The Rescue Part 2(Incomplete)

Lenna and Keogh regroup after a rough start, while Duke sets his plan into motion...

   Lucien Falzaar awoke to the sound of frantic shouts throughout House Cath. Glancing briefly outside, he noticed the sun beginning to rise, and was not amused. He had already been awakened in the middle of the night by his soldiers, informing him that someone had broken into the Ridgemont girl’s room.

    “Lock him in the wine cellar for now,” he had responded, “Oh, and the girl, too. She’s been quite the nuisance to me!”

    He got out of bed and dressed in a grand robe of crimson and gold, not bothering to comb his shoulder-length blonde hair as was his normal morning routine. Angrily, he stormed out of his second-story room and nearly ran right into two guards hurrying toward his room. He looked them over and realized that one was from his personal guard, who came to Cath with him, and the other was a guard reluctantly forced into service when he and his guard came into power.

    “What is this?” Lucien accosted them, “What’s going on?”

    “Lord Lucien, sir!” his personal guard spoke up, looking nervous, “Perhaps you should take a look outside…”

    Lucien rushed back into his room and ran straight to the window, looking out over the front of the house. Gathered in front of the house was a group of about seven people. Two were young girls he didn’t recognize, but as he examined the others, he broke into a cold sweat.

    “That’s the old man Dupre, and the others…I banished them! What are they doing here?” he shouted. Before he could give the order to have them arrested, he recognized another member of their group, and his heart leapt into his throat. “No…no…impossible…” he choked out, “It can’t be! He should be dead! Why is HE here?”

    The Cath guard instantly recognized the man who had sent Lucien into such a rage, and smiled to himself. So, Duke Ashen had finally returned? It was about time. The men who Lucien had brought with him were very skilled fighters, and had swiftly dispatched any who resisted them. Ever since Lucien had taken control of Cath, he and his fellow guards who had been forcibly enlisted had been given all the night patrols and other menial tasks. They were treated like dirt and disrespected by Lucien’s men regularly. He already felt worse about failing to protect Lady Lenna, who, after refusing to give up her place as Ashen’s successor, was imprisoned in her own room. Now that Ashen had returned, would he get a chance for redemption?

    Lucien turned to face the Cath guard, his face contorted in a furious snarl. “What does he want? Why is he here?” he roared, “You were there…ANSWER ME!”

    “He requests a duel with you, mi’lord,” the Cath guard replied, trying to hide his pleasure at Lucien’s discomfort. “He wishes to face you one-on-one, atop the Great Bridge at the city’s center.”

    “Tell him he has his duel!” Lucien shouted, “I’ll make sure he’s dead this time!”

    Keogh was back in his nightmare once again, lost within a limitless darkness. He tested his limbs, and found they moved with some persuasion. He soon regretted this, for he felt a familiar unpleasant pain radiating throughout his body. Try as he might, he still couldn’t move his head or open his eyes. Fighting through the pain, he tried feeling out his surroundings. He stretched out his hand in front of him, and felt something attached to his arm tug it back quickly. He tried again, slowly this time, and his hand reached some sort of boundary. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it felt cold and slick. His arm was fiercely pulled back, leaving him in excruciating pain. Suddenly, a cold feeling began to spread throughout his body, leaving him numb all over. He couldn’t move or speak; all he felt was pain. He tried to scream, but no sound came out…

    Hey…Wake up…please…

    Keogh slowly drifted back into consciousness. As he regained his faculties and his blurry vision cleared, he realized he was lying on a cold, damp floor in a dimly lit room.

    “Where am I?” he asked himself.

    “We’re…locked in the wine cellar, I’m afraid,” came a reply from somewhere in the room.

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note

Work in progress, hoping to draw a review or two before I finish...
Please help me make this better!