Oh, the plot thickens! And... YES! I GOT TO KILL RAOUL! Okay, that was quite possibly the happiest moment of my life. Except when I got asked to Prom... Ah, well. Come on, you know you want to keep reading. Get to it! Final two chapters! Yes! Read Chapter Nineteen! I own none of the characters but my creations, yeah yeah. Ready, go!
Revenge
Serenity woke hours after she had been kidnapped. She looked around wildly, but saw only blackness. Feeling the panic rising, she wondered briefly where she was, but her thoughts switched immediately to finding a way to escape. Wherever she was, Jaques was sure to have locked her in. She felt her way across the room, and guessed it was only about as big as her mother's, the one with the mirror. So it had to be along a corridor, if it was a bedroom. She felt for the door, and shortly found the handle. It was locked, as she had guessed.
She sat back down, and wondered what to do. If she just stayed here, Jaques would return for her; she knew she couldn't face him again yet. Minutes ticked by as she sat this way, contemplating her limited options. Finally, after almost an hour of silence, the sound of hushed voices and soft footfalls echoed down the hallway outside the door. Serenity recognized the men by sound.
"Papa! Luke!" she cried, beating her open palms against the door. "Please help me," she breathed softly as something metal rattled in the lock. Within seconds, the door was open and Serenity was hugging her father fiercely. He embraced her almost desperately then pulled away to gaze into her face.
"Where's your mask?" he said quietly. Shocked, she touched her right cheek and felt flesh. Luke reached out and took her fingers, kissing them gently.
"I don't know. Jaques must have taken it." Tears welled in her deep, troubled eyes. Luke held her closely and kissed her eyelids. "Don't worry," he whispered. "When this is over, we'll get you another."
"How can you not know? What happened?" Erik demanded.
"I... he - I was unconscious. He used something, some kind of burning liquid, and I blacked out. I woke here, about an hour ago."
"Where is he?" Luke asked.
"I don't know. He left me here. I don't know for how long, and I don't know what he planned to do with me. Or what he's already done with me." She shuddered and Luke's arms tightened protectively around her. A strange light illuminated her eyes, and Serenity shrugged off Luke's hold.
"I'll kill him," she heard Luke whisper, almost inaudibly. But she spun around and raced down the corridor. Startled, the men called after her, but she refused to stop, so they followed her. She ran on and on, down a path more familiar to her than the layout of her own bedroom.
She jerked around a corner and stopped abruptly. Anger seemed to radiate from her slim form. Her eyes blazed, and her fingers curled into her palms.
"What did you do?" she screamed at the figure lazing on the bench where she had played music for so many years. She had known she would find the pretentious braggart here, among her father's possessions, trespassing upon her memories.
"Ah," he laughed coldly,"awake so soon, Princess? I thought I still had hours until you came around."
"What did you DO?" she yelled, voice cracking with rage.
"No need to shout. I took only what I deserve." He smiled, the flashy, icy grin of a predator.
"You deserve nothing more than to be reduced to a rotting corpse," Erik hissed as he stepped out from around the corner, shadowed by Luke. Both men brandished their weapons. "Now, child," he spat, "I give you the same option as your father. Pick up your sword and fight me honorably, or die now."
"My father?" Jaques paled, then flushed angrily. "What have you done?" he yelled.
"He, too received nothing more than his actions merited," Erik replied coldly.
"You killed him?" Jaques screamed. Erik said nothing, but his gold eyed flashed in the pale candle light. "Sir, I accept your challenge," Jaques mocked, drawing his sword and stepping forward. Without warning, he grabbed a dagger that had been lashed to his thigh and threw it at Luke, who had been circling around behind him. The blade sank into his left shoulder, where the arm meets the chest, and the force of the blow sent Luke staggering backward, clutching the handle. He stepped into a slight depression in the floor and he fell back, striking his head against the stone wall. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. Serenity gasped and ran to him, tearing a strip of her skirt off to bind the wound, which was pouring blood, crimson and black, onto the cold, thirsty earth.
Erik raced forward to seek Jaques' blade, and the swords met in a clash of will and steel. The men parried, exchanged blows, and drew back, neither gaining an advantage. Silver glinted, lithe bodies twisting to evade the bite of metal on flesh, the pair weaving, swaying, darting in and out of range; it seemed a beautiful, fatal dance as each man fought for his life. After ten minutes, both were glistening with sweat, their limbs trembling with exertion, breath shallow and ragged from the ferocity of this display. Finally, Erik lunged forward again, blade tip tilted to pierce Jaques' heart; the younger man twisted out of the way and grabbed the back of Erik's collar, sending him gracelessly to the floor. Before he could react, Jaques had the point of his sword pointed between erik's shoulder blades, one foot placed on Erik's back, a triumphant glint in his eyes.
Suddenly his body lurched forward slightly, his eyes becoming vacant. For a horrible instant, he remained frozen, before he pitched sideways and lay face upward, a small stream of red trickling out from behind his right ear.
Erik was on his feet instantly, and he looked, shocked, at his daughter; she held Luke's pistol, a thin stream of smoke still escaping from it, muzzle pointed at the space where the now-dead Jaques had stood only seconds before.
Serenity saw her father's stricken look, sobbed once, and dropped the gun as though it had burned her fingers, returning to Luke's side. Erik walked over, silent and slow, and laid a hand gently on his child's shoulder. She stood stiffly, and embraced him for a long time as he kissed her forehead and stroked her hair.
"Oh, Papa," she whispered in horror into his chest, "what have I done?"
"Serenity, listen to me. You saved me, you saved Luke, and you saved yourself. Two people owe their lives to you for what you did. Jaques was just as bad as his father. People like that do not deserve to walk on the same earth as someone like you. I love you, Senna, always. Do you understand?" She nodded weakly, uncertainly. "Good. Now, we have to get Luke help. Go find a physician. Hurry, Serenity, his life hangs in the balance."
The young woman straightened, dried her tears on a sleeve, and her eyes hardened. She whirled on one heel and ran, hair and tattered skirts flying, through the winding corridors and into the opera house above. Outside, the sun began to rise.
