After a week of captivity, Raven was beginning to chafe severely. Slade allowed her such little time out of the little room she was allotted; for most of the days she was locked up with nothing to do. Frustration mounted; she wished that she could use all this spare time to meditate, but that of course was impossible. The food he brought her was hardly satisfying either.

Almost as if called, the key suddenly scraped in the lock, making Raven jump. It swung open and Slade entered, balancing her breakfast of runny eggs, dry toast and watery coffee in his hands. He made to shove the door closed with his wide shoulder, but Raven, struck with a desperate impulse, darted forward slipped out the door, slamming it behind her. As she turned to run, she heard the metal plate and mug crash to the floor as Slade dropped it to come after her.

Without hesitation, she sprinted down the long, shadowy corridor. Halfway down, she heard the heavy door crash open behind her and Slade's heavy footsteps as he began to sprint after her. Oh, if only she had her powers, she could buy herself more time! She turned left at the end of the hallway and took the staircase she found two stairs at a time. At the top, she ran right, towards the light that seemed to be spilling into the building. Hoping it was a way out, Raven ran forward, turning left, right, right again and left... how big was this place?

Eventually, she had to stop and catch her breath. She leaned back against the wall, panting heavily. She could no longer hear Slade's footsteps, so she figured it was safe to stop for a moment. But she was wrong; within minutes, she heard him again, approaching fast. She knew she wouldn't be able to evade him now, so she darted behind the closest door. Her ear pressed against it, she heard Slade run past. With a sigh of relief, she turned and pressed her back against the door, resting her head back, her eyes closed.

Suddenly, Raven realised that there was definite chill in the room she had entered. She opened her eyes and found that it wasn't quite a room, but a staircase. It was dark; in fact, it seemed that it hadn't seen light for many years. Some kind of mad curiosity drew her down the staircase, some kind of force; she felt compelled to go down.

At the bottom, she found herself in a long, dark corridor that seemed to have rooms. She struggled to make it out in the pressing darkness. She walked forward a little, squinting trying to see... she jumped back in fright as she realised that they were cells; it was a dungeon! Suddenly the darkness seemed to press on her, triggering a well hidden memory...

"No..." Raven moaned as she fell to her knees. A dark dungeon... a woman's scream... "Mother!" a ten-year old Raven called as she was dragged away... "Raven! Go Raven! Get away!" then another agonised scream... "Mother, no!" the little girl sobbed... Mother... Mother... the girl's sobs and the mother's screams echoing off the stone walls... pain... so much pain... take us way from here...

Raven, on her knees, her hands tangled in her hair, felt the strong hands close on her upper arms. They pulled her up, out of the darkness of her pain, turning her.

Instead of fighting him, as Slade had expected her to do, she turned willingly to him, tears coursing down her face, and buried her face in his chest. He looked down at her in shock as she pressed closer, her body wracked with sobs. He looked down at her, stunned. Looking around the dark dungeon, he sensed that this place had triggered something in her. He tentatively wrapped his arms around her and lifted her. Her arms came around his neck as she continued to sob and press into him. Carefully, he carried her up the stairs. He had never held a woman like this before, never heard a woman cry like this. No woman had ever looked to him for comfort before.

As surprised as he was about Raven's behaviour towards him, he was more surprised at his reaction. A powerful sense of protectiveness came over him as he cradled her shaking body. He wanted to soothe her pain. What was this girl doing to him?

Once he was out of the dungeon, he hesitated, wondering where he ought to take her; back to her cell, or somewhere more comfortable? He opted for the latter; as strange as it all was to him, he just couldn't take her back to that cold room.

He continued the way that she had been running; if she'd continued, she'd have found that there was nowhere to run. She had been running deeper into the huge house. He turned and went up a flight of stairs, being careful not to jostle her too much. She seemed to be more relaxed now; she had stopped her sobs, but she was still shaking, her eyes closed as she snuggled against him. Finally, he arrived at the room he was looking for; the one next to his. It would be easier this way, he thought, to bring her food. It had been quite a trek down to that room every few times a day.

He pushed the door open with his shoulder and carried her over to the big four poster bed. As he made to put her down, she tensed and clung to him again. "Don't leave me!" she whispered agonisingly. This was getting ridiculous. Ten minutes ago she had been his prisoner and now he was acting as if she was... something else. Still... he couldn't bring himself to leave her when she was in this state.

"What am I doing?" he asked himself softly as he lay on the bed with her, still cradling her in the circle of his arms. He half lay, half sat with his back propped against the headboard; she lay pressed against his side, her head resting on his chest. Slade found his hand lifting to stroke her silky hair. It seemed to soothe her, so he continued. Soon, her shaking subsided and she slipped into a sleep brought on by emotional exhaustion.

Slade stared down at his captive. What was he to do with her? Where had his ruthlessness gone? He had never thought that these emotions existed in him. And why did she have to be so beautiful? It did not make his predicament any easier to handle.

He laid for hours, studying her tear-streaked face, her soft hair falling over her cheek. After a while, his sleepless nights caught up with him, and he fell asleep. As he slept, his arms unconsciously tightened around Raven, drawing her closer to his body heat.