A/N: This chapter is slightly shorter than the rest, but I promise I'll make it up to you by writing chapter 9 that much sooner. :) And here it comes, people! The big shippy moment you've been waiting for! Prepare to avert your eyes...
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It was nearly mid-day when I finally woke. A blanket had been drawn up over my shoulders, and I had no memory of having done it myself. My memory was hazy, and it took me a few moments to realize that I was not in my own bed, but lying on a cot in the cellar of Lota's tavern. As I looked around, trying to get my bearings, Carson was standing in the opposite corner, buttoning up a slightly rumpled linen shirt. Lota must have given him some clothing while I was asleep, and I found myself smiling appreciatively at the sight of him, even though he was now fully clothed. I had slept soundly knowing that he had been resting peacefully there in that cot next to me.
"In just a few hours, you'll be safe among your friends and family again," I said softly. Of course, I was happy that he had escaped and was going home, but I wasn't sure that I was ready to accept yet that we would be parting ways so soon. I had never felt this way about a man before, and couldn't put into words why it felt so natural to be with him. The rest of my words fell silent on my lips as I found myself unable to speak again. Despite my desire to say more, my face remained impassive and my emotions hidden.
"Aye," he said as he moved to sit down next to me. "And I'm very grateful for all the help you've given me. But I was wondering..."
I gave him a quizzical look.
"What are you going to do once my friends come for me?" he asked with a somber expression.
I stared down at my hands and pondered his question for a long moment before I responded. The outlook wasn't encouraging. "I don't really know. I'm certain that I'll eventually be caught for helping you escape, and once I am, I expect the queen will have me executed for treason."
Carson was staring at me grimly, but his gaze faltered. "I'm sorry, Ky. This is your home, and it's my fault that you're going to suffer for rescuing me."
"No," I said firmly, putting my hand on his arm. "It's not your fault."
"Allowing yourself to be executed isn't the only option you have, though," he said as he gently took my hand from his arm and placed it between his own hands, pausing dramatically between sentences. "I could take you home to Atlantis with me."
"Why would you do that for me?" I looked away, knowing that I was becoming overly emotional, but I could not help but be afraid of leaving the only home I had ever known my entire life. "I was going to do my duty and experiment on you, just as the queen had asked of me."
"But you didn't." Carson seemed somewhat surprised by my admission. "Why break me out of the prison, then? What stopped you from going through with it?"
"I didn't go through with it because my closest friend was murdered for that research." I felt the threat of tears starting to burn my eyes, and I took a deep breath before continuing, too ashamed to bring myself to look at him still. "But I broke you out of the prison for a different reason."
"What reason?" he asked softly. His expression hardened with doubt, and I could feel his eyes on me intently, as if he were gazing right through me.
The tears slid unbidden down my face despite my efforts to hold them back, and the calm and collected bearing that usually came to me so easily slipped away like water between my fingers. "I did it because I care about you. I couldn't bear to see you suffer a horrible and meaningless death in that place."
The profound meaning of my words hung for several moments like a mist in the silent stillness of the room before I felt his fingertips wiping away the wetness from my cheeks. His hands brought my face toward his, and before I could say more, his lips were on mine. Each breath came like a ragged gasp as I was encompassed in his arms.
The slaves of women on my world rarely desired to be tender or affectionate with their masters, but I found myself utterly enthralled by each touch and gentle caress I was given. This man did not belong to me, and yet I was drawn to him like no other. A feeling of contentment the likes of which I have never before experienced washed over me at that moment. Savoring the sweetness of our proximity, I breathed in the aroma of his scent. Despite not having had an opportunity to bathe or wash the remaining traces of spent salve away from his healing wounds, the clothing he wore was clean and he did not reek of the foul treatment he had been forced to endure during his captivity.
"Ky," he began as a shadow crossed his delicate features, and for a moment I felt a gap form between us. "What will the queen do when my friends return for me in force?"
"She is an arrogant woman," I answered, considering his question carefully. "But if she was worried about war between our people, she would not have kidnapped you. I do not believe she will permit your friends to enter the city to look for you."
Carson lowered his eyes. "If they force their way into the city, it could start a bloody battle."
"No, it wouldn't," I corrected him pensively. "The queen would only have to set the Blessing of the Ancients against them, and they will all die in its fires."
"What do you mean?" he asked anxiously, his steely gaze returning to my eyes.
"The structure beneath the palace was built by the Ancient Ancestors," I explained solemnly, realizing that he had only seen the laboratory. "All the queen has to do is sit in the fiery chair in the center of the largest room, and her will is done."
Jumping immediately to his feet, he scrambled to find the shackles I had removed from his wrists the night before. When he finally found them, he yanked me up off the cot and rushed toward the door leading up to the study.
"Carson, what are you doing?" I was confounded. "We shouldn't leave right now. Your friends aren't here yet."
"If the queen is going to use the Ancient weapon against my friends, I have to do something to stop it." He was too insistent for me to deter him. "All you have to do is get me into the palace, and I'll be able to disable the weapon system myself."
"You can't!" I begged. "The city will be defenseless against the wraith!"
"Don't worry," he assured me, placing a comforting hand on my arm. "It won't be permanent, I promise."
Unlatching the cellar door turned out to be a complicated task for him, and so I reluctantly stepped up to assist him. My common sense told me it would be a big mistake to risk going back into the palace, but if needless bloodshed to either of our peoples was to be avoided, there was no other choice. The fiery Ancient weapon would certainly annihilate them if we did not act.
Upon opening the door, Lota was quick to rush over, ready to admonish me for my carelessness. She had been tending to the early customers in the tavern and, upon hearing the creaking sound the trap door had caused, she knew that it would be extremely bad if we were seen. But I held up my hand in resignation to quiet her before she had a chance to say anything.
"Thank you for everything, Lota, but we must leave," I told her softly.
"The palace guard was here barely an hour ago asking about you two," she whispered with an irate voice. "Do you know how much trouble I'll be in if you're caught here?"
I sighed sympathetically. "I know. I'm sorry."
She gave me one of those motherly glares, well-practiced to set my heart at ease. "Is there somewhere else you think you'd be safer than here?"
"Please, we must get to the palace," Carson whispered insistently.
Her eyes opened wide with shock. "You're crazy!"
"Lota, we don't have time to explain," I said desperately. "It's very important!"
With a cold, hard look that promised death on him if I was hurt in this endeavor, she reluctantly turned and stepped softly over to a closet in the hallway. She retrieved two heavy-hooded cloaks and tossed them to us. Crossing her arms over her chest, she gave Carson another stern look, but said no more.
After slipping the cloak over his shoulders and pulling the hood up to cover his face, I placed the manacles back onto Carson's wrists. Turning back to my friend, I gave her a warm hug and spoke a quiet word of thanks. Her face softened as she watched us depart.
"You had better come back alive," she said after us, the corners of her mouth turned slightly into a smile. "You owe me a lot of money for all of this!"
It was cold outside, much colder than it had been just the evening before. A renewed stiff breeze picked up countless numbers of fallen leaves from the streets and flung them against passersby. Grasping tightly the chain that held Carson in its grip, I led him quickly through the least-populated streets I could think of back to the wall where the secret entrance into the palace was located. It was much easier to find in daylight, and I thanked providence that we had managed to slip past the gathering crowds in the square unnoticed. Removing the manacles from Carson's wrists once more, I looked up into his face to reassure myself with his determined fervor.
"You should stay here," he suggested softly, bringing up a hand to gently caress my face. "I don't want anything to happen to you in there."
He leaned forward for one more kiss and then was gone, disappeared into the blackness that lay beyond the hidden door. I was left alone. And I would not stand by and simply let him risk his life alone.