The Fire That Burns Within

The Princess and The Dragon

The peaceful darkness develops me in it's warmth and just when I'm about to surrender to it a feeling in my abdomen brings me back. My baby...Joe...Noel I can't leave them. The pull of darkness drifts away and slowly I open my eyes.

I stare right into the face of Noel who is trying to resuscitate me. "1 2 3 4, come on breath" he says while massaging my heart. The water forces it's way out of my lungs and I twist to my side to let it all out. I gasp for air and try to get up.

"Careful now" Noel says while supporting me. On his forehead are tiny droplets of sweat and his face is red with exhaustion. Slowly everything comes back into vision and I can see that I'm still in the garden. My voice is nothing but a hoarse whisper but I manage to say "Please get me away from here" he understands immediately and stands up. I try to get up too but he lifts me from the ground and walks towards the garden gate.

"Not another step" Ramos walks into the garden with the goon that helped him with his torture. "She doesn't go anywhere right now"

Noel obeys but he doesn't let me go. "Sir I barely managed to get her heart working again, she needs rest and medical attention" Noel's voice is strong but I can hear a slight quiver.

"I decide what I do with my property. Bring her inside, Now!" Ramos shouts.

"It's okay" I whisper to Noel and I look up at his face. Noel listens to me and carries me inside to the room where Ramos wants me. Ramos and the 'doctor' step inside, when did that guy get here. "Go" commands Ramos, I don't want Noel to leave but the choice is not mine.

The doctor starts examining me as Ramos watches, I've never seen his face like this. It looks so dark and sadistic. It chills me to the bone. The doctor rummages in his back and retrieves a doppler.

Now I'm screwed. Within seconds he finds the baby's heartbeat and the sound warms my inner being. It's alive I think, my baby is alive. I don't get much time to enjoy this moment as Ramos looks at me in disgust. With my broken voice I beg "Please don't hurt it" and my hands swerve to my belly. He and the doctor leave to go to the hall.

"Don't worry" I whisper "I'll never let them harm you". The bed feels so soft and the exhaustion quickly takes over.

The door swings open and I wake up immediately. Ramos steps in and the doctor is nowhere to be seen. Which is quite a comforting thought.

"Well it seems that we have a slight bump in the road" Ramos laughs at his own joke. "But it is a bump that I can profit from, when the baby is born I'll sell it on the black market, that way I still get my profit out of this nasty situation."

He opened the door and let Noel in, I'm too stunned to react to Ramos's plan. Which was probably for the best, if I had countered him in any way my baby might not live.

Noel takes me in his arms and carries me to the safety of the car. I 'm in shock and my head locks me inside my head. Thoughts raced through my head and when we arrived at the cabin I was still not able to react to the whole situation.

Noel brought me to the little room that was upstairs and when he laid me down on the bed the tears came with no remorse.

Every piece of safety was gone, and the only thing I could do was cry. In a single day I had lost Joe and I had lost the possibility of raising my baby.

Noel held my as the tears kept coming. He didn't say anything but he just stroked my hair and gave me the time to cry it all out.

I threw up a couple of times but it was all the water that was still in my lungs. Noel had gone to the store and brought me some chicken soup and luckily my body accepted it. I looked him in the eyes

"I never stood a chance did I?" I asked "that's the sad part, you did once." He shook his head and walked out of the room locking it behind him.

I had no idea what he'd meant by that and it seriously pissed me off. There had never been a chance to get away, there had never been a chance to resist Ramos.

Maybe if I could remember the day he kidnapped me but that day just doesn't seem to exist in my memory. The whole thing frustrated me and I tossed and turned in the bed the entire night. Nightmares haunted my dreams, several times I woke up to find myself covered in sweat and tears.

When morning finally came I felt worse then I had the day before. Noel came in to check on me and brought me some left-over chicken soup.

While I was eating he asked "do you like to read?" I looked at him surprised to hear such a question.

" Oh I love to read, if it was up to me I would read day and night" I tried to curb my enthusiasm but when it came to books there was just no stopping me.

He smiled obviously amused by my reaction. "Do you want me to get some books for you?" Those words where the best words I've heard in weeks. "Yes please!" I realised how selfish I sounded "but only if you don't get in trouble" I added

He smiled "you're so geeky when you are trying to hide your true self"

I threw a pillow at him but he caught it without any effort and put it on the bed again.

"So what kind of books should I get her Geekiness" he said with a smirk.

"Well if you want to be my dragon in shining armour, could you please get me anything thriller or fantasy related?"

He laughed, "since when am I a dragon, in shining armour not to mention?"

"Since you're protecting me from the evil king." I answered cheerfully but it only made him sad, his smile disappeared.

As he walked towards the door he said "I wish I was a better dragon for you."