The Marble Tower

-22-

They had stumbled their way down a very long and twisted set of stairs and they had made their way through the castle when Aaliyah had finally calmed down. Despite her horrible situation and the fact that what she had been dreading for days had actually happened, there was something there that she hadn't felt in a very long while. She felt freer as a hostage than she ever had in her bed. She was standing. She was walking. It felt good in a way, even if her legs felt like they would collapse underneath her at any moment and all she wanted to do was puke. She was still there. She was out. It had been so long since she had been out she had forgotten how it had felt a long time ago.

And though she was terrified, she still found herself in awe as they made their way through the castle. Even the guards that they would encounter and the feeling of the knife giving them a warning would hardly upset her as she gazed at the brilliant tapestries decorating the walls with a brilliant array of colors and the brilliant chandeliers hanging from the ceilings.

Most of all the space. Everything was huge. Each room that they went in seemed to be bigger than the last.

Though whoever she was with tired to keep them hidden in the corners and would never stay in the same spot for very long as they slowly walked and tripped through the halls.

But if she was awestruck at the interior, it was nothing compared to when they pushed through a set of wooden door and her bare feet connected with gravel.

Aaliyah could help but stop in her tracks. She was taking in everything, the smell of the air, the rocks beneath her feet. She didn't care how much it hurt. The mountains that loomed just above her blocking out most of the night sky. The moon, the stars...

She fell forward as he took another step, expecting her to do the same.

Landing on the hard pebbles she realized that she was free, and could leave. If she could actually get up.

The shock of the feeling in her legs, the crisp spring air in her lungs, and the feeling of absolute happiness nearly made her oblivious to the arrow that seemed to appear out of nowhere and plant itself in the boys leg.

But nothing could have made her miss the grunt that had followed.

Or the figure that practically flew over her as a guard came running at him and he collapsed to the ground.

Every single one of her muscles was screaming at her not to get back up again as she half scrambled, half crawled away from the small battle that was beginning to take place.