Sorry to keep you all hanging but between grand mother birthdays and internet being down I haven't been able to upload this chapter and the next one that I have managed to write. A few days and I'll upload the epilogue which must be subject to a bit of editing first.

Chapter 14

Her heart pounded in her ear as she held her baby son close to her chest. Fear was slowly starting to settle over her like a thick wool blanket, making her start to feel as if there was nothing around her but her son and the cold steel placed at her neck. Whenever she would hesitate her steps forward into the darkness of the passage she would feel the blade push into her back a little further. She was just glad that the pass had levelled out because she couldn't see a thing in front of her.

She could hear the slug plodding of the boots of her captor behind her and the soft sniffing of her son's breathing against her chest. It was a miracle that he had stayed asleep or at least quiet for this long. She didn't want to think of what might happen if he got fussy and made noise. Her captors hardly felt like the sort of people that would hesitate harming a baby if they had to.

She felt a hand close around her mouth and she let out a muffled scream of shock. She was suddenly pulled back and out of the room and she was thrown against the wall. Her arms kept her son from being smushed against the wall. All she could do was stay quiet at the moment and hope that they would stop pressing the bone chilling metal against the skin of her neck.

"Don't you make a sound," warned a deep, threatening voice and then the blade was gone. She shuddered. She tried to catch a look at her captor and only saw her son's nursemaid being stuck through. She stifled a cry of surprise. As the maid fell to the ground, she found herself being ushered forward and away for the unnecessary death that had just happened in front of her eyes.

It only took her a few seconds to realize that there where two people behind her. That made her body stiffen just a little bit more. She knew she would have normally tried to run but she wouldn't chance it with her son in her arms. She knew the best thing she could do is keep quiet and do as she was told...yet again. Before she knew it, they were directing her towards an old servant's passageway and she was forced to stumble down a flight of stairs and down a passageway. Her mind raced with worries and possible ways of getting away but none were good enough for her to attempt.

"Keep moving," came the rough voice from behind her.

She hadn't noticed that she had stopped walking forward into the abyss as she had receded into her mind. She quickly shuffled forward hoping not to annoy the men behind her anymore then she already had. In her haste she tripped over an unseeing step and braced herself to take the full impact of the fall but to her surprise she was caught and righted.

She heard a soft growl and then a soft, "What? If she is hurt then she won't be able to walk by herself." She heard a soft grunt of approval before she felt the sword encourage her forward yet again.

She was far more careful about where she put her feet after her near fall. She didn't know if she would be lucky next time and have her fall broken. The second one was right, if she fell she would not be able to walk properly if she hurt herself. She didn't want to have to depend upon their compassion and hope that they wouldn't kill her right there if she couldn't keep moving forward.

The only reason she could think of as to the reason she was alive was that they wanted to keep her and her son as a hostage or they just simply thought it would be easier to keep the prince quiet if his mother was the one holding him, she couldn't decide yet. She dearly hoped the later was not right because then that would mean that she would be the next thing the sword would become best friends with if she made any more mistakes or once they got wherever they were going.

Suddenly she just felt a stomach churning amount of anxiety. Somehow she just had a terrible feeling that she knew exactly where there were going and she didn't really like it. She did not want to bring her baby near there and desperately wanted to get away from the area they were going. Something inside her pulsed and she felt the ground shake slightly.

"What the hell was that?" yelled the second voice.

The deep one shushed him quickly and growled as he reached for her. He shook her slightly and growled out,"Don't you dare try any of that magic stuff you little witch! You just walk ahead and don't try anything funny."

She cowered away from the big form before her. She felt so weak but she couldn't help but be terrified. He had the advantage by far. Now that he knew she might try something, she had to be extra careful if she wanted to get out alive. Her knees shook as she forced herself to move towards the one thing she didn't want to get to for the first time in a long long time.

After a torturous long time they finally emerged right where she knew she hadn't wanted to go. She trembled slightly as her beast raised its head to look at her with a curious look. She could feel its hunger from where she stood and cursed the fools for not feeding her lovely. He would jsut be more cranky now.

"And now is the time you give us your son and get into that cage where you belong, your majesty," the cruel one snarled, his voice laced with smooth poison and sarcasm as he called her by her title.

She clutched her son to her chest and shook her head furiously. She was NOT going to give her son to either of these men. She didn't know what they would do to him and either way he would be safer with her in the cage. The beast wouldn't dare attack her no matter how hungry it was.

"Fine then, get in there with your precious little son and you can both die. It's not like that son is natural anyways, I bet it is as much a demon as you are."

She was shoved into the cell before she could say anything is response and the door was slammed shut behind her. The beast raised its head even more and brought its mouth close to her and let out a hot breath. As much as she knew she was safe, she couldn't help but take a few steps back to feel herself pressed up against the wall of the cell.

She could hear the two guards arguing outside of the cell.

"The child was not to be hurt, you promised me," the kinder one said.

"The bitch didn't want to give it up so I wouldn't make her. It is cruel to take a child away from its mother at such a younger age anyways. IT is fitting to let the two demons die together."

"I won't let this happen. It is cruel..." he was cut short by the sickening sound of metal sliding in and out of human flesh. A loud thud was heard and the young queen whimpered. If he was willing to off his own partner, then he surely would come in and kill her if the beast didn't.

She heard the cell door open and then she saw the big guy at the door. He wore a mad smirk on his face and he threw in the corpse of the smaller guy. She shuddered as the beast snorted and started to chow down on the fresh meat. She felt wet, warm liquid start to streak her face and she let out a soft shriek of surprise.

"Well now, I wonder why it'll eat Gary here and not you? Maybe because a good beast never hurts its master? Yes, I believe that is it, but I wouldn't feel too safe if I were you, any beast will attack what it can get if it is hungry enough and is on a blood lust. Guess what, I think this thing might just be a little bit crazy right now."

It was the cruel laugh that got her. She shuddered and no longer had the ability to stand. She fell back against the wall and let herself fall to the ground. She closed her eyes and just hoped that he was wrong. As much as she tried, she could not block out the crunching of the bones and the slopping up of the blood and chewing of the organs. The sounds ended and finally she felt the warm breath of her beast on her face. She felt the warm liquid slid down her face and she shivered all over.

"S-s-stop! R-r-right now!" she said, trying to sound convincing enough to stop the thing.

It didn't work, and that was the last thing she knew. She was at least spared the pain as her mind sent her into the realm of the unconscious. She didn't have to deal with everything that happened. Her mind spared her that, and so did the Keeper when she saw him.