Chapter 3 - Z

I found myself in the main room of the castle. I had little memory of what had happened, but, when I saw Yurick's face, everything flooded back. I sat up quickly. "Lisa! She was taken!" I shouted. Dagran and Yurick both jumped.

"We know, but now we have to find her. That's why we're here anyway." He glared at Yurick. "To protect her." He added, as if that statement could have meant something else.

I was upset with him, too. He just stood there as I got my ass kicked. Seriously? I stood up with my brother's help. "We have to go now. I think I know where they're headed."

"Lead the way." Dagran gestured towards the center of the main room. I couldn't run so I tried to walk as fast as I could.

"The docks. Lisa and I saw the ships when the air raid started," I explained. Dagran ran ahead of me towards the east gate. Mirania saw him and sprinted to catch up. I turned to Yurick. "What happened?" he didn't say anything. He just looked down at his feet. "You realize that I could have been killed? Lisa got kidnapped. Why didn't you do anything but freeze?" I was irritated and it sounded in my voice. Though how could I not be? I just finished having a conversation with Dagran on how our relationship was ruining our work. I was irritated at him for potentially being right, at Yurick for not doing anything, and at myself for getting irritated.

"SHUT UP!" I jumped at his raspy tone. I had never heard him actually yell before. He turned and ran out of the main room in the opposite direction. As much as I wanted to chase after him, I needed to catch up to the others so we could save Lisa. I had enough energy by then to jog to the east gate in time to join a brawl between my friends and the Gurak minions. The winners would be the ones to open the gate.

We won… obviously. Dagran ordered Lowell and Syrenne to stay here and 'hold the fort' so to speak. Mirania went off to search for Yurick. Dagran and I ran out to the docks to find Lisa with the king. We charged at him and even tried to strategize, but in the end we lost everything we tried and he left after setting the area on fire. Great, right? Why, I have no idea, but he left Lisa with us…. Then set the docks on fire, too… We were surrounded on land by the flames and they were getting closer.

"We're going to have to jump!" my brother and I said simultaneously. We nodded at each other, grabbed Lisa, and jumped into the water. After catching our breath, we found each other then climbed onto one of the Gurak ships. Dagran then had a (sarcastically) wonderful idea that we would take over the ship…. A ship filled with a hundred Gurak soldiers or more. Verses the two and a half of us, since the only thing she can really do is heal. But we did as we were told.

I snuck around the ship and began taking out single guards and releasing human prisoners. I turned one corner and found Mirania. "Oh my god. What happened?"

"We were attacked and somehow we were captured." She said in her timid voice. The convenient fact that we ended up crawling onto the ship that just so happened to have our captured companions didn't bother me at all. There are certain things I just don't question anymore.

"We? So Yurick is here, too?" She nodded. Shit. Where the hell is he? I was so worried that I guess I started twitching a little. Mirania had to try to calm me down, but I wouldn't until we found him. We wondered the area of the hold and turned a few corners. We found another few prisoners then we found him across the way. "Yurick!" I ran over and unlatched his cell.

"It's about fucking time you got here." He sounded cold, but it didn't stop me from doing what I did. I launched over to him, held his head tilted towards mine, and kissed him straight on the lips. He obviously didn't mind because his hands found their way to my waist and he pulled himself into it, but he is shorter than I am so to do that he had to stand on his tip toes. Mirania giggled.

Finally we broke away, though, I still held him close. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you upset. I've been worried sick since then." I put my chin on his forehead and kissed his hair.

He tightened his grip, grabbing my jacket. "No, I'm sorry. I should have helped you. I was Jealous. That's why I hesitated." He shoved his face in my chest. Jealous? Of what?

Mirania cleared her throat. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but don't we have something we need to do?" I nodded. We pulled away from each other, but I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the cell and down the hall, where we ran into another fight, which ended quickly with a sword to the face, then back the way I had come to rejoin Dagran and Lisa. I was still holding his hand when we first entered the small room, not even thinking of what Dagran would do or say about it. I released his hand before he could see, but I frequently turned a glance to Yurick to make sure he wasn't going anywhere. In times of war, one can never be too careful.

"What-," he started.

"I found them in the hold. Along with about 30 prisoners, 20 of which have said that they will fight with us. The others said it was a suicide mission," I told Dagran.

"I figure they're going to die anyway so why not go down fighting?" Yurick shrugged.

"Anyway," I continued, "the deck has probably 15 guards, so we can take them, but I don't know how good their reinforcements are." He nodded to my report.

"Good. That's more than I was expecting in regards to men. Did you see where the captain's quarters are?" I shook my head. "Okay then, we'll just have to wing it. Zael and Mirania, take the same way you just came and gather the men. Lead them to the deck. Yurick, Calista, and myself will sneak around and try to take out the rest of the guards." I must have made a face because he added, "I mean, not that I don't think you took out all that you could, but I want to be sure." I nodded, smirking a little.