Alyss' Return: She Lives

Chapter Fourteen: Will

A/N: Hey Guys! This chapter won't have the name Alyss addressed, unless Will or Halt are talking about her. She will be addressed later on in the chapter. Thank you!
-Nicole

Will groaned as he tried to pry his eyes open.

He blinked once, giving him the realization that his eyes were open sooner than he thought. Am I blind? He thought. He gasped as he sat up straighter, slamming his head on the wall as a result. "Ouch." He said to himself. He heard a feminine gasp, then a familiar voice spoke. "Will. You're okay!" The voice hissed from his left.

"Cathy!" Will cried. Cathy was his pet name for her as he'd gotten to know her better.

"Hush, Will." She said.

Will quieted down his voice. "I'm not blind, am I?" He asked. He heard Catherine giggle before she spoke. "No. It's so dark in here, it's impossible for your eyes to adjust." She said. "And there's no torchlight." She added.

Will sighed. Both of them heard another groan and Will whispered his mentor's name. "Halt."

"Damn, it's dark in here." The older man said.

Will smiled to himself, then addressed Catherine. "Hey, Cathy. Where are we?" He asked.

"Al-- Catherine! You're safe!" Halt interrupted.

"Lower your voice, Halt." Catherine said. "We're in The Depths. It's about three or four floors lower than my previous cell." She added, answering Will's question.

They heard the door open and the area around the doorway was filled with light. The man that took Halt and Will down entered the cell and smirked. "Now that all three of you are awake, I have a wonderful surprise to show you Rangers."

He snapped his fingers towards Catherine and the guards covered her entire head, preventing any hair from showing.

They half-dragged her out, letting Will and Halt see the whip welts on her back. Her dress was torn around her back.

Will gave a startled cry as he saw the welts. "Cathy..." He whispered.

The man burst into laughter. "Cathy? You honestly believe that her name is truly Catherine Altright?" He asked.

Catherine slumped her shoulders, there would be no escaping this one.

"Tell me, Ranger. Who did this girl remind you of?"

"Will looked at Halt, then at the man. "She reminds me of my late wife, Alyss." He answered quietly. Her life was possibly on the line and he needed to be careful.

The man feigned a shocked face. "Wow! That's such a coincidence, because this girl looks exactly like Alyss!" The man tore off the cover, and down came long, stunningly beautiful blond hair.

Will's eyes went wide as he beheld whom he thought was Catherine. The times he thought Catherine was Alyss, those thoughts were true. The thoughts that Alyss was just in hiding were true. When she reminded him of Alyss, she was the willowy blond, trained under Lady Pauline.

When he'd dreamed of Alyss coming back to him, safe and sound, his dreams had come true, they had been for the past year or so. When he'd dreamed that Alyss would someday walk through his door, those dreams would soon be true.

He looked at Catherine and constantly saw her with blond hair in his mind's eye. She was always there, always keeping an eye on him in case he needed her or she needed him.

He was now looking at his beloved, his childhood sweetheart, his precious wife.

Catherine was Alyss.

And he had always been looking into her eyes with love. It had always been her he was looking at, not Catherine.

Because Catherine was Alyss!