Taken ..

[Pithirendar]

The morning sun filtered through the trees and Abigail took a moment to bask in the warm light. As the golden rays hit her skin they took away the morning chill, warming her from within. Such a simple pleasure, one Abigail knew never to take for granted.

As she walked on an eeriness washed over her. The woods seemed to darken and the King's Forest was oddly quiet. On the road back to Suzail, even the animals seemed not to stir. Small unformed doubts begin to skitter around her mind, like a murky pool. They wouldn't leave her but they wouldn’t rise to the surface. She knows this feeling. Fear strikes through to her core and Abigail quickens her pace before breaking out into a run. Her hand instinctively resting on the hilt of one of the blades at her hip.

She saw them then, creeping out of the woods. They had been waiting. It was as if the doubts seeped from her mind and into a living nightmare. She drew her blades, ready to face them. The twin Katana gleaming despite the darkness. A movement in the corner of her eye and a slash in the sudden night. Her blades knocked to the ground and in desperation she grasps out with her hands into the void. Nothing.

A crack of magic and Abigail feels the tendrils wrap around her. Binding her to the spot. A cold finger touches her temple, she's paralysed. Thoughts invade her mind, she was numb in the reality that all we are really left with is a reflection of ourselves. In the face of death, there is no where to hide.

They lift her off her feet, another crack of magic and they vanish. Light returns to the woods.

Just like that, she was gone.

The blades lying in the dirt, the only sign she was ever there at all …....

[Pithirendar]

The stop was a welcome respite, the man groaned with relief as he slipped off his boots. He sat comfortably amongst the gnarled roots of the old tree. Covered in dust and mud from the road. He pulled his trench coat around him and lowered his hat down over his face, settling in to rest for the afternoon.

Sleep beckoned him but there was something lingering in the back of his mind. Something he could not ignore. Fear. He sniffed the air and tilted his head before settling back against the roots.

Again. Fear. Swirling around him like a bitter breeze. Chilling him to the bone. It did not sit well and he wondered what she was doing. Probably run into a band of orc is all. It's nothing. She gets scared more than she will ever admit to. Go to sleep git. He shifted, getting comfortable once more, taking a deep breath he tried to push her from his mind. The link ever persistent was a burden at times like this. At least she isn't rolling around with that hairy guy again. The man sighed and pulled his boots on once more. Give me some peace woman! He shouldered his pack and moved to walk down the dusty road.

Before long he stopped, frozen in place, just staring ahead. Absently he popped a ruby into his mouth, crunching hard.

He sighed and changed shape. As he took to the sky he wondered. What have you done now, Abi?

[Pithirendar]

They wanted something from her, these men. They would not cease until they stole it from her. Abigail's life meaningless in their hands. Merely an object from which to extract what they desired.

She was so weak, so heart sick. Desperate to go home. She had so much to live for. But it was so hard to summon the strength. The will. It was happening all over again. How long would it be this time? What hope was there for her now? None. The light was already fading. Almost as though it never existed at all.

So, she called to him. A desperate cry only her bond mate could hear. Then she prayed. This time, she hoped it would not be in vain.

[Pithirendar]

He knew she was there, but he dared not go in. I can't help you this time, Abi.

He sat perched in view of her prison and helpless. He could not help but chuckle at that. It was not a feeling he was used to. He may not have been able to help her but he would not leave her either. His presence would both sooth and frustrate her he knew. But at least she would not be alone. Abigail hated to be alone.

There was nothing to do but wait and watch. Hope. Hope that she knew he could not play into their hands. It was just too dangerous. For both of them.

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The dark figure loomed over her, naked, wrists and ankles bound to the cold stone bench. It was hard to focus. Quietly he spoke to a shadowed man in the corner of the room. “Do as you must until she calls for her bond-mate”. “As you wish”, came the emotionless reply.

Abigail went far away. A dream she escaped to many times before. This time; it was different.

The Red and the Black fought viciously mid air whilst the woman in a red cape stood on the hard ground below. A sinister grin etched on her face.

Atop the Red rode a man, strong and sure. On the Black rode a woman with hair of flame and eyes emerald. Long they fought. The battle bloody, the outcome uncertain. Jolts of electricity tore through the sky, narrowly avoided.

The Black lashed out and the Red fell, tumbling to the ground. The woman in a red cape stood transfixed on the woman with flame hair and eyes emerald. The Red crashed, no longer was the woman in a red cape, crushed, her power gone. The man, strong and sure flew lightly to the ground, his giant wings carrying him to safety.

The Black landed elegantly and the woman with hair of flame and eyes emerald slipped off his back. She stood watching the man, strong and sure. He regarded her indifferently before finally walking away. The woman with hair of flame and eyes emerald called out with desperation. The man, strong and sure, walked on until finally the clouds dipped down and he was no longer. The woman with hair of flame wailed and her heart broke in two. The ground gave way and she floated weightlessly through the air.

The man, strong and sure, was waiting for her. He scooped her up into his arms and carried the woman with hair of flame and eyes emerald away from the pain, the heart ache and into the light.




The shadowed man sighed almost with frustration through his emotionless hue. "Oh, you have done this before, haven't you, precious?" He gently caressed her cheek. Abigail's stare, void and vacant, her only reply. "A challenge. How quaint."

[Pithirendar]

Weak and maimed she stumbled down the road. Abigail could feel him. He was painfully close. She hoped he would realise it was a ruse. If they captured him it would be the end of them both. Her life hinged on his and that's exactly what they wanted to take from him. They wanted to make him an image of his own 'father'. What a joke.

Abigail pressed her hand deeper into her side. The wound was seeping but there was naught she could do about it. She veered off the road and into the woods. Her bare feet raw underfoot. Every step was torture. Still, she spurred herself on. One foot after the other. Lucian will find you. He won't falter. You know he won't. I'm so hungry I'd even eat an orange. Gods! I must have lost my wits. Focus. As she walked on, Abigail was grateful for the last kiss of summer. She was weary, so weary but she could not, would not, falter. If the seasons had changed the bitter winds would have been the end of her. Something to be grateful for.

In the corner of her eye she sees movement and she stops dead in her tracks. She slowly pivots, looking in all directions but her vision is blurry. Her left eye swollen shut and crusted over with blood.

A shadow flies overhead and Abigail shrieks. “No! Go back! Hide!” In the blink of an eye the savage bronze dragon swoops down into the wood. Landing with a mighty roar. The ground trembled, almost with distress. Abigail had not seen him like this before. He was fearsome and that frightened her all the more. Feebly a few men came out of the wood brandishing weapons. They did not last long but their purpose was served. Merely a distraction for the wizards to come out of hiding.

Through the bond they entered Abigail's mind. Her defences long worn down with years of abuse. They use her to dominate his mind and the dragon wails, screeching before falling silent. They have him. In that moment, all is lost for Abigail. Despair overwhelms her. This is the end. All she could think of was that she did not want it to end this way. Not after everything she had been through. Not when she had found her measure of happiness. She was completely helpless, her life was at the mercy of the dragon and his was in theirs.

She moved to give chase but they paid her no mind. They vanished from her sight. Magic lingering in the air around her. Abigail screamed and wailed with sadness and frustration. Anger raging through her in utter desperation. It was all too much. She clutched at her side, she had lost too much blood. The cold was sinking in, there wasn't much time. Shivering, Abigail curled up into a ball and waited by the roots of the huge tree. Unsure of who would find her first, death or love.

[Pithirendar]

In the days after, Abigail sought solace in her knight. He had saved her. The light spoke truly. He did not falter. Her mind was a shambles. The magic had torn through, leaving her thoughts and memories scrambled. It was hard to speak, the words stuck in her throat. It was so frustrating but a fitting punishment for failing her brother.

Her physical injuries were slowly healing. The blades were starting to feel like they belonged once more. Abigail breathed in deeply as the rain started to fall. She was determined to regain her strength and find those who were responsible. She would never stop searching.

Abigail nodded to her sparring partner. A true friend.

The clash of blades echoed long into the night.