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Water rose up into the air in sheets as Jacqui stumbled headlong through a creek at the bottom of a deep ravine, fervently hoping that fleeing through water would throw off the hunting dogs’ scents. She had slipped on the slick mud and tumbled painfully down the edge of the ravine, her arms and clothing getting ripped by rocks and briars that grew on the side as she fell. Fortunately the only serious injuries she sustained were a broken finger and a dislocated shoulder. Having nothing else to fix it with, Jacqui was able to wrench her arm so her shoulder popped back in place. She managed to stop herself from shouting out, but it was a close thing. Then she used a ratty scarf as a sling so she could still run, though it was still hurting. She could do nothing for her finger because she was already losing crucial minutes by fixing her arm, so she kept moving, plunging into the water, gasping with the cold. She made her way downstream, tearing branches out of her way and choking back sobs of fear.

Jacquelyn Rodriguez was running away from Stonehill Orphanage for the fourth time in three months. Each of the previous time she had tried to leave, she was caught by the hunting dogs owned by the orphanage mistress, Jessica Gorland, or by Gorland herself. And each time she got caught, the punishments were more severe, more horrible. If the dogs caught her, she was bitten and scratched until a human reached them and beat them away before hauling her off to Gorland. Gorland had caught her the two previous times and started punishing Jacqui right away. Often times, Gorland brought a whip with her on the search and lashed Jacqui’s face until Jacqui turned away. Then, Gorland would just last her back, hard and fierce until she was satisfied and dragged Jacqui up to her chambers for other ways of punishing.

The main reason for Jacqui’s running away was that she was being mistreated and beaten; abused. Each time Gorland thought that Jacqui was stepping out of line or “forgetting her place”, she was beaten, burned, cut, or whipped. As she ran through the icy water of the creek, Jacqui could feel blood trickling down her back from this mornings’ harsh and agonizing punishment.

Even at 17, the age where many people would think that she would be able to protect herself and fight back, Jacqui could do nothing to stop her cruel mistress. Gorland had spies, workers, helpers, whatever they may be called who, quite apart from strapping Jacqui down during beatings when she thrashed, obeyed Gorland’s command of keeping the child under lock and key. Gorland knew somehow that because “The Girl” was strong, tall, and muscular, she would one day fight back and try to escape and Gorland could not let that happen.

Jacqui was 5 feet 11 inches tall and was built well for a girl of her age. She was not overweight or too skinny. She was of athletic build, her muscles prominent when wearing short sleeves and short pants. Jacqui had lifted makeshift weights and exercised in the late hours of the night in her room to gain muscles, doing countless push-ups and abdominal curls. She was dark-haired with dark brown eyes hidden under long eyelashes, but her eyes showed intelligence beyond her age and the light of someone who would fight back. Her tanned face was smooth and young and when she smiled, two dimples were prominent on her cheeks.

At times, the children of the orphanage were allowed to play games and sports out in the backyard, so long as they were not to noisy. Jacqui excelled at all of the sports; basketball on the driveway of the Orphanage, softball on the grass out back, soccer in the same place as softball, running through the forest, tennis on the concrete, and swimming in the pond on the grounds.

Knowing that she was the best at everything, the children fought over who would have Jacqui on their teams. They knew that even if they had young, inexperienced kids on their team, if they had Jacqui, they rarely lost. Jacqui herself tried to be fair, putting herself on a team that had the weaker talent. She was a good sport, teaching others how to throw a ball, helping them up when they fell, congratulating them if they won, and giving encouragement to all.

Jacqui’s best and favorite sport was soccer. She loved the prospect of racing up and down a lush green field with dozens of her friends, kicking a ball into a net to score an exhilarating goal. She had seen catches and glimpses of women’s games on the various TVs that were inside the orphanage, but rarely allowed to watch a whole game. Gorland tried to catch her watching TV and always sent her on errands, enjoying the look of disappointment on Jacqui’s face. But no matter if she had watched or not, she was an amazing player and loved the sport.

Being tall, Jacqui had a huge presence in the air, jumping for head-balls. She was strong so was dominant on the ground in tackles. She had a shot that was considerably harder than the best kid out there and she was blazing fast. Nothing could stop her when she was racing down the field. Once she had the goal in sight and had the ball, her passion for playing took over and she nearly always scored. Her hard-hitting shot on the ball was so spectacular that she could score from a good 35 yards out. But she was a selfless player too, passing to a younger child when they had a good chance, serving a cross to an older player who had a better angle.

Her selflessness and kindness lead her to be loved by all the children of the orphanage, young and older. The youngest kids pictured her as their mother, not having one themselves. She was the older children’s greatest friends and was in some way a counselor, giving the children advice about a variety of things and being there when tearful ones needed someone to talk to, or just needed a hug.

It was this that Gorland wanted to beat out; the friendly, loved by all, athletic and talented Jacqui, the girl she loathed most. Gorland tried countless times to put Jacqui out of action by beating her and hurting her limbs. She wanted the satisfaction that the girl with the most fighting spirit could no longer fight. Jacqui stayed strong through the beatings, never making a sound and bracing herself, willing herself to remain conscious. The girl always fought back with the help of her friends. She healed and became stronger with their help. Jacqui was a fighter.

But there were times when Jacqui thought she was going to fall. There was only one form of beating that scared Jacqui the most and was the hardest to fight. When Gorland whipped her. The woman never took a light mode with Jacqui. She always whipped her as hard and as long as her arms could manage. She whipped her until Jacqui passed out, or was too much in pain to make a sound. Sometimes, when the girl passed out and Gorland wasn’t through, the woman waited until Jacqui revived before starting the whole process again.

At these times, Jacqui couldn’t fight, couldn’t hold back from screaming. Gorland knew that whipping was the thing that could break Jacqui in the end. But somehow, Jacqui recovered from all of the whippings she went through. Her back was covered in layers of scars from all the times of whippings and for days after whippings her back was tender and painful, but she played anyway. She still smiled and joked with the children, something that only infuriated Gorland more.

Jacqui did not look for trouble. Usually when she was punished, she didn’t do anything, or Gorland misunderstood. The woman looked for ways to accuse Jacqui so she could try to break her again. There was no way Jacqui could escape the will of Gorland when she wanted something.

This morning, Jacqui had been washing the floor of the sleeping room as she had been ordered by Gorland. Using an old and dirty rag, Jacqui had to use a bucket of water to scrub away the grime on her hands and knees. The stone floor was still wet when one of Gorland’s guards entered the room, sent to check if Jacqui was doing her job. Jacqui opened her mouth to warn her of the sopping floor, but it was already too late.

“Don’t-” Jacqui began, but the guard had already slipped and was falling to the ground. It seemed to Jacqui to happen in slow motion. The guard’s feet shot out from under her and she slammed onto the stones, her head cracking on the floor, knocking her unconscious instantly. With a cry of alarm, Jacqui clapped a hand to her mouth, frozen on the soaking floor, the other hand clutching the sodden rag she had been using only seconds before. Her brain was numb; she couldn’t think, couldn’t move herself to see if the guard was alive, couldn’t get up to run away from the room to delay the punishment she knew she would be getting.

Minutes passed and Jacqui still sat on the floor, staring at the guard as though willing her to get up like nothing happened. Then, footsteps echoed outside the door. Without warning, the door to the room was flung open and crashed against the wall, but Jacqui’s numb brain did not tell her to jump. In a flurry of cloaks, Gorland appeared in the doorway, flanked by five of her guards, no doubt summoned there by the sound of the guard crashing to the floor. Staring impressively around the room, Gorland caught sight of her guard lying motionless on the soaked floor. Looking up to see Jacqui still kneeling on the floor, she drew in a sharp breath.

“What did you do?” Hissed Gorland, venomously. “What has happened in here? Quick, speak! Answer me, girl!”

Jacqui didn’t say a word. She couldn’t. She didn’t even hear Gorland as she stared, dumbstruck and quiet at the guard, oblivious to everything around her.

Looking furious at not getting an answer, Gorland looked at her guards and gestured towards the stricken girl. Two burly-looking men in uniform slipped and slid across the wet stones towards Jacqui. Grabbing the girl by the arms, one clutched her hair and forced her head back so she looked at Gorland. The pain in Jacqui’s head reawakened her and her eyes focused once more on the face of the person she hated most.

Gorland approached Jacqui swiftly and leaned close to the girl’s. Jacqui could taste the woman’s vile breath as she breathed slowly and sharply, “Answer me, girl…what-did-you-DO?” She shouted the last word into the girl’s frightened face, grabbing her chin.

Breathing hard with pain and fear, her neck strained with being held, Jacqui whispered, “I didn’t do this, ma’am. Honestly.”

Gorland laughed and sneered. Jacqui tried not to wrench her head away from the putrid breath in case it looked like a gesture of disrespect, which would usually end up as a painful punishment, though she had the fleeting thought that she was going to be punished anyway. “I’m sure you didn’t,” Gorland said feigning kindliness, releasing Jacqui’s chin, softly, patting her cheek with her grainy hand. Then, suddenly, she slapped Jacqui hard across the face. Jacqui’s head turned with the impact and she shut her eyes against the laughter of her mistress. “Well, I’ll soon teach you a lesson you won’t forget!” Gorland turned to the guards. “Take her up to my chambers.” Her eyes returned to Jacqui’s face, which was now burning red from the slap and from anger. “Get her ready.” She dismissed them with a casual wave of her hand.

Fighting against the guards who still held her tight with new-found strength, Jacqui sprang at her smirking mistress screaming, “I didn’t do it, do you hear me? I didn’t do it!” But before Jacqui could lay her hand on the woman, another guard leaped forward and punched Jacqui hard in the stomach, knocking the wind and the fight out of her. Jacqui sank to her knees, gasping, and put her chin to her chest, trying to fill her lungs, her arms still held by the guards.

Again, Gorland approached Jacqui, lifting her chin with a vice-like grip until the girl’s wet eyes were level with her own. “Changed your mind, eh?” She laughed into Jacqui’s face. “Get her out of my sight. For the present.” She pushed Jacqui’s chin away and swept out of the room.

Jacqui felt herself being half lifted, half dragged from the room. With a snarl of anger, Jacqui again tried to fight the guards off to run at Gorland, but one of them hit her across the face again, so hard that is stunned her momentarily. Taking advantage of the situation, the guards pushed her up a flight of stairs and forcibly dragged her down a long dark corridor. There were no lights to speak of in this hall and the floor was cold and hard beneath Jacqui’s bare feet. There was a kind of dampness in the air that clung to Jacqui’s skin as she was pulled towards a place from her nightmares.

The trio turned and entered and all-too familiar room to Jacqui. It was stripped of furniture save for a long wooden table with sharp metal bands on it, a small wooden chair with ropes dangling from it, and a few wooden cabinets filled with Gorland’s favorite instruments and tools of torture, not to mention Gorland’s personal armchair that she often sat in to watch her guards beat Jacqui under her command . Torches blazed along the wall, adding to the light made by a large fire crackling and burning in a huge stone fireplace at the end of the room.

No one was in the room yet save for the two guards and Jacqui. They crossed the floor and made their way to the table that stood forbiddingly in the middle of the room. The guards lifted Jacqui off her feet and shoved her onto the table where she fell onto her stomach. She lay there, winded and trying to breathing hard, attempting to collect her senses. Her sharp eyes swept the room and stopped at the only two doors, her brain trying to think of a way out of this mess.

With a bang the door to the side of the room swung open and Gorland swept in, still flanked by her guards. She slammed the door of the room, flung her cloak at the nearest man and held out her hand. The guard took her cloak and handed her a pair of thin leather gloves. As the woman pulled the gloves on, she crossed to the table where Jacqui lay breathless. Gorland stood by the table, rolling up the sleeves of her gown, leering at the girl she loathed. “So, you’ve caused more trouble, hm? You are a worthless and miserable child who has no meaning in this world, especially for me. What will I do with you, girl? I’ve punished you with nearly every way imaginable. What shall I do to have you remember?” Jacqui dared not answer the angry woman, in case she made her upset even more so. Gorland moved off and paced around the chamber’s wide open area, examining the different objects she used on Jacqui; ropes, irons heating in the blazing fire, knives, daggers, and more horrible things.

Gorland halted at a rack stocked with leather thongs that she used for whipping and ran her hand over them. She picked one up and turned it over and over in her long, pale fingers. “Ah, yes. This is the one I save especially for you, isn’t it?” Jacqui couldn’t help shuddered at the sight. Gorland laughed with the pleasure of seeing her giving in to the thought. “Yes, I remember. But this has gone too far to use this plain thing.” She tossed the whip aside and glanced at the rack again. Her hand stopped at another tightly woven lash, much like the others, but this one had something on the end of it; a sharp piece of metal. Jacqui squinted and gasped.

No! She screamed to herself. She can’t do this to me! It was glass! Gorland was going to whip her with glass! With a cry of fear, Jacqui leapt off the table and tried to run for the door. She took Gorland and the guards completely by surprise as she broke for the door. She dodged around Gorland, knocking over the rack of whips in her rush for escape.

“Seize her! Seize her! Don’t let her escape or it will be your bad fortune!” Jacqui heard Gorland screech behind her.

Almost at the door, Jacqui was tackled from behind by one of the guards. She crashed to the floor as the guard threw his arm around her neck. Jacqui took hold of the man’s arm and bit down. With a roar of pain, he released her. Jumping up again, she groped for the door handle but before she could wrench it open, she was grabbed and flung to the floor again. She hit the floor with a smack with the guard lying on top of her to keep her down. Another guard reached down and pulled Jacqui to her feet. Getting up again, the guard who had held Jacqui down took hold of her arm. Together they pulled the ever-struggling girl back to the table and forced her stomach-down on the table again. This time, the guards pulled her arms up above her head and locked the metal bands around her wrists so she was secured to the table. They also locked her ankles to the table so she was totally immobile.

Tears of defeat and fear began welling up in Jacqui’s eyes and she realized the reality of her situation. There was no way she could escape this torture. There was no way to stay Gorland’s hand.

Gorland advanced on the helpless girl, raising the whip. “Since you tried to escape and made a mess of my chambers, this will hurt all the worse. You made the choice, you deal with the consequences. You will rue the day you tried to defy me!”

Jacqui’s tear-filled eyes widened as she tried to scream to let someone, anyone, know that she was being hurt. A heavy hand was thrown across her mouth, stifling the sound, but again, Jacqui bit down on the hand and tasted blood. With a yell, the guard wrenched his hand away and cursed, striking Jacqui.

“Damn it! Shut her up, you fool!” Gorland hissed wildly. “Gag her! Use her own clothing if you have to!” She reached down and ripped Jacqui’s shirt off her back. The sound of tearing fabric met the girl’s ears. A strip of cloth was forced between her teeth and under her tongue. Jacqui choked, unable to make a sound. She struggled weakly against the bonds that held her as Gorland raised the whip.

Jacqui squeezed her eyes shut in agony as the lash descended on her bare back. The glass sliced into her skin and raked downwards. Another blow came down. Jacqui’s screams were muffled by the gag in her mouth. After the third lash, tears began rolling down Jacqui’s face. After another lash, then another, and another, her eyes rolled back in her head and her back stung. The glass was doing its job. The hot air in the room seemed to burn Jacqui’s torn back. This was pain beyond anything she had ever felt. She wanted to pass out, to die, to sink into unconsciousness, anything to make Gorland stop.

Jacqui’s eyes were rolling. Her screams were getting softer as she lost strength. She could hear Gorland’s laughter like an echo in her brain, which was becoming numb with pain. She was beginning to go limp, save for the arching of her back when the glass struck her. Her fists were clutched tight as the whipping started, but now they relaxed as Jacqui slid slowly into the darkness creeping from the corner of her eyes. Gorland chuckled and threw the whip aside. Crossing to a cabinet, she swung the doors open wide. Shuffling through different bottles, she selected one and drew it out. Lemon juice. With a delighted smile, Gorland unscrewed the cap saying mostly to herself, “This will wake her up. There is no way she is done…” And with that, she sprinkled the juice onto Jacqui’s bloody back. Gorland bared her teeth with satisfaction as the girl’s body tensed and a fresh cry of pain was stifled.

Leaning close to he girl’s tearstained and bloody face, Gorland whispered, “This is for trying to run away. Not so tough now, are we? Let this be a valuable lesson!” Straightening, Gorland sprinkled more juice on Jacqui, watching as the girl’s back arched in pain, then fell back to the table with a smack as the child passed out again.

Almost crying with mirth, Gorland gave Jacqui’s shredded back a sharp slap, listened to the slight groan that forced it’s way out of Jacqui’s mouth, then left the room without a word, flinging the bottle of lemon juice behind her.

Amid the tinkling of glass breaking, the bigger of the guards forced Jacqui’s hands and ankles out of their metal restraints that had dug into her skin and had left deep cuts. He lifted Jacqui roughly off the table, covering her bloody back with the remainder of her torn shirt so he would not dirty his hands. The girl’s head fell back limply, her arms hanging, fingers relaxed, motionless as if dead. The guard carrying her set off down the corridor and down the stairs, accompanied by another guard. They turned at the end of the staircase into a lit hallway. Children lined the corridor, poking their heads out of doorways to see why a guard was in their quarters so early.

The guard walked past them all saying, “Let this ‘un be a lesson to you! Do not lie to the mistress of Stonehill Orphanage!” While talking, the man did not notice the two children who had been following him, the girl around the age of 16, the boy of 18.

The guard kicked open a door about halfway up the hall, revealing a small room with four small beds crammed side-by-side in it. Ignoring the bed nearest to him, the guard merely dropped the limp girl on the floor where she lay unmoving, her head resting on her outstretched and bloody arm. The man backed out of the room without so much as a glance at the unconscious girl and locked the door before he turned and clumped down the hall and out of sight.

A few seconds crept by, the whispers of the children like a breeze through grass. Then, out of the shadows crept the two teenagers who had followed he guard. The girl went for the door of the room right away, pulling a pin out of her hair and started to pick the lock. The boy snuck to the edge of the hall and back, keeping watch. The door gave a small click, the swung open. Giving a small whistle to the boy, the girl entered the room.

She ran to Jacqui immediately and dropped to her knees beside her. The boy followed her in and shut the door, locking it again.

“Jack,” the girl called softly to her friend. “Jack, wake up! Jon, get some towels and water, quick!”

The boy, who’s name is Jonathan, rushed around the room, cleaning off the bed and dunking towels into a bowl of water that stood on a cabinet. The girl, who is named Emily, kept talking to her friend. “Jack, can you hear me? Jacqui, sweetie, come on! Don’t go! Wake up! Stay with me here!” She shook Jacqui slightly and Jacqui began mumbling, “No, don’t! Don’t do that! No, let go! Let…”

“Jon! She’s delirious, hurry!” Emily said urgently. She cradled Jacqui’s head in her lap, stroking her sweaty hair with trembling hands. Jonathan came over and gently lifted Jacqui’s slim form off the ground and carried her gently to the bed. He carefully lowered her stomach-down on the clean sheets.

“She really needs an ambulance,” The boy said softly.

“Jon, we can’t get one. We have to do this ourselves,” Emily replied. Jonathan backed away to give his friend more room. Emily picked up a water-soaked towel from the basin and squeezed it out slightly. With a quick glance at Jonathan, Emily touched the towel tenderly to her Jacqui’s cut back, but withdrew it as her friend let out a whimper of pain. No longer was Jacqui completely unconscious. She could feel pain shooting through her body as Emily washed her cuts.

The towel touched the back again and this time, Jacqui screamed in pain, her fists clenching again, her nails digging into her palms. Emily looked frantically at Jonathan. “Jon, please shut her up or Gorland will hear!”

Jonathan rounded the bed and stuffed a towel into Jacqui’s mouth. The wounded girl struggled, trying to remove her second gag, thinking that Gorland had come back to hurt her more. Jonathan reached out and pried the girl’s hands off the bedclothes and grasped it in his. “Keep working, Em,” he told her.

The girl nodded and continued to care for Jacqui. As soon as her back was clean of dirt and blood, Emily put peroxide on a clean towel. She warned Jacqui, “OK, Jack. This is gonna hurt a lot. Just keep still and as quiet as possible! Your life depends on it!” And with that, she gently patted the towel on Jacqui’s back. The cloth in Jacqui’s mouth was thanked silently by both friends; the girl was screaming and writhing in pain. Jonathan winced as Jacqui’s hand involuntarily clenched his own. Without warning, Jacqui managed to spit out the towel in her mouth. Her screaming echoed around the room and Emily looked hastily at Jonathan.

“Quick! What do we do? Shut her UP!” She said over Jacqui’s yells.

Jonathan looked quickly down at Jacqui’s twisted face. “Sorry, Jack. This is for your own good.” He reached over and pressed his fingers on her neck. The pressure on the sensitive points caused Jacqui to pass out suddenly, unconscious. Jonathan looked sadly at Emily. “Sorry. That was the only way she would keep quiet.”

Emily shook her head. “No, it’s ok. You did what you had to do. At least now she won’t scream and wake up the whole state.”

At last, Jacqui was tended to and covered in a clean sheet, wearing an extra shirt of Jonathan’s. She remained unconscious throughout the procedure and was now sleeping, exhausted from yelling and fighting.

Emily sat at the end of the bed, staring down at her injured friend with concern melted in her eyes. Jonathan, who was cleaning the room, jumped when he heard Emily speak for the firs time in twenty minutes.

“She’s got to get out of here, Jon. And we have to get her out. Tonight, if she wakes up.”

Jonathan shook his head. “No, Em. She’s too weak. For God’s sake, she was almost killed. She had cuts that were inches deep! I’d be surprised if she could walk when she wakes up. She might not even wake up.”

“She’s stronger than you think, Jon. Trust me. I’ve known her all my life. She’s strong and has a strong will. She can get out. She has to. Her life depends on it. Right. Here’s the plan.” And Emily told Jonathan what they were going to do to get their friend away from Stonehill.

A tree branch whipped across Jacqui’s face, bringing her back to the present. She had been thinking back on the morning with tears in her eyes. She didn’t remember a lot of what happened and only knew what Emily and Jonathan had told her. She couldn’t remember the punishment she had save for bits of it.

She didn’t know how she had the strength to keep running. Part of it was her will to get away. The other part was the realization that if she was caught, she could be killed by the hunting dogs, or even Gorland herself.

Jacqui hastily wiped a hand across her cheek and felt blood. Great, she thought. Like I need anymore pain and blood. She stumbled on, her mind flashing back to the past hours, her last at Stonehill.

As soon as Jacqui came around and was able to understand her friends, they told her that she was going to have to leave. Terrified Jacqui was about to protest when Emily interrupted. “Look, this is the last chance you will have to get away. You have to go. They’ll kill you if you do something wrong again.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Jacqui protested, taking a sip of water.

“I know, I know. But you have to leave, don’t you understand? I’m not going to watch you get hurt again.”

Jacqui looked down at her fingers, which were twisted in her lap. She swallowed hard before replying, “But,” She broke off. “What if I get caught again? Remember what happened last time?”

“Yeah. I’m surprised you remember it at all. I thought you were killed.” Last time, Jacqui was caught by the dogs. After being attacked and torn up by the dog’s fangs, Gorland brought the girl to her chambers where she held a white-hot iron to the restrained Jacqui’s neck. Trying to torture Jacqui into telling her who had helped her escape, Gorland shook her, yelling in her face. Not that the girl could have told; she had been screaming in pain as the iron got closer to her flesh. Finally snapping, Gorland pressed the iron hard against Jacqui’s neck, then swung the rod and struck Jacqui across the head, knocking her out and leaving a large bloody gash on her head.

Jacqui didn’t remember what happened when she came back to consciousness. Sick, unable to speak and close to death, Jacqui took months to recover fully. In those months, Gorland made her clean the entire orphanage from top to bottom, whipping her if she missed a grimy spot.

Seeing Jacqui hesitate and rub her trembling fingers over the smooth scar on her neck, Jonathan knelt in front of Jacqui, staring at her. Jacqui lifted her eyes and looked back into his soft brown ones.

“I promise that will never happen again. You just have to go. Far away. Anywhere. I promise you will have a better life. Just let it go. Leave. I’ll risk my own life to get you out of here rather than see you suffer or get killed before my eyes.”

Tears filled Jacqui’s eyes. “You guys are the best friends anyone could ever have. I only wish I could do something for you. I will come back to help you two. I promise.” Jacqui leaned forward and hugged her friend, wincing as he hugged her back.

The three friends waited until was dark the next day. As soon as Gorland was in her chambers, Jonathan, Emily, and Jacqui crept from the room and stole off down the hall, dodging into the bathroom when a guard came down the hall on patrol. When the coast was clear, Emily and Jonathan helped Jacqui make her way to the side door of the building.

Camouflaged by a dark shirt, Jacqui gave her friends one last hug and made her way out into the night. As soon as her friend was out of sight, Emily signaled to Jonathan. Together, they made their way to Gorland’s chambers. Silently, Emily wedged a block of wood into Gorland’s chamber door, locking her in. Hearing a noise, Jonathan raced down the hall. Emily heard a sharp gasp, then a thud. Silence fell again. Emily helped Jonathan carry the unconscious guard outdoors and together they tied him to a large oak tree out of sight from the main building. Satisfied, but still nervous, Emily and Jonathan went back up to their room and tried to sleep, their thoughts dwelling on Jacqui.