A/N: Ack! I really feel bad now. Ya'll have been extremely patient with me and I appreciate it. I figured out my problem of uploading though. I wanted to start breaking up my chapters so I could update more often, but I was afraid it wouldn't be enough because their is a minimum length requirement. I figured it out though. As long as I update every 10 pages, I'll do fine. So this is actually the first part of Ch. 5. My chapters are long enough for me to do this. Again sorry for the big delay. I am going to college full time but I am going to keep on trying to update.
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Ch. V
Returning to
Fraidel
Torrence never felt fear in all his life, not the gut-wrenching kind that filled you with dread. He felt it now as he woke up. Galeena was in danger. He could feel it. He leapt out of bed and threw on some clothes and weapons.
"Ankor!" he shouted when he burst into the wizard's room, only to find him standing in front of his fireplace.
"I know why you're here Torrence. I heard her cry for help. Since time is of the essence, I am going to teleport you there. I'll know when you've found her too."
"How?"
Ankor raised an eyebrow at that question.
"Never mind. Can you hurry please?"
Ankor smiled at his impatience and murmuring a few words, caused Torrence to disappear.
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The next thing Torrence knew, he was in a raging inferno.
"Galeena!" he shouted as he started to use his water magic to wipe out the flames.
He maneuvered his way through the room, constantly keeping an eye out for Galeena. He did his best to keep his cool. He would not be able to help Galeena if he lost it. However, it was difficult because of the danger. He called out one more time, praying he'd find her. He knew he had to hurry for the smoke was starting to get to him. Just as he was about to loose it, he heard a cough. It was the sweetest sound he ever heard. He looked down and saw Galeena. Torrence did not notice this, but the fire did not come near her. Quickly, Torrence checked her pulse and found it beating. While he was not a great healer, he knew enough to do a quick body scan for injuries. Seeing Galeena had no broken bones, Torrence gathered her in his arms and picked her up. Just as he did, he found himself being teleported again. He appeared right before Ankor.
"I am assuming you did a body scan." Ankor commented.
"Yes. She has smoke in her lungs, but that's it."
"We best take care of that. Follow me. I have a room prepared for her."
Torrence did as he was instructed and followed Ankor.
Ankor had prepared a room for Galeena. It was near Torrence's room so Torrence could be near her. The room was pale green with soft gold accents. All the furniture was made out of light oak. Torrence placed Galeena on the four poster bed.
"We need to get the smoke out of her lungs and body." Ankor said.
"Laguna learned how to do it. She taught me how to do it."
"Yes I know for the technique was a concept the original Moonstone holder created."
"Well, unfortunately, I wasn't taught how to do it if the toxins got into her blood."
"Let's do this together just to be sure."
Torrence agreed before creating several cuffs of energy to appear on Galeena's wrists and ankles in order to hold her down. Both men placed their hands on Galeena's chest. Using their magic, they started to pull the smoke and toxins out of Galeena's body. At times her body convulsed and she coughed up smoke. So the process was painful. But because Torrence got Galeena out in time, it did not take them long to remove all the smoke and toxins. It did take energy out of the two though.
"There. She'll be fine after a good night's rest. Why don't you get some rest Torrence." Ankor suggested.
"I want to stay in here with her Ankor."
"Suit yourself."
Ankor left them alone and went back to his chambers. Torrence took off his weapons and several articles of clothes until he was only wearing a t-shirt and boxers. He removed the cuffs from Galeena before maneuvering her so he can pull the sheets back. After doing that, he placed her under them. Torrence decided to join her in the bed. After coming so close to loosing her, he needed to hold her tonight. Decision made, he got underneath the covers and pulled Galeena against him. It felt wonderful to have her in his arms like this. Closing his eyes, Torrence fell asleep.
Torrence woke up around 6:30 am the next day. He turned to look at Galeena. She was still asleep and had moved to where her head was on his shoulder and her hand was on his chest. Torrence smiled, but he knew he had to get up. Moving carefully and slowly, he moved out of Galeena's arms and got out of bed. Picking up his belongings, he just realized that Galeena did not have anything to wear. Back in his room, he changed into his training gear. He trained a little over an hour before heading back to his room. He showered and got dressed before looking for Ankor. He was not in the dining room where they usually ate breakfast. Gerald was there though.
"Mr. Ankor is in the entertainment room watching the news. Breakfast is almost done and someone is watching Ms. Stellar." Gerald informed him.
"Thank you Gerald."
Torrence found the entertainment room and saw Ankor. He was watching the news all right and it was talking about the fire at Galeena's apartment last night. The reporter announced that only one person did not make it out, but they could not release the person's name yet. Torrence and Ankor immediately knew who that person was. It was Galeena.
"What do we do now?" asked Torrence.
"First we wait for Galeena to wake up." Ankor replied looking very serious.
"You realize that if everyone thinks she's dead, she can leave here with no strings attached."
"Yes I do, but would you want her family to think that?"
Torrence shook his head. It was definitely a complicated situation.
"For now, let's break fast." Ankor suggested.
After they ate breakfast, Torrence went back to Galeena's room to sit by her. Taking her hand in his, he knelt by the bed. Torrence did not pray much, but he did now.
"Please, love, wake up." he murmured.
Suddenly, he heard her moan. Torrence immediately looked up to see Galeena slowly open her eyes. Galeena woke up with a big headache and her throat felt as dry as a desert. She turned her head and saw Torrence.
"Water?" she managed to ask.
Torrence was told she might feel dehydrated and took a cup of water off the small dresser next to the bed. With his other hand, he helped Galeena sit up before lifting the cup up to her lips and letting her take a few sips.
"Better?" he asked before placing the cup down and helping her lay down again.
Galeena nodded before asking, "What happened?"
Torrence had been dreading this and did not know how to tell her. After thinking a few minutes, he decided to be honest.