Rating: R
Warnings apply for the whole story: angst, torture, hurt/comfort, character death
Summary: AU starting with the events of Eternity

Denna needed to hurry, as soon as Dahlia's dead body was discovered, her journey would probably end right here. They would shut down every entrance, every exit and trap her inside. She knew the procedure just all too well. Moreover, with Darken Rahl in the picture, it only would be a matter of a few candle-marks until they found her, if not much faster. She would have liked to avoid that, if possible.

Denna could already see the dark wooden doors at the end of the hallway, as soon as she reached them the winding staircase would lead her down and she could leave the temple the same way she had entered. The hallway was dark and empty and she was grateful for it. She had not planed on killing Dahlia to get back what belonged to her, she had not planed on killing any of her Sisters, but Dahlia had left her no choice. She could not be trusted. Not that she knew of anyone she could place her trust in - beside herself of course.

A heart-wrenching, inhuman scream let her stop dead in her tracks. Her right hand rested already against the cool wood of the door and she only needed to push it open and slip through, but her legs would not move. Then again and again, the screams sounded in the distance, their power resonating off the walls and battering her human senses. Denna stood still, palm pressed flat against the door that would lead her almost out of the temple, and listened to the sounds that made her skin crawl.

The timbre and volume of the voice sounded familiar, she instantly knew to whom it belonged. Dahlia had been telling the truth after all. There was a time, when she had been the cause of screams similar to those she was hearing now; had marveled at the agonizing wails of hurt and sorrow, back then it had only fuelled her pleasure.

However, whatever she did, Cara never had been screaming like this. Denna wondered what they were doing to her, but in the same instant knew she should not care. Cara should be the last person in all three territories she should be worried about, especially after their last deadly encounter. No, she had neither a reason nor the time to care. Another scream, this one cut deep, she cringed inwardly, almost feeling the pain as it was carried through the air. Cara and she were nothing alike, she thought, they hadn t anything in common other than a past in the service of Darken Rahl. Cara would not hesitate, if she would be in Denna's place. Cara would not care about her fate. Nor would Denna. With these thoughts and only these in mind, she pushed the door finally open and stepped through.

Denna reached the upper-most landing of the spiral stairs, which led deep down in the belly of the temple. Still she could hear Cara's screams; the big door had dampened them but not enough to block them out completely. She just needed to take the first step, then another and walk down. Nevertheless, she hesitated and knew in this second, she had lost her inner struggle. "Damn it", came the almost inaudible curse from her lips as she turned away from the staircase and headed towards the agonizing screams, which seemed to get louder with each passing moment.

The dungeon was sparsely lit and smelled of blood and fear. The scent brought Denna back to the past, letting the memories flow vividly through her mind. All the men and women she had broken, so many that had died by her hand. The memories felt dark and heavy and she pressed herself back against the cold stone of the wall, willing the unwanted thoughts to pass.

As she carefully peeked around the corner, Denna could see the woman who had screamed her lungs out only minutes ago. Chained up at the ceiling, her feet dangling over the ground. Cara's body was covered all over with bruises, sweat, and blood. Denna could not see a spot on her skin, which seemed to be untouched by the magic of the Agiel. Cara's chin rested against her breastbone, her eyes closed.

"How long until she is broken?"

Darken Rahl's grave, impatient voice brought Denna's attention back to danger at hand, as he suddenly rounded the corner and walked out of the dungeons, two Mord'Sith and tree Sisters of the Dark on his heels. Denna pressed herself into the shadows to hide her form from being discovered. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears, as she silently scolded herself for even coming here. The sight of Darken Rahl gave her the creeps or rather the thought of what he would do to her, if he found her. She held her breath as he and his entourage passed by. Relief spread through her at sight of him retreating - until he suddenly stopped. Rahl stood with the back to her and Denna felt her heart hammering forcefully against her chest, she was sure he could hear it. Darken Rahl's head turned slowly to the side, as if he sensed something out of place. The Mord'Sith accompanying him seemed puzzled, but scanned the hallway nonetheless.

After a moment however, he shrugged ever so slightly and went on. Denna did not dare to move or breathe until he was fully out of sight, even when air slowly became an issue. Minutes passed before she finally stepped out of the shadow and risked another glance into the dungeon. Cara still hung motionless in the shackles, appearing to be unconscious.

Darken Rahl had only left two Mord'Sith standing guard for Cara - they did not know what hit them as Denna approached. The sizzling sound of Agiels vibrated through the dungeon room, closely followed by the sound of human bodies hitting the floor. The two younger Mord'Sith, unknown to her, had been no match for the former first Mistress, especially when they were underestimating her skills of wielding the Agiel. It was never wise to underestimate Mistress Denna, but they had learned their lesson - and she was sure, as soon as they discovered Cara to be gone, they would receive a proper punishment. Denna let her fingers caress the red leather rod in an affectionate gesture, before she secured it reluctantly back on her waist. There was nothing as good as a decent sparring once in a while - Mord'Sith may not spar, but she wasn't a true Mord'Sith anymore, now was she? She smirked at that - her former trainer must be turning in his grave right now, seeing what she had become. Not that she cared - no not one bit.

Denna turned to Cara and walked to her until she stood right in front of the other Mord'Sith. Cara's short hair had fallen over her face, partially sticking together where the blood had dried in the blonde strands. Denna could not help the notion, as she reached out and her fingers grazed over Cara's firm stomach, drawing imaginary lines where the Agiel had marked her. After a moment, Denna pulled her hand back and noticed the red blood that now covered her fingertips. In an unconscious gesture, Denna brought it to her lips and sucked it from them. Only as the metallic taste of still warm blood tantalized her taste buds she remembered where she was, and more importantly that she needed to leave here soon. With a last glance at Cara, who had not been conscious for Denna's refreshing of faded memories, she walked to the big wheel at the right side of the room and started to turn it until Cara's body slowly reached the floor.

Denna hurried to get the shackles off Cara's wrists, noticing that the skin beneath them was already sore. As Denna moved her hand to brush Cara's hair from the other woman's face, she felt Cara flinch beneath the soft touch. A strangled moan escaped cracked lips and one eye fluttered open, the other was swollen shut.

"Wake up," Denna said more harshly than she originally intended. She knew exactly how Cara must be feeling right now and how hard it was to regain consciousness after a severe training session. But they had no time to spare.

Cara blinked. The velvet depth of that voice - it was familiar, but Cara could not place it. She saw a woman kneeling beside her, slightly bent forward. She could not make out the woman's features; her vision was blurry and tinted red by the blood, which had seeped into her eye.

The woman next to her was clothed completely in black, only her platinum blonde, loose ponytail added a bit of light to her form. Cara had only known one person with that color of hair, but she had died months ago by her own hand. Her eyelid felt heavy and she was so tired. The pain slowly returned and all she wanted was to slip back into oblivion. However, the persistent woman would not let her.

"Cara," Denna nearly growled, slapping the other Mord'Sith cheek lightly as she tried to steal herself away again, "you need to wake up!"

There was no doubt about whom this voice belonged to. Cara would recognize it among thousands, but she did not have the strength to think about how it could be that Denna was still alive nor why she wanted her to wake up.

"Denna," Cara choked, forcing her good eye open and slowly her vision began to clear, "you have come to kill me." It was not intended as a question.

Denna shot her a look, as if actually considering the possibility, "if you don't stay conscious now, I might."

Despite her bad condition, Cara chuckled at Denna's words, only to cough up blood a second later.

"Come on now, we need to hurry. I'd rather not be around, when Rahl discovers you're gone." Denna pulled her up, draping Cara's arm over her shoulder, while she supported the other woman's waist. Cara's world started nauseatingly to spin and she thought she would throw up any second. Denna would not be pleased. After few deep breaths however, her stomach ceased the rebellion. Denna urged her on to walk, but after her first step it became clear, that her legs would carry her nowhere any time soon. Were it not for Denna's strong hold on her, she would have met the stone floor face first. Cara doubted she still possessed the strength she would have needed to intercept the fall. She could hear Denna silently cursing under her breath, as she held Cara's body close to her own.

"Leave me; there is no way I'll make it out of here on my own." Cara mumbled, resting her head on Denna's shoulder. She was so tired. If she just could convince Denna to let her lay down again, she could finally go back to sleep on the floor, even if Denna's shoulder was the most comfortable place she could think of, the fabric of her clothes felt soft against Cara s cheek and the blonde s body provided warmth she was denied for so long Cara couldn't even remember.

"I will-" Denna stopped mid sentence as the sound of footsteps in the distance reached her ears. It was too late. Darken Rahl's entourage was returning or it could be the shift rotation for the Mord'Sith Denna had knocked out. Whoever was coming - it meant no good. Denna had been glad, that she didn't need to use the magical help she had purchased from a wizard until now. Especially because she had no idea, if it would work. He could have tricked her or maybe Darken Rahl was immune to it. There were so many uncertain possibilities Denna did not like. These were reasons why she hated it to rely on others; too much could simply go wrong. But since she hadn't learned to wield powerful magic recently, she needed to trust in the golden magical dust which - should it have the effect as promised - would bring the wheels of time almost to a stop for about half a candle-mark - more or less, the wizard did not want to commit himself about that. But how is one supposed to measure time when time stood still? Denna didn t know. Her internal clock would need to do the trick. At least she and everything she touched in the moment when the spell was cast, should be the exception and therefore able to move in the sense of normal time. In theory.

Since time was precious and Denna did not want to waste anymore than they already had, she produced the small silver bag from her pocket and threw its content with a swift motion into the air. Denna watched the golden dust spread across the room, but then after a moment it seemed to be frozen midair. Denna listened carefully, but could not hear the footsteps anymore either. The only sound she heard was Cara's even breathing - a bit too even for Denna's taste, but knew it didn't matter. Even if Cara would be awake, she was in no condition to walk by herself. That left only one other possibility if she still choose to take the tortured woman with her. With a grunt, Denna lifted Cara up into her arms and walked out of the dungeon.