The Hunter's Princess

Revelations, Regrets and Rescue (Ch. 11)

The royal physician performed a quick inspection of Dean's wound, with some minor clean-up and a new bandage. The men all had an opportunity to get a change of clothes and some food. Afterwards, Sam, Castiel and Dean got ready to ride out and look for Kira.

Rowena insisted on accompanying them, assuring them that she was well able to take care of herself. She said that being a witch could come in handy, especially for her healing magic. Just before they set out, they heard what sounded like a whooshing of wings. Next thing anyone knew, a man with golden brown hair and whiskey-colored eyes stood before them.

"Where is Lady Kira?" Gabriel demanded.

Rowena introduced the visitor as the Archangel Gabriel. She then explained to Gabriel that Kira was on her way back to the castle from a hunt. For some reason, though, her horse returned without her.

"WHAT?!?" he thundered. "What was she doing hunting while she was here? How in the name of my Father did this happen?!?" he snapped.

Rowena told him everything, from Dean's friendship with Kira, to her initial encounter with Lucifer about the locket. She also explained why Kira went on the werewolf hunt, which was to save her friends' lives. As Rowena spoke with Gabriel, it also filled in the missing pieces for Dean. He could see how wrong he was about Kira, serving only to deepen his guilt at her disappearance.

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose, taking deep breaths and trying not to further lash out in frustration. He walked up to Prince Dean and said, "This is YOUR fault. She would be here with us right now if you hadn't argued with her after she saved your life. Instead, she's somewhere out there in the woods, and in who knows what kind of danger at the hands of Lucifer!" he seethed.

"I know that, Gabriel and you can't make me feel any worse than I already do that this happened. When we find her, I fully plan on making amends with her. If she still wants to do so, I'd like to rekindle our friendship. We were just getting ready to head out when you showed up. We could use all the help we can get. Please?" Dean asked.

"I will do this because I love Lady Kira and I am sworn to protect her. That doesn't mean you're completely off the hook, though. I'll see if I can locate her," Gabriel grudgingly agreed. He closed his eyes and stretched out with his grace to connect with Kira. "I know where she is. Follow me," he said darkly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kira started to lose track of time between torture sessions. It was all starting to blend together, even though a different demon would come in each time. At the beginning of the session, it would be some demon using a blade of some sort to make even more cuts and stabs.

Then, Lucifer would come into the room to inspect the damage. He promised to heal Kira's injuries in exchange for the secret location of the locket. When that didn't work, he resorted to threatening Kira into revealing where the locket was being kept, but she refused to give in. Finally, he would shrug his shoulders and the torture would start all over again.

The worst sessions would be with the demons that took the form of Prince Dean, Prince Samuel, Castiel, or even Rowena. They were the ones that made sure to tell Kira everyone had forgotten about her, that no one cared enough to rescue her. There were even demons that impersonated the king and queen, telling her she wasn't good enough to associate with either of their sons.

Kira kept telling herself that what she was seeing wasn't real, that they were all lying to her. But after what had happened with Prince Dean, she was beginning to have doubts. The more time that passed, the more difficult it was becoming to convince herself that it was all an illusion.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sam, Dean and Castiel followed Gabriel through the woods until they came to an abandoned farmhouse. On the way here, Dean thought of nothing but Kira. How it would feel to see her again, what he would say to her, whether or not she still wanted anything to do with him.