Aurora Borealis
For Love: Part Three
CAMiraj@aol.com
Rating: G

        Here you go kids. Just remember, no running with scissors! Ummm...
well, what
can I say, it?s finally here, the long awaited Part Three. I hope you like
it!!! For those of you who are utterly and totally confused (and I
understand
that is the majority of you) then live in confusion no longer!! This part
answers many of the questions, such as... well my editor says it wouldn?t be
right for me to tell you now, so, you?ll just have to read it. By the way
many
*Thank You?s!* to my wonderful editor, Risa!!! She puts a lot of time into
this! (That?s only so she can read what happens before everyone else :)
Happy
reading, and I?ll even leave you with some advice to get you through life:

Dance like no one?s watching,
Love like you?ll never be hurt;
Sing like no one?s listening,
Live like its heaven on earth.

Chapter 3: Then Again, Maybe not
>>      All day she had watched him as he restlessly slept, sometimes
groaning in
pain and turning from side to side; often he mumbled meaningless phrases out
loud. Serena sighed as she watched him tossing and turning in fitful dreams,
unable to offer him help. But finally his fever broke, and the bleeding
stopped.
        It was late afternoon before he awoke, his beautiful hair sticking
up in all
directions. He warily accepted the water that she offered him, and then lay
back down.
        "You should have left me," he said matter-of-factly. She ignored him
and
refilled his water.
        "How long have I slept?" he asked her. She could hear the
exhaustion in his voice. There was something else, too... a nervousness. She
shrugged.
        "About a day." she said casually.
        "What!" In the middle of taking a drink, he sat up suddenly and
tried to
yell, but that was far from what actually happened. Water went everywhere as
he spit it out with the force of his words. Serena, looking annoyed, helped
him raise himself as he coughed and choked from the water that was still in
his mouth.
        "A day!?" he finally got out. "You wasted a whole day!?"
        "Well," Serena cried, standing, "Don?t try to thank me for it or
anything."
Arms folded, she turned her back to him in an unmistakable "Hmph!"
        "Sure, thanks for everything!" Darien cried, his voice rising.
        "Thanks for staying here, wasting an entire day while the guards can
catch up
with you, drag you back to Challot-" While Darien rambled on, Serena?s face
grew redder and redder with rage.
        "You! How dare you!" She exclaimed, turning to him. "I stay here,
you?re
right, risking my life to save yours, and I don?t get a word of thanks-- not
that I wanted any, mind you, but you?re welcome, nonetheless-- and not only
are you upset with me for not leaving you here to die, you?re yelling at me
as
if I?m some... some.. oh, I don?t know. Forget it. You?re right. I should
have
left you."
        Serena stamped off to find her sandals she had taken off for wading
purposes,
but they weren?t where she had originally left them, which was by the water
front.
        Confused, and temporarily lost, she turned suddenly and ran smack
into the
soldier. Completely caught off guard, she lost her balance and felt herself
falling backward. She panicked, waving her arms around, not wanting to fall
into the icy water again. At the last possible second his strong hand,
followed by his arm, wrapped around her waist and pulled her toward him.
        Relieved that she wasn?t dripping wet once again, her feet
carefully felt for the ground under her as she pried his arms from around
her
waist, a slight blush coming to her cheek. Then, glancing up, and realizing
that he was dangling the small shoe straps from his index finger, she became
indignant. Without a word, she clumsily grabbed at the sandals. One of them
fell from both their hands and happily landed at the bottom of the stream.
        Serena clapped a hand to her forehead, mumbling, "Not again," as the
soldier
stuck his arm in the water and retrieved it for her.
        Somewhat sheepishly, he offered it to Serena, who took it (more
carefully
this time) from his fingers and sat by the waters edge to put them on,
silently fuming.
        "Why is it, whenever we meet," she started, her voice edged in
anger, "That
I, or one of my belongings, ends up all wet?" The leather laces were much
harder to tie, now that they were wet. And as Serena stood, she heard an
distinct but muffled ?squish?. She sighed, and put her head in her hands,
slowly massaging her temples.
        "I?m sorry-" he started, but Serena cut him off with a wave of her
hand.
        "Please, don?t. I?ve got the most terrible headache, and I just
can?t take it
right now. Next time I need to have something drowned, I?ll be sure to let
you
know. Good day." She turned and walked away from him, headed for her horse.
The guard pulled in front of her, walking backwards.
        "No, wait! You don?t understand. I?m coming with you!" he said.
        "Oh, no." Serena said. "No, you aren?t. I?ve gotten this far, I can
keep
going alone. And I won?t make the mistake of saving anyone?s life this
time."
        "Well, that?s why I have to come with you. To repay the debt." he
offered
desperately. Serena shook her head, and kept walking.
        "No, I?ve just returned your debt. You are the one who set me free,
in case
you have forgotten. At any rate," she continued, "I suppose you?re right. We
just can?t stay here until Kamen or something else even more disagreeable
comes along," she said decisively. "So, I'm leaving. I just don't think
there
is anywhere for me to go." she ended
thoughtfully.
        "Kamen is not stupid, despite what you may think." the soldier
started. "Once
his men report to him, he?ll know we?re hiding out. They?ll find us." He
said
forbodingly. Serena rolled her eyes at him.
        "Oh, thank you for that piece of information. Are all Kamen?s guards
this
bright?" Serena said sarcastically. "You probably got that wound by walking
into a tree." she muttered, keeping her steady pace.
         "This--" he started disdainfully, "As anyone can tell, is a dagger
wound.
How could I have walked into a tree?" he said. She stopped and looked at
him.
        "If daggers grew on trees, surely it would take a guy like you to
walk into
one." She turned to go, and the soldier watched her walk away, silently
wondering if it would all be worth it in the end. She was such an absolute
pain...
        "Fine!" he cried, then paused. "But as you so cleverly pointed out
before,
Kamen wants us both dead at this point. Sure, go alone. Why travel with a
seasoned soldier when you could go on your own? You?re probably right; I?d
just be in the way. I?ll just go on foot until I run into Kamen. You?ve
repaid
your debt to me, and I thank you." he finished with a bow, and as Serena
turned to counter him, she saw the end of it. Serena smiled at him as he
raised his head, looking slightly amused. She clasped her hands together at
the waist of her dress.
        "What is your name?" she asked, smiling sweetly.
        "Darien." he said, straightening proudly.
        "Darien." Serena said, trying out the sound of it on her lips.
        "Well, Darien," she started, walking closer to him, "It was very
nice to meet
you." She said, toying with the metal on the front of his jacket. He
relaxed,
thinking he had finally won.
        "You know, I don?t believe I?ve thanked you properly yet, for saving
my
life." she added thoughtfully. "So, thank you."
        "Now, if you don't mind, I will bid you good day," she finished,
between
clenched teeth. Then she turned away from him once again, mumbling to
herself
and shaking her head in disgust.
         "It was my pleasure, Princess," he quietly called after her. Now
fully
annoyed, Serena turned in her tracks and with her eyes shot daggers at the
young guard.
        "Princess? How did you know that?" She asked accusingly.
        "Ah..." Darien searched for a cover-up. "A good guess?" he offered
lamely.
The stranger could feel his head pounding, guilt stabbing him along with the
pain in his side. Great work, Dare. Now look what you've done. She thinks
your
lying.
        No, you she knows you are lying.
        Remember when you were young, and you would lie to Raye? She would
tell
Mother, and you would get in trouble.
        Getting into trouble again, Dare?

        If you only knew, Darien told himself.
        He shook his head slightly as he caught her piercing gaze.
        I think its time to change the subject...
        "I suppose," he said, clearing his throat, "That I haven't told you
exactly
how grateful I am to you for..."
        "Yes...?" Serena prompted him.
        "For... ah-savingmylife." he said in a rush.
        "Well, you're welcome." Serena looked long at this man who had saved
her,
angered her, been saved by her, been victim to her anger and now wouldn?t
leave her alone. Somehow familiar, but yet they?d never met. How odd, she
thought. He reminded her of someone, so close to her, yet, not... She
blatantly stared at him, hoping the answer would appear on his face. But her
gaze did nothing to solve the puzzle in her head. She cleared her throat.
        "It was my fault, really... ah, when I hit you, I mean." She said,
her voice
dropping to a whisper.
        "I mean," she started over, "I didnt do it on purpose, but, still,
I--"
        "I know." Darien interrupted her thoughts. "It's okay."
        Silence fell suddenly between them, and Serena no longer had the
heart to
leave. Instead, she drew a pattern in the dirt with the tip of her shoe.
         "Um... We shouldn't stay." Darien finally said. "I know somewhere
that we'd
be safe, for a little while at least."
        Serena stared up at him, eyes wide and trusting, but then again at
the
ground. What were her options? Go alone, find some way back to Caprice, her
city, her home? Would she be able to save her people? Could she go with this
soldier to an unknown place? Trust him with her life and the future of her
people? Risk everything...
        "Ah..." she tried to speak, but only air left her throat. It was
parched,
mostly due to fear added with dread. Something pulled at her, saying NO, but
another, louder factor screamed out YES. What could she do? She closed her
eyes tightly to help with her decision. She saw her parents; their tall,
regal
figures, telling her, again and again, 'Take care of the people'. How could
she take care of the people when she couldn't even take care of herself? She
could feel her eyes welling up with tears as she looked at this stranger
full
in the face, staring into his eyes. They were so deep, like the color of the
sea... locked tightly in his gaze, she felt as if she could loose herself in
them... The thought of it mesmerized her, but she quickly shook herself
awake.
Go with him, a voice said, and Serena felt herself nodding yes. A much
better
chance, she kept saying to herself. He will take care of you. You'll make it
home.
        He offered her his arm, and wordlessly she took it, following his
footsteps
stride for stride, but watching his face all the while. Why had she suddenly
put her trust in this man? He hadn?t shown her a single reason for trust-
what
had come over her? she wondered.
        How different their lives would have been, had she not so freely
taken his
arm.
        He led her, still speeechless, to the horse and helped her on.
Serena, lost
in her own turmoil, didn't see his own look of anguish; she didn't catch his
brief moment of hesitation. He sighed slowly, and then, without a word,
spurred on the steed to the new and unknown destination.
------------------

        Some hours later a soldier came to stand before a throne carved
entirely in
stone. A handsome figure of about twenty lounged the length of the
structure,
his long limbs falling around it. In his hands he toyed with a long, thin
crystal, turning it and observing the way it caught the light. His black
hair
shone blue in the light that fell from the many crystals which hung from the
ceiling. Their rays danced on the figure?s head as his icy blue eyes
inspected
the new arrival.
        "Speak," the figure said, and his deep voice echoed throughout the
main hall
and finally died in the entrance to the courtyard.
        "M?lord," the soldier began, bowing deeply, "We have found traces of
the
fugitive and your spy by the River Avren."
        "And...?" the relaxed figure asked, staring unmercifully at the
soldier.
"Where are they now?"
        "Heading west on the main road, your lordship." He answered.
        "Where do you think they will be spending the night?" the cold
figure asked
again.
        "A tavern, sir. The locals call it Barbies?. It is on their way to
Caer
Shilon. They will stop there. We have had contact with your accomplice who
leads her. He has confirmed it."
        "Very good, Wes. You may go." the figure said calmly. The soldier
turned to
go, then hesitated.
        "Sire, if I may be so bold..." the soldier began.
        "Yes, Wesley? You are my Captain. Speak."
        "Well, your lordship," he said, stepping closer to the throne and
lowering
his voice a notch, "I do not trust this man. He helped her escape in the
first
place, and-"
        "Wesley, you seem to be forgetting one thing," the figure
whispered. "He fears me,"
        "But Kamen-" he started.
        "Silence." Kamen ordered, his eyes flashing. The soldier quickly
bowed his
head as the order echoed and reechoed in the hall, causing the hanging
crystals to glance off one another.
        "I will deal with this my way. As long as we know where they are,
all is
well. Leave it to me." he said with an icy calm.
        The soldier rose, and clasped his arm quickly to his chest and down
again in
reverence. "Sire," he said, and turned on his heel to go.
        "Wesley," the king called back to him, and the soldier turned in his
tracks.
        "Don?t worry about Darien. He knows what to do." he said, a small
smile
touching his features.
-------------

***Alright, all right, all good things must come to an end. Dry your eyes.
For
those of you who are still confused... GOOD! Stay that way!! Everything will
be revealed in time; you just have to be patient. Believe me, you?ll be glad
you don?t know the end just yet. Or the storyline, for that matter. :)
        Anyway, HOPEFULLY, God-willing, Part Four will be out soon. But of
course, in
the meantime, if you enjoyed this Part, and you have nothing else to do (and
even if you didn?t enjoy it, or could be doing dozens of other things) you
can
always write the author at CAMiraj@aol.com and tell her what you think,
maybe
bash her for not writing long or fast enough. Just Whatever. She loves
getting
mail. :)
        Also, for those of you that don?t know about it, I have a mailing
list out to
let people know when a new part is released. If you want your name on it,
just
e-mail me and say the word. Until Then-
                                Aurora Borealis