Chapter 10

"A Romantic Interlude, Version II."

Within a moment of leaving Venger's Hall, the Ranger had slipped his arm around Sheila's waist guiding her carefully along the darkened halls. She had almost objected, but at the last moment, she couldn't find the right words to say.

They walked in silence and the Thief could barely even hear their footsteps on the stone floor. Everything seemed calm and still and sleeping, not at all what she expected in one of Venger's Castles.

But then Venger himself hadn't been what she expected, not crippled and weakened. And Hank certainly wasn't what she expected, not at all! And that made it all the more difficult to remember what she was here to do. She had to get them back to the Crystal of Kronos, and get back to the other Realm. That was all she had to do.

But deep inside her she knew that that was not going to be easy.

They passed through a wider hall, and across towards some stairs. Beside her, Hank slowed to a stop, and they stood in the middle of the hallway.

'My Father said to extend you every courtesy,' said he quietly, leaning close to her ear to make sure she heard him. 'What courtesy can I provide?'

Sheila opened her mouth but no words came out, only a little gasping noise. She had promised herself she wasn't going to do this. She had promised herself that she would remain unaffected by what was in this Realm and concentrate on getting Hank back to the Realm where they all belonged.

Staring up, she looked more closely at her escort. His hair was much longer than it had been before and there was rough stubble on his face. His expression seemed more playful and knowing than she remembered it, but his eyes looked at her with the same tender concern.

Her mouth went dry and she had to lick her lips. She had to remember why she was there. She was not going to get sucked into anything… inappropriate.

'Why do you ask?' she replied.

'I do as my Father commands, Thief,' he said then paused for a moment. 'Do you have a name?'

It seemed odd that Hank would have to ask her who she was, but even more disconcerting was the warmth of a blush that crept over her face when he asked.

'Sheila.'

'Sheila, the Thief,' Hank murmured. 'It has a pleasant sound to it, almost…' he trailed off. For a moment, she imagined that he might recognise it, and the expression on his face was one of wistful remembrance, then the fantasy was gone.

'My name is Hank, and you know I am the Realm's Ranger,' he said, taking her hand in a formal way, and giving her a flamboyant and out of character bow. 'But I think you already know that.'

For a second she wondered what he meant, and if he meant what she hoped he didn't mean; that would be too much to deal with just at the moment. Instead she smiled at him.

'I've heard your name,' she said. 'Your Father mentioned it, and well as your brother.'

It was almost impossible to say the word brother in connection with Hank and Eric, but she managed it without sounding too incredulous.

'Now we are properly introduced, perhaps you will let me show you something of this new world.'

He gave her a warm smile that seemed to make her heart skip slightly. She always liked that smile, even though she had rarely had the chance so savour it in private. Personal privacy was in short supply in the Realm, the real Realm. And in spite of the situation she couldn't help feeling a little bit pleased that she had Hank all to herself. Part of her had always craved the Ranger's undivided attention, and that was exactly what she was getting at the moment. And she was loving every single second, even though Hank wasn't really the same Hank…

They were staring into each other's eyes now, and Hank's eyes were exactly the same beautiful powder-blue as she remembered. It was hardly likely that she would forget what they looked like; she would daydream of the few times they had been close enough to look at each other with such intent.

He took her arm protectively.

'Let me show you something. I think you will find it most interesting, and instructive.'

Sheila nodded, refocusing with some difficulty on why she was here in the first place. Anything she could find out might prove useful in the future.

'To survive in the Realm, you must come to know it,' Hank continued. 'And to know it, you have to understand what has happened. The past is very important.'

'What do you mean?' This was nothing like the other Realm, they hadn't been told anything about its history, not from Dungeonmaster or really from anyone. They just got by on what they had picked up as they went along. Dekkion had told them some history, as had Rhamoud, but nothing like the lesson Sheila thought she was about to get from Hank. Whatever it was, it seemed very important to him.

'There is only one thing in the Realm that matters,' he told her in a hushed, almost awed tone.

'What is it?' she managed to say.

With a smooth movement, his hand moved from her arm to her hand, and he gripped it tightly.

'Don't you know?' he asked. Sheila shook her head. Hank gave a decidedly smooth smile. 'Then I should show you.'

He took her hand and led her onward to one of the doorways in the hall, and pushed it open, behind it was another staircase, but this one was narrow, and spiralled upwards in a tight curve.

'Where does it go?' Sheila asked, suddenly anxious. She didn't like this feeling of not knowing what was going on, it made her feel very vulnerable.

But Hank smiled.

'It leads up to one of the towers. We should be able to see across half the Realm from there.'

'Why do we want to see across half the Realm,' she asked. 'Why can't you just tell me?'

This made Hank laugh.

'That is a very good question,' he said. 'But if I told you I would ruin the surprise and the suspense.'

'I don't like surprises,' she said.

'But then how am I supposed to make a memorable impression on you?'

The earnestness of his answer made her smile. Though she was still aware of her resolve not to get too involved, she had to answer honestly.

'You already have made a memorable impression, a very memorable impression, on me.'

'Then come with me, and I'll show you the Realm.'

Still holding her hand, Hank led her upwards. They walked for a number of minutes, and though she felt herself tiring, she kept up with Hank on principal. Being in the Realm, the old Realm had at least kept her very fit!

At last they reached a barred, and bolted doorway, and Hank opened it, letting her precede him through.

The view from the top almost took her breath away. The suns had dipped belong the mountains, leaving dark shadows on the nearby mountains. The sky had turned a rich, luscious velvet-blue and here and there a star twinkled like a jewel. She could see for miles, as the Realm was laid out before her feet.

'I never knew it could be so beautiful here,' she murmured.

'This is one of my favourite viewpoints,' Hank said. 'I could stand here for hours, just looking.'

They stood silently for a few moments, side by side, as the sky turned darker. Sheila tried to keep her thoughts on their task, but she quickly gave up the struggle, content for the moment to enjoy the peace.

'So why did you show me this?' she asked at last.

Hank pointed to the dark mountains on the horizons.

'I wanted to show you where the danger is, where our enemies hide behind false spells.' He tried to sound casual, as he had downstairs in the hall, but she could still detect a bitter anger behind his words.

'Which enemies? Zandora?'

'Zandora!' replied Hank, scornfully. 'Zandora is just a meddling old witch that seems to get in everyone's way. No, I mean our real enemies, the one who would strike at hearts without mercy.'

The words seemed to cut into her, ringing alarm bells inside her head. This was a new Realm, and dangerous, and she didn't know who was right or wrong. Once again, he had to remind herself to be careful. She shivered, and Hank immediately noticed.

'Are you alright? Are you cold? Should we go inside?'

'No!' she replied, perhaps a little too quickly. 'No, I'm fine, it's just…' She turned to look at him, and saw his face filled with concern. It was such a familiar expression, and so unexpected that once again, her ability to speak seemed to vanish. Why did Hank have this effect on her? He waited patiently, making no attempt to hurry her along. 'It's just that there is a lot to take in. A lot has happened today.'

'It seems so unfair to burden you with all this,' Hank said. He took hold of her hand. 'But I think you should be aware of what's happening in the Realm. What dangers there are, and what you need to be wary of.'

He looked at her, staring intently into her eyes. Oh, God, those eyes were just so perfect…She found she couldn't look away.

'What dangers?' she managed to say at last. 'Who is your enemy?'

Hank's expression grew colder.

'Beyond the mountains is the stronghold of a wizard by the name of Kelek,' he replied. Hank's face was contorted with anger at the name and Sheila's blood turned cold.

'K-Kelek?'

'My Father's mortal enemy.'

'Kelek? But… how? What happened?'

The crushing anger that had shown on his face was gone, and Hank looked at Sheila with tender concern.

'They have been enemies for a long, long time. And we will not rest until Kelek and all the rest of his empire at Kadesh has been destroyed.'

Sheila started at the name, suddenly reminded of Rhamoud and Ayesha, and they close friendship. It seemed pointless to ask about them, as if Kelek ruled Kadesh, Rhamoud could be anywhere!

'What happened,' she asked again. Somehow, it seemed an important thing to know.

'Kelek attacked the castle,' Hank said. 'He bribed and terrorised and coerced some of our troops and servants into joining him and he tried to take this castle by force. He failed, but… but the cost was very high.'

'Ven… I mean, your Father, that's how he was injured?'

Hank nodded.

'Kelek tried to kill my whole family. Eric and I only survived by our Father's intervention. We have never forgotten what cost our lives came at, or the deaths of that were not prevented.'

Hank looked at her, with a shine of tears in his eyes, and Sheila's heart, already filled with fear and anxiety, filled with a cold dread.

'Who?' she whispered.

'Our mother,' he replied, just as quietly. 'And our sister.'

She should have been expecting something like that. She thought she had been, but she was speechless. Suddenly this whole Realm, and their presence here and their task to get Hank and Eric back to the real Realm seemed hopelessly more complicated than it had just a few moments before.

They had lives here, real, difficult, complex lives that had meant something, they had a family that they had cared for. They had a mother… and a sister that she knew nothing about.

She looked away from Hank, so confused and afraid that she didn't know what to do next. But Hank pulled her close to him, putting his arm round her shoulders.

How were they ever going to put right what had gone wrong? How were they going to get Hank, and Eric, back to the real Realm?

She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, she found she was looking directly at Hank. There was so much that was different about him, but there was so much the same, he even seemed to smell the same, to her at least. Then there was the way he looked at her. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she liked it a lot.

As she looked at him, wondering about the similarities and the differences, very, very slowly, he leaned towards her, and kissed her.

It seemed to be a perfect moment in time. This was what she had always wanted, and what she had dreamed about, a beautiful, delicate kiss, Hank sweeping her completely off her feet. She leaned into him, retuning his kiss as passionately as she could, completely consumed by the feeling.

His hand, once tightly on her waist slid upwards a fraction and suddenly Sheila jerked away as if she had been burned.

This wasn't right.

What was she doing? How could she have let herself forget what was going on?

Breathless, and utterly confused, the Thief leaned back against the wall to try and keep her balance.

She looked at the man in front of her, forcing herself to remember that this wasn't the Hank she had known and fallen in love with.

It was the first time she had even acknowledged what had happened, and that she had indeed fallen completely in love with the Ranger.

But it wasn't this Ranger she had fallen in love with. He wasn't the same!

She had to remember that. No matter how attractive he was. No matter how good at kissing he was either.

'We had better go to downstairs,' Hank said. 'I'll take you to your room.'

Sheila nodded. He hadn't released his grip on her waist but now, as before, he turned and guided her to the doorway in a very protective manner. Together they descended back into the gloomy castle, and Hank led her through the corridors. They walked in silence, and Sheila was glad of that, she had no desire to speak at the moment, as she was sure whatever they talked about would just make her even more confused.

They arrived at another door, and Hank stopped.

'This is your room,' he said, opening the door for her. 'Sleep well, Sheila.'

'Thank you, Hank.'

She took a deep breath. In spite of everything it would be a welcome change to sleep in a real bed again. And though the situation was complicated, at least she had found Hank. Her heart sped up; and they had kissed. She smiled shyly.

'Goodnight,' she said.

'Goodnight.'

But as she shut the door, out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw him give cold, calculating smile.