This is based off the song Hold Her by for KING and COUNTRY. It takes place while Bracken is imprisoned by Ronodin and consists of mostly flashbacks and missing scenes throughout the books. This was suggested by Leafdragon16 and FrosttheiceDragon.

Chapter 6: When the worst is yet to come (Part 1)

Pain. That was all he knew nowadays. Bracken spit out a glob of silver blood and leaned against the cell wall. Grimly he smiled, he had made It through yet another torture session without revealing anything. Each time seemed worse and more violent. His resolve was strong, but how long before he broke? He would never spill the information, but how long until he died? Ronodin had recently resorted to starving him as well as daily torture. He was hungry, sore, weary, and homesick. No, he thought, it doesn't get much worse than this. His dreams were haunted by visions of Kendra dying horrible deaths. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her. Big, expressive, green eyes, that twinkled. Oh, how he missed those eyes! Always so bright and full of life. The determination they held, even amidst the pain and sorrow. The way she would shine impossibly brighter when she smiled. Her long, wavy, Brown hair. In his dreams all of it was gone. Her eyes cold and lifeless, hair matted to her face with blood. In these dreams Bracken was usually forced to watch her perish at the hands of his so called cousin. All the while she would scream and beg for his help. He wasn't sure if they were natural or induced by Ronodin. Either way they were horrible. Trying in vain, to shift into a position that eased the throbbing, Bracken reflected once again. Captured, injured, tortured, he was certain this was the worst it could get.

Bracken let out a humorless laugh as a memory hit him of the last time he said that. It had been a night that would change his life forever. The night he met Kendra Sorenson.

*FLASHBACK*

Bracken paced his cell in anger and worry. The information that the Sphinx was close to opening Zzyxz was eating away at him. He was captured, assumed dead, and the demon prison is about to open. 'No,' he thought 'it can't get much worse than this.'

Suddenly he heard the sound of stone scraping stone. The wall moved to reveal a man. The man was short and thin with a shaggy beard and a limp. He was kind of shady, but Bracken detected no harmful intentions.

"There's a new prisoner in the cell that, that boy who escaped was in." He said in a deep gravelly voice. News of Seth's escape had traveled fast. The information baffled him. Why would the Sphinx be that careless? Shrugging it off for the moment Bracken exited his cell and began to walk down the narrow tunnel.

After about 5 minutes Bracken reached the cell. Taking a breath to steel himself, he opened the passageway.

Instantly, he was blinded by a light on a whole different spectrum. A light he hadn't seen in centuries, and hadn't expected to see ever again. The light of a fairykind. He instantly knew that this couldn't be a spy.

" W-who are you?" Asked a sweet, innocent, female voice. Brackens heart instantly melted. Unicorns were drawn to innocence. The voice was laced with pain and fear. It took all of him not to run and console his mothers handmaiden.

" One of the neighbors. " Bracken said keeping his voice calm and level. He made the mistake of trying to look at her again. His eyes saw pure white before they where forced to close once again. " I thought my sources must have been mistaken when i heard they had already filled the vacancy here." He spoke gently but unsuspiciously. Trying to gain a bit of trust and slightly ease her fear.

"You know who was here before?" The girl asked. She sound suspicous. Her voice again slightly twindged with fear.

" I do." He answered once again opening his eyes. It was hard to hold a conversation with someone you couldn't see. Failing, to see more than a shadow, he made a request. " Can you turn it down a little?"

" Excuse me?" She asked, sounding confused and slightly offended.

"Hit the dimmer or something, you're shining like a lighthouse." Bracken said slightly frustrated. Stabbing pain in your eyes isnt a fun thing. Years without much exposer to light was making it near immpossible to adjust to a light he used to see everyday. That frustrated him.

" Most people can't see my light, including me. " she said the fear returning to her voice. Bracken was shocked. His first thought was that she was being difficult. It seemed this fairykind truly didn't know how to control her powers, or what she was capable of.

"Right. Give me a moment. My eyes will adjust." Bracken forced himself to open his eyes, ignoring the pain. He blinked rapidly. Whiteness giving way to a blur standing huddled in what he thought was a corner.

" Ok, I think I can handle it." Bracken said, squinting and blinking until things came into focus. As soon as they did, Brackens breath caught in his throat. Standing before him was the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen in his long life.

" Wow. You'll never be dimmed." He heard himself mutter as he stared awestruck at the fairykind. She was short and thin with long brown hair. She had shockingly bright green eyes, whose color he couldn't name, with gold flecks at their center. She had high cheekbones with a light dusting of freckles. Immediately he knew that their destinies would be intertwined. For better or for worse. He vowed from that moment on to protect her no matter what.

*END OF FLASHBACK*

Bracken smiled as he thought back. She had held his heart from the very beginning. He thought about how far Kendra had come in the trust department. It had taken time, but she had learned to trust him. He thought back to how she went from yelling at him to jumping in front of the demon king's sword for him. Bracken remembered the fear and awe of that moment. How amazed at her courage he was. How scared he was in those moments before the Astrids returned her to safety. Bracken took his vow to protect her very seriously, and he never wanted to lose her

*FLASHBACK*

Bracken felt a searing pain in his chest, as the demon king's sword found its mark. Distantly he heard his mother cry his name. He closed his eyes half against pain and half in expectancy for a fatal blow that never arrived. He heard the demon king release a sickening, downright scary, roar. A roar that meant he was being challenged. Bracken tried to get a glimpse of who had just challenged the demon king and saved his life, but the loss of blood and pain caused darkness to close in around him. Before he had a chance to beat it back, he lost consciousness.

†††

Bracken woke to the sight of unicorns surrounding him and asking him if he was alright. He ignored them and stood. They all stood back a pace.

" Your highness are you sure you're alright? You suffered a near fatal wound." Asked one of the head unicorns of healing with great concern. He recognized him as a unicorn named Amare, one that healed him countless times in his younger years. Bracken had once been known for being somewhat mischievous. They were all thrilled and slightly surprised at the princes return. And none of them were in any hurry to lose him again.

" Yes, Amare, thank you for your concern, but I am fine." Bracken said giving a small smile. The unicorn gave a small nod and blushed at the praise. Brackens smile quickly faded as he looked around the ridge they were on, and caught no sign of either Kendra or Seth.

"Amare, have you seen my mothers handmaiden or her brother the shadow charmer?" He asked, desperate to know the answer.

" The shadow charmer I have seen. He was brought here near death from wounds inflicted by demons. The Sands of Sanctity were used to heal him. He is standing on the edge watching the battle." He explained, gesturing to where Seth stood with a pair of binoculars. He seemed to be cheering.

" And my mothers handmaiden?"

" I have not seen her, my apologies, your majesty."

" Not your fault Amare, just means she has luckily sustained no injury as of yet." Bracken said half to the old unicorn and half to himself. He quickly excused himself to go and see if Seth knew the whereabouts of his sister. Brackens heart pounded in his chest as he tried to convince himself that Kendra was fine. Reaching Seth he saw the younger boy throw his hands up.

" I can't believe this! She one upped me!" He said in unbelief.

" Who one upped you? " Bracken asked slightly confused. Seth turned in surprise to look at him, then smiled and handed him the binoculars. Bracken made no move to look through them, instead continued to stare at Seth.

" Kendra. I slay Graulas and she goes and slays the demon king!" Seth said in mock exasperation, but Bracken could hear the pride in his voice.

Alarmed, Bracken looked through the binoculars and toward where the demon king was last seen. Sure enough, he saw the demon king lying lifeless on the ground, and Kendra standing over him, shining brilliantly. Vasilis, alive in her hands. It glowed as brightly as she did. Bracken was awestruck at how beautiful and determined she looked. A fire shining in her green eyes. But he was also filled with gut wrenching worry over the fact that Kendra was in the battle field, surrounded by demons.

" Dude! That's my sister you're staring at right now." Seth said with a smirk, pulling Bracken from his thoughts. Bracken eyed the shadow charmer, hearing a certain degree of protectiveness, and detecting the underlying threat beneath his mischievous and lighthearted attitude. He was surprised at how close the two sibling seemed to be.

Bracken simply nodded his understanding and sat down, exhaustion beginning to catch up to him. Seth relaxed his stance, realizing the unicorn understood, and sat beside him. Bracken watched as a few minutes later an Astrid brought Kendra to the ridge, he relaxed when he saw her uninjured. He thought about how the beautiful young fairykind had nearly given him a heart attack. Smiling, he realized it wasn't the first time since they met, and he had a hunch it wouldn't be the last. Suddenly, Bracken realized how deep his affection for her went. Then glumly acknowledged their huge age difference, and the fact that she was still merely a child. He came to a decision that if she wanted this, he would wait for her, forever if that's what it took. Strengthening his new resolve, Bracken stood to greet Kendra.

*END OF FLASHBACK*

At the time, Bracken had thought that resolve was so strong. He would always wait for her to be ready, but waiting for her to reach adulthood, seemed to be taking an agonizing amount of time. Each time he saw her he fell more in love with her. The thought of losing her, without being able to show her that love, crushed him. He had given her his first horn in an attempt to show her, while they were apart. But Ronodin had quickly put an end to that. He seemed to be doing everything in his power to keep them apart. And destroy any relationship they shared. Bracken was determined not to lose her. Not to let this beautiful, amazing girl, slip through his fingers. Slowly the events and exhaustion of the day began to catch up with him, as Bracken fell into a troubled sleep.

†††

Bracken woke up in a cold sweat, the same nightmare of Kendra's death running through his head. Taking a calming breath, he sat up. His gut telling him something other than the dream had woken him. Listening carefully, he heard the jingling of keys and what seemed to be the sounds of battle coming from the outside of his cell. Bracken quickly stood and shook off the lightheadedness that came from his sudden rise. He heard the sound of the keys in the lock and a small cry of triumph. Moments later the door swung open revealing a man not quite big enough to be a brownie but definitely bigger than a nipsie. He crouched down and lifted him up. And asked, his voice filled with confusion,

" Thank you for freeing me, may I ask who you are?"

" My name is Calvin, I'm afraid there isn't much time for more introduction, I don't know how long Kendra can hold off Ronodin, or how long it will take his apprentice to notice us." The small man, apparently named Calvin said. Bracken sat Calvin on his shoulder and began to run with the knowledge that Kendra was facing Ronodin. In his mind, no matter how amazing she was, she didn't stand a chance. He was also baffled by the fact that his evil cousin had an apprentice. He had never seen or heard of him before. He listened to Calvin tell him which way to go to reach her and payed attention to the growing noise of the battle taking place. As he reached the end of the corridor, Bracken saw something jump out of the shadows. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. First, there was a stinging pain as his cheek was sliced open, he was then slammed against the wall as he came face to face with someone he didn't expect. Face to face with Ronodins apprentice. Face to Face with Seth Sorenson.

Ok, so this was supposed to be out a long time ago and I kind of slacked off. Sorry about that. Anyway, this will be 2 or 3 parts! I hope that this is decent. It's just the beginning. I will try my very best to update soon. Please review so that I can get your input on things. Until next time