Set Me Free

'Here it is, her final moments.'

"You don't forget the face of the person who was your last hope."

Daniel's POV

Watching her was agony.

Daniel longed to turn his eyes away from the terror and pain he could see in Elizabeth's, however he couldn't. He had promised her he would get her through this. He truly believed that as long as she continued to only look at him, than maybe it could distract her from the pain she was currently suffering. If he talked to her about her hopes and dreams, her reasons to live than maybe it would be enough to give her hope.

He was losing hope.

He had heard this torture countless of times, only few made it out of this room. He believed that Elizabeth was strong and she was brave and that she could fight anything. He wasn't so sure she could fight this.

Max had a certain talent, one that couldn't be bragged about at family reunions. His unique act of torture was considered a master piece by Daniel's father, famous for it's brutality and suffering. He had never seen it in action, and watching was unbearable.

He could see Elizabeth gritting her teeth to keep from screaming, could see her yank on her chains every time the metal of the blade touched her as a futile attempt at breaking free. Daniel couldn't see a way for them to escape now.

Max now goes to stand next to Elizabeth. Her body is broken and abused, oozing blood as she hangs her head in defeat. He never wanted to see that from her, never wanted to see her give up. He couldn't blame her, after that round of torture, he would be ready to give up too.

"Stop! Please," he finally begged. Max's outstretched hand stopped with the blade posed at Elizabeth's neck. Daniel knew that that would be the fatal blow.

"Oh I'm sorry, you want us to stop treating this prisoner as if she is one," his father taunts, "this is what we do here Daniel. We're not about to stop simply because you suddenly have feelings."

Daniel looked at Elizabeth, really looked at her. He had lost eye contact once she had hung her head against her chest. He knew nothing he could say now would make her look at him again.

He knew it was now or never. She wouldn't last must longer sitting here, she needed help. However, he was also no fool. He knew that there was little chance that he would be able to get her out of here on his own, not here, not against all of them.

"Please, just let me say goodbye at least. Let me go to her and say goodbye."

He looked to his father now, pleading with him to accept his request. He knew his father had no heart, no feelings of sentiment. He was just hoping that maybe his father would be willing to grant him one simple wish, the only thing he had ever asked for in his life.

If there was no way out of here, if this was truly the end for them, all he wanted was to thank Elizabeth. Thank her for showing him how it felt to love, what that connection felt like. He wanted to thank her for caring, for listening, for being brave when he didn't feel he could be. He wanted to thank her for giving him hope, dreams, ideas of a future no matter how unlikely they were. He wanted to thank her for making him feel alive again.

He wanted to say goodbye. He never had the chance to say goodbye to his mother while she was here, he didn't want to watch the second woman he loved in his life die without saying something to her.

"Fine," his father finally says, "I'll allow you to say goodbye. But once this is over Daniel, this is over. You will never speak of this again, you will not let this hang over you. Once this is done, you go back to the way you were and forget all about her, you hear me?"

He simply nods at his father's demands as Christopher, Elizabeth's original kidnapper, releases his hand cuffs. Daniel's wrist burn with the marks the cuffs have left behind, but he has no time to think about this. He is across the room and kneeling before Elizabeth in the blink of an eye.

"Elizabeth, can you hear me?" He asks, touching her face gently to move her hair away.

She blinks up at him slowly, unshed tears filling her eyes rapidly. He knows it's not long before they start falling.

"You are so brave, you know that? You are probably the bravest person I have ever met in my life. You are strong and you are powerful and you fought well," Daniel tells her, tears of his own slowly falling. "I want you to know that you have achieved something here, you've changed me. Before you, I was nothing, simply a shell of a man, but you've made into someone that I never thought I could be. You have showed me love and compassion and I will forever be thankful that I had the privilege of knowing you. I'm so sorry Elizabeth that I couldn't keep my promise to you, that I couldn't protect you or keep you safe. The thought of it will haunt me for the rest of my life, the idea that I couldn't get you out of here. Just know that it's over sweetheart, you'll be safe now and you'll be free and you'll never have to suffer again. I love you more than you'll ever know."

Daniel leans forward and places a soft kiss to Elizabeth's forehead as she stares at him. Her eyes are filled with fear and he can barely stand to look at them. However, he keeps looking, he wants the last thing she sees before she goes to be him, to know that there was something good in this evil. To know that she was loved before she died.

"Daniel,"Elizabeth gasps out, "thank you. I know it doesn't feel like it but you have saved me, more than you'll ever know. You have shown me a love I never knew I wanted and I will forever be grateful for that. You were a ray of light in my darkest hours and I need you to know how much that meant to me. You are not who you are made out to be, you are not these people. You are kind and you are compassionate and I know that you will make me proud one day. You'll escape this life like I know you've always wanted and you'll be the man you are destined to be. Please, for me, never give up on that dream. Live, and live life to the fullest. I love you Daniel, and I'm not sorry that this happened to me. If this had never happened, I never would have met you."

This time Elizabeth leans forward and places a soft kiss to Daniel's lips. A goodbye kiss.

Standing slowly, he nods sharply at his father.

"Please, I'm begging you, make this quick."

His father says nothing in return, simply nods at Max to once again approach Elizabeth.

Here it is, her final moments.

Daniel looks into Elizabeth's eyes as she stares back, fear once again clouding them. He doesn't want this to be her final thought, her last emotion to feel to be fear.

"I love you," he states.

"I love you too," she says back.

Max approaches with the knife at the ready. Slowly, he places it against her neck, ready for the final slice that will end Elizabeth's life.

Daniel holds his breathe, ready for it to happen, ready for her to be gone.

It's then that they hear a commotion outside.