Blood and Ice

Chapter 03: The Rescue

Michael, Damien and I headed towards the castle.

"I must say, Lex, you're looking very well tonight!" Damien told me.

"Thanks, Damien, but this is no time for pleasantries," I told him. "We have very little time as the light raiders will be down on us as soon as they hear us. Now, keep to the shadows, please."

As we neared the castle, we found the main hall was empty. I took them down to the dungeons. Michael produced a small metal pick.

I said, "Is that the best you've got?"

Michael just laughed and they quickly released the rest of the prisoners, including my father. I was glad they were free. I locked all the doors; it sounds silly, I know, but I had a crazy idea

"Didn't I tell you she was a genius?" father beamed at me.

I ruffled up my hair. I didn't want to, but I tore my dress and kicked off my shoes. I knew that Jason would be down soon, looking for me.

father grabbed me and put a dagger to my throat; sure enough, Jason came into the dungeon. "Lex? What's keeping you, Lex?"

Jason saw Lucifer with me.

"Move and she dies!" father said.

I yelled at Jason, "Get out of here! Get Gabriel!"

He didn't need to be told twice. He ran like a man possessed.

Michael said, "Right! lets move up to the main hall quickly, the rest of the council should meet us there."

They nodded. We could hear the commotion that Jason had made in raising the alarm. We entered the main hall and were met by the rest of our council. father still had the knife to my throat.

Of course, Gabriel and the rest of their council came running out.

"My lord, I'm so sorry they made me do it. I had no choice," I said with tears running down my face.

"Its okay, Lex, it's not your fault," Gabriel said.

"Well, well if this isn't a pleasant surprise, Gabriel. You have a choice: either let us go and this servant girl will live. If you try and stop us I'll kill her," my father said.

"What makes you think she's worth anything, Lucifer?" Gabriel said.

"I don't think that you think she's worth anything, but I think your brother does. Don't you, Jason?" father's fixed his eyes on Jason.

Jason was too stunned to do or say anything.

"So what's it going to be? I'm not going to stand here all day you know," father said.

Gabriel said, "Very well, we'll let you leave."

My father and our council went to leave when Gabriel said, "The girl stays. She wasn't part of the deal."

"Actually, I said she would live. I never said anything about letting her go. I need someone to fill my bed now that my wife is gone and she'll do nicely," he said as he licked my face.

"You evil son of a bitch, let her go!" Jason yelled at him.

"Not a chance! She's mine now." He dragged me backwards and I started to scream for Jason to try and help me but my father dragged me towards to door.

I didn't mind the fact that I was going home. I just had to act up until I got there. I was dragged through the snow and was put on the horse behind my father and tied to him. We sped off at high speed back to Eithidan.

We hurried in case the light raiders might chase us. I was kept tied up at all times. I was glad when we finally got to Eithidan. I was dragged inside and the bonds finally removed.

"thank you so much for freeing us. We owe you everything." father gave me a hug that nearly crushed me.

"Father, no offence, but you really need a bath."

He broke away laughing.

"My lord, why have you released the prisoner? We should use her to bargain with," one of fathers councilmen said.

father laughed and explained everything to everyone who didn't know what was actually going on. Everyone was amazed. father said,

"The council will convene after we all get baths and a change of clothes. Then we will discuss these events in more detail."

father put his arm round my shoulders and we started to leave.

"Michael, have a change of clothes for my daughter brought up to my room as I need to talk to her,"

Michael bowed and left.

"Come, my daughter, we have much to talk about."

I went with my father to his room. I sat on his bed and waited for him to emerge from the bathroom. He was in nearly an hour. In that hour he went from being a straggly thin prisoner to a king! He had shaved, washed, and put on clean clothes. He looked like the man from my vision. There was a knock on the door.

"Enter!" father shouted.

Michael entered with a bundle of clothes.

"The clothes for your daughter as requested, sire. Do you need anything else?"

"Yes, have a small banquet made ready for as I'm sure the rest of the men will be hungry as well," father said.

Michael nodded and left. father handed me the bundle, and I went into his bathroom to get changed. When I emerged from the bathroom, he turned around, adjusting the sleeves on his cloak.

"My, my, Alexandria how you've grown! I wish I could have seen you grow up. You look so much like your mother; I miss her very much." I could see tears in his eyes.

I put my arms round him to try and comfort him. "The main thing to focus on is that you're alive and well. Come, we must go to council," I said gently.

He put an arm around my shoulders and led me off to the council room. When we entered Michael announced us and we took our places at the head of the table.

"Now, to business. We have a lot of catching up to do. Where is William?"

Everyone just looked at each other no one said anything until I said, "William is in the dungeons."

"And why is he there?" my father asked. He looked surprised that one of his most trusted men was in prison.

"Because he attacked me and forced me to escape by jumping out of my window. I nearly died in the process."

Father remained silent for several long moments; I dreaded his answer.

"He tried to kill you?" father asked. I nodded.

"Why wasn't this prevented?" His tone was dark and menacing.

"My lord, we tried to prevent this but there was nothing we could do. If there had been, we would have done it." Michael said.

"Who was on guard duty that night?" Father's tone suggested that he didn't want to ask twice.

"I was, my lord," Damien said. He kept his eyes on the floor.

"And where were you when this was taking place?" father asked him.

"William had sent me away to get something for the princess. When I was away he tried to kill her. I heard the commotion and ran into her room; William was trying to kill her. I tackled him but I was to late to catch the princess before she fell. I'm sorry, my lord. I did try to get to her. If I could do it over again, I wouldn't have left her." Damien was trembling.

"I will accept that you did the best you could. What I really want to know is why he did this in the first place," father said.

"We don't know why he did this; only he can answer that my lord," Michael said.

"Is there anything else you lot want to tell me?" Father sounded like he wasn't in the mood for any more bad news.

"Yes, there is, Father. It was my idea to go into the light raider castle. They tried to stop me but I insisted, so please, don't blame them."

father nodded. "I won't blame them this time because the plan worked. Did you learn anything while you were there?"

"Yes, I did. The princess' name is Jessica. She's an old friend of mine. Their main concern is to kill me. The only thing is that they don't know what I look like. Their plan is to attack at the next sacrifice. I have a suggestion: we use a decoy and let them think they've killed me."

"It's worth thinking about. Where's the food? I'm starving."

He was getting a little impatient.

"It should be along presently. my lord," John said.

"Is there anything else you haven't told me?" father said.

"There is one thing. The light raiders are going to be looking for me and they won't stop until they find me," I said.

As I was speaking the food arrived.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Now, lets eat." At my father's command, we all began to load our plates.

We ate our fill. Afterwards the servants came in with wine for everyone except me as I wasn't old enough.

"Why have you not given my daughter any?" Father asked as he glared at the servant.

I was glad I wasn't on my dad's bad side! The servant poured me wine but she was shaking so badly that it nearly landed on my lap.

"Thank you," I said with a small smile, hoping to ease her fear.

"I thought I was too young to drink?"

"You are, but this is a special occasion and I'm allowing it."

I just shrugged my shoulders. I took a sip of the wine, it was very strong.

"Are you trying to get me drunk, Father?"

"You might say that," father said with a wink.

I was a little taken back by his behaviour.

We all drank and became merrier as the night went on. I felt a hand on my leg. I looked down, hoping it was Damien and it was. "What are you doing?" I asked as his face blurred in front of me.

"I think we should continue this in private," he whispered in my ear. He held my hand and pretty much carried me to his bedroom. He picked me up and placed me on the bed. He got on the bed beside me and tried to kiss me.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I was drunk but not completely out of my head.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm want to make love with you, silly." He kissed me again and I let him, unsure what to do.

" I've never done this before," I said.

Damien immediately pulled back and looked at me.

"You're a virgin?"

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"No, not a problem. I'm just a little shocked is all. I thought that you would have slept with someone by now." He resumed kissing me, starting with my lips, but quickly moving down my neck.

"I don't think we should do this, Damien. Not yet, any way."

I was so nervous and scared it wasn't that I didn't like him it was just that I had never done it before.

He moved down and started to unbutton my dress. "Are you sure, Lex?" His eyes were dark as he stared down at me.

I nodded. He got up.

"are you angry with me Damien?"

"no of course not lex I like you a lot and I don't want to push you."

"thanks" I said.

"Would you stay the night with me? I promise I won't touch you," Damien said.

"Okay, I'll stay." I said.

I hadn't expected Damien to do that, but I trusted him. We got into bed and cuddled up next to each other. For the first time in my life I felt like I was where I was supposed to be. I felt very safe in Damien's arms. I fell asleep wondering what the future would hold.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke the next morning with a stomping headache. Father shouldn't have let me drink so much, I thought. I rolled over expecting to see Damien but he wasn't there. I got up and changed. I felt sick as a dog and went back to my own room to lie down.

I felt very sick and had a terrible pain in my side. I didn't know what it was and decided to find my father. I made my way slowly down to the food hall. My father wasn't there but Alexander was.

"Do you know where my father is, Alexander?" I felt like I was on fire

"Yes, he's in the games hall. Are you okay, Alexandria?"

"No, I don't feel well and my side is very painful." I wasn't sure how I was still on my feet.

He walked over to me. "Could you show me where its painful?"

I nodded and showed him where I was sore. He took one look at me and yelled, "Michael, get in here now!"

Michael came running in at top speed. "What's wrong?"

"Get Lucifer in here immediately. Tell him it's Alexandria and we need to get her to the table."

Michael ran out of the room while Alexander lifted me up and sat me on a chair. A few minutes later Michael came running in with father, who put his hand to my forehead.

"Right! Lets get her to the table. We'll need some help; get the rest of the council down to the table." Michael ran out of the room. "Can you carry her?" father asked Alexander.

Alexander nodded and lifted me up.

"Father, what's going on?" I asked.

"You just need a little operation is all. You'll be fine."

I felt Alexander running with me, but from then on I was in and out of conciseness. I remember the cold air hitting me, people shouting and yelling at each other, a blanket being put over me, and my father was yelling his head off about something but I couldn't understand. I felt the air change and I was being laid on a flat surface; the table, I guessed.

"Alexandria, can you hear me?" father asked.

All I could do was moan.

"We're going to do a little operation on you. We're trying to freeze the area but it may not work. If not, this may be extremely painful so bite down on this." he placed a bit between my teeth. I could feel my arms and legs being strapped down.

"My lord, we're ready to proceed?" Alexander said.

"Go on, Alexander."

father held my hand. I felt my dress being ripped. The next thing I knew I felt a blinding pain just above my hip on the right side. I tried to wriggle away but father said, "Don't move, just bite down. It will be over soon. I promise." Father stroked my face to try and keep me calm.

I stopped moving and bit down. The pain was so bad that I passed out. I came to when they were stitching me up.

My father looked into my eyes, pushed back my hair, and said: "There, now. It's over. We'll get you back to bed. You're going to be sore for a while."

He took the bit out of my mouth, the straps were loosened, and my father lifted me up. I couldn't see where I was. My father turned round and I saw that the table was soaked in my blood and wished I hadn't looked.

My father took me back to his room. He washed where they'd made the incision and I passed out again. I didn't fully wake again for a few days. By then, the pain had subsided but I was very sore and stiff. father stayed by my bed.

When I came to he said, "How are you feeling? Any better?"

"A little. I'm still sore but what happened? I went from having a hangover to getting an operation?"

"Your appendix burst and we had to operate. If we hadn't you would have died. It wasn't the best of places to do it, but we had to do it on the sacrifice table." He looked a little embarrassed.

There was a knock on the door. Alexander came in. "Ah, your highness, you're awake. How do you feel?"

"A little sore, but none the worse," I said.

I started to get up. "Where do you think you're going?" Father asked.

"To the toilet, why? Am I not allowed to go?" I said.

"Of course, I just don't want you out of bed yet. Alexander, could you get some food for my daughter please."

Alexander nodded, bowed and left the room. My dad had to help me to the toilet which wasn't an easy task. He insisted that I stay in bed for a couple of weeks. I was very bored. I begged my father to let me out but he refused me point blank.

"Father, please let me get up. Even if it's just to walk the hallway. Please?" I begged. "How about the stables? I haven't been outside in forever."

"Very well, I'll allow you to go down to the stables but Damien must go with you, okay?"

I nodded and said, "Thank you." I got ready to go. Damien met me in my father's room.

"How are you feeling?" Damien asked.

"I'm a lot better, thanks, Damien."

I leaned in to kiss him. He slid his arms around my shoulders and slid his tongue into my mouth. We started to kiss more passionately. He pushed me gently to the wall. His hands roamed my body.

"Ahem!" a voice said from behind us. I looked over Damien's shoulder; it was my father.

"Father, er. I .. um.." I stuttered.

He just smiled. "I never knew that you and Damien had something going on between you. Who knows about this?"

"No one, my lord," Damien answered. "We've kept it low key. We weren't sure how you'd feel about us."

Father winked at me. "Well, it's about time you showed interest in men."

"Let's go, Damien, before he changes his mind." I didn't know quite what to think, but wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

Damien nodded. He draped me in my thick cloak and hand in hand we walked to the stables.

"So tell me, what's been going on while I've been in bed?" I asked.

"Not a lot. The councilmen have been asking about you. We're trying to figure out just how to kill your friends Jess and Gabriel. We haven't figured anything out yet, except that we need Gabriel out of the way. But, as of yet, we have no idea of how to do that. Of course, they're trying to kill you. We have agreed on using a decoy when we're in public. But apart from that, nothing else has been decided." He changed the subject. "So, have you got a name for your horse yet?"

"I've been thinking about it and I think I'm going to call him Spirit because he's a free one," I said.

"I like it! I think it suites him."

We started to laugh and joke. I loved spending time with Damien and wished the day would never end. I didn't want to go back because I knew that I'd have to say good-bye to him. That evening, I gave him a hug and kiss goodnight and went to bed a very happy girl indeed. Before I went to sleep father came into my room.

"I was wondering if we could have a little chat?"

I shrugged my shoulders as he sat on my bed.

"I just want to say that I am very happy that you're with Damien. Also, I don't mind if you sleep with him because our laws permit it after the age of eighteen. Just use protection, please!"

I was taken aback by my dad being so direct.

He coughed. "I must insist on that the person that you do sleep with must be a shadow raider."

"I can gladly agree to that," I said.

"Come here and give me a hug." he said. I moved over to the edge of the bed and wrapped my arms round my father. I couldn't see how any one found my father threatening or violent. I loved my father. He was the most kind, caring and loving father anyone could ask for.

"Sleep well, my daughter," he said, kissing me on the cheek.

"Goodnight father, sleep well."

He gave me one final kiss on the cheek and left.

I lay in bed thinking about everything that had happened to me over the past few months. I felt a pain in my stomach. It was like a film going in my head although it was blurry as if it was a long lost memory.

I could see people on horseback approaching a castle. There was a lot of shouting and screaming. The only thing other thing I saw was a woman with a bundle in her arms running away from the castle. She was being chased by a few men. Alexander ran after her.

"Melissa, run! Get the baby out of here. I'll hold them off for as long as I can." He turned back to challenge the men.

Melissa ran for her life. I felt a twinge of pain again and I was back in my room. There was a knock on the door.

"Sorry to disturb you, your highness, but your father has convened the council and requests your presence," Alexander said.

"Alexander? Why didn't you tell me you tried to save me and my mother when the castle was under attack?"

His jaw dropped. "How did you know that? You were far too young to remember." Alexander looked stunned.

"Dose my father know?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Thank you, you saved my life," I said as I gave him a hug.

"it was my pleasure and honour your highness" he said as he hugged me back

" now I suggest you get changed and meet your father." I nodded.

Alexander left and waited for me. I changed and met Alexander outside my room. We made Our way up to the council room. Everyone was already there.

"Ah! Alexandria, sorry to get you out of bed but a letter arrived from the light raiders that concerns you."

I sat down next to my father and he handed me a letter that said:

" To Lucifer, I request that you attend a summit to discuss the release of Alexandria Orion. I'm sure that we can come to some arrangement. If you would be so good as to meet me at the gate tomorrow at noon? Many thanks. Lord Gabriel "