The Twice Aducted Princess

The Twice Abducted Princess

Ettoyr Colony

Alexandra A. Cheshire

Published by Howling Wolf Books at Smashwords

Copyright 2015 Alexandra A. Cheshire

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

All characters, events and places in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual people or places past or present is strictly coincidental.

Table of Contents

Abducted

Abducted Again

Escape

New Home

Rituals End

Defences

Shadekin

Epilogue

About Alexandra A. Cheshire

Other Works by Alexandra A. Cheshire

For the Scribblers Unanimous regulars

Paul, Danell, Weston, Heather and Ian

Abducted

I gradually wake to the realization that I'm not in my own bed. Nor am I at home, which I'm pretty sure is where I fell asleep last night. I'm feeling slightly groggy as I sit up and look around, but I only get the barest impression of things before a familiar lean man with deep blue eyes, short blond hair, and deeply tanned skin enters the room. Instantly, I'm wide awake and defensive.

Where am I?

Josua studies me for a moment, then nods to himself. You're pretty sick of everyone running your life, right?

I'm not about to respond. Yes, I am tired of having all my decisions made for me. That doesn't mean I want him to do anything about it.

You're free to go back... if you want, Josua doesn't seem worried about my lack of response, It isn't far from here. Or you can spend some time playing around with anything here.

I frown. What about you?

I have a job to do. I'll be back later. With that, he leaves and, a moment later, I can hear a door close somewhere in another room.

I continue to sit on the bed for a few minutes while I take stock of the situation. For as much as I don't trust Josua, I'm unhurt right now. And I'm away from the people who have been running my life, however good their intentions, for so many years. At this point, I can do anything I want. The question is: What do I want to do from here?"

I look around again, more carefully this time. On the floor, right beside the bed, is a half familiar equipment bag. I haul it up onto my lap and open it to find everything I currently own. Which means I can get up and dress in my own clothes. Once I've done that, I leave the bag on the bed and look around the rest of the place.

The room I'd woken in has two beds, heavy stone walls and not much else. The next room also has stone walls and contains a number of tables loaded down with electronics of all descriptions. There is a tiny attempt at a kitchen tucked into one corner. It's enough for me make myself a hot drink and a quick breakfast. Of the two other doors off this room, one leads to a cramped bathroom and the other leads out into a tunnel through some stone ruins. Which actually gives me a fairly good idea of where I am, since there's only one large stone ruin in the area I've called home for as long as I can remember. But I really don't want to go back right now, so I return to the electronics filled room and take a closer look at what is there.

A lot of it looks like it needs repairs and even the pieces that look intact seem to have software issues. I know a little about electronics. Mostly just enough to make me unsure about touching anything in here. Still, Josua said I could play around with things and I don't have anything better to do.

I sit in a chair at one of the tables and pick up a portable game terminal which seems to be working not too badly. Getting it to work better absorbs my attention and, the next thing I know, the door from the tunnel opens and Josua enters the room. He goes over to set a basket on the small section of kitchen counter.

Then he addresses me, Have you eaten?

Breakfast. Now that my concentration has been interrupted, I realize I'm hungry.

Keep working on that, He starts to pull food items from the basket and put them away, I'll make us something.

I'm not even sure what I'm doing.

Doesn't matter, He moves the basket to the floor, Anything you manage to fix, we can use. Anything you break, we can use for parts. And I can always find more salvage for you to work on.

I think he's trying to be reassuring.

If that's the case, think you could 'salvage' some manuals for me? I hate working blind.

Josua chuckles. Fair enough. And I'll see what I can find next time I'm out.

What if I don't want to be stuck here all the time?

Then you need to learn to defend yourself. Starting after we eat. He turns his attention to preparing food.

I attempt to return to the game terminal, but I can't help wondering what else he has in mind. Obviously, he went to some trouble to set all this up before abducting me. Right now I'm not sure whether I mind or not.

As soon as we've eaten and cleaned up, Josua leads me out into the tunnel and down to a sunny open area. The ground is the same stone as the rest of the ruins, but he has managed to salvage some training mats from somewhere. He leads me to the center of them.

You need to learn to defend yourself, He glances over me, I know most people would recommend some form of combat arts, but that's slow. So we're going to start with a few quick tricks that should take down any attacker.

Okay. I'm not sure this is quite what I had in mind.

Once you know these, He continues, We can try something more formal. Mainly, it's a matter of how long you want to stay stuck.

He has a point there. I would like to be able to go out if I want to and not have to worry about needing someone along to protect me. Finally, I look up at him.

So where do we start?

By the time the sun is gone and we're both exhausted, he seems to think I'm doing well. I'm not so sure about that, although I think I understand the theory behind what he was teaching me.

One more session like this, Josua leads the way back, And you should be fine to come with me on salvage and shopping runs. Keep in mind, if there is trouble, you'll need to defend yourself.

And once I can manage that?

Then you can do whatever errands need to be done, He opens the door to the electronics filled room, You need a lot more training if you want to do more than that.

How would I get that? I follow him inside and allow the door to fall shut behind me.

Figure out what you want to learn to do and we'll find a way to make it happen, Josua crosses the room to get a drink, I'm not going to dictate what you do. I just thought this, He gestures around the room, Might interest you.

He's actually right about that. I could spend a long time working in this room. In fact I can almost see what I would like to do with it, if he'll let me. Of course I'll need the manuals I already asked for and who knows what all else. Still, it's something to work towards.

So what happens when they come looking for me? I get a drink for myself.

They now think the Darvos Tair took you... took us, actually, His expression turns serious, They've already moved elsewhere.

Just like any sane person does when the Darvos Tair invade their home. There aren't many of the wraiths left, but they're still as dangerous as ever. I hope I never encounter one.

Want me to make food this time? I ask.

Go ahead. He sits at the one table with some clear space and starts to tinker with his equipment for work. Neither of us speaks while I prepare food and he works. Nothing is said while we eat either and, afterwards, each of us goes back to the equipment we had been working on earlier.

It's late into the night by the time I hit a real dead end with the game terminal I'm working on. I just can't seem to get it to do anything more right now. Setting it down, I go into the bedroom and dig out my favourite nightshirt. I have a feeling the other bed in here is Josua's and I'm not sure I like that. But I guess there's only so much he could do with the space we have here.

Taking my nightshirt, I head into the bathroom to clean up and change for the night. I come out to find him packing his equipment back into his bag.

Do you want me to sleep elsewhere? Josua looks directly at me.

No, I shake my head, I'll be okay. I go into the bedroom and get into the bed I had woken up in. I'm facing the wall, but I can hear him moving around, preparing for bed and getting into the other one.

I wake disoriented from a very vivid, very strange dream. Having no idea where I am doesn't help me feel any better. I curl up in a ball in the bed, trying not to cry.

Katrina?

I recognize Josua's voice immediately and my memory of yesterday returns in a rush. The dream I'd had slips away and I can't remember any of it anymore.

I'll be okay. I make a futile attempt to straighten my twisted blanket.

He doesn't respond, but when I quickly glance over at him, I find him watching me, his concern clear in his face. I can't help a slight shiver as my gaze returns to the wall beside me. Neither of us speaks, but I'm not sure which of us falls asleep first.

The next time I wake, I find I'm the only one in the room. Slipping out of bed, I go to the doorway to the next room and find him cleaning one of his weapons. Almost immediately, he turns his head to look at me.

Morning. You doing okay?

No worse than usual. I return to my bag in the bedroom to get clothes to change into for the day. While I'm at it, I go though my belongings and sort out what I like and will keep using from what I'd just as happily replace or just plain get rid of. Once I'm dressed, anything I'm keeping goes back into my bag. The rest gets dumped in a pile beside the door.

Going out to the next room, I make myself a hot drink and watch Josua work for a moment.

Is there a way I could make myself some coin?

He glances up at me, Either sell stuff you repair or help me with my work and I'll split the coin with you.

I nod to myself. What kind of help could you even use?

That I'll have to get back to you on, He grimaces, "Undoubtedly something will come up. In the meantime, I'm going to see about