Chapter Fourteen
The blindfold was removed from my eyes and I silently watched the man in black slice the ropes holding me. When his blue eyes locked with mine, he seemed a bit stunned, happy, and sad all at once.
"Who are you?" I inquired eyeing him suspiciously.
"I'm no one to be trifled with. That is all you ever need know," he replied.
"And to think, all that time it was your cup that was poisoned," I mused aloud looking at the two goblets.
"They were both poisoned," he explained, "I spent the last few years building up an immunity to Iocane powder. Come on." "He grabbed my arm and pulled me along. I kept up as best I could with my injured leg.
Along a grassy hilltop near a gulley we stopped running and he threw me down onto a rock. "Catch your breath," he said and I stared up at him. I was actually grateful for the chance to stop, and let my left leg rest for a bit.
"If you'll release me, whatever you ask for ransom, you'll get it, I promise you," I said hoping that all this guy wanted was money. I was sure that Grandpa would pay just to have me back.
The man in black chuckled and said, "And what is that worth, the promise of a child? You're very funny, girl."
I scowled at him and snapped, "My name is Aralyne, not girl! And I was giving you a chance. It does not matter where you take me. Someone will save me!"
"You think someone will save you?" the man in black inquired, "Listen, Aralyne, I'm the one saving you! I swore that I would take you to Nesidy and I intend to keep my word."
I retorted, "I don't give a damn about your promises! My friends will save me!"
"What? No true love?" asked the man in black and my scowl deepened, "Just about everyone here has a true love."
"That's none of your business!" I snapped.
"Did he walk out on you?" he asked in slight amusement as my temper flared, "Is that why you're so touchy on the subject? Did he even love you? Or was he even capable of love?"
I stood and glared daggers up at him. "No, he didn't love me!" I snapped thinking of Eric, the only man I had ever been in a relationship with. "He was a slimy asshole just like yourself!"
The man in black raised a hand as if to slap me and I didn't even flinch. "That was a warning, girl. The next time my hand flies on its own, for where I come from, there are penalties when a woman lies."
I hissed out maliciously, "You can die slowly, cut into a thousand pieces."
For a moment, he seemed surprised and replied angrily, "You dare talk to the Dread Pirate Roberts that way?"
"Pirate?" I scoffed, "If you were truly a pirate, you wouldn't have rescued me. You would have killed me on the spot."
"I told you I swore I would return you to Nesidy," he snarled, "Otherwise, I would have killed you! I mean once word leaks out that a pirate has gone soft, people begin to disobey you and then it's nothing but work, work, work all the time."
"Shut up!" I screeched, "You mock my pain!"
"Life is pain, Aralyne. Anyone who says differently is selling something," he retorted.
"You mocked me once. Never do it again!" I yelled, angry tears now forming in my eyes, "My heart died, that day!" I suddenly said in a more sinister voice, "And you can die too for all I care!" With all of my strength, I shoved the Dread Pirate Roberts down the hill. I didn't check to see what happened, but instead bolted for my life. With my damn leg, I didn't get very far when I heard footsteps charging after me, and knew he was hot on my trail.
The Dread Pirate Roberts suddenly wrapped his arms around me. I screamed and struggled, but my movements caused the both of us to topple over and roll down the hill all the way into the gulley. When we finally skid to a halt, both lying on our backs on the floor, I sat up and was about to jump to my feet and run when I saw the pirate's mask had fallen somewhere up on the hill, revealing his identity. I stared at him in surprise, thinking he was incredibly good-looking.
He sat up with a groan, and after realizing his mask was gone, he moved closer towards me placing a hand on my cheek.
"Aralyne, are you okay?" he inquired.
I slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me," I snapped, "If you're going to punish me for this, then do it! I can't run away, anyways!"
"Why would I punish you?" he asked in confusion, "I would never harm you, you know that."
"I don't know that! I don't even know you! For all I know you could be lying about returning me to Nesidy!"
The Dread Pirate Roberts blinked at me and said, "What do you mean you don't know me?! I'm Tulio, remember?! The man that saved your life multiple times?! The man you're in love with?!"
I scoffed at him. "In love with you?! I've never seen you before today! What makes you think I would be in love with you?!"
"You really don't remember," he said in hurt wonder, "What happened while I was gone? Is this some sort of spell? Lao Shi will know what to do!" He grasped me by the arm and yanked me to my feet. "Come on!"
The creep and I raced along the ravine floor until we made it to the entrance of some creepy looking swamp.
"I'm not going in there," I said not liking the look of our destination.
Tulio replied, "This is the fastest way to get to Nesidy. Lucky for you, that idiot got turned around and you ended up here in the country of Terra Viro instead of across the sea to Guilder. Nesidy should be a couple of hours' journey from the other end of the Fire Swamp." He dragged me into the Fire Swamp and Tulio looked around saying, "It's not that bad." I looked at him as if he were insane, which I was pretty sure he was. "Well, I'm not saying I'd like to build a summer home here, but the trees are actually quite lovely."
As we walked, there was a series of popping sounds, and fire shot out of the ground beside me. I screamed as the hem of my pajama shirt caught on fire, and the flames began licking my skin. Tulio quickly pulled out his sword and sliced off my shirt. The pieces fluttered to the ground, exposing me in my bra. I flushed, covering up my torso, and winced slightly when I felt the burn on my abdomen.
"Well now, that was an adventure," he said sheathing his sword and removing his jacket. I took a step back, flushing even more. "Don't worry," he added picking up what I was thinking. Tulio handed me his jacket and I gratefully pulled it on, to hide myself.
Taking hold of my hand he pulled me through the swamp. When there was another popping sound, Tulio pulled me aside to safety as another great flame spurt up out of the ground.
"Well, one thing I will say. The fire swamp certainly does keep you on your toes," he muttered.
As we traveled I snapped out at my psycho kidnapper, "I can't believe you're taking me through here! It's dangerous and stupid! Why couldn't we have just gone around the Fire Swamp instead? That way I wouldn't have been burned or even lost my favorite shirt! And the burn hurts!"
Tulio ignored my attitude and said, "Once we're out of here, we'll be closer to Nesidy and there we can get you medical attention. I saw the burn, and it's not that bad. You can endure pain for just a couple more hours." There was another popping sound again. Tulio simply picked me up and moved me out of danger as a spurt of flame appeared where I had been standing moments before.
"You're such an asshole!" I snapped pulling away from him, "You just want to get rid of me faster, and don't care if I end up dying in the process! You only care about yourself!"
Tulio had pulled out his sword and paused for a moment at my words before slicing a path through some vines. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on! I'm not stupid!" I said when he had sheathed his sword and lifted me up into his arms to carry me across some swamp water that was bridged by a narrow rickety tree branch. "The only reason you're helping me is because you're expecting some sort of reward! You said I'm in love with you! Is that it? You want me to fall for you? And why? To say you're dating Incantaionen's savior?"
Keeping a straight face, Tulio set me down, and I quickly pulled away from him. It didn't matter how many times this man saved me on this adventure! He would never have my heart! I took a step forward and the ground gave way, causing me to disappear beneath a pile of sand.
It felt like I was sinking in thick grainy water, and I couldn't see or hear anything! The sand filled my ears, and nose, and some even got in my mouth. Great! I'm going to die in quicksand! Something wrapped around my waist, and I was suddenly pulled upward. Tulio and I emerged from the pit gasping for air and coughing.
I sprawled out on the ground hacking up sand and moaned out, "We're going to die!"
"No, no," he said in a calm voice, "We have already succeeded." He helped me up and continued leading me through the swamp. "I mean, what are the three terrors of the fire swamp? One, the flame spurt. No problem. There's a popping sound preceding each, we can avoid that. Two, the lightning sand, but you were clever enough to discover what that looks like, so in the future we can avoid that too. And lastly, there are the R.O.U.S.s."
"What are R.O.U.S.s?" I inquired.
"Rodents Of Unusual Size," he replied nonchalantly "But don't worry, I don't think they exist."
An R.O.U.S. suddenly appeared and pounced on Tulio. He was pinned under the giant rodent, trying to fend it off, but couldn't. The rat's teeth sank deep into his arm, causing Tulio to howl in pain. Not giving up on the fight, Tulio punched the beast's face, causing it to back off, setting its captive free. Tulio stretched his arm out towards his sword, but the Rodent of Unusual Size leaped onto his back again. Tulio flipped the rodent off him, and scrambled for his sword. The rat suddenly changed direction, heading for a new target: me. I was frozen in fear, having never seen a rat that size before.
"Tulio!" I screeched backing up when the rat neared me. Tulio forgot about his sword and grabbed the rodent's tail instead, before wrestling with it. I grasped a branch and used it as a club, beating the beast. The rodent clamped its jaws around my ankle, and I screamed in pain, falling over on my backside as I lost the branch. Tulio jumped onto the giant rat's back and yanked it away from me. They wrestled on the ground for a bit, with the rodent biting Tulio's shoulder. A popping noise caught his attention, and knowing what it meant, he rolled towards the sound until a flame spurt shot skyward, roasting the R.O.U.S. that had been placed there on purpose. With the giant rat distracted, Tulio pulled himself free, grabbed his sword, and stabbed the rodent until it collapsed onto the ground dead.
After sheathing his sword again, Tulio helped me up and supported me as we walked the rest of the way out of the Fire Swamp. After about another half hour, we finally exited the swamp and entered a lightly wooded area.
"We did it," I said in relief, happy to be out of there.
"Now, was that so terrible?" Tulio inquired before we continued on down towards Nesidy with him helping me the entire way as I hobbled about on my injured ankle and leg.
After travelling in silence for a couple of hours, Tulio and I arrived in Nesidy. So he was telling the truth! Well, about returning me to Nesidy, anyway. Those that had been out on the street saw us and stopped in their tracks, staring.
I saw Captain Phoebus run off, to go find Grandpa, no doubt.
We got to the hospital, and inside we ran into Doctor Ann Possible, Kim Possible's mother.
"Tulio?" she said in surprise, gaping at him, "Wha-?"
He cut her off and nodded towards me, "Help her. She was burned, stabbed, and bitten by an R.O.U.S."
Doctor Possible took me from him and said, "You'd better come with me, too, Tulio. That bite looks nasty." He looked down at his shoulder and shrugged, following us. We entered a room where Doctor Possible began looking over me, and some other doctor bandaged up Tulio.
When he was all fixed up, he looked at me and said, "I'll be talking to Lao Shi if you need me."
Yeah right, like I would actually need you!