Item 2
Friday night I was sore and tired and I knew I'd be on my feet in the morning to bake bread. It was then that I demanded Daniel rub my legs and my back. I must remember to thank Alcuin because Daniel is so very talented...even though I'll never let him know that. Talented enough that I fell asleep in his bed. I awoke at some point in the night so I could go to the toilet and I'd had to disentangle myself from his arm around me. I didn't dare dwell on how comforting that simple gesture was. I simply went, returned, and actively put his arm around me again when I came back to bed. The weight of it pressed into my ribs and I drifted off.
Of course, after a while it became uncomfortable. The sun was coming up and I was fighting the morning. I tried to shift a little to get the solid pressure off my side and the cold, hard sensation off my ass. As I moved, metal clinked against stone and a feeling of dread settled in. I didn't even want to open my eyes for fear of what I would find.
Daniel woke to Vala missing. That wasn't an altogether surprising experience, but she hadn't run so blatantly in months. Now she usually came back if she left and kicked him back to his small corner of the bed. It was nights with her that he regretted letting Ianto keep the large bed and considered making another. His stomach went cold and he reached over to grab his contact case. "Vala?" he called as he put in each lens. Maybe she was just in the library with a book. No answer. "Vala?" he called louder. Still no answer.
He hurriedly tossed on a pair of pants and a t-shirt, not bothering with shoes. He'd find her out at the bathroom or over at her own hut, he was sure. Like she always told him, he was worrying for no reason.
It was when he opened the door that he saw that his worry was, for once, justified. It was like a scene out of one of his nightmares. Vala was chained to the stone again and a quick glance proved that the only piece missing, thankfully, was the quick burn of fuel that still haunted him. So maybe she wasn't in imminent danger, but that didn't make him run any slower.
I lifted my head, the thick, heavy mass of my hair falling over my face as I did. I reached up to brush it back and realized that there was a large metal shackle around my wrist. I stared at it like the traitor it was, then looked at the other. Bound. Chained to a...
I knew this. I'd been here before. Three days and nights, no food and no water, the eyes of the villagers on me, staring in scorn. Or some, like Tomin, not bothering to look at me at all. It was the same shackles, the same bench, the same oval carved with ovals that all found their way to the center. All the better for the burning oil to flow.
"DANIEL!" I called to him, pleading with my eyes as I jerked my arm hard to try to break the chain- even though I knew it was a futile endeavor. "Daniel...do something!"
Daniel tucked a lock of hair behind her ear when he reached her and looked down at the stone. God, he'd wanted to get her out of it last time and they wouldn't let him. He sucked in a breath. 'They' weren't here now and it was just him and Vala. He tried to think. An axe, maybe. He'd needed for a project for Vala, so he'd borrowed the axe.
"I will be back." He looked at her steadily. "I promise. I need to get something to get through these chains."
Time more than finesse was the more important on Daniel's mind and he wasn't going to run to the supply room and search for bolt cutters if he had something that could work without him leaving the clearing. He ran back to his hut and grabbed the axe from where he'd stored it. His knuckles were white with the tight grip he was using as he made his way back to her.
The child was kicking violently and I laid my hand on my stomach. I was afraid and I'm sure it could tell. The movement didn't help me keep calm. I watched him go, stared at the vacant area, and then watched as he came back. My fear and faith changed to something entirely different when I saw what he had.
"An axe?!?" I exclaimed. "You're not planning on chopping off my hands, are you? Honestly, Daniel, an axe is for wood, it's not going to break through the chains," I told him, shaking my head in exasperation.
"Would you rather I run back to the Compound and leave you here or try this?" he asked softly. "I'm not going to chop off your hands." He moved one of the pieces of metal wrapped around the stone away from the others. "It's the best thing I've got and I can do it without hurting you." That was simple enough. He put himself between her and the axe. If anyone was getting hurt here, it was him.
"Well, if you're giving me a choice," I started, but he was already in position. I turned my head away so I wouldn't see the tragic loss of my fingers.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Daniel told her. It made his stomach curl to think of hurting Vala. It was almost funny considering how they'd met. He took a breath and let the axe drop. There was a looud clank and a few sparks. He tried it again and a third time before he saw any give. Another few strong whacks and the metal finally gave. As soon as he through, he went over to the other side, shielding her again, especially because of the sparks. When he was through with the second, he dropped the axe and knelt down in front of her.
As soon as I was free, I had my hands to my ears and I tried to rub away the resonating clang that rattled in my ears. After the first chain broke, I was certain he'd get me out, which I honestly never should have doubted.
"Marvelous," I said as I examined the locks on the shackles. They were placed exactly wrong and there was no way I could pick them myself. "I'm going to need help getting out of these. And no...you're not using the axe."
"There are enough ex-thieves on this island. I'm sure we can," Daniel said softly. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ears. "But what I'm more concerned about is that you're okay. You terrified me, slipping out of bed like that. Or..." He left the alternative unspoken. It was that other answer that had him terrified because he remembered waking up wrapped in nothing but a sheet on the wrong end of the island and he desperately didn't want something like that to happen to Vala.
"I'm fine. Honestly, Daniel...there are worse things that could have happened," I told him. Of course I was lying. I wasn't fine, not in the least. Having found myself at the mercy of the followers of Origin twice alread, and, for the record, it was a mercy that didn't exist, waking up chained to the platform did nothing but ruin my day. Even worse...it was huge, heavy, and permanant. It didn't look like it would be going anywhere. All I could think was that it was needed. That in ten weeks it would be used for what it was intended for.
Of course, after a while it became uncomfortable. The sun was coming up and I was fighting the morning. I tried to shift a little to get the solid pressure off my side and the cold, hard sensation off my ass. As I moved, metal clinked against stone and a feeling of dread settled in. I didn't even want to open my eyes for fear of what I would find.
Daniel woke to Vala missing. That wasn't an altogether surprising experience, but she hadn't run so blatantly in months. Now she usually came back if she left and kicked him back to his small corner of the bed. It was nights with her that he regretted letting Ianto keep the large bed and considered making another. His stomach went cold and he reached over to grab his contact case. "Vala?" he called as he put in each lens. Maybe she was just in the library with a book. No answer. "Vala?" he called louder. Still no answer.
He hurriedly tossed on a pair of pants and a t-shirt, not bothering with shoes. He'd find her out at the bathroom or over at her own hut, he was sure. Like she always told him, he was worrying for no reason.
It was when he opened the door that he saw that his worry was, for once, justified. It was like a scene out of one of his nightmares. Vala was chained to the stone again and a quick glance proved that the only piece missing, thankfully, was the quick burn of fuel that still haunted him. So maybe she wasn't in imminent danger, but that didn't make him run any slower.
I lifted my head, the thick, heavy mass of my hair falling over my face as I did. I reached up to brush it back and realized that there was a large metal shackle around my wrist. I stared at it like the traitor it was, then looked at the other. Bound. Chained to a...
I knew this. I'd been here before. Three days and nights, no food and no water, the eyes of the villagers on me, staring in scorn. Or some, like Tomin, not bothering to look at me at all. It was the same shackles, the same bench, the same oval carved with ovals that all found their way to the center. All the better for the burning oil to flow.
"DANIEL!" I called to him, pleading with my eyes as I jerked my arm hard to try to break the chain- even though I knew it was a futile endeavor. "Daniel...do something!"
Daniel tucked a lock of hair behind her ear when he reached her and looked down at the stone. God, he'd wanted to get her out of it last time and they wouldn't let him. He sucked in a breath. 'They' weren't here now and it was just him and Vala. He tried to think. An axe, maybe. He'd needed for a project for Vala, so he'd borrowed the axe.
"I will be back." He looked at her steadily. "I promise. I need to get something to get through these chains."
Time more than finesse was the more important on Daniel's mind and he wasn't going to run to the supply room and search for bolt cutters if he had something that could work without him leaving the clearing. He ran back to his hut and grabbed the axe from where he'd stored it. His knuckles were white with the tight grip he was using as he made his way back to her.
The child was kicking violently and I laid my hand on my stomach. I was afraid and I'm sure it could tell. The movement didn't help me keep calm. I watched him go, stared at the vacant area, and then watched as he came back. My fear and faith changed to something entirely different when I saw what he had.
"An axe?!?" I exclaimed. "You're not planning on chopping off my hands, are you? Honestly, Daniel, an axe is for wood, it's not going to break through the chains," I told him, shaking my head in exasperation.
"Would you rather I run back to the Compound and leave you here or try this?" he asked softly. "I'm not going to chop off your hands." He moved one of the pieces of metal wrapped around the stone away from the others. "It's the best thing I've got and I can do it without hurting you." That was simple enough. He put himself between her and the axe. If anyone was getting hurt here, it was him.
"Well, if you're giving me a choice," I started, but he was already in position. I turned my head away so I wouldn't see the tragic loss of my fingers.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Daniel told her. It made his stomach curl to think of hurting Vala. It was almost funny considering how they'd met. He took a breath and let the axe drop. There was a looud clank and a few sparks. He tried it again and a third time before he saw any give. Another few strong whacks and the metal finally gave. As soon as he through, he went over to the other side, shielding her again, especially because of the sparks. When he was through with the second, he dropped the axe and knelt down in front of her.
As soon as I was free, I had my hands to my ears and I tried to rub away the resonating clang that rattled in my ears. After the first chain broke, I was certain he'd get me out, which I honestly never should have doubted.
"Marvelous," I said as I examined the locks on the shackles. They were placed exactly wrong and there was no way I could pick them myself. "I'm going to need help getting out of these. And no...you're not using the axe."
"There are enough ex-thieves on this island. I'm sure we can," Daniel said softly. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ears. "But what I'm more concerned about is that you're okay. You terrified me, slipping out of bed like that. Or..." He left the alternative unspoken. It was that other answer that had him terrified because he remembered waking up wrapped in nothing but a sheet on the wrong end of the island and he desperately didn't want something like that to happen to Vala.
"I'm fine. Honestly, Daniel...there are worse things that could have happened," I told him. Of course I was lying. I wasn't fine, not in the least. Having found myself at the mercy of the followers of Origin twice alread, and, for the record, it was a mercy that didn't exist, waking up chained to the platform did nothing but ruin my day. Even worse...it was huge, heavy, and permanant. It didn't look like it would be going anywhere. All I could think was that it was needed. That in ten weeks it would be used for what it was intended for.