March 18, Spring, year 21
To say that Muffy was annoyed would have been an understatement.
"Where did that girl go?!" she fumed. "She's been so…"
"Biddable?" Lumina suggested dryly.
Claire, to their consternation and now furious searching, had seemingly vanished off the face of the earth. Muffy's heart was in her throat as everyone combed the Valley
"Has there been anything turned up?" Lumina asked, as the took a short break. "I mean in finding out who…"
Neither of them could really say it, it just seemed too.. final. Even though they had laid Lauren to rest right next to the Goddess Pond the day before, saying she had been… murdered was too hard.
Maybe they hadn't known her as well as Claire had, but they had all connected with the seamstress a little bit, and Lauren's death was hard on them as well.
"Well, Harris came and retrieved the knife… he said that even if there's prints it would take a hard search to match them up to anyone, so we shouldn't hope for a quick resolution," and Muffy sighed softly. "I wonder if we're ever going to be able to prove it…"
Both women sighed, leaning against each other. In a way, the younger generation of the Valley had come together over the mess, banding in a way that hadn't existed before. Everyone was closer, in their mutual worry for the blonde farmer who used to have the brightest smile, and the simplest of ways about her.
"Where could she have gone?"
Claire was deep in the third mine, resting up against an old rickety bed that had once belonged to a sleeping Princess. Her father had almost married her, but in the end had chosen Mirei.
The Princess had left the caverns anyways, and for a short time had stayed with the Witch Princess, before making a request of the Goddess. Where she was now was anyone's guess.
It was the place Claire always went to when she needed to be absolutely alone. No one else would venture into the mines, with their dangerously cracked floors and lack of lighting. Many former prospectors had broken their necks in falls, or had been killed by some of the strange dark animals that inhabited the mines.
The farmer just took a sip of water, leaning her head back against the dusty blanket.
"I wonder," she whispered. "Maybe if I fell asleep here, the pain would go away…"
She could see Lauren's smiling face in her mind, could see Skye's uncertain look of the nights prior.
"Maybe they'd all stop trying if I just gave up…"
Blue eyes became reflective, thoughtful. She could almost hear Pony and Jack yelling at her for that last statement, and shook her head lightly, unsmiling.
"I want to see my new niece or nephew," she admitted at last with a gusty sigh. "Both of them. And Mom and Dad would throw fits of their own if I left the farm all on Uncle Tak's shoulders…"
In short, there were more reasons to remain than there were to give up. She just… didn't want to acknowledge it all yet. Living was hard, harder than it had been a year ago when she'd not known too much about Skye, when her farm had been in such disrepair…
"Life needs a reset button."
The outburst of that night troubled her. She had actually scared herself with the way she'd been acting, and was now, more than ever, reluctant to show herself in town. Hence the reason she had given Muffy the slip and had hidden herself away.
But she couldn't stay in the caves forever. Not only was that her Uncle Carter's job, it would do more than just worry her family.
She checked her watch, hitting the tiny button that would activate the LED light, and sighed. Two hours of solitude would have to be enough, she needed to get back to her plants, her animals and her life.
Claire got to her feet painfully—every part of her was aching from all the work she'd thrown herself into—and as an after thought bowed to the empty bed. It wasn't… officially her space, so it was only fair that she show the proper respect. Even if it wasn't a tomb.
She knew that she was delaying the inevitable, and after one more look around, she turned and left the secret room and headed up the stairs, back to the brilliant light of the setting sun.
She nodded to Flora and Carter, both of whom had agreed to not tell anyone where she was, and left the dig site, shielding her eyes as she went.
Damien grabbed her not two feet from the entrance, slamming a fist into the back of her neck and sending the farmer into instant unconsciousness. He'd initially thought about blackmailing or extorting her into silence, but even like this he knew that she would thwart him somehow. This was just easier.
Flora and Carter, alerted by the sudden thud noise peered out of the dig site in confusion. But there was no sign of Claire, so they shrugged, assuming it had to be a wild animal playing in the piles of wood again—they were calling Gotz in the morning—and went back to their work.
When Claire started to come around, she let out a tiny, pained groan. Her head was throbbing in a most uncomfortable way. Initially she found herself wondering if she'd fallen asleep, but knew all too well that such a simple excuse wasn't the case.
"Awake, are you?" Damien sneered slightly. "Sure took you long enough."
She could just barely hear him over the roar of the waterfall, and knew almost instantly where they were, without opening her eyes. The hidden fields, the ones her father had used so often during his years on the farm.
So close to the Dig site… But the waterfall would drown out any screams she might have tried. Instead, she slowly rolled herself into a sitting position, wincing at the tightness of the ropes binding her wrists behind her back and her ankles.
She was a little surprised hat she was neither blindfolded, nor gagged… but again, with her hands and feet tied, and the waterfall, what would be the point?
"What, no speeches, or fancy words this time?" Damien was actually a little disappointed. "And here I was ready to dash any of your pathetic little hopes."
"Bite me," Claire shot back. "What the hell do you want?"
"What else?" he replied. "I want what you keep denying me."
"You're just pissy because I won't let you take the reins anymore and I showed you up in front of the crowd. Which, was really freaking stupid by the way."
He reached out and almost casually backhanded her, knocking her back to the ground.
"You're mine blondie," he growled. "No namby-pamby boy can take you from me, and neither can this stupid town you're so enamored of."
"I don't belong to anyone, let alone a scumbag like you!" Claire exclaimed, using her elbow to prop herself back up. "Your head is screwed on wrong!"
He leaned forward again, but this time the farmer was ready, and slammed her legs up into his stomach. Damien tumbled backwards, gasping for breath, and Claire huffed a little, eyes narrowing.
"Even tied up, I'm stronger than you," she stated. "I don't spend my days lying around waiting for someone to tell me what to do!"
The bravado was all for show… Claire's heart was pounding in her chest, and she knew full well that she was at the mercy—if it could be called that—of Damien's whims. And as much as she loathed feeling like a damsel in distress, she couldn't help wishing for a rescue.
For now though, getting her back to a wall would probably be a good thing. These walls were rough-hewn and if she could find a decently sharp rock to tear the rope with…
"There's no other way out of this cave," Damien spat, "No matter how far you inch, this is it. You either come with me willingly, or remain here forever… or at least until someone finds your body."
"I'm not leaving the Valley," she shot back, rubbing her bonds furiously against a protruding rock. "Not for you, not for me, not for anyone!"
The dark haired male sighed, almost sadly as he got back to his feet. Claire noted with some satisfaction that he was still holding his stomach.
"A pity that," he said. "But I'll have at least a little fun before I kill you… maybe I'll cut your throat so that your death isn't to similar to that friend of yours."
He saw the expression on her face, and smirked.
"Oh yes, I killed Lauren. That female wouldn't stop being the roadblock between us. So I removed it. And now you're going to be mine, whether you like it or not."
"How about not," Claire ground out, feeling the rope start to snap.
"Oh… you're not getting a choice."
He pounced, and Claire was forced to roll away, using her legs to propel her to the left as she stretched her wrists, trying to fray the rope even more. But she was sluggish and tired from overwork, and Damien was fueled by a stubborn obsession that frightened her.
His next grab was for her pant leg, and though her kick hit him good and hard in the mouth—she could see that she'd broken a few teeth—he maintained his hold, and no amount of twisting could free her.
He smirked at her, as blood dripped from his mouth.
"You scared?" he whispered.
"Bite me."
"Not scared enough…"
Half sitting on her Damien reached for one strap of her overalls, and Claire felt a sick sensation spreading through her, and closed her eyes, wishing hard.
And too her surprise, and Damien's annoyance, that prayer was answered in the form of a silver-haired, utterly furious looking Skye.
"Get your hands off her," Skye demanded. "Now!"
"And what if I don't pansy boy," Damien laughed, coldly cruel. "What're you gonna do, hit me with your girly hair?"
"You really need to brush up on your legends," Claire replied, almost conversationally.
Skye's hands started to glow a pale sea green. Damien snorted.
"Ooo, scary… What's next, a disco ball?"
"How about sleep?" Skye shot. "No, even better, nemuru no shi!"
Damien was cut off mid-taunt, falling backwards off of Claire, who hurriedly inched away from him.
"Wh-what did you do?" She whispered.
"Put him to sleep," Skye replied, moving to her side, and crouching down to untie the ropes. "It's a variant of a sleep of death spell. It won't kill him,. But he'll stay that way until I say he can wake up."
"Like the princess who used to be in the mines," Claire winced a little as the rope came off, and rubbed her wrists. "How did you…"
"Find you?" and for this first time in a while, Skye smiled warmly. "I could be ridiculous and tell you that we share a special inner bond, but… Lauren's spirit told me where to look, and the whole story behind her death. I have to admit, getting him to confess to it all won't be easy…"
"What about… I don't know, can't you reach into his mind or something and make him repeat himself?"
Skye moved around to undo the ropes on her feet, a thoughtful look on her face.
"An illusion spell might do it. Making him think he hasn't done anything to you and have him repeat the confession…"
Claire shivered, and pulled her legs a little closer once the ropes around her ankles were untied. Skye just reached forward, lightly pressing a hand to her cheek.
"Claire… this isn't the time of place to explain myself, I know, but I promise, once Damien's carted off to jail I will."
She leaned into his touch, then, without warning, flung herself forward into Skye's arms, hid her face against his shoulder, and began to shake and sob. It was this scene that Muffy, Griffin, Lumina, Celia, Marlin, Nami, Gustafa, Flora and Carter stumbled upon.
Muffy quickly shooed everyone back out.
"Marlin, you take Honey and go get Harris right away. Celia, go with him, and try to get Elli and Trent. Or just Elli, I think Claire will feel more comfortable around her. The rest of you can call of the rest of the search parties."
They scattered instantly, Griffin pausing only long enough to give Muffy a light kiss. The blonde bartender smiled fondly after her husband, and peeked back into the cave.
It wasn't perfect… but it was a start.