AN: YOU GUYS I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I've been so so so busy with work and class and moving into an apartment that I didnt even realize that this story had gotten to 161 reviews! It made me so happy when I finally saw that I just HAD to sit down and write another chapter for you guys! GAH YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. okay, ENJOY
Muffled shouts are breaking through the dark barrier of sleep. I try and cling to my unconsciousness, knowing that if I wake I will not like what I have to face. But I am losing sleep fast, no matter how desperately I claw at it. The shouts are growing nearer and I know that I am almost completely awake now. Even with my eyes closed the world still spins around me, making me so dizzy I almost feel sick. I think dazedly back to what the little girl said to me just before I fell asleep and curl into an even tighter ball. I feel like I did the very first day I arrived in this world: terrified, but too drugged up to really know what to do about it.
I hear the sound of pelts moving and my closed eyelids burn bright red with the light that is now entering the tent. Why am I even awake? I shouldn't be waking up until sunset. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to cut out the penetrating light, willing sleep to find me once more.
And maybe it has found me. Or maybe I have finally gone completely insane, for the voice that breaks through the darkness is one I would never hear again.
"Soph," the voice pleads urgently. "Soph, come on, wake up."
I am almost too dizzy to realize that I am being roughly shaken. Stubbornly I refuse to open my eyes; if I open them, I will only return to the world that I want no part of, and the voice I have been craving to hear will vanish completely. I am selfish enough to hold on to this dream long enough to make the hole in my heart a little less empty for now.
I hear the little girl that is always in my tent say something in her language. Maybe she is the one that is trying to wake me up. I internally cringe away from the thought. I dont want to wake up, I dont want to wake up, please, I silently implore.
And now I know for certain that I am dreaming because his voice responds in her language, not mine. I've been here so long that I can't even dream in English anymore. His voice sounds broken when he speaks, though I do not know what he is saying. I wish he would go back to speaking English. I wish I had waited just a little longer before I finally cracked.
The girl says something in turn. And then there is silence that consumes the whole tent. I feel a hand stroking my face and try and revert back into unconsciousness. If it is the Chief inside of my tent with me, I do not want to be awake. I hear a sigh and the hand leaves my face.
"Sophia," Cassius' voice whispers into my ear. "I promised I would take you home."
Finally the darkness takes me once more.
I jolt awake and prop myself into a sitting position. It is now dark, so dark that I can barely see. I stumble to my feet and look around me. Most of the dizziness has worn off, but I know once I exit that tent I will only be drugged once more. I wonder to myself why none of the women of the tribe have come into my tent for the daily ritual, but try not to think too much on that. There is a nagging sense in the back of my mind that I dreamed something odd, but when I try and think upon it, it slithers away from me. Maybe I didn't dream at all and the nagging sense is only something that happened to me before I fell asleep.
And then I remember.
The breath whooshes out of me as I recall what the little girl told me just before I lost consciousness. Baby, she had said.
Not even a second later, the opening to the tent opens. I whirl to face it, but cant make anything out. There is a large fire built just outside of the tent, giving the figure standing before me a silhouetted effect. But it doesnt take me long to register the head-dress that only the Chief of the tribe wears.
He crosses over to me in one lithe step and grips my arm with one large hand.
"Please," I say, "please, no."
He gives no reply, simply pulls me after him out of the tent. My struggles seem to have no effect on him as he strides with purpose out of the tent with me in tow.
I dont realize that I am speaking until I am in front of the tribe surrounding the fire. "Please, please, please, no," I repeat like a broken machine. It wont be long until they drug me once more and I will have absolutely no chance of evading this. My legs begin to buckle, but the Chief's hand on my arm keeps me upright.
The Chief says something, seeming to only address one person in the Tribe, and then releases my arm. I fall to the ground and try and think of a way to escape before it is too late. I hear footsteps rushing over to me and know that it is the tribesman with the mixture of drugs for me to take. My heart is beating a million miles a minute as I scan the line of Tribespeople to find a way out. Arms wrap around me and I try and break free, but they hold fast.
"Please dont," I say as the person pulls me closer. The fabric of his pelt doesnt feel like animal skin and is covering his whole body, I notice as I struggle against him. "Please, please-"
"Soph, stop," a voice commands in my ear. "Stop, okay? It's me. It's alright, it's me."
I freeze, my whole body going numb. Slowly, slowly I turn and face the boy with his arms around me.
A pair of golden eyes, glowing from the moonlight, meet mine.
My voice seems to have run off and my heart must have stopped completely, because I dont feel it beating anymore. I simply stare.
His hands are cupping my face immediately. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Have they hurt you in any way?" He checks me over for any serious injuries while I simply sit in a stunned silence.
No, is all that is running through my mind. No. Impossible. Not possible. No. It can't be-
"Soph," Cassius commands, "talk to me. Are you hurt?"
Mute, I shake my head.
"How much of their medicine have you taken?" he continues probing, checking my eyes for pupil dilation. "Do you feel sick at all? Dizzy?"
My voice crashes back into me almost violently. "It's really you?" I ask.
His probing hands stop and his mouth closes as his eyes meet mine.
There is a tangible silence as we sit and stare at each other. Years could have passed and I wouldnt have known.
"Yes," Cas finally says, "yes, it's really me."
And then, as if that was his final breaking point, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close as if showing the world that he vowed to never let go again.
AN: Hey, guys, all I'm saying is Cas can crash my forced marriage any time he wants to.. I hope you all enjoyed! Tell me what you think in a review! I'm sure you all have lots of questions (how did he find her? What does the Chief think about this? What about Daphne? Will she finally get to go home? WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK, PETER, YOU JERK? Does Cas know Peter is such a jerk (disclaimer: I dont think Peter is really a jerk)? and I'm sure you will think of better questions). BUT ALL WILL BE ANSWERED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER (if not later chapters). Till next time!