Dagger had been taken to the innermost cell of the jail of some of the most offensive criminals known. She had been shackled and left without food or water, but she didn't care. She wished desperately that they would simply drag her out and have it done with, however they decided to execute her.

Her thoughts drifted to Zidane, whom she knew was laying on the table, or worse, at the mercy of some wild (and hungry) beast.

She prayed that her death would make up for what she did to him that night. She feared that she could never forgive herself.

I0I0I0I0I

Malica took Zidane and laid him in a small room that contained a bed. She stared at him for a moment. Cyra had been cruel to him. She knew that Cyra only used a stake with her victims if she was forcing another to kill it. Poor Dagger! Malica thought. She probably hates herself for what she thinks she did to Zidane….

I0I0I0I0I

A day or so later, in the middle of the night, Malica awoke to a scratching at her door. As she pulled herself awake, she slipped on a robe and went to the door. The Alpha-wolf stood before her.

"What news do you bring?" Malica asked, kneeling down and touching his face like he was her pet.

"It is not good news, Your Highness," he said softly, pausing to continue. "She is scheduled to suffer the same fate as Zidane tomorrow morning."

Malica nodded, kissed the wolf's head, and sent him away.

Dagger was very distressed; she was in terrible physical pain as well as emotional pain. They had even blindfolded her out of spite.

She knew she was to die tomorrow morning, beaten, and then impaled through the heart, much the same way her sweet Zidane had been taken from her. But then again, it should be that I be made to suffer the same fate as he… she thought. I shouldn't expect to have a simple death, quick and painless. Zidane didn't….I owe him that much.

She sighed forlornly; saddened even more by the fact that no one cared about her any longer.

"I'm sorry I killed him!" she screamed to the walls around her. "I know he didn't deserve it…" she whispered.

"You're right," came a voice, soft and tender. "You are sorry, but you didn't kill him."

"Yes I did," Dagger whispered to the unknown voice. "I was the one driving the stake. I was the one that drove it though his heart."

"Now, now," the voice came again, "Did you really? I doubt very much that it was your intent to kill him, was it?" Dagger shook her head. She heard the door open.

"Oh, now," the voice said. "No one deserves to be tied like this." Dagger felt the blindfold being lifted off her eyes. She turned to see her savior.

"It's you!" Dagger whispered, "From the day all of this started. You were the one that saved Zidane from that black beast!"

"Does she not have a name?" the cat asked, staring at Dagger for a moment. "I don't understand…" Dagger whispered.

"The black beast. You've met her twice, but we can talk of that later. Let's get you out of here."

She freed Dagger of her chains and lifted her onto her back. Dagger clung to the cat's back like her life depended on it, and indeed it did.

She exited the prison, and swung herself into the air, with Dagger clinging to her.