Xinaxheartbeat: thanks!
Sarah: did you get it? I tried for a chiro, but didn't get one…
Ella Raven: thank you! Yay! Authoress protection!
SarahKOM: yes, it did totally rock! Looooooooved it. And so you think you know, huh?
CaptMarina: Yay new reviewer! (I think) did you know, I almost named Katrina Marina? Odd, huh?
Starsplash: always a loyal reviewer, thanks so much!
R.A.B aka Kitten: nooooooo! Must… resist… the eyes!!!
AKAfredandgeorge: did we not discuss this on AIM?
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Daniel Norrington suppressed a shudder while avoiding eye contact with a group of giggling girls, each one the kind his uncle tended to push in Daniel's direction at parties like this. Surveying the rest of the room, he saw his uncle conversing with a few matronly figures in one corner of the room of off the dance floor. Knowing such conversations usually led to introductions and unspoken commands to partner one or more of the vapid creatures that were sending simpering looks his way in a dance, Daniel knew he would have to beg a dance from a lady of his choosing, or his uncle would choose for him. Scanning the rest of the room revealed that a certain winged figure was no where in sight. He decided to seek out Lady Amberly, she was an unusually consummate hostess and rarely did things escape her attention.
Lady Amberly was standing with a small group of about half a dozen ladies. Why do they always move in groups? Daniel thought to himself as he spoke. "Lady Amberly?" he asked the masked group at large.
"Sir?" the lady in an elegant deep red palla with green flecked blue eyes showing from behind her mask responded.
Daniel bowed. "I was wondering if you could tell me where Lady Katrina would be?"
The question elicited a giggle from one of Lady Amberly's companions. "I told you it was Captain Norrington, Raven." She told the lady standing next to her in a pert tone.
"Hush, Brigid." Raven reprimanded gently and Amberly sent Brigid a warning look.
"I last saw her in the garden, getting some fresh air. She wanted to be alone for a bit, but she assured me that she would come back in when she was refreshed."
"Thank you and might I compliment all you ladies on your costumes, you all look very beautiful tonight." Daniel said, recognizing most of the group as sensible, unlike some others in the room. The comment gained smiles from the women as well as a general murmured thanks as Daniel bowed and took his leave of the group. In doing so he caught the sight of one of the women talking to his uncle sending a predatory look his way and he looked about for a way out of the upcoming introduction. He saw a young lady sitting by herself on one of the chairs that were scattered about the perimeter of the room and sipping from a glass, wistfully watching the dancers swirl about the floor. "Hello." He said approaching her and flashing his most charming smile.
"Sir." She answered timorously, focusing her gaze on the glass she held in her lap and nodded in greeting, causing the golden circlet on her head, that served as a halo for her angel costume, to tip off to one side.
"Would the angel like to dance?" Daniel smiled and pushed the circlet back into place.
A pair of eyes, one brown, one green flew up to meet his as a blush spread over her cheeks. "Very much, thank you." She said as she offered him her hand as she stood up, leaving her glass on a small table that was near her chair.
Daniel recognized her now, she was the shy little creature that he had danced with at Katrina's welcoming ball. He remembered her as sweet, if a little withdrawn. He grinned, at least she wouldn't prattle on or dominate the conversation as they danced.
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Kipp struggled to keep his eyes from continually straying towards the doors. The conversation he had been cornered into was mind-numbingly dull. He was eternally grateful when he was pulled away from the group by his host, even if it was for another round of introductions to more people he was sure he would forget the names of within the hour.
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The ball was winding down in the early hours of the morning when a breathless footman ran up to governor Swann and whispered frantically to him. The governor stiffened. "You are certain?" he asked worriedly.
"Yes, sir." The young footman responded in low tones. "I looked everywhere. Your niece is not to be found."
"Look again." Governor Swann commanded. "She wouldn't have left on her own. She must be around here somewhere."
"Yes, sir." The young man rushed off to do as he was told, a concerned look on his face, with the governor frowning in thought.
"What is it, father?" Elizabeth asked from beside him.
"The servants cannot find Katrina. Perhaps she is in the cloak room."
"I'm certain that is it, father. I will go see for myself." Elizabeth patted her father's arm reassuringly and went off to check the room. A few moments passed and she returned.
"Did you find her?" Swann asked his daughter.
"No, father. now that I think about it, I haven't seen her for a while now. Perhaps she found a ride home with someone and forgot to leave a note. I will ask around, see if anyone knows anything."
"I will check with the servants. They usually see everything that happens about homes." Will offered, hearing the conversation.
"Father, you stay here in case she shows up." Elizabeth instructed before moving off to ask around.
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no one seemed to know the whereabouts of her cousin and Elizabeth was getting extremely worried. Will had already asked the butler the house keeper and every other servant that had been working at the ball, none of them knew anything. That was what really worried her, she knew that servants rarely missed anything happening in their domain. She was about to give up when she saw the new earl had not yet left. "My lord." She said approaching him. "I was wondering if you had seen my cousin since you walked with her?"
Kipp looked at her oddly. "No, I have not." He responded. "I thought she had already returned home for the night."
"No, and now she seems to have disappeared." Elizabeth informed him, not fully hiding her anxiety.
"I left her with Lady Amberly." Kipp told her.
"Thank you, my lord." Elizabeth moved off to ask the young woman, only slightly surprised when the earl of Kent followed her.
They found Lady Amberly sitting with a few women, chatting and sipping punch from glasses. "Lady Amberly?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes." The lady in question looked up, laughter twinkling in her eyes from her conversation.
"Have you by any chance seen Lady Katrina recently?"
"Why, no." Lady Amberly answered. "Last time I saw her she was in the garden, she asked to be alone for a while. But she should have returned by now… is something amiss?"
"We cannot seem to find her" Elizabeth admitted.
"Oh dear." Lady Amberly's eyes lost all trace of mirth. "We shall have to arrange for a search party." She got up to talk to Sir Jeffery, who was talking to a group of men.
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"Grandfather," she began.
"Ah, I like that sound of that, my dear." Sir Jeffery interrupted her.
"Yes, well, it seems, that one of our guests have gone missing. I would advise setting up a search party."
"My dear girl, it can't be all serious as that." Sir Jeffery said jovially.
"I believe, sir that it is." She answered him.
"Well, who is it that has gone missing?"
"Lady Katrina, no one has seen her for hours."
"Hmm, perhaps you are right, I'll get to it immediately." Sir Jeffery nodded to the group he was talking to and strode off to organize his staff for the search.
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Daniel Norrington stopped Kipp as he was walking by. "Hey, do you know what's going on? Everybody seems confused and alarmed."
"Kitten is missing." Kipp's eyes where a duller blue than normal. Daniel knew that spelled trouble for someone.
"Someone lost their cat?" Daniel was confused.
"No. Lady Katrina has disappeared." Kipp growled.
"What?!" Daniel looked around the room.
"I'm gonna look for her." Kipp said before moving on.
"I'll come with." Daniel walked beside him. "Where are you going to start?"
"Last place she was seen, the garden."
"All right, let's go."
"I'll take the left half, you go right." Kipp instructed.
"Right, yell if you find anything." Daniel nodded.
"Same to you."
Kipp headed right for the spot he last saw Katrina. There on the bench was her mask, like she had absentmindedly removed it and set it down next to her, but what the path told in the pale rays of the morning dawn sun was a different story.
It was all ripped up, the gravel seemed thrown about, and there were slight drag marks, that stopped abruptly, like someone had picked up whomever they were dragging.
"Danny! I got something here!"
Kipp kept searching, at the end of the drag marks a light blue slipper was laying on its side, a bit further down the path there was a scrap of cloth, a handkerchief a little farther there was a lace fan, the one Kipp remembered hanging from Katrina's wrist.
"What is it?" Daniel asked coming up behind Kipp.
"What does it look like to you?" Kipp asked still searching the ground for more clues.
"Hmm, a scuffle, drag marks, scattered personal items, I'd say a kidnapping."
"My thoughts exactly. But where did they go, and how many?" Kipp asked.
"Look at this." Daniel motioned to a rose bush, there, caught on the thorns was a delicate nearly translucent silk wing. "And a bit farther, a scrap of light blue, the same shade as her dress." Daniel moved down the path.
"We'll have to wait for a bit more light before we try any serious tracking." Kipp thought out loud.
"And we'll need to get weapons and some regular clothes." Daniel added.
"You'll stand out like a sore thumb if you wear your naval uniform." Kipp reminded him. "I'll loan you some of my stuff.
"Let's get to it, then." Daniel sent his friend a grin, which Kipp returned.
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Katrina groaned at the pain pounding in the back of her head as she stirred awake. She tried to reach up and check for a bump or any blood, but found that she couldn't. here eyes snapped open, fully awake now, her hands were tied tightly in front of her, her bonds lashed to a tree that she was sitting against. An experimental wiggle of her feet told her that her ankles were bound as well. A rustling of brush brought her attention to the other end of the small clearing she was in.
"Well, well, well, looks like miss 'igh an' mighty decided ta join the land of the livin' after all!"
"What do you want?" Katrina spat venomously.
"Now, now, me girl. Tha' any way ta talk ta yer own papa?"
Katrina turned her head away from him and didn't answer.
"Looks like ye found yer worthless mum's relations."
"Don't you dare call her worthless!" Katrina raged.
"Afta she ran off wi' me, her parents refused ta pay the money I demanded. So I was stuck wi' her. Th' lil whore said she luved me!" her father gave a large guffaw of laughter and slapped his thigh.
"If you want money, just take my jewelry and let me go."
"Already 'ave it. No, it's no' enough. I want more than tha'."
"So that's your plan? Ransom?" Katrina scorned.
"Oh, no, me girl. Jus' them knowin' yer gone is enough for me. I got other plans fer ye." Her father sat down by the small fire in the middle of the clearing where a rabbit had been roasting and was a bit burnt. He ripped off a hind leg and took a large bite. "Up in those lil colonies, there be men goin over th' mountains. Settin' up little towns an' minin' camps all over th' place. Only thing is, th' land is too tough fer women folk. No, I'll not be usin' ye for ransome, me girl, you'll do nicely fer the men of those camps. They'll take real kind like ta a purtty thing like yerself."
"Y-you mean to sell me?" Katrina said in a disbelieving voice. "Again?" she squeaked out of a throat suddenly seeming too small.
"Again an' again an' again." Her father cheerfully agreed. "Ye like purtty dresses an' baubles don' ye, Trina?" he asked, "Ye be good fer papa an' he'll buy ye some."
"But why?" Katrina asked.
"Tha' feller that bought ye last, did 'e do anythin' ta ye?" he continued as if he didn't hear her.
Katrina didn't answer but blushed deeply.
"I knew 'e didn'. Good, good. Men will pay a mighty fine price fer a gal's firs' time."
"Why are you doing this?" Katrina cried, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
"Her dad got up. "It's a daughter's place ta listen to her pa, an' no' question 'im." He crouched behind her and roughly tied a gag around her mouth. "Be good fer papa." He grinned maliciously.
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Ok, so that wasn't that much of a cliff hanger, now was it?
Who do you want her to end up with, Kipp or Daniel?
I intend to finish this story by chapter 60, the original cut off was going to be 30, but I didn't meet that goal.
Reviews are as good as fast cars with convertible tops.