Freedom of Flight

Author's note:

All characters and companies mentioned in this story have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone or anything bearing the same name or names. Events portrayed in this story are pure invention and have not been based on any events that have happen in real life. All the characters involved in any sexual acts if their ages are not mentioned before hand; are over 18 years of age. Enjoy.

Hi everyone

Sorry about the delay with this chapter but here it is. Also one of you sent me the address to the perfect picture of Remus, if you want the address just email me with a return e-mail address, as I don't think I'm allowed to put it up on the site, and I'll send it to you.

As always feedback of any kind is welcome.

Have fun.

Part 3

Alanna winced as the forming scars were gently cleansed. They couldn't be stitched as the wounds then wouldn't be in complete contact with the numb weed. She was over being unable to move, having been bedridden for four weeks. Granted, Jewel had done her best to keep her occupied with books and music but she couldn't help it. Her body felt fine… right up until she moved,

then

she would be in agony. Nothing Gus had ever done to her measured up to the pain she went through just being cleansed... and that says a lot.

"Two more days." Jewel told her encouragingly.

"Two more days until what?" Alanna asked.

"Until you can leave the bed. One day for every lash so for thirty lashes, thirty days of not moving." Jewel answered.

Alanna sighed. Two more days and she would finally be able to move. I wonder what it would feel like to move again, she thought wryly.

Sage bounded into the room and knocked over the same door-side table that she seemed to be fated to knock over every time she came into her sister's room. Dominic glared at his daughter playfully as he entered. Sage blushed bashfully as she corrected the table for the umpteenth time and the heavy brass ornament the table held. There used to be a priceless vase there but it had since been replaced with something that was relatively indestructible. She then walked over to her sister.

Jewel glanced up after she replaced the numb weed pad. "I don't know why her wounds are taking so long to start healing. Granted, the after-effects haven't completely start to wear off but the earlier lashes should have started to knit together a little by now. I don't know much about Were healing rates but Bianca always healed fast. Then again she never got a lashing, which brings me back to having no idea how a pure Were body reacts to the after-effects."

"Nathanael… he's a pack doctor/healer, swears air on wounds helps with the healing. The moment I was freed from the numb weed pad, I went for a fly round a ledge and aired my back. I've done it every day since." Sage volunteered.

"Air?" Jewel asked, incredulous.

Sage nodded. "He swears by it. In fact, he sometimes orders it as a part of the treatment, like go to sleep naked with no blankets. He's done it to ma often enough if da gets a little overzealous with his bites."

Jewel frowned. "But she still has two days of treatment. I can't stop to let the scars air because the moment I do, the effect of the numb weed will stop."

"And we cannot let the effect of the numb weed stop," reminded Alanna with a grimace at the remembered pain.

"Then finish it first. The air treatment can wait two more days." Sage continued to Jewel with a shrug.

With that, Sage grabbed a chair and sat. She reached for the book she had been reading to her sister. Dominic smiled as he watched Sage go about entertaining her sister. He left them to it as he had things to do, a lords work was never done, he thought to himself while shaking his head. He walked into the great hall which was almost empty at this time of the day and to his seat at the grand table where he spent most of his time working. He glanced up from some reports as two of his men escorted another up to him. He jumped to his feet in surprise.

"Tarval, welcome." He said as he stepped round the table and forward to greet his sire. He turned to his men and warned, "I know you're on edge at the moment but if you ever escort Tarval into this hall again I

will hurt you. This is his home."

His men bowed and walked away, knowing that they were dismissed. The only reason they had escorted him into the keep was because they had tightened security around the keep, not even letting a highly respected person like Tarval, who was allowed to freely come and go without an escort, to require one just to be sure nothing happened. Their lord hadn't

demanded them, but they

had done it anyway as they felt better when they had something to keep them alert…. and at the moment, Alanna and Sage's protection was it until they were sure nothing else would happen to them.

Tarval gave Dominic a quizzical look. "What has your men so noticeably on edge?" He asked as he shook Dominic's hand. Theirs was a strange relationship. Dominic was the youngest of Tarval's sons; as Tarval had been that

special

Gephalim the gods had asked to father the Nephalim. Tarval, however, had gone one step further with his youngest and had raised and trained him from a toddler to a man in this hall but they rarely referred to the fact. Tarval was the father of all the Nephalim lords but Dominic was more his son than any of the others.

Dominic offered him a seat and sat. "My daughter and her sister were kidnapped from earth by some Gephalim."

Tarval's jaw dropped, he quickly remembered seeing Lord Markus's empty keep on his way here. "Shit, I passed Markus's and saw that he had been ousted but I never thought it was done by you. I thought Peter or Paul would have done it, since he's been pissing them off, stealing their women and raiding their farms."

Dominic nodded, he knew this as it was Paul and Peter who had joined him in the assault on the keep. "I haven't punished him yet. I wanted to wait until Alanna was alright and ready to bear witness."

"He's still alive?" Tarval asked in surprise. Dominic treasured his daughter more than anything in the world. An unprovoked assault on her was as good as signing their own death writ but he would have carried out such sentence straight away.

"Yes, although he has been on a bread-and-water diet for a month in a cell where he can't even sit." Dominic explained with a grim smile.

Tarval frowned, not liking what he was hearing. Dominic was not a vindictive man, he was actually one of the gentler Nephalim lords. This kind of behaviour was completely out of character… unless something else had happened to really piss him off. "What else did he do?"

"He ordered a lashing." Dominic stated, barely keeping his anger in check. Even after nearly a month, the very thought of what happened was enough to make him rage.

Tarval winced, finally understanding why Dominic and his men were so on edge. Sage was Dominic's world, the one thing that kept him together after Bianca's death. He didn't want to loose her or see her hurt. His men saw the little girl they all loved and adore so seeing her that way had made them nearly as furious as their lord.

"What are you going to do with him?" Tarval asked gently as a servant poured him a drink and set down a plate of cheese, fruit and crackers. He sighed, not liking this custom. Even in a war meeting, the moment a new person joined the group, food would be brought and they had to eat just to appease good manners.

"Give him a taste of what he ordered." Dominic said through gritted teeth.

Tarval's frown deepened, he thought he had taught Dominic better than to resort to revenge, "Dominic… if you do this you will become like him."

"He deserves to pay." He growled out between gritted teeth, his rage, which he fought so hard to keep in control of, boiled. It mattered little to him that he was acting childish in front of the man who had raised him, mattered little that he knew better than to let emotions rule his actions. He couldn't seem to help himself; his rage making him see red. He was a pure Nephalim, not diluted with years of breeding with compassionate humans and elementals. He was compassionate but he was also born with a Gephalim's all consuming rage.

"Have you asked Sage about what she wants?" Tarval asked, deciding to change tactics. "Have you asked Alanna?"

"It doesn't…"

"It does," Tarval interrupted, hoping to cut through the rage and guilt because he knew Dominic would have blamed himself for what had happened and it was that which was making him behave so out of character. "Sage emulates you in everything she does. Do you want her to emulate you at this moment? Do you want Alanna to see you be as bad as them?" He waited but Dominic's thoughtful look was all he needed to see to know he was getting through to him.

"What should I do?" Dominic finally asked, defeated.

Tarval sipped his drink so that he could think and appease the on-lookers as neither had touched the food and drink on offer which would constitute a insult to Dominic's house and an insult to Tarval for Dominic not to eat or drink with him. "Kill him tonight, quick and painless, like you should have done when you captured him. Show him the consideration he refused to show them; be the better man that I raised you to be."

Dominic nodded and sat back deeper in his chair

,

feeling his rage dissipate while releasing his need for revenge although a small part of him felt cheated for not being able to see Markus suffer like he had made Alanna and Sage suffer. But Tarval was right, he was the better man and he would be again… He would take care of Markus quick and painlessly tonight. He was glad Tarval was here to council him. His guilt about what had happened was, however, still plain on his face.

Tarval sighed understanding that look, "Let it go…" he told Dominic gently

Dominic shook his head, "My fault," he mumbled.

Tarval snorted, "So it was your fault that Markus was a twisted tyrant who only wanted to be the man who bested you?" Tarval asked. "No, you didn't train him to think of women as inferior, you didn't teach him that taking what he wanted was acceptable, you didn't teach him to beat a woman to break her spirit, you didn't teach him that rape is acceptable. You are not responsible for his actions, only your own."

"But…"

"No… no buts…" Tarval cut in, starting to get frustrated with him, "you did everything in your power to keep her safe…"

"I didn't do enough… you don't know…"

Tarval glared at Dominic, "I have twelve sons, I may not claim them as my own and they may not call me father but they are a part of me like Sage is a part of you. I do know what it is like to worry about them, to blame myself for every scrape, bruise and broken bone they received when growing up, but I had to let go and not blame myself for everything that happened to them." He reached out and gripped Dominic's shoulder, "I know… I understand… let it go…"

Dominic took a deep breath and released his guilt with that breath of air, following Tarval's advice. Tarval released his shoulder and smiled at him, pleased to see the man he cared for back to normal. Tarval smeared a cracker with a bit of soft cheese, drawing Dominic's attention to the platter and drinks, reminding him silently of his obligations to good manners in front of his people. "So…" Tarval began hesitantly, not wanting to incite Dominic's

rage again, he didn't really want to know how many times Sage had been lashed but he needed to. "How many?"

Dominic sighed and sipped his drink, the people watching relaxed as Dominic finally touched the food and drink on offer, gripped sword handles were released and people began to ignore the two lords. "Twelve each. Apparently they beat the crap out of the guards who were moving them to another cell."

Tarval snorted in amusement, of course Sage had to beat up the guards and provoke Markus. It just wouldn't be her if she didn't. He was however, surprised at the severity. Twelve lashes was a huge number with a weapon such as the nerve whip. Five was considered by most to be extreme. "So where are they then?" he asked curiously while looking around, Sage normally ambushed him as soon as he landed.

"Alanna's still restricted to bed rest and Sage…"

"Why?" Tarval cut in again, frowning. She should have well and truly been over what had happened. As he waited for Dominic's answer, he inspected the grapes on offer, wishing that he could ignore the plates of food but if he did, he would put all of Dominic's men on edge again.

"She received all twelve lashes that were ordered but because she remained conscious for all twelve and never made a sound, they decided to push her and see how many it took her to break." Dominic sighed and randomly chose a round of cheese, slicing a piece of and breaking of little bits to reluctantly eat.

"How many did Sage manage… and how many did Alanna end up having?"

"Eight before Sage blacked out." He took a deep breath, the rage still there but now under control. He signalled a server who approached carefully. They had barely touched what had been put out before them. "Take this away, I can't pretend

to eat anymore." He turned to Tarval who nodded in agreement. She nodded and promptly took the food away.

"And?" Tarval asked, impressed by Sage's number but he wanted to seriously know how many Alanna had now that Dominic was being so elusive with the answer.

"And… they were forced to stop at… thirty."

Tarval's eyes went wide, "Thirty?"

Dominic nodded, "I didn't believe that number myself at first. How many people are able get up and walk from 5 lashings, let alone 30?"

"None." Tarval answered, the pain would have been too much.

"She got up and walked from that cell, her back is still a mess. I mean, I've seen mutilated corpses on a battle field look better. But she walked from that cell. She took a dozen steps to get out of that room. You could see the pain she was going through but still she refused to be carried." Just remembering that event and still he was mystified by it.

"Damn." Tarval breathed, in awe of the staying power of the young woman. He was looking forward to meeting her once she was freed from bed rest, wondering silently if she could fight because she certainly had the spirit and determination of a warrior. And if she did, would she fight him? The warrior in him was truly intrigued with her. "What is she?"

"Wolf… I think, I didn't ask Sage." Dominic frowned, wondering how that small piece of information had managed to escape his attention for so long. He quickly made a mental note to make sure he knew exactly which Were race Alanna is.

****

Alanna was laying impatiently, she wanted Jewel to come in and take the numb weed off her back so she could get up. At last, Jewel walked in and smiled. "Morning, Alanna. I have clothes for you."

"Thank you." She replied, a tinge of frustration in her voice.

Jewel went and ran a warm bath knowing Alanna would want to go and soak in a pool of warm water after nothing but cold scrub downs. She then went and peeled the numb weed pad from Alanna's back. "Okay, now let me help you up." Jewel said as she quickly tossed the pad into the bin. Alanna had already pushed herself to her hands and knees. She gave an extra push to get her body up and rested on her knees, noting that although her body was stiff with disuse, it wasn't in searing pain. Mild twinges from healing wounds she could definitely handle. Jewel helped her shuffle to the edge of the bed then off. Alanna stood and took slow, unsteady steps towards the bath Jewel had prepared for her.

Sage walked in and smiled. She went to her sister and helped her out of her clothes and into the bath. Alanna sighed then started to wash, feeling blissful. Sage leant in and carefully did what she could of Alanna's back for her. Sage had seen her sister's back regularly over the last month; it hadn't changed much since Jewel had first cleaned it. It still looked raw and torn, missing sections of skin; some the whip had removed, some which Jewel had been forced to remove as it was dead and would lead to infection. Deep wounds still went down to the bone and sections of muscles still hung loose but since they had a blood supply, Jewel had not been forced to remove them. When they were satisfied, they helped her out and dried her.

"Okay, now I'm going to stitch some of these nastier wounds together to help with the healing." Jewel grabbed her things as Sage helped Alanna back onto the bed. Jewel and Sage worked quickly, setting stitches and piecing Alanna's back back together as best as they could. It took them an hour to finish.

Jewel turned to Sage, "How long do you think those need to stay on?" Jewel asked. She felt horrible for not knowing as much as she needed to treat Alanna. She just didn't know too much about Were healing rates,

only that they healed fast and nothing else. Dominic had guarded Bianca very protectively, she had never been hurt for Jewel to learn these things and Sage wasn't a pure Were so her bodily reactions were not the same.

"Maybe three days at the most." Sage answered.

Jewel nodded; she would check them twice a day just to be on the safe side. They got Alanna back up and dressed her in a loose shirt that had been tailored just for her, and a pair of brown breeches. Soft leather boots were slid onto her feet and a belt with a dagger gently clinched around her waist.

"Come on, let's find a place where you can air those scars." Sage told her as she grabbed Alanna's hand. Jewel was already stripping the bed to get rid of the sheets. Other servants were coming in to take out the mattress to clean and air it. If they couldn't rid it of the blood stains, they would simply replace it. They had done the same for Sage as they knew Were had a good sense of smell, far stronger than their own olfactory senses. They had been using flowers and scented oils to keep the smell of dried blood down. It had annoyed Alanna as the scents were almost too over-powering but dried blood wasn't a nice smell either so she had just learnt to live with it.

Alanna walked cautiously out of the room, slowly adjusting her body back to movements and not to tear her stitches open. Sage walked next to her sister, letting Alanna choose their pace and was ready to support Alanna if she needed it.

"Okay, down this intersection we need to turn left to get outside. If you turn right you'll find the library and the inner keep, so are the kitchens, quarters for the young warriors in training and the internal training grounds as well as the lesser dining halls and lesser libraries." Sage explained.

Alanna turned to glance down the hall as they turned left, interested in the library as she loved to learn and her parents always encouraged her to expand herself. Alanna slammed into a body while her head was turned away, quickly bouncing off the firmly muscled chest. Strong arms wrapped around her to stop her from falling,

very mild pain raced up her back as her wounds were jostled.

She pressed her hands against his chest, her eyes focusing on a broad expanse of white cotton that was pulled tightly across him, wanting to push away from the supportive arms and let her fall.

Sage stood back, she was certain of what her sister's reaction would be when she realised she was in the arms of a Gephalim but she could do nothing but watch. Tarval loosen his already loose hold as he sensed her mounting tension. He had learnt vaguely of what had happened to her during her captivity through, Dominic, rumour and gossip; he knew she was not going to like him near her but he couldn't let her fall, not after she had just gotten freed from bed rest.