand.
"I love you," he said.
Kel stared at him in complete shock.
A/N: Well, this chapter certainly wins the prize for being the shortest and most pointless chapter in this whole entire story, and probably in the history of boring and pointless chapters, but at least it's a chapter, right?
Please review!
-crystaltambaia
