How long will life (and the weather) be stormy?

The rain beat furiously around Kyria and her captor as the two made their way to the stables outside the castle. Twas another dark and stormy night, and most assuredly not pleasant traveling weather; but in the mind of the Duke it didn't matter. His saddled horse was awaiting him, and he tossed Kyria up then jumped on behind. Leaving a few hasty instructions for the stable hand about not letting anyone in or out of the castle in his absence, he gave his mare a kick and away they went.

Zane stood at the window of Kyria's old room, watching them flee off into the night. At least he knew which direction they were headed, that was a good thing. He gritted his teeth as the horse and its riders faded away, wishing he was heroic enough to save the fair lady. The young boy slowly got back to work, knowing that there was nothing more he could do for Kyria at the moment.

Kyria was well drenched ten minutes into the ride, and along with that, the Duke was holding on to her so tight she could hardly breathe. She wondered what she had done to deserve all this treatment, and thought back to what her captor had said earlier - "the castle has been found out". What does that have to do with me? the lady thought to herself. Deep inside, she knew it had something to do with the powers her fingers held when she spun cloth, as well as what had gone on years ago when-- Her thoughts were cut short as the horse screamed to a halt and the Duke leapt off, carrying her down with him. "Are we there? Wherever 'there' is?" Kyria questioned. She couldn't see the Duke's dark smile as he said "No, we've just – well – we need to stop here for the moment. We'll be going again soon."

He helped her stumble into what seemed to be a dwelling of some sort, where Kyria could feel the warmth of a fire burning. "Sit." she was commanded, and fell gratefully into the chair. Scooting the wooden chair nearer to the heat of the fire, she overheard the Duke having a conversation with another man.

"Do you have the apparel for me?"

"I do, I do, right here good sir." Kyria heard the other man say as he fumbled around for something.

"Very good. You shall be paid well, Lamir. Don't forget to keep your mouth shut, or I'll shut it permanently. Hear?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Anything you say, Duke Prosser."

"Good. With that, we'll be off as soon as possible."

The next minutes seemed an eternity for Kyria after the conversation ended. She wondered what was going on now, and what this apparel was for. Just beginning to feel warm again, she felt the Duke grab her hand and stand her up. "Time to go." The Duke lead her outside, putting a thick cloak around her shoulders as he did so. "What was that all about?" She questioned, mentally thanking him for the cloak. "The less you know, the better; so don't ask. It's time to move."

The Duke swung Kyria up on his horse, climbed on himself, and set the mare off at a swift gait. His now dark blue cloak whipped in the wind as the trio sped off into the woods once again.