I looked at the clock on the wall. It was an hour before midnight. My love was still talking to all of his wonderful friends, but I was not starting intently at his handsome face anymore. I felt my eyes wandering to other people in the room. They all wore their flamboyant masks as they talked too loud and laughed even louder. I was starting to feel the heat from the close press of people. My face was warming up considerably under the rabbit mask. I swayed and nearly fell, causing me to jerk against Garen. He stopped talking and looked at me questioningly. I smiled and assured him that I was fine. I did not want to ruin his party. The heat was searing now. It felt like flames were racing just beneath my skin waiting to get out. My stomach twisted painfully beneath the tight corset and I remembered that I hadn't eaten in days. I had been too focused on my love to notice, and now it was all hitting me at once. I couldn't breathe between the corset and the mask covering my face. I pulled off the mask and gasped for breath. It did little to help the twisting in my stomach or the crushing of my lungs.

"Ebony, are you alright?" Garen snapped. I had interrupted his evening after all, but my mind was coming back to me now.

I smiled up at the repulsive man. I didn't want to know what he was capable of so I would continue to play my part, "Yes, I am fine, my love. I just need to visit the washroom for a moment."

He looked unsure and I was afraid he would force me to stay with him, but after a moment he nodded. I walked as quickly as I could manage to get away from him. I didn't want him finding out that I was not under the influence of whatever horrible potion he had given me anymore. Slowly, I was starting to remember the last few days. I cringed at what a fool I had made of myself by adoringly following Garen around. I had been happy to do whatever he said from waiting on him and fetching his drink at the ball. The ball! I let out a sob and nearly collapsed. What had I done? I hated myself for saying the things I said to Kol and my stomach twisted in disgust as I recalled the words I spat at him. I did my best to push those thoughts away; I needed to get away from here right now, but the words still circled in my head. I headed to the front door, but was stopped just inside.

"Where do you think you're going, missy?" One of Garen's friends slurred.

My heart hammered and I felt ready to pass out from my absolute exhaustion. I had also not had a decent night's sleep since I was taken. I tried to find some bit of energy. I managed to force an innocent smile on my face. "I was just looking for the washroom."

The man pointed towards the stairs and I thanked him. I knew he was watching as I climbed the impossible amount of steps. Now I would have to find my way out from the second floor. Desperately, I searched the rooms for some way to escape. Most of the rooms had people inside who barely noticed me with their drinking and laughter. Finally, I found an empty library with a balcony. I almost collapsed with relief, but I was not out of danger yet. I went out onto the balcony and looked over the railing. It was not like Kol's had been and there was nothing to climb down on. I felt like breaking down and crying right there, but I couldn't. The last few days had worn on me both physically and mentally and now that I was free of the drugged state, I could feel the wear. I was feeling hopeless and trapped.

I went back inside to find another way down. I did not have much time before Garen would come looking for me. The next room had more people in it and the next was the washroom. I stopped there just long enough to get a drink from the faucet. It was barely enough to wet my dry mouth, but I couldn't stop. I continued on to the next room which looked to be a spare bedroom. It also had a balcony. I hoped this one would be more helpful. I heard someone calling my name from down the hall. I stumbled over to the balcony door. My legs were unsteady. This balcony did have a drainpipe I thought I would be able to slide down. I heard my name again, closer this time, and didn't think anymore about whether or not I would be able to get down. I had to get down.

Laboriously, I made it over the railing in my ridiculous dress. My heeled shoes were no help in holding on to the pipe and I ended up falling the last few feet. I landing painfully on my back and painfully had the air knocked from my lungs. I tried to take a deep breath but my corset wouldn't allow it. I tugged fruitlessly at the accursed thing to try and loosen it. I scrambled up and tried to catch my breath. I couldn't stop now. Somehow, I had to keep going despite my lack of sleep, food, and air. I was not as hot as I was inside the full house and told myself that it was all I needed to get away. I stumbled onto the street and chose a direction. I had been so focused on getting out of the house and away from Garen that I had not even considered what I would do once I was free. I was in a strange part of the city and did not know my way through the dark streets. Still, I kept going forward down the street with heavy legs and even heavier eyelids. I knew I would not make it far.

My eyes were drifting closed when I saw it. The lion made of twisting metal. This time I did not worry about being caught slipping through the gate. There was no one to see me. My energy was spent and there was nowhere else to go. I went around the house as fast as I could until I saw the charred tree and the familiar balcony. I did not have the energy to climb up it or the strength to call out. I settled on throwing stones from the path at the glass doors and prayed Kol was not a heavy sleeper.

Stone after stone I threw and each one was heavier than the last until at last the door opened. "What in the bleeding…?" Kol muttered in annoyance as he looked over the balcony railing. His hair was a mess and I knew I had woken him, but seeing Kol was the most wonderful thing I could imagine at that moment. "Ebony? Is that you?"

He was shocked and I couldn't blame him. I was wearing the most garish and impractical dress while standing outside his balcony in the middle of the night. He had every right to be furious with me. "Kol," I sobbed. It was all coming apart now. I could no longer hold myself together. "I'm sorry for waking you but…"

He did not let me finish. "Stay there. I'm coming down."

Kol disappeared back into the house and what felt like an eternity later he came out a side door hidden in the vines. He had put on a light tunic vest on over his bare torso and was attempting to belt it when he saw me clearly. He dropped the belt and put his hands on either side of my face to look at me more clearly. I must have looked awful. He was examining my face in the dim light while his thumbs caressed my cheeks soothingly. "Ebb, what happened to you?"

That was when I lost it and broke into tears. "I don't know what he did to me, Kol. I'm so sorry. I was so horrible to you and then to just show up in the middle of the night. I know I have no right to ask for your help."

Kol took his hands from my face and wrapped his arms tightly around me. I held onto him as well and clutched at his tunic as if I expected to be pulled away by something. He gently shushed my frantic talking. "You were under a spell, Ebb. None of it was your fault. You're safe now."

Kol let me hold onto him for a few more moments before he took me inside. He saw how shaky I was and wrapped an arm around my waist for support. My crying had made it even harder for me to breath and by the time we made it to his room I was gasping for breath. Kol sat me down on one of the couches. He lit the lights before coming over to kneel before me. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"The corset," I gasped. "It's too tight."

Kol glanced around before answering. "There is no one else up and you need to get out of that dress as soon as possible. I could loosen the corset for you, or I could fetch one of the maids."

I shook my head. I wanted the blasted contraption off as soon as possible. "Please," I panted as I stood.

Kol nodded and slowly loosened the laces at the back of my dress. As soon as he could see the ties of the corset he started tugging at them. Each tug was painful and I put my hand to my chest and tried not to cry out. He was doing the best he could. He cursed and walked over to a writing table. He moved to stand behind me again but this time he held a small dagger in his hand. Another slight tug and I could breathe again. I took one deep breath after another and fell back down on the couch.

"You should get out of that dress. It can't be very comfortable." Kol gently offered. He went over to a wardrobe and pulled out some dark colored clothing. "You can wear these for tonight. Tomorrow I will find you something better to wear."

I took the clothes and smiled weakly. "Thank you, Kol."

I was so tired that I had a hard time aiming my arms and legs properly to get them into the shirt and pants. Eventually I managed to get them on. The pants had a drawstring so I adjusted them around my waist. The shirt was too large and wonderfully loose after the corset. Now that the danger was gone, I could barely stand. I opened the door and leaned against the frame. Kol was sitting in the couch with his two big black dogs. He stood when the door opened and the dogs jumped up with him. "You look exhausted. Take my bed for the night. There is a guest room across the hall I can use."

He helped me onto the large bed and moved to leave. "Please, don't leave me alone." I muttered sleepily after he opened the door. The last thing I heard before finally falling asleep was the door click closed.

And deep breath everyone, she is safe.