A/N: Sorry for the really long update, but you got a long-ish chapter. I can't really think of anything else to say, so enjoy!

Thank you to loonyloonylupin (thanks--your reviews was one of the most encouraging), wishingIcouldthinkofsomething, catwraith (thank you for pointing out the mistakes--I did fix them too), vanyelashke89 (not much did happen to Lythe, did it), RobinReen (thanks for the review--I didn't mind it being short), Songwind k'Vala (sorry but I can't update more regularly--you'll have to get used to it), and Carrie S. (what did you mean when youm said it was blown out by the new canon--can you give me a title).

X-X-X

"Lythe, we have to hide!" Rothas said suddenly, turning around to face Lythe.

"But why?" she asked.

Of course, Rothas thought. She doesn't know the mage is coming. "The mage—the one that captured us—is coming. We have to hide!"

"How do you know?"

"It doesn't matter! We have to go!" Rothas grabbed Lythe by the arm and quickly led her to the spot he knew they came in by with the beam of light. They stepped on it.

Nothing happened.

Nothing happened, and the mage was coming closer.

Rothas pushed Lythe to the transportation spot and let go, hoping it would work with just one person, instead of two.

It didn't.

Now Rothas could feel that the mage was nearly at the door. He looked around desperately for another place to hide.

The dungeon looked to be made of one prison cell and with no shelf or anything to hide behind. Rothas once again glanced at the door where the mage would enter in probably ten seconds. Then he saw. Beside the main door to this dungeon was a hallway, but Rothas hadn't seen it before because the dim light made the dark-colored wall all blend with each other, and hide any passages that hid behind the walls.

Rothas ran and dragged Lythe along, who, surprisingly, didn't make a sound when Rothas suddenly jerked her along even though he felt her jump in surprise. She obviously understood the danger they were in.

They were able to enter to hall way and go across the turn that was only about five feet from the main door of the dungeon. It seemed as if they had barely made it out of sight when the door slid open, and Rothas felt the presence of the mage even more clearly.

Rothas heard the mage mutter something and then coughing. Rothas had to wince at the intensity of the coughs, but luckily they didn't last long.

It must have been of the silver-haired man.

The mage spoke up. "Hello, Vrail. How have you been?" The mage's voice still had the silkily, smooth tone that he had spoken to Rothas in. Rothas hated it.

Vrail said something, but it was too quiet to hear form the hallway.

"That is too bad, but I am sure we will work around that." The mage's tone was light, as if he and Vrail were friends, and they did this often. "This is your last chance, Vrail …"

This time, Rothas heard Vrail's response. "No."

A sudden anger flared from the mage, making Rothas wince, because with it, came a sense of sick, perverted pleasure, but Rothas did not know why.

The mage thundered outside the door. Not a second later, two guards came to stand inside the doorway. All Rothas could think of was how hopeless this now seemed. They would have to stay here until the guards left, and by that time, the mage would be back and Rothas did not what to know what would happened then.

He looked at Lythe and found her sitting on the ground, starting blankly at the wall. Then he sunk to the ground. It felt like he was the most burdened person in the world right now, and he had a feeling that would not change for a long while. His only comfort was that Lythe would be right there with him.

X-X-X

Lythe couldn't believe what had happened to her in the last day. She had nearly gotten burnt to death in a forest fire, only to be saved by her Mage Gift, then captured by some insane mage, and now she as stuck in some hallway and would have to listen to some man being tortured.

At least Rothas is here …

But she still felt a dark mood that seemed to tell her she would die no matter what, that life wasn't worth living, or trying to live. Just like those moods she had been in before she met Rothas, before he had been her candle in the dark.

She wanted to cry. She wanted to go to her mother and cry. It was like she was trapped in a situation where so much was expected of her, but she knew she could do none of it.

The door slammed open. The mage was back. The torture was to begin.

Lythe felt as if she was alone now, but she didn't understand why. She could feel Rothas sitting next to her, but in her heart she felt like the loneliest person in the world.

And now she really did cry. Tears ran down her face, her nose began to stuff, she had a lump in her throat, but she made no sound. But she still cried, because no one was there.

Lythe jumped slightly when Rothas put his arms around her, but didn't resist. She just let the tears pour down her face and be hugged by Rothas.

A scream cut through the silence in the dungeon, one of intense, unreal pain. Rothas jumped to his feet immediately, and Lythe subsequently followed.

Another heart-wrenching scream.

Now it felt like Lythe was being stabbed.

Another.

She tried to somehow, impossibly, close her ears.

"Lythe!" Rothas whispered to her. "We have to do something! We have to help him!"

"What?" was Lythe's automatic response. He wanted them to risk there lives—no, surely get themselves killed—for a stranger they didn't even know. She wanted to help him too, yes, but it would do no good. They would get killed, fighting against two guards and a mage with nothing but their untrained Gifts, not to mention the rest of the guards throughout the building. It would be impossible.

Another scream.

"Lythe, please! I can't stay here and listen and I know you can't either!"

"We don't even know him—we can't—we'll lose—we'll—"

Another scream.

"Die …" Lythe finished, but know she wasn't so sure. It was killing her standing here, but was it worse than being killed?

"Please …"

Lythe looked up at Rothas' crystal eyes. She couldn't say no. She had to say—

"Yes."

X-X-X

Rothas expected another scream right then, but instead all he heard was the hard breathing of both Vrail and the mage. But, to Rothas' surprise, the mage left, but not before sneering, "Where is your strength now, oh Valdemar's Heir?"

Rothas looked at Lythe and saw and felt agreement from her. All they had to face were two guards and then they could free Vrail. A part of him asked what would they do then, but he ignored it. Now was a bad time.

The two walked around the corner, only to be seen immediately by the guards. They charged at them with their swords. Lythe started dancing, not to a tune, but to something, and the guards stopped moving. Lythe continued to dance faster and Rothas felt something coming from her, increasing as she danced faster, and whatever it was, it had made the guards drop their weapons and look at Lythe blindly, not aware of anything else around them.

He ran past the entranced guards—he knew Lythe couldn't keep that up for long—and ran straight into where Vrail was lying on the ground. Vrail looked up at him, and Rothas looked down. He was now covered in all sorts of burns over most of his visible body. Rothas could easily guess what had happened. Despair and hopelessness radiated from Vrail in waves like Rothas had never felt before, but then he felt Lythe, and knew she was weakening quickly.

Rothas didn't know, and wouldn't ever know, why he did that. It seemed almost instinctual, like it was the right thing to do. He couldn't understand why either, it just was.

He just did it. He just sang.

It was a song, but not one with words. A melody, but not a definable one. It was like something Rothas had never done before and he would never do it again.

He continued to sing, and as he did, he felt energy leave him. Energy he didn't know he had and energy he knew he would need, but he didn't stop, he couldn't—all he could do was sing, because that's all that mattered at that moment.

He was faintly aware of Vrail's pale face getting color back and his weak limbs getting strength back, but he didn't stop. It wasn't until Vrail had gotten up steadily did Rothas stop.

Vrail looked at him, and what Rothas felt was better than any thanks he could have ever received. Vrail, he knew, was more thankful of them than he could ever say, and Rothas felt him mood lighten, like his task wasn't nearly as enormous anymore., A weight was lifted from his shoulders.

He turned to see the two guards faint and fall onto the floor, and saw an even-paler Lythe step over them. She walked towards them, and only then did Vrail say, "I am—" when the mage walked back into the room, a shocked, but pleased look on his face.