"What are we even running from?!" Damari shouted as he raced after Alena, looking behind his shoulder to only speed up when he saw a group of angry looking soldiers after him with the brown haired man in the front of the stampede.

Alena chanced a look back and regretted it the instant she saw the brown haired man's expression, his sword drawn and pointed high. All his power, energy and strength directed towards capturing them.

Alena's breath came in short spurts as she looked in all directions for some type of possible escape plan.

"Alena!"

"Shut up Damari, I'm trying to think!"

"Well telling me where we are going would be extremely helpful at the moment if you didn't notice!" he retorted snidely, a note of urgency seeping into his tone as the man on the horse drew closer.

Alena's eyes fell onto the royal stable that sat a few yards away from the gateway, the door to the stalls opened wide, almost as if it were begging for someone to hide in it.

Grabbing ahold of his hand, she shoved Damari in the direction of the stables before swimming at full speed to the small opening of wood that served as their saving grace.

Just as their bodies shot into the building they fell into piles of short, prickly hay that had been acquired from farms in the northern part of Aegea the day before. The smell of freshly mucked stalls and tack assaulted their noses as they coughed on the dust in the air.

"Remind me never to go on another quest with you," Damari groaned as he rolled onto his knees, brushing away the strands of hay that had tangled themselves in his hair. "It's awful for my health."

Alena opened an eye and smacked Damari on the arm with a sharp slap, earning another moan of pain from him as the sounds of hippocampus' neighing and men shouting reached both of their ears.

"Find them now! Is that understood, Sergeant? I want both of them gagged and bound in my dungeons by the time I return."

"Yes, Sire. As you wish." A low, gravelly voice responded, the crisp and respectful way in which he said those words chilling Alena to the bone.

The snap of reigns and neighing began again before all went silent, the only sound that could be heard in the stalls being the slow inhale and exhale of Damari's breath.

He tried moving himself farther away from Alena when a sharp twist and painful tug in his wrist wrenched a hiss from under his breath.

She flinched and grabbed ahold of her throbbing wrist, the silver emblem twining itself deeper into her skin.

"We need to keep quiet and find a way out of here without being spotted." she whispered, keeping her voice lowered so as not to gain any unwanted attention. "Do you think you can handle that, Sailor?"

Damari ignored her teasing and instead rubbed his hand over the silver marking that lay etched in his skin.

"Sometimes I wonder how this works," he muttered, more to himself than her. "It feels like I've known you for years.. and yet I don't know you at all."

He closed his eyes before opening them again and leaning over his wrist to look closer in speculation. "It's strange to be so intimately connected to someone and still know not one thing about them."

Alena watched him move his index finger over the mark, causing a shiver to run up her spine as she somehow felt the feather light touch on her own skin.

"This isn't the time for sentimental extravagance and you do too know something about me, so if I were you I would cease the lying."

"It isn't lying if all I know is that you drag men to their deaths below the sea, although you're right, I do know something about you that I'm certain you've tried to keep from my sight."

Shifting her gaze out into the open courtyard to search for any oncoming patrols, Alena replied jokingly. "And what, pray tell, could this something be, Damari?"

For a moment, she didn't think he would answer, until his breath rushed out in a heavy filled sigh, the air rustling the surrounding hay and stirring up the dirt that had settled since their entrance.

"That somewhere deep inside you, even if it is hidden so deep that even you yourself cannot see it, is the young girl that grew up on the plains of her father's fields, playing till days end with not a care in the world. That young girl is still there, carrying on, but barely breathing." His eyes connected with hers, a silent war waging between the two as her eyes pleaded with him not to speak the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

"Someday, she's going to be free and I hope to still be alive to be able to see that sight for myself. The day that Alena Cali walked free."

The burning intensity behind her eyes stunned her yet again, her hands beginning to shake under the pressure that had slowly built itself on her as the morning had passed in anxiety.

She purposely avoided looking back at Damari as he adjusted himself in the hay, the unnerving feel of his gaze on her effectively dragging all attentions she needed to protect them. Instead, she was focusing on how she was going to avoid the unexpected bursts of emotion he gave her.

It was all starting to overwhelm her, and she couldn't help but wish to scream. A long, high pitched scream that echoed all her frustrations and anger to every creature that lived either high or low of the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea.

Damari could see the way she held herself now, her spine straightened, her shoulders wide, and her eyes locked on anything but the man who could now read the far recesses of her mind.

The slight quiver in her movement worried him, but when the sounds of hooves meeting concrete reverberated through the stalls, Damari understood that it wasn't so much the fear of being caught that put him on edge.

It was the thought of Alena being dragged away in bonds and chains.

Sliding away from the main entrance of the stalls, he began to search for any other exit the two could take if drastic measures were to arise, seeing as how there didn't appear to be any better ideas presented.

His hand patted against the wooden walls with stunning accuracy, each move a gentle stroke across the surface to feel for any anomalies that could eventually be the difference between life and death for them.

He moved for a few minutes until he sidled up against the left corner of the stall that he and Alena had hidden in. His sandals itched from the hay and his hands were in a state of unfeeling as the wood had roughened his skin to the first layer of red, raw flesh.

He opened his mouth to ask Alena a question when a hand shot out from the hay pile not too far behind him. His eyes widened in fear and he kicked and squirmed in attempts to escape the hands that silenced him.

Finally managing to trip forward, alerting Alena of the ambush, he turned to deliver a striking fist to his attacker's face, nearly about to plow through the mysterious figure when a sparkling white gown caught his attention.

A small chuckle escaped the lips of the Queen herself as she came out from behind the pile of hay, brushing the infernal strands off her gown with a quick flick of her hands.

"Well," she laughed yet again, adjusting her hair to center it back on the top of her head, "I must say it's a pleasure to see you two bright and early, although different circumstances may have made our meeting much more...civilized if I might add."

"You got that right," Damari addressed the Queen brazenly, "you'd think we'd wake up in a much better state then this, but please enlighten us, your Majesty, as to why exactly the royal guard are hunting us down like we are fugitives!"

"Dear, I thought that answer was quite clear when I appeared from behind a reasonably awful pile of hay." The Queen laughed lightly. "My husband has deemed it fit to capture and arrest you both to hand over to Demeter as a mean of preventing you from interfering in the retrieving of her daughter."

"He appears to have succeeded in that." Alena growled. "Because we have nowhere else to go and are trapped in the Royal stables that will no doubt be surrounded by the guards any minute!"

The Queen smiled faintly and took ahold of Damari's hand as well as Alena's, leading them back to the doorway they had sprang through from minutes before.

"Let us not think on such things. Didn't you know it can be terrible for your health?" Damari raised his brows knowingly at Alena who tilted her chin with defiance at the Queen's words. "I have made provisions for the two of you that you must act on now if you wish to escape my husband."

"But, your Majesty..your husband. What would he think?"

The Queen's solemn smile remained the same, but the light that had twinkled in her eyes was extinguished. Their glorious depths had been reduced to ash in the oncoming assault that was her husband.

"My husband can do as he pleases, Alena. Not everyone is blessed with the kind of mate that dotes on their every need, even if they are fortunate enough to be bonded."

"But, you Majesty," Alena repeated again, " if we're suppose to somehow escape not only the clutches of the royal guard, but that of your husband, how are we going to make it out alive?"

A conspiratorial grin stretched across the Queen's face as she looked outside the stables and waved to something in the distance.

"Simple. We take the carriage."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you sure this is the best idea?" Damari grumbled from beneath one of the royal carriages leather seats. "I'd think your husband would question why his Queen is leaving so early in the morning from the castle, don't you?"

"I never question him when he comes home in the early hours of the morning." The Queen said matter of factly as her jaw tightened. "I highly doubt he has the audacity to question where I am going when I never ask of his conquests."

Damari's mouth snapped shut and he glanced at Alena as if to ask her what he should do while the Queen instead turned away to look out the window with a wistful gaze.

"I didn't mean to be so inconsiderate, your Majesty. Please, forgive me, I--"

"It's alright, Damari, you didn't know and I'm sure you wouldn't of asked if you had, but even in the human world I am sure there are many husbands who aren't always faithful to their wives."

Damari lifted the cushion that he hid under to look at the Queen with pity. "I have heard of it, but it isn't as common as one would think."

"It is very common from where I come from, I'm afraid," The Queen said, her voice barely above a whisper, mist clouding her eyes, "and sometimes, the men have no shame in doing what they do. I've had to learn that the hard way."

Alena tilted the cushion she was hiding under up over her head as she watched a tear slide down the Queen's face, her expression calm and collected while more tears silently tracked their way down her porcelain cheeks.

"Your Majesty--"

"Mother!" A voice whispered from outside of the carriage, a pair of aquamarine eyes flashing at the three figures inside. "We've arrived."

The Queen clapped her hands together enthusiastically, waving the figure off before wiping the tears off her face like they were bothersome raindrops from a early morning shower.

"It's time."

"Time for what?" Damari hissed, lifting himself from the hidden paneling and shoving the cushioning on top of Alena as she pulled herself out. "Your Majesty! Time for what?"

"Well time for your escape of course!"

Amphitrite pushed open the carriage door and gestured with her hand for Damari to step out. "I'm afraid I won't be following you any further on your journey, my dears. My husband is on to me I fear, and it is best if we part ways before anything happens of extreme consequence."

"But how do we know you'll be all right?" Alena asked as she swam down from the carriage, taking no notice to her surroundings as the Queen had the carriage door shut again with the help of the driver.

"I'll be alright, Alena, there is nothing to worry about I promise, but for now, you must trust everything my daughters and son are going to entrust you with, is that understood?"

Alena looked to Damari whose attention was drawn to Rhode and Benthesicyme, who were both astride two hippocampus' next to the carriage. Triton stepped forward and presented Alena with the bag Kaiya had given her days before.

"Inside," Amphitrite started, "you will find all the items you brought with you. I have also placed one of our conch shells as well as a special potion made by Rhode to ensure that the bond is secure. You will know when the potion is needed, but do not use it until you are absolutely sure."

Alena nodded and wrapped the bag tightly around her back again, sighing heavily as the familiar weight fell into place.

"You shall take the hippocampus' until you can go no further, for there is no aid for those who are placed in the mazes of Hecate."

Rhode and Bea slid off their steeds and handed the reins to Alena and Damari, making sure to adjust the saddles properly to accommodate the riders.

"I say this, and I only say it once," Amphitrite muttered quietly, moving so that she was a few lengths away from them. "My family and I have given a great deal for you to make it to safety, for our sakes and that of Olympus, make it to the gates in time. You only have ten days left and Hecate will do everything she can to stop you."

Alena put her hand on top of the Queen's in reassurance, wishing she could somehow remove the pain she saw in their depths. "We will do everything we can, your Majesty. I promise you, if we don't make it, it is with our lives that we pursued the will of the gods."

The Queen gave the two one last smile before hitting the backs of their hippocampus'. "Go! Before it is too late!"

Alena and Damari looked back at the family once as they rode off into the unknown. They were huddled together in a tight embrace before their figures disappeared into a cloud of dust.

Their sacrifice will not go unheeded, Alena swore to herself. She would make sure of that till her dying breath.

In the storm of hooves and sand across the deep, stormy landscape, Alena and Damari rode off towards the underwater mountains of Pálimör, just as the King and his men rode over the horizon to find his family huddled by the royal carriage.

With fire in his eyes and the power of the sea at his fingertips, Poseidon sheathed his sword and stared out towards the black caps that were crested upon Mount Pálimör. The sea green foliage disguising any and all means of escape the two fugitives could have used to avoid his guards.

As the King directed his men towards the carriage, he growled low under his breath and took in the defiant forms of not only his arrogant wife, but her beloved children as well, all of their expressions wiped of any regret that could have formed.

The royal guards stepped forward warily on their King's command, weapons drawn as they surrounded the royal family, silver glinting in the morning light and their shields lifting in warning as they shouted as one.

"Traitors to the King!"

~*~*~*~*~