Freedom of Flight Ch. 02

Author's note: All characters and companies mentioned in this story have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone or anything bearing the same name or names. Events portrayed in this story are pure invention and have not been based on any events that have happen in real life. All the characters involved in any sexual acts if their ages are not mentioned before hand; are over 18 years of age. Enjoy.

Hey everyone;

Here is part two, I would like to thank everyone who sent feedback and if I didn't get a chance to email you back forgive me, I try to respond to everyone that I can.

Again there is no sex in this chapter... sorry that's just how this story goes.

A big thanks to my editor, as always and to you the reader, any feedback is welcome.

Have fun

*

Sage awoke slowly, her mind fuzzy as she didn't remember much after the lashings started. She took in her surroundings slowly, realizing that she was cradled carefully in Alanna's arms. Alanna had propped her shoulders against the far wall of the cell as her back bore the brunt of the lashings she had received and this position kept pressure off those same lashings. Sage was belly down on top of her but the added weight didn't bother her. In fact, it was kind of comforting. Pain slowly made its presence known to Sage as her mind started to focus, tears forced their way out of her eyes as it ate at her.

"Calm down, slow your breathing and the pain will pass." Alanna said softly, her breaths were shallow to keep her wounds from being torn open.

Sage calmed her body and breathing. "How are you?" She asked, concerned with Alanna who should also be in as much pain as her... or worst.

"Fine." Alanna responded musingly, not understanding how she could be so calm. This was her worst nightmare come to life yet she was… calm... even resigned to the situation. It might be due to the fact that she was still keeping her mind detached from her body, allowing her rational mind to work. It also helped that she was focusing on counting Sage's breathing more than anything else.

"What happened?" Sage asked warily, not wanting to know if she had disgraced herself.

"You blacked out after your eighth lashing. Perhaps you should have yelled out 'cos the more we didn't cry out, the harder the lashings became. They expected us to cry out." Alanna told her, trying not to dwell too much on the beating.

"I didn't want to give them the satisfaction. They can hit me as hard as they want. I watched my mother die and it didn't break me, you think a few lashings will?" She spat through her gritted teeth then took several slow breaths as pain ate at her. When she had it under control again she asked, "How long was I out?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. Where is your father?" Alanna asked quietly, as talking meant moving and moving meant pain.

Sage closed her eyes and sent her mind out. Her back immediately twitched in a spasm of pain drawing her back. She whimpered softly and buried her head into Alanna's chest. She shook her head. "Can't."

"You can." Alanna said firmly, she wasn't trying to be cold with Sage although it may have sounded that way. She was just trying to encourage her sister. "Ride the pain, make it give you strength."

Sage took a shallow breath and closed her eyes, her sister's words giving her confidence to help deal with the pain. She sent her mind back out and connected to her father. Da.

What's wrong Sage? Dominic asked, picking up on the slight twinge of pain that laced her voice.

Nothing we can't handle. How much longer? Sage replied. She strengthened her mental shields to keep her father out of her mind. The last thing he needed to know was that she had been lashed, not if he was about to go into battle. Learning from her da, she knew that anger and rage had no place on a battlefield, turning rationality into carelessness and impulsivity. It would do no good and would only get more of her father's men killed.

We are just about to begin our assault. He answered her.

Sage pulled back into her own mind. They are beginning the assault. She sent to Alanna, too tired to talk anymore.

What will they do? Alanna wondered, knowing her sister knew and understood more about tactics that might be used in this situation.

If they are smart they would try to move us from here. Sage answered.

I will try to hold them off with a shield as long as I can. Alanna supplied, she knew if they were moved they were as good as lost, but she was more concerned about the pain they were both feeling and how their bodies would react to being moved or even forced to.

I can give you some extra power, you might need it to keep a shield going long enough for da to get to us. Sage told her.

Rest Sage, I'll wake you if anything happens or if I need you. Alanna told her. Sage? She suddenly remembered she had wanted to ask her something.

Uh-huh. She responded her mind slipping into sleep.

What's a Santaur? she asked, feeling a little silly.

They live here too, in the forests… Sage was asleep before she could finish her explanation, her body wasn't used to prolonged periods of intense pain and sleeping was her body's natural defence against it. Alanna kept vigil at her side, guarding her sister's rest. She didn't want to black out and wake only to find herself in the hands of someone she didn't know. She could hear the faint stomp of feet moving pass the cell but no one entered.

Finally she heard the stone door move, wondering for a moment who was on the other side of the door, her captor or her saviour? Then immediately she cast a shield around them. She studied her shield with her eyes, looking for points of weakness. It had shocked everyone when Alanna told them she could see her invisible shields once they were cast. Her shield looked, to her eyes, like a screen of white silk that she could see through but no one could penetrate.

She had learnt that her shields, although generally infallible, had points of weakness where a lucky hit could get through if a decent amount of force was used. If she hadn't been so muddled and taken by surprise she may have been able to stop all this. One shield and they would still be on earth with their parents. She had been working with her mother on how to spot the weaknesses and reinforce them. This shield, however, was the first flawless shield she had ever cast and she looked admiringly at it for a moment.

Markus interrupted the moment as he walked in with a drawn sword. "Get them up." He ordered, slightly panicky. He hadn't thought Dominic would learn of his daughter's disappearance so fast and who had her so quickly, thinking that he would have had time. But now he knew he had very little time to move them before Dominic got here.

Four of his men approached only to be held back by an invisible wall that surrounded the two women. "My lord we cannot approach." One told him nervously.

Markus roared and slammed his sword down. He jerked, surprised when his sword shattered in mid air against Alanna's shield. He glanced disbelievingly at the handle of his sword, before turning disbelieving eyes at Alanna. "What kind of trickery is this? This cell cancels out magic!"

"But not Were abilities because they aren't controlled by magic. It is something outside of the realm of magical law." Dominic said from behind as he pressed his sword to Markus's throat. Dominic glanced into the cell. "Alanna, I am Dominic, Sage's father. Can you keep the shield going for about ten more minutes?" He asked.

Alanna nodded as he led Markus from the cell. Sage wake up.

Sage opened her eyes blearily, shadows of pain still obvious in everything she did.

Your da, he's here. Alanna told her.

Wake me when he comes back. Sage asked quietly before falling asleep again, conceding to her body's demand for rest.

Alanna nodded and waited.

Dominic came back twenty minutes later after rounding up what remained of Markus's men and containing them. Alanna let the shield go as she recognised the crest on his breast plate, elated with her accomplishment of keeping a perfect shield going for as long as she had.

Dominic knelt next to his daughter and gently rested a hand on Sage's back before either could warn him. She whimpered the moment his hand touched her back, causing him to jerk his hand away. He now understood the pain that had laced her voice on his approach. "TORCH." He yelled to his men, wanting to see the damage with his eyes, whilst waking Sage in the process.

A torch was brought in and as light filled the cell the carnage became visible. The bearer went pale as his eyes focused on the criss-crossed pattern carved into Sage's back as her wings were still trapped in the wing brace.

Sage glanced to her father's face and saw shock painted across it. "Is it that bad?" She asked huskily, trying to get him to look away from the mess that was her back and wings.

Dominic turned to his daughter. "Worst…" he told her unsteadily. Scihe could hear him trying to control his breathing, trying to control his rage. "I'm so sorry."

Sage frowned, "Why? You weren't the one holding the whip."

He sighed. "No, but it is still my fault that Markus came after you. I should have warned Amy…"

"Enough, da," Sage went to move but he held her still to keep her from tearing her wounds. She accepted what had happened, she lived in two very volatile worlds where anything could happen. She allowed him to press her down to keep her still. "It happened and you aren't to blame. You didn't make Markus come and kidnap us."

"I still could have warned Amy." He berated himself before turning to the door and the man peering in, "Organise flight stretchers and people to carry them out." He glanced to the torch bearer. He was a seasoned warrior but the sight before him had turned him pale under his dark complexion. Dominic grabbed the torch and set it into the bracket in the wall, turned back and jerked his head, giving his man the signal to leave. He bowed and hurried from the room.

"Was it a normal whip or a nerve whip?" He asked as he needed to know so they could start a treatment plan. There was no way to tell the difference between the two devices. He had his theory as Markus thought normal non-magical whips were for wimps but he needed to hear it confirmed.

"Nerve." Alanna answered.

Dominic felt his rage as it rose up to an unprecedented high. He wanted to storm from the room and snatch one of those cursed weapons and use it on Markus. He took a deep breath and forced his rage down. Markus would pay for this, he promised himself, he would just pay for it later. His first concern was his daughter and her sister, and the rest WILL wait.

Four men squeezed into the small room which was thankfully higher than their previous room meaning that they only had to duck to keep from braining themselves. Two removed their silk sashes which were tied at their waists and walked further into the room.

Dominic approached Alanna. "You need to release her so we can get her out with as little pain as possible." He said gently, not wanting to frighten her. He could see that Alanna was almost clinging to Sage, almost as much as Sage was clinging to her.

Alanna nodded and they slowly released their bound hands. The silk sashes were looped under Sage's body to run across her chest, another length went under and across her hips. Each end was taken as were her feet. As one, they lifted her up and carried her out.

Dominic smiled gently at Alanna, "Can you stand or do we need to carry you out?"

Alanna gritted her teeth; she would stand and walk out even if it killed her.

Dominic saw her determined look and motioned his men to back off as another four had walked in to help carry her out.

"I will need a hand up." Alanna requested, her body was stiff after being held in such an unnatural position for as long as it had been.

Dominic stood and offered his hand. He knew that he owed this woman a lot. He believed that Sage would have been in far worse shape if not for her presence and her help, not to mention he felt responsible for everything that had happened.

Alanna put her hand in his and he pulled her to her feet. She hissed as she felt the burn of pain build and a wound tear open, spilling more of her blood. Dominic's eyes focused on the pool of blood that Alanna had been sitting in, wondering painfully if it was Sage's or hers. Alanna released him when she had her feet firmly beneath her and slowly left the cell. Dominic's eyes focused on her back for a moment and he barely kept the gasp from passing his lips. He had thought his daughter's back looked bad but it was nothing compared to seeing the disfigured flesh of Alanna's back. Pieces of skin and flesh hung from her body, attached only by scraps of skin or tendon. He could clearly see where the strikes had been so deep that it exposed her bones. There wasn't an inch of her back that wasn't a bloody and torn mess.

He took in all that with fury like he had ever known, mentally adding this to what he would plan to do to Markus. In a blink of an eye he was behind her, ready to catch her if she collapsed and he knew she would. But he also felt great respect for what she was doing, even if she was doing it out of pure stubbornness. It took courage and an incredible amount of stamina to withstand what he knew to be excruciating pain to move after such a beating.

Alanna gritted her teeth as she moved, to keep the cries of pain from rising in her throat, pausing after each movement to collect and brace herself for the next step. Each step, each movement jarred her back, building the pain to a point where even the smallest of movements like breathing was pure agony. But she would not give up until she had walked, under her own steam, from this cell. She took no more than a dozen steps, only enough to get her from the cell but not from the dank, dark dungeons of Markus's keep. She went to collapse but she was suddenly surrounded by men who gently lowered her to her stomach, they were all doing their best not to stare at the carnage of her back but they couldn't help glancing.

Two men quickly undid their sashes and carefully moved the pieces into position. Four men grabbed an end of the silk and a fifth grabbed her feet. They very carefully lifted her and moved forward as not to jar her. The men kept glancing to her back, each wondering how she had walked from the room; the lashes had cut down to the bone in some places. There wasn't an inch of skin that was unmarked. When they were out of the castle, Alanna was gently lowered into a flight stretcher next to Sage.

She felt something large and wet being gently lowered onto her back. The pain vanished almost instantly, she sighed in relief as the pain became only bad a memory. Her bearers had been as gentle as they could but she still felt every step, every movement.

"It's called numb weed. It is the only remedy for nerve whip lashings." The man who had applied the pad told her.

"Can I get something to drink?" Alanna croaked, her throat felt like it had been rubbed raw with sandpaper.

"Of course. Stay still though, let the numb weed do its job." He stood and went to get something she could drink from.

Dominic knelt near Alanna's head in her field of view, he couldn't question Sage because she had blacked out almost as soon as they had her out of the cell. He was again amazed at the staying power of this young woman. "How many times were you two lashed?"

"Sage… twelve… me… I lost count after twenty." Alanna croaked bluntly, she was in too much pain to be diplomatic and although the numb weed was taking the edge off, she could still feel it. She honestly didn't remember how many times the whip had bitten into her flesh. It was only after the man who had brought her, who had also won the bidding, yelled at them to stop that they did. It seemed like they took perverse pleasure out of beating her, of seeing her bleed and not scream. Her very silence and the fact she remained awake was what drove them to disobey their lord's order of twelve lashings. They had wanted to see how much she could take before she broke her silence and screamed. What they didn't know was that she had locked her jaw so that no sound, not even a whimper would pass her lips. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing what they were doing was excruciatingly painful.

"Who ordered the lashing?" Dominic demanded. Six lashings was the maximum amount of lashings anyone could take before blacking out. He knew seasoned warriors who begged for any other punishment than a lashing, it was why Dominic refused to use the cursed weapon.

"Markus did." She answered.

The man who had went to get her a drink returned. He offered her a glass tube. "Suck… if you need anything, yell. I am Travis."

Alanna took several deep mouthfuls then spat the tube out. Dominic went to leave. "Dominic…" she called out.

He paused. "Yes."

"You need to know… it was eight… she blacked out after her eighth lashing." She informed him.

He felt a surge of pride raced through him; his daughter had endured eight lashings before blacking out. That was a great feat for anyone. He turned his back to get ready to leave.

"And she never made a sound." She told his back gently, her mind finally started to give out on her, succumbing to the needs of her body for sleep and rest. She would never know that her statement had startled all those who heard it.

*

Alanna trembled as she approached Gus with a pitcher of iced tea to fill his glass as he ate. Her trembling made her spill a little of the drink. Gus grabbed the pitcher and back handed her, sending her flying and her small body slammed into the wall, a dreadful crack rang out to her ears. She landed on the ground and coughed, spitting out blood.

"Stupid little cunt." He spat as he stood, his chair scraping against the wooden floor. He had been drinking for most of the day and that made him volatile, even the smallest of mistakes would mean punishment: a back hand for spilling a drink, a beating for getting blood on his spotless floor, the floor she labouriously scrubbed.

He stormed over and fisted his hand in her hair. He stomped on her hand, breaking the bones. She bit her bottom lip to keep the cry of pain from passing her lips. "Get up." he growled as he tugged on her hair. She scrambled to her feet as he dragged her down the hallway, heading towards a cupboard. He pulled a cane from the cupboard and turned her so that she was in the perfect position to be beaten.

"Your shirt." He reminded her. She quickly tugged her shirt up, sliding her arms free until her shirt was gathered around her neck. He raised the cane and held it there, waiting, enjoying the fact that she would cry out, giving him more reason to beat her. The cane came down across her back with all the force he could muster. He smiled as he watched her skin spilt under the force. A small, barely audible cry escaped from her. The cane came down again and again, in a blur of movement as he reined blows down on her back. When he was done, he released her hair, letting her slump to the ground. "Now go clean it up."

Alanna woke and tried to push herself up as her mind was still caught in the cobwebs of her dream. She felt the burn of her lashing and knew worst would be waiting for her if she didn't do as she was told.

"Whoa…" A female voice exclaimed; one moment her patient was out, the next she was trying to get up and moving. "Travis, she's awake." She called out as she tried to force Alanna to lay back down before she hurt herself.