The cell got lonelier and lonelier every second of every day. Magnolia had been there for two long, hard days. Two days of Sovie getting her ready for special events and then getting dragged back to her cell over and over again. She was sick of it, and almost wished she never came back. No, she would tell herself. Archer died because of you. Then she would exhale, thinking about how Dakota split the burden of Archer's death onto himself as well. Most of the time, though, she would think of Evan, and how different things would be if he were alive. She had found out yesterday that her mother died last year, her Alzheimer's getting to the best of her. It had been hard for Magnolia. She cried herself to sleep last night, realizing she really had no family left. No one that cared.

Magnolia began to braid her long hair down the side of her chest, the light slowly escaping the Dark Cells. That meant it was nighttime, and she should go to sleep. But she couldn't and she wouldn't. Sovie came rushing in, "I'm sorry, Miss, I forgot to bring your nightdress."

She helped Magnolia out of her giant tan dress and corset, and zipped on a tight, soft, short v-neck gray nightdress. She nodded at Sovie, who left immediately. Magnolia paced the small cell, twirling her hair into a large thick braid, the soft fabric of her dress swinging against her upper thighs.

"Goodnight." She whispered to herself. She halted at the screeching sound of the metal door swinging open again, whipping her head towards the doorway. Her father came charging through, swinging her cell open. This was the first time he had visited her in the cell, and she didn't like it.

The furious look on his face didn't surprise Magnolia. He immediately slapped Magnolia across the face, and she saw it coming. She didn't flinch, making him raise his hand and slap again, but harder. This made her recoil in pain. Not knowing what she did wrong, she huddled in the corner of the cell, pulling her dress over her bony kneecaps.

"What did you tell him?" He shouted harshly. Magnolia shook her head, confused.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She cried. His fist went into the side of her face, and she cried out a small whimper. He slammed her cell shut, shouting at the new man guarding her cell.

"Don't let her out for the next twenty-four hours. No meals. As far as anyone is concerned, Magnolia is ill." He said, not once looking back at his daughter.

Magnolia dug her face into her knees, and began to cry it all out.



"This is a stupid plan." Slate shook his head, resting his hands on his hips.

Dakota took off his hat, running a hand through his sweaty hair. He tossed the hat at Phoenix, who dropped his backpack next to a large tree, examining the large castle carefully. "Let us help you, Dakota."

"No. If this plan is stupid, only one of us needs to suffer the consequences." Dakota said sternly, forcing everyone to listen. Brylee rolled her eyes, "Fine, go get yourself killed."

Dakota didn't meet her eye before nodding to everyone and heading toward the castle.

River sighed sadly, watching Dakota walk away. "This does not seem right. He thinks he can just walk right in there and find her?"

Slate glanced at her, shrugging, "No one was going to stop him from doing it anyway. There was nothing we could've done."





Magnolia hadn't moved from last night, still huddled in the corner, fearful. The small shade of light came through the crack in the wall, and Magnolia knew it had been hours.

She yawned, the bruise on the side of her face paining her. Sudden fear emerged as the Dark Cell doors swung open once again. A tall, muscular guard with dark skin came marching in her cell, grabbing her by the wrist.

Magnolia ripped her hand out of his, "I am not a slave! I know how to walk!"

She glared at him as she took a step out of her cell. She waited for him to grab her wrist again, catching his arm quickly, kicking him in the stomach. He moaned as she slammed him up against Chase's old cell, sliding his sword out of his side. She placed the blade against his neck, guiding him into her cell. The fear in his eyes widened as she forced him into the small area and locked the door.

"I am the Princess, you fool." She growled, dropping the sword and charging out of the dark.

Magnolia walked across the bridge, her head high. She opened the doors into the castle, immediately getting seen by another guard, Cashton, who grabbed her hands and held them behind her back, shoving her with him. She struggled against his hold, screaming. "Get off of me!"

She realized screaming was a bad idea as the guard tied a cloth through her mouth and tied it behind her head. She muffled coward under the cloth as he took her outdoors. Confused, Magnolia was tied to a large pole planted in the back of the castle. The guard grabbed a long lash, smiling deviously at her.

"This is a little present from your father. He would like you to know this is what will happen every time you disobey him." The guard held the whip in his hands, drawing closer. Slowly, he unzipped the back of her tight dress, her back revealing.

"I'm so going to enjoy this." Cashton whispered in her ear before raising his whip and lashing her. Magnolia felt as if her skin was being peeled off, the pain unbearable. She screamed in horror against the cloth, it coming out as a muffled whimper. Her voice scratched in dryness, and she swallowed, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth.

She accepted the pain when the whip came back onto her for the second time, biting down hard on her lip to stop the screams. She felt the red hot blood drip down her back, and she shook her head, not wanting this to break her.

The third lash came harsher, making her yell in pain. She felt like she was dying, and she wished she was. She heard Cashton laughing as he raised it again, and Magnolia fell to her knees in pain, sobbing uncontrollably.



Dakota tore the clothes off the man he had just killed, pulling the smooth fabric jacket on and his black metal cap to cover his curly dark hair. Tucking the man's sword into his side pocket, eyes widening, he turned the corner, running into another guard. Dakota nodded at the guard, swallowing.

"Scaar." The guard nodded back. Dakota didn't look back as he picked up the pace. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew what he was after as he stepped out a door and the sun blinded him for a split second.

Cursing himself, he went to step back inside when he heard a muffled scream, and he knew only he could hear it. He also knew whose scream it was. He halted, turning on his heel and sprinting toward the horrific sounds. His knees almost fell to the ground when he saw her.

Relief and pain filled him, eyes wide in fear. Dakota almost screamed at the man who was continuing to laugh as he whipped Magnolia's bare back, and almost tackled him before remembering the act he needed to put on.



Magnolia waited for the fifth lash to come, but it never did. She slowly turned in pain, and saw the man talking to another guard.

"King's orders." She heard the unfamiliar man say, his deep voice barely reaching her ears. She whimpered in pain as another tear fell down her face. She flinched when the unfamiliar guard untied her from the poll, grabbing the rope and tugging her along with him.

She yelled out in pain, unable to stand up as she was being dragged, her knees scraping against the hard concrete. The man halted, yanking her up to standing position. Pain surged through her once again, tears rolling down her sweated face.

"She's a runner, Scaar. Bring her back here if she doesn't want to cooperate." Cashton smiled, and Scaar nodded as he yanked her forward, into the castle.

Whimpering in pain, she entered inside. Quickly, the guard turned her around, zipping her dress up. Magnolia shuddered in pain, biting down onto the cloth.

"Come on." Scaar's deep voice reign throughout the hallway.

Magnolia tried to tear loose from him, but instead fell to the floor. Scaar looked down at her for a second, slowly pulling her up. Magnolia wondered why he was suddenly being kind, and then she knew that he probably didn't want to kill her, just break her.

Agony ran through her again and she swallowed hard, her dry throat scratchy. The guard quickly untied her ropes that were binding her hands together, quickly letting his fingers fall in between hers. The gesture was so familiar, the fingers rough and also familiar.

"Dakota?" Magnolia's voice cracked in pain.

"Shut up and play the part." Dakota said, and Magnolia sighed in relief, his voice comforting. Trying to not think about the pain, Magnolia jumped into his arms, tying her fingers together on the back of his neck. Dakota took a step back from the jump, holding his position in shock. He was too surprised to even remember when was the last time he was hugged. Still in shock and very late, he tugged his arms around her gently and careful not to hurt her, pulling her close. She closed her eyes, lying her head on his shoulder, wanting to just fall asleep there and have it all be a nightmare.

"I- I have to stay here." Magnolia forced herself to say, slowly backing off of him. Dakota took off his metal cap and glared at her in sympathy, noticing the large bruise on the side of her eye.

"No." Is all he said as he grabbed her wrist and pulling her around the corner. He halted when he saw three men laughing and drinking together loudly, their heads all turning to Magnolia and Dakota. Seeing Dakota's unfamiliar face in Scaar's clothes, they charged after him. Dakota stepped protectively in front of Magnolia, sliding out his sword and slicing the first one in the stomach. The last two weren't as easy.

They both started sword fighting him, two against one. Dakota went back and forth, slashing his sword at each one of them. Eventually, one of them faltered in their step from being drunk, and Dakota pierced his blade through the man's chest. Dakota slid through the last man's legs, throwing his sword right through the man's back.

A large pool of blood and dead bodies separated Dakota from Magnolia. "Alright, come here." Dakota waved her over as she struggled to walk. He caught her by her elbow, helping her stand.

"It's okay. We're getting out of here." He said, looking into her eyes. She didn't say anything, just looked away.



River tugged Slate's hand, pulling him away from the group. Slate smirked, following her dangerously. She stopped in her tracks, smiling up at him. His eyes traced her body, and then yanked out her ponytail.

"There's no way your hair is staying up." He muttered in her ear. She laughed quietly as he held her face in his hands, moving his face closer to hers.

"Slate." River said, suddenly serious. Slate backed up, following her gaze. There was a wounded wolf lying by a tree, but what was so odd about it was that someone had bandaged the wound and saved the animal. Slate backed up, entangling his hand in River's as he approached the wolf.

"Who would save an animal in these woods when it could feed like ten people?" Slate said, half amazed and half disgusted.

River tapped his arm, pointing at the tree next to the wolf. Slate looked up and saw a huge carving of an M.

"Magnolia." He muttered, lowering his eyes down to the wolf again.



"Hey Princess," Dakota murmured softly, looking at her, "We made it out."

But Magnolia couldn't hear, couldn't see. She felt like the world was fading away and all she could make out was a fuzzy black color.

"Dakota?" She whispered, and she felt like she was falling but didn't ever feel the impact.

"Maggs!" Dakota shouted, catching her right before she hit the dirt. Lifting her into his arms, he moved her long hair out of her face before carrying her back to the runaways.



Phoenix had been watching the horizon for an hour now, worried for his friend. Finally, he spotted a silhouette of Dakota and he jumped up, running toward him. He slowed his pace when he saw Dakota carrying Magnolia in his arms.

"Hey, man, I-"

"Go get water. We need to help her." Dakota said coarsely, setting Magnolia down and squatting next to her.

"What happened?" Phoenix asked, curious. Dakota rolled her over, slowly unzipping her dress, revealing the largest, bloodiest scars Phoenix had ever seen. He gasped, clasping a hand over his mouth in horror. Dakota ran his fingers over her back gently, breathing heavily.

He whipped his head towards his closest friend, "Now, Phoenix!"