A gong cried in the distance, it signaled 2 in the afternoon. Octavius grabbed a nearby table, as he progressed through the halls. It had been over an hour since the last tremor swept the warrior and his daughter off their feet. Biting his lip, he continued to a nearby room. A vase breaking, caused him to stiffen his back. He listened closely. Items were being tossed about down the hall. "Zelda?" He asked. 

"Yes, Father?" She answered emerging from a nearby doorway. The two locked eyes before the sound come once more, this time louder. 

Raising his hand, Octavius signaled to his daughter not to leave her bedroom. Entering the room, he quickly grabbed a sword from off a stand and hurried down the hall. Reaching the entryway, he raised his sword and peered inside. Men in black rummaged through draws and defaced collections of art. Lengthening his stride, he entered the room. "Listen here," he demanded, "you're going to leave my house this instance or suffer the consequences."

The buglers, who had their backs to him, faced him. "Not happening old man." The thief on the right spoke. "This is our last chance for safety and victory. Neither you nor your daughter will stop us." As he spoke, the man on the left disappeared. A shadow soon overcame in. Gritting his teeth, Octavius turned swiftly, raised his palm, and blocked an attack from a club. Octavius winced, not being used to blocking with his bare hands. 

Turning his head, he watched the other thief raised his blade and charged forward. Dropping to the ground, he rolled out of the way, and the two attackers collided. It was clear, they were strong enough to wield weapons, yet at the same time, lacked proper training. Sitting up, he reached inside a nearby drawer and drew out a small dagger.  The swordsmen jabbed once more towards him. Catching him off guard, Octavius plunged the dagger his left shoulder blade. The thief cried out in pain. 

Ripping the blade from his shoulder, the swordsmen charged after him, once more. Octavius blocked the attack. Suddenly, a sharp pain exploded from his right temple. The warrior collapsed onto the rug below that served as his carpeting.  The men towered above him in swimming hazes. His vision darkened. "You, idiot," the sword-bearer hissed, "you didn't have to kill him. 

"Too late now, let's just get what we came for." The sword-bearer nodded at his companion, before turning and leaving the room.  Reaching the for the men, Octavius watched as they went into the hallway, before losing consciousness. 

******************

Sitting on her bed, Zelda waited anxiously for her father's return. Questions wondered through her mind. The ringing of two swords clashing had ceased for a few minutes now. Was her father alright? Who was he fighting with? Her stomach lurched. The house was quite too quite. Could her father be calling for her and she wasn't paying attention? Smiling, she jumped from her bed; which had to be the case. 

A loud bang, that resembled that of an explosion, emanated from behind her. Spinning around, she watched ash shot into the sky from the volcano top cone. "We're out of time. Let's grab her and go." A voice cried out from the hallway. Sweat beaded up on Zelda's forehead. Glancing around, she quickly climbed into bed and pulled the covers over herself. Facing the window, she watched the volcano spew wave after wave of ash into the atmosphere. Biting her lip, she closed her eyes. 

"Here's her room." A voice said. Gritting her teeth, she felt the presence of two individuals entering the room.  Her room shook with each new blast from the volcano. It took everything within her to stay put and not get up and run. Squinting one eye, she noticed from the shadows, that the intruders were men and they stood directly over her. She closed her eyes once more opening they didn't notice. 

Biting her lower lip, she sensed one of the men peering at her face. "Come on Felix, we have to go. Why would she be napping at a time like this anyway? A normal woman would be grabbing her husband and running." 

"Tomorrow we were to marry," came Felix's reply, "she probably feels the same way I do. Anxious and worried hours prior. She was always smarter than me." He chuckled for the last half. "She probably just fell asleep, exhausted." 

Felix's friend moaned with an irritated sigh. Zelda winced. She couldn't believe her fiance was trying to kidnap her. It took everything within her to keep pretending. Another blasted sounded from the volcano. The force threw her out of bed and towards Felix. Arms wrapped around her as they hit the floor with a hard thump. 

Biting her bottom lip, Zelda opened her eyes and pulled away from Felix. Jumping up to her feet, she spun around and faced him. Felix rose to feet. "Calm down it's just..."

"How did you get into my room? Get out, before I call father." Zelda screamed. On the right was the other man, whom she didn't recognize. Hanging at his side was a bag. She could tell he had several items of hers inside. Reaching into the bag, the man pulled out a white cloth. Zelda kept her eyes trained on Felix, who had risen to his feet. 

The man, with the cloth, made his way towards her. Turning her head, Zelda took a step back, placed her hand on her vanity, grabbed the handle on her drawer, reached in and pulled out a dagger. Zelda narrowed her eyes as she grabbed the hilt. Octavius made sure he hid a dagger in every room. More importantly, he taught her how to use it. The man swirled a club beside him, ready to attack. 

Stepping forward, Zelda plunged the blade deep into his chest. Grunting, the man took a step backward, reached up, and yanked the blade out, let off a cry. Blood sprayed her room from a hit artery. She watched as he fell on his back dead. Zelda froze in her spot. She had never killed anyone before. What would Octavius say if he ever found out? He would understand since he broke in and attacked her, right? While these questions and more burned her brain, Felix grabbed the cloth and made his way behind her. 

Shaking her head, she snapped back to reality. She dropped down to her knees and took her dagger back. Glancing around something was wrong. Where was Felix? Chills raced up her spin as fingers touched her arms and traced upwards. Zelda gripped her dagger tight when a hard fist warped around her's and took out of her grasp. She opened her mouth to scream, but before she could make a sound, a balled-up cloth was shoved into her mouth and a second on tied around her to keep in place. 

Though she was muffled, Zelda stilled screamed. She reached up to take out the gage when Felix roughly grabbed her wrist once more, pulled it behind her back, followed by her other hand then tied them together. Zelda struggled in the fisherman's grasp. His callused hands, from pulling ropes, squeezed her wrists. Fear, rage, sadness swirled together in her mind. What was he planning? Was this some sick ploy to get her to his place? The volcano erupted once more. The couple turned and watched ash billow into the clouds. "I'm sorry, I had wished for a feature, but unfortunately, Goddess Diana has other plans for our future."

Sighing, Felix grabbed her, hoisted her up over his shoulder and proceeded out of her room. Zelda squirmed in arms, tears rolled down her cheeks. Where was her father when she needed him most? If Octavius knew of Felix's ill intentions, then he would have never permitted the wedding, that she was certain. Bitting down on the gage, she swung her legs kicking him. Felix held her legs down against his chest, keeping her from moving. 

After a few minutes, Zelda recognized her living quarters where, the hour prior, she had spent time working out last-minute details with the centurion. Panic rushed through her as Felix passed a heap on the floor. "Dad!" She screamed though it sounded more like a muffled grunt. Her father laid on the floor knocked out cold, or so she hoped. Her view of him faded as he pushed out the front door and into the street. 

Black particles fell from the sky, the burned as they touched her skin. Zelda squirmed in his grasp as he turned to go behind her house. The volcano changed from being behind her to her front. Her conversation earlier with Felix ran through her mind. Felix was kidnapping her and taking her to Mount Vesvouse against her will. Zelda killed heard but to no avail, her screams were muffled as he ascended towards the mouth of the volcano.