The first thing Sarah became aware of was the gentle touch of someone stroking her hair. It was such a calming feeling that it took her a moment to notice everything else. Though her head was nestled against something comfortable, her body was laying on cold hard stone. The ribs on her left side were acutely painful and her head was throbbing. Sarah tried to focus on the motion of her hair being stroked to distract herself from the pain. She felt sure she'd been dreaming at some point, but couldn't quite remember what she'd dreamed about.

Slowly, as the world started to come back into focus, she could hear footsteps going back and forth. There was also the sound of breathing nearby and a gentle rhythmic ticking like someone was gently tapping two hard surfaces against each other.

Sarah opened her eyes.

All she could see looking up was Prince Charles staring back at her. She couldn't understand the emotion in his eyes, but she did understand that it was him who'd been stroking her hair. Her head was even resting in his lap.

"Oh, thank goodness," Chuck said with a great exhale as if he'd been holding onto more air than necessary.

"Hi," Sarah said lamely. She still didn't feel quite functional. The last thing she remembered was being caught and kicked by the guards.

"You had me worried," Chuck told her. Sarah didn't know what to do with this information.

"What happened?" she asked instead.

"We are locked up in a dungeon," Chuck informed her.

"I can see that," Sarah replied. She could tell now where the noises she'd noticed earlier were coming from. Outside their cell door, a guard was pacing back and forth. There was also another prisoner in the cell with them. He was the one rhythmically tapping something against the stone.

Sarah tried to sit up, but Chuck gently put a hand on her shoulder to discourage her.

"I think your rib is broken," Chuck told her. "Lay back and rest."

Sarah was about to firmly state that she was fine and could definitely stand up on her own, but then a sharp pain in her side shut her up and she laid back down.

Chuck started stroking her hair again, and Sarah felt herself drift off to sleep.

When she woke not much had changed. The other man in the cell was sitting in a slightly different location and the pacing guard had sat down.

"I saved you some dinner," Chuck told her. "If you think you can sit up."

Sarah tested her body, moving it slightly. Everything was working. It was just the pain in her ribs that was the main problem. Slowly, gently, she sat up. Chuck's hand reached out to steady her. Once she was sitting up on her own okay, he offered her the food. Sarah ate the small bowl of vegetable stew with a hunger she hadn't even realized she'd had.

"Here," Chuck said, holding out a small piece of bread, too. Sarah was too hungry to argue with him. She accepted the bread and finished it off quickly.

"Feel better?" Chuck asked. Sarah nodded. The prince smiled at her.

The light in the room hadn't changed much. Sarah assumed she merely slept through dinner. The meal had helped more than she realized. Sarah's mind was clearing.

"What's the status of our situation?" she asked.

"Prison," Chuck answered.

"Yeah, I got that," she grumbled. "Are you saying we don't have any details about why we're in prison or what this guy wants or anything?"

"This boss guy, Quinn, is a magic thief," Chuck explained. "And he wanted me to steal information from William." Chuck gestured to the man in the cell with them.

"And you told him no, right?" Sarah asked, putting emphasis on the last word.

"I started with no," Chuck said defensively and Sarah just knew she was going to hate the rest of his answer.

"And you ended with…?"

Chuck clearly did not want to explain. He looked almost sheepishly at her, but didn't speak.

"He ended with searching my mind against my will for the secret location of my daughter," William explained, rather too calmly Sarah thought given the circumstances.

"He did what!"

"Quinn was going to kill you!" Chuck snapped back defensively.

"So what?"

"Oh I get it, you want to die, is that it?" Chuck said sarcastically.

"Of course not!" Sarah snapped. She sighed and added. "But I am just a soldier. It is my job to protect others, not be protected."

Chuck didn't seem to know how to reply. Sarah wasn't sure if getting mad at him for saving her was the right reaction, but it was definitely her honest reaction. The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous his actions seemed.

Sarah stood up even if it hurt. She just couldn't yell at him from the ground again. It felt weak and Sarah hated feeling weak.

"For goodness sake it was my job to protect you from the moment we met, but instead you keep saving my life!"

Again Chuck just stared at her. It was probably the first time she'd ever seen him speechless.

"None of it makes sense!" Sarah continued her voice echoing off the stone walls. "You should be home safe with your family right now, and I should be dead. So answer me this, Chuck, why are we both here in this cell together?"

"I thought that was obvious," William spoke up quickly. Sarah turned her attention sharply to hear his answer. "The idiot prince is totally in love with you."

Sarah was sure she'd heard wrong. She was shaking her head as if it would help her to hear better.

"No, you're wrong," Sarah told William.

William laughed without humor. "Oh, so you're saying you have a better explanation for why he gave you his dinner?"

Sarah just stared at William who was looking all together too pleased with himself for her liking.

"Why wouldn't they have served three meals to three prisoners?" Sarah said, voicing her thoughts without really meaning them to be a question.

"The kitchens clearly were not informed of an additional prisoner to this cell," William answered her anyway. "I ate mine, but Chuck insisted you were injured and needed it more than him. We've barely been fed two tiny meals a day since he got here. I wouldn't have even shared that cold soup with my wife! I'm telling you, the prince has got it bad. I thought it was obvious."

Sarah just stood very still, processing the information as if in slow motion. It wasn't until she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder that she turned around to face the prince.

The expression on Chuck's face confirmed the truth of William's words before he even spoke. Chuck's eyes were soft, and affectionate. Never before in her life had she seen such affection directed at her before. Sarah could hardly take in his face before he began to speak.

"This isn't exactly how I wanted this moment to play out," Chuck said softly. "I did try to tell you before, but then Quinn put that knife to your throat and, well, I kinda panicked, and you know what happened next cause you were there and I um…"

Chuck fell silent. She waited for him to start talking again. It was so strange to her that he could be silent. He seemed more embarrassed now than awkward, and yet still he didn't say a word.

"I don't know what to say," Sarah finally broke the long silence when she couldn't take it anymore.

"You don't have to say anything," Chuck replied gently. "We should probably be focusing on the situation at hand, anyway."

"Yeah, we have a little girl to save," Sarah reminded him. "We need to get out of here."

"As I've been saying, that isn't possible," William reminded them. "So you might as well continue your lovers tryst. We aren't getting out of here anytime soon."

Sarah rounded on him, suddenly furious. "It's your daughter he doomed! How come you are so calm?"

William just shrugged. Sarah decided she didn't like him much.

"Maybe we aren't going to get out of here on our own," Sarah continued. "But Casey and Morgan were headed back to get reinforcements. When they arrive we should be able to help things along by-"

"Shhhh," William hushed her. "The guards have ears, you know. Keep your voice down!"

"Right, sorry," Sarah said. She sat back down. Getting up had taken a lot of energy. It had definitely been a bad idea.

Her eyes were starting to feel heavy again. There really wasn't anywhere comfortable to lay down, so Sarah decided to just not worry about where she collapsed.

Sarah woke up feeling not at all well-rested. Her head still throbbed slightly. She never thought she'd miss sleeping on the ground, but dirt was much softer than stone.

She'd had the strangest dream. The prince had told her he loved her. It was such a fantasy, such a silly thing for her mind to focus on when her body ached.

When Sarah opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the prince's face. Chuck was laying beside her, his eyes closed. He was laying rather close to her actually. Why would he do that?

And then as the fog of sleep lifted Sarah remembered. It hadn't been a dream.

Chuck loved her.

Even if the thought made no sense to her, it did somehow make sense of the situation. It explained all his behaviour. Why he'd asked for her to be his bodyguard. Why he'd repeatedly prioritized her life over his. She couldn't understand how he could ever come to value her so highly, but she couldn't ignore it either. There was just something about Chuck.

Without really thinking about it, Sarah reached out her hand to touch his face while he slept. Chuck wasn't attractive in the typical sense. He was a scholar, not a fighter and his musculature reflected that, but even so there was something beautiful in his face. Something wholesome and innocent. Something she wanted to protect with all her heart.

Chuck was still asleep when the morning meal came. It was just a plain bowl of grain mush, but at least there were three bowls.

Sarah ate hers, then wondered if she should wake Chuck so he could eat his breakfast while it was hot, or let him sleep.

"It seems the kitchen has caught up on current events," William said once he'd finished his bowl. "I honestly don't care what it tastes like, I just wish there was more of it."

Sarah didn't say anything. Placing Chuck's bowl off to the side, she laid down beside him again. Despite their situation it was so good to see him again.

"Hi." It was Chuck's voice.

Sarah opened her eyes. She hadn't realized she'd closed them.

"Oh, um, hi," Sarah said, sitting up too quickly. What was this? Was she nervous or maybe perhaps just startled that he'd woken up?

Sarah worked to calm herself and then turned to look at Chuck. He had that same affectionate look in his eyes again. Had he always looked at her this way? No, she'd have noticed if he had… right?

"I have your breakfast here," Sarah said, reaching over to pick up the bowl and present it to Chuck.

"Thanks," Chuck said, taking it. "Did you get something to eat?"

Sarah nodded. "The kitchen sent three."

"Oh good," Chuck smiled and then ate hungrily. Sarah couldn't help but remember that he hadn't had supper because of her.

It felt like she should say something. Should tell him how she felt, but Sarah's emotions were such a jumble she hardly knew how to put them into words. There was however one thing she could think of that might express everything without saying a word.

"These tiny portions wouldn't be so bad if we got lunch too," Chuck grumbled.

Sarah wasn't really listening to his words. She was looking at his face, his lips specifically. Was it a good idea? Would this one thing be able to explain everything she couldn't find the words to say?

Because Sarah knew if she looked at her actions since meeting Chuck, her feelings weren't that far off from his. She didn't have the words, but she knew she cared more than she should. More than she had any right too. Before his confession she'd never have allowed herself to acknowledge these feelings. She would have assumed, rightly so, that he was above her station and her job was merely to get him home safely. Never in her wildest dream could she have imagined that he could return such feelings.

Sarah wasn't a scholar. She wasn't good with words like Chuck. Action was the only way she knew how to communicate.

"Chuck," she said to make him turn and look at her.

"Yeah," he replied, smiling at her.

What was he thinking? Sarah couldn't decipher his expression. If he did love her, surely he wanted this. Surely he'd welcome it? She had every reason to think so, and yet she didn't move. She was just frozen, her gaze on his mouth.

"Are you okay?" Chuck asked her. Sarah managed to nod, still trying to come up with the resolve to show him what she couldn't articulate.

She let out a deep breath, then moved closer. There was a moment when she almost thought Chuck knew what she was about to do.

Then the moment was shattered.

A loud bang brought them all to attention. Chuck made a startled noise and jumped slightly. Sarah would never admit this, but she'd been so caught up in what she'd almost done that she hadn't been paying any attention to her surroundings.

Once she looked around, Sarah saw that it had been the door down the hall from their cell that had caused the noise. It had just been slammed open with extreme force. Sarah could hear booming footsteps coming down the hall and she just knew somehow it was Quinn.

Moving away from Chuck quickly, Sarah tried to get her bearings. The way the door had been slammed she could guess that Quinn was mad.

When he came into view, Sarah saw Quinn but her eyes didn't linger long. Instead she focused on the small child he was dragging behind him. Quinn's hand was holding tight to the long light brown hair of a little girl. Sarah could remember only too well how much it had hurt when he had held her in the exact same manager. The sight made her want to drive a knife through Quinn's skull.

She thought this must be William's daughter and turned to see how he was taking it. To her surprise his expression looked unchanged. Between that and Quinn's obvious fury, Sarah knew things weren't how they appeared.

"Useless!" Quinn yelled as he threw the little girl to the floor in front of their locked cell. The little girl did not get up. Sarah knew she must be beyond scared.

"You sent me after the wrong person!" Quinn accused Chuck.

"I told you I've never tried to use my magic to extract information before!" Chuck yelled back.

"Well you are going to learn fast," Quinn replied. With a quick snap of his fingers he commanded the dozen guards flanking him. Six of them entered their cell, while the others remained to guard their leader.

He clearly didn't see the little girl as a threat since she was all but forgotten, laying on the floor.

Before any of them could so much as blink, two guards were holding William's hands locked behind his back. Two more guards were holding Sarah down, while a third one had a knife to her throat. The last guard was covering Chuck from a distance, clearly aware of the no-touch rule, but making sure he didn't make a run for it.

"This time if you fail, she loses a finger," Quinn threatened. "And every other time you fail, another finger until she has nothing but stumps left."

"No, don't do it, Chuck!" Sarah called out to him. She knew it was pointless, but she had to try. The blade at her throat was cold and sharp. She could feel it just barely cutting her skin. She wanted to cry, but she didn't. Soldiers didn't cry.

Chuck turned to look at her, pain etched in every line of his face. "I have no choice," he said.

Slowly, as if against his will, Chuck moved towards William. Sarah watched helplessly as Chuck reached forward and put his hands against the skin of William's neck. Then Chuck closed his eyes.

The silence in the room was deafening. Sarah tried to fight against the arms holding her, but then the knife was pressed more firmly against her neck and she froze. She could feel a drop of blood dripping from the wound.

When Chuck pulled his hands away, William's face was white as a sheet, and she knew this time he hadn't managed to fool Chuck. This time, Chuck had the right information.

They brought Chuck a map and charcoal to write with. He made a mark on the map. As quickly as they had arrived, the guards left, locking the door behind them.

Quinn grinned at them through the bars. "Your love is your weakness," he told them while his guards were locking up the little girl in an adjacent cell. "If not for all your love, I would never have been able to get what I wanted." He pointed to the little girl. "Even this one's mother could not protect her with merely her love. You will all rot in here for as long as I see fit. Welcome to the rest of your life."

And laughing, he turned and walked away down the hall, his steps light and peppy now.

Chuck was immediately at Sarah's side fussing over the cut on her neck. "I'm fine!" Sarah snapped. She was angry at him, but also happy to be alive and have all her fingers. It was such a strange combination that she hardly knew how to act.

Seemingly satisfied that she was unharmed, the prince turned his attention to the little girl. She wasn't in their cell with them, but they could still talk to her through the bars.

"Are you alright?" Chuck asked her. The little girl nodded but didn't speak. "I know you, don't I? What's your name?"

"Amora," the little girl said in a small voice.

"Hi, Amora," Chuck said. "I'm Chuck. Did he hurt you?"

"Pulled my hair," the girl grumbled. "He's a bad man."

"Yes, he is," Chuck agreed. "I've seen you around the castle before. Do your parents work there?"

The little girl nodded. "Daddy is the captain of the guard." There was pride in her voice and a strength Sarah hadn't expected.

"Quinn mentioned your mother," Chuck continued. "Is she okay?"

"Mommy saved me," Amora said. "She told the bad man that I was a useful hostage."

"Your mother sounds like a smart woman," Sarah smiled at her.

Just then the little girl grinned. She held up the closed fist of her right hand. "They taught me to never miss an opportunity," Amora said and she opened her palm.

The small key looked large in such a tiny hand.

I can't take credit for thinking up the name Amora. A helpful reader in the facebook group came up with the name, but she didn't want the credit.

Oh, also sorry to my Chuck readers if you saw me update and it wasn't a Chuck story. A show I've watched for ages had its final season go up on Netflix recently and even though the writers had four seasons to plan an ending they still gave us a cliffhanger! As you all know, I love a good cliffhanger, but not at the end of the freaking story and not on purpose! Not even I'm that cruel.

So, anyway it isn't all that surprising that my brain couldn't rest until I had a better ending figured out. I haven't forgotten about my Chuck stories, though, so don't worry. ^_^