McConn house (DF October 2029 - after Kids left Quiet)

Rossa wanted to scream when the portkey whisked her and her brother way... again it was like her nightmares... that same feeling she wouldn't see her mother again..

She quickly and stumbling still from her shaking limb stood up...

"Daddy?! Daddy?!" she cried histerical, looking around momentarily scared the bad man had got her father to...

Edan let his sister go as soon as he felt stable again. He glanced around, anxiously hoping his father was somewhere near.

To his relief, Ciaran came flying down the stairs, sleep in his eyes but his wand in hand as he scooped Rossa into his arms.
"Hush now, rose darlin. What's goin on?" he asked.

"They... they took her." Edan sobbed, hugging his da. Ciaran's heart flipped within his chest and he closed his eyes tightly. No... not Kiara... he wanted to scream and attack something. But he had his children to protect and comfort.

Gently rubbing Rossa's back, he kissed her temple.
"We'll get her back... don't ya worry."

Rossa hugged her father tightly, also had a hand on Edan shoulder as well...

"T.. then.. we we must hurry... Daddy the man already hit her.." she sobbed the image of it still going through her young mind....

" It's like my nightmares..." she muttered.... her horrible nightmare..

Ciaran's mouth went dry as he did his best to remain calm. How could he have been such an idiot... letting his wife go out without him. He was suppose to protect her, was willing to give his life to do so. Little Rossa's mention of the purger hitting Kiara made his blood boil.

What to say?

What to do?

He felt lost in a chaotic world that hated him and his family. He was powerless to help Kiara and equally so to comfort Rossa. There was nothing he could promise her... nothing left.

Rossa started to panic as her dad seemed to freeze...

"No..nonono.. need to find help, Mum said there wasn't much time..." She ran to the fire place someone she needed to call someone...

Tav.. he was a auror... like Daddy.... perhaps with both could think of something...surely...

" Tav!? Help!? " she cried...

Edan ran from them and up the stairs where he could think and be away from everything.

Blinking back to the present, Ciaran turned to see Rossa at the fireplace and hurried toward her.
"Darlin..." he murmured, crouching down beside her. "Ya know how strong yar mum is. No purger can do anythin ta her."

Tav just about leapt through the fireplace at the tone of Rossa's voice and the soft assurances of his father that followed.
"Wh-what's going on? What happened?" his stream of questions died as he noticed Edan and Kiara's missing appearance.

"Where's mum and Edan?"

Ciaran sighed softly.
"Edan is upstairs... Mum was taken by the purgers, Tav."

Seeing red, Tav drew his wand.
"Where to." But it wasn't that simple and he knew it.

Rossa sobbed and hugged he Daddy once more... would her dad be mad if she releved why her Mum was taken...


Her Mum could have fought and gotten away if it weren''t for her and Edan...

"She let her self be taken....." Rossa muttered.... "So me and Edan wouldn't be hurt.... ' She said quietly guilt thick in her voice.

It was so like Kiara to sacrifice herself for her children... her family. Her caring sacrificial heart was something Ciaran cherished higher than anything else... but it also had a tendency to get her into trouble.

Tav knelt down in front of his little sister.
"Hey, look at me." he murmured, lifting her chin. "Mum loves you more than anythin in the word. She would do anything to keep you safe, okay. And Da and I will do out best to save her." Already he was thinking through different rescue scenarios.

Rossa could hardly breath she was crying so hard still.. and she clung to Tav for good few mintes... before a little voice in her head told her to leave and let them think...

Still hiccuping she nodded and gave Tav and teary kiss on his cheek, and she hugged her Daddy before going over to a corner and curling up into a ball... humming May it be, to herself...

She stayed in the same room as her Dad and brother... she wasn't brave Like Edan who wan'ed to be alone.

Tav held his sister as she cried, looking over her shaking shoulder at his father. Her wet little kiss on his cheek broke his heart and he stuffed his hands into his pockets as he straightened. Sweet little girls like Rossa were not meant for such hard times...

It concerned Ciaran that his daughter went to the corner, but he didn't know what to do about it and therefore just watched her out of the corner of his eye.

"What are we going to do?" Tav asked, his voice hushed.
Ciaran sighed, rubbing his bearded chin.
"I thought about calling a few of me old friends, but they'd be more purger like these days." he murmured in reply. Horatio had his hands full with the twins and Edwin. Sevastyan and Viper... Esis were dead just like so many others. "I just don't know."

He didn't even want to think about what his wife was enduring at the hands of those madmen. But his mind wandered nonetheless and soon only the presence of his children kept the tears at bay.

((Sevastyan and Viper are dead ))

Rossa still sniffled and hiccuped from her small little area and she kept her eyes shut tightly... hoping she would wake up if she could...

Saturn flew in the room looking remarkably upset as she could not get through to her mistress... and she knew her mistress was badly hurt... in more ways then one... She let out a thrill.. and tear rolled out of her eye and into a gold basin... likely to be used should her mistress return...

She again let out another thrill this time it sounded pained.... her mistress was in terrible pain...

More tears fell..

((sorry about that... (edited post) Merci's sick so I volunteered to write her posts for her... I thought I had done enough research; but apparently I goofed...))

Tavish and Ciaran contemplated their options silently and alone. It was a short list... staring with contacting the purgers, which was not the best of options and ending with searching for her, which would take far too long...

Frustration knitted itself within Ciaran's brows and he jumped slightly as Saturn entered the room. Another someone he couldn't comfort... he sighed.

A light tap against the window lifted his head and he spotted a small brown owl seated there with a note clutched in its beak. Opening the window he took the note and opened it.

"DeLanquar has Kiara... I will give wand... prepare to help... medical."

His eyebrows lifted, as he wondered who this helper was.

Rossa sniffed and lifted her head she was becoming fustrated with the situation... Her father and brother lacking the progress department of help her Mum.

She shot up quickly and ran over to her Da when he opened the mysterious note, "Whats it say Daddy!?"

Believing it best to let her see it, Ciaran picked up his daughter and read part of the note aloud to her.

"See, darlin... someone's goin ta be helpin yar mum." He turned to say as much to Tav as well only to find the young man had vanished.

Rossa sniffed and hugged her father tightly again, "Oh I hope they do" she whispered...

Then she noticed the absence of her brother...

"Tav?" she asked looking around she bit her lip looking to her father again... "Where did he go?"

___

Kiara arrived bye portkey just outside the house, landing rather roughly on her feet, and not being able to maintain her own weight due to weakness, she collaped to the ground as she let out whimper of pain..

She lifter her head and she saw the blurry form of her house...

Home... she hadn't thought she see it again..

Ciaran swallowed and looked toward the door.
"I don't know, darlin. But he's probably gone ta find yar mum." Part of him was proud of his son... the other very worried.

A flicker of the wards caught his attention and he set Rossa down on the floor.
"Go upstairs, honey-rose." he murmured, his tone dead serious.

Wand in hand, he opened the front door and peered out into the front walk way. His mouth fell open and he rushed forward, shutting the door behind him, in case this was a trick.
Tears filled his eyes as he gently scooped Kiara into his arms and held her against his chest. She had survived and through it... he could now as well.

Rossa nodded tears shimmering in her eyes as she ran up stairs, however she stopped on the top step wanting to see once her Dad came back in.

__


Kiara shuddered as tears came down her face....

"Oh... Ciaran.. It was Eleuthuria... she helped me escape... I couldn't have made it with out her.." she said her voice still severly cracked and raw from screaming.

She winced at the sound of her own voice and the pain of her injuries were starting to make them selves known. Her back the most.... and her thighs... She hated her self for flinching under his touch..

She looked at Ciaran.. looking completely defeated...

Gently wiping away his wife's tears, he smiled at her.
"Ah... she sent us a message then." He was so grateful to have her back and alive that he was able to ignore how brittle and weak her voice was. Carrying her back into the house, he called for Tav, Rossa and Edan, knowing they would be happier to know she was alive than saddened by her injuries. He casted a quick energizing spell and laid her on her side on the couch.

Tav rushed in and knelt by his mum's side, taking her hand in his.
Words escaped him and he merely kissed her cheek.

Rushing to the fireplace, Ciaran firecalled Sveta at her home. She had come to mind instantly since she was the only surviving healer he knew of.
"Sveta!" he called. "Kiara was abducted and is hurting. Ca ya come please!"

Kiara winced as she was lay on the couch, she back stinging... she turned on her side in hopes of relieve it...

She found it puzzling how she was now feeling pain,,.. when ealier she wasn't...

She was covering her emotional pain... with the only thing she had strong enough to cover it... physical pain...

She closed her eyes tight when Tav kissed her cheek... and metally berated her self..

She then patted Tav's cheek though said nothing...

Rossa's eyes widened at the top of the staires, her Mum made it back.

"Edan! Mums back.. Mum's alive!" she yelled as she ran down stairs...

Kiara winced she didn't want her children seeing her like this.... but she wasn't about to send the away.

*Sveta and Dracovan's Residence*

Sveta had just laid little five month old Paige down for her nap and sat, somewhat relieved yet lately always on alert, upon the sofa. A blanket was wrapped around her frame, which was still trying to bounce back from its recent stint of carrying her and her husband's most recent bundle of joy. In her hands, she clutched a book. How long had it been since she curled up with a good book, before the fireplace, completely at ease with the world around her?

Truth be told it felt like an eternity to her, and not necessarily because of children.

The Russian witch jumped when Ciaran's head surfaced amidst the flames, calling for her. In her paranoia and fear, she'd almost expected someone far less friendly. Her racing heart relaxed momentarily before speeding up again. Kiara, abducted?! Brown eyes constricted with worry. Equally chocolate curls bobbed as she nodded, "I'll be right there."

Sveta threw off the blanket and left the book splayed atop of it as she summoned a medical bag full of potions that may or may not be needed. With the threat of purgers, she'd taken to making sure nearly every room had a kit handy. While waiting for it to float through the room, the witch took up parchment and quill to scribble a quick note to her husband and children:


Dracovan, Draco, and Piper,

Urgent matter to take care of. Will be careful, I promise. McConn residence if there's an emergency here.

Much love,

Sveta / Mummy


With haste Sveta double-checked her bag and headed toward the floo to arrive at the home of one of her late brother's best friends.


- - - Now at McConn - - -

Sveta stepped from the fireplace and cast a nonverbal spell to remove the soot from her robes. Before approaching Kiara, she placed a comforting hand on Ciaran's shoulder. "I vill do all that I can for her, I promise," she murmured and proceeded to head toward where Kiara lay.

The interactions between mother and son made her curious: why did Kiara seem to hesitate when Tav kissed her?

Hearing little Rossa's shout of happiness brought a smile to Sveta's face. She would likely have to work around family here. "Tav... I know all of you vere vorried for your mother... but vould you please keep an eye on your brother and sister for avhile as I tend to her? After that, then you all can visit her if she is not too tired," she requested gently.

Sveta discreetly already began running a diagnostic spell on Kiara for any and all injuries. Once finished, the spell would emit a series of runes she would then be able to translate. It came in handy when something was seriously wrong and there were small children around: the runes weren't nearly as scary, in her opinion, than seeing precisely what was wrong spelled out for everyone to plainly see.

The witch gently placed her hand on Kiara's arm, near but not directly upon the shoulder. "Kiara, it's Sveta. I'm here to help..."

Very thankful, Ciaran nodded to Sveta and smiled as his daughter came tearing down the stairs. Edan soon followed, joy lightening his youthful features.

"MUM!" he shouted, rushing to her side.

Tav didn't see his mother wince, believing she was merely tired and in pain. Gently he kept Rossa and Edan from hugging or touching their mum, he didn't want to cause any problems. Scooping up Rossa, Ciaran stood at the head of the couch and watched Sveta work.

He was worried by the injuries he could see; and even more so about the hidden ones. What his wife had endured at the hands of Charles DeLanquar was beyond his ability to imagine... simply because he'd once known the man very well. Had served him during his time as a starting auror and knew the tortures that he had once been able to inflict upon his prisoners. Grown men had wept and begged for death; and that had been long before he had become a true purger. Shame flooded his mind as he cursed himself for not being able to better protect his wife. What sort of a husband was he to allow his most precious love to be captured and tortured... he hadn't even been able to find her. Blinking back the tears, he vowed to never allow any harm to come to Kiara or any of his family again... not unless they went through him first and that would mean killing him.

Kiara sighed when Sveta came in, she felt relieved it was Sveta would had been called... she trusted Sveta, with her life much like she had trusted Sevastyan.

She nodded, "Thank you..." she whipered corsely to her firend.

Kiara suffered from a varity of things... blood loss from the whipping she reiceved... the whip marks them selves, very inflamed and her back was blistered from acidic potion... and then there was sever burising all over her body.. her legs, middle her neck and shoulders and her cheek where Charles had initailly slapped her.

There were other injuries that were more Sencitive then the rest....
((Reguards to Charles forcing himself on her))

However there were many more things she suffered from... that wouldn't show on Sveta's spells. But her glazed yet dull blue eyes said that much.

Rossa hugged her Daddy tightly, he seemed to need it in her loving 7 year old opinion. "Mum will be okay Daddy.... She will" she assured.

Sveta couldn’t help but smile at the scene of a happy family, much like her own was when thoughts of how dark times have affected them were held at bay. It was a bittersweet moment. Relief flooded through the witch’s body as Kiara acknowledged her, glad her friend was not catatonic. She’d seen a few torture victims before – a rare but frightening sight that was becoming more and more common with the way the purgers operated – at the hospital she’d worked at before having to quit due to the threat of being one of the Damned. It was alarming to see the fear and pain in their eyes and to know that, on some level, Sveta too was among them. She feared for the safety of her remaining friends and family, and still grieved ones she’d lost as though it had happened only days ago.

Encoded runes floated above Kiara for Sveta to review in a variety of colors. The corners of the witch’s mouth turned downward into a frown, which only increased as she blindly searched her bag for potions to soothe Kiara’s throat and replenish the loss of blood. Eventually, the Healer had to squeeze her eyes shut and glance away from the runes to focus on the mixing of potions. Sveta sighed in sympathy. “Those-“ she muttered, replacing the English versions of what she wanted to say with a string of very fluent, rather vulgar Russian. “I vill need some extra room...” The witch murmured a spell to turn the sofa into a cot, and a similar spell to turn the simple robe Kiara was wearing into a knee-length gown with an open back. Dignified, yet practical for part of what needed to be done.

“Are you able to drink this? It vill help your throat and replenish the bloodloss,” she asked Kiara quietly, glancing between her and Ciaran while offering the goblet. There was a sort of pleading look to the caramel eyes, silently asking the wizard to volunteer while she tended to the more severe wounds. There was also a slightly ulterior motive to Sveta’s hopes. The dullness in Kiara’s eyes suggested to the witch that her friend was at the lowest of lows. There had been a similar lack of light in her brother’s eyes during his separation from Viper. It was the Russian woman’s hopes that having the love of her friend’s life tend to administering the potion would cause the dullness of the sapphires to brighten.

Leaving the goblet of potion afloat, Sveta then sat upon the opposite edge of the transfigured sofa/cot to examine the whip wounds and blistering. Tentatively she placed a hand upon the inflamed flesh, able to feel the heat emitting from the marks. There were also bruises on her shoulders, as well as a good portion of her body. “What have they done to you, my friend?” she murmured quietly, retrieving several small containers of salves and other topical potions. “This vill sting a little, but I vill try to be qvick...” Sveta cautioned Kiara softly before proceeding to cleanse the afflicted areas of her back.

Ciaran looked into Sveta's eyes as she caught his gaze and instantly knew he had chosen the right person to call for help. Settling Rossa on his knee, he partially knelt beside Kiara's couch turned bed and took the goblet from where it floated. Love filled his eyes as he looked at his wife. All she had endured; all she would endure... it only made him love her more and more. Gently he lifted her head and cradled it with his free hand. As she drank the liquid, he smiled and softly began to murmur the first poem he had ever said to her, high in the astronomy tower of Hogwarts.

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? 
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date: 
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; 
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest: 
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee."

He punctuated the final line with a kiss on Kiara's brow as he gently laid her head back against the pillow. The cuts on her back, which Sveta was applying the salve to made his blood boil. He knew they were whip-marks from the tear and deepness of the cut. Charles had favored that certain method of torture long ago... and know Ciaran wished he had killed the man the first time they'd fought about his cruel methods. It would have spared everyone a great deal of trouble.

Kiara nodded numbly to Sveta's question to her drinking the potion, When Ciaran came over and helped her drink her potion, her eyes watered as Sveta touched her back. She let out a shuddered breath as she swallowed the potion, a flash of Charles touching her shredded back entered her mind...

Then she heard Ciaran murmer the poem however the flash of Charles melted away. She opened her watery eyes and starred into his... his presence seeming to break through the glazed look in her eyes... and one by one slient tears dripped from her eyes. In a way greatful for the pain she was in, a reminder she was still alive...

The burning on her back told her that the wip lashes were healing in Sveta's care... however they didn't completely ... and they started to form scars. As for the blisteres, the seemed to return with a vengence on Kiara's skin.

Kiara let out a small hiss but bit back anything else,,,

Here eyes shifter to her family, she reached her hand out to Ciaran, and lightly touched his cheek, to lightly as if she half explected him to vanish melt way like so many other things had....

Rossa sniffed, and looked to the woman she concidered her Aunt, "Is mommy going to stop hurting soon Auntie Sveta?" she asked. Though she was glad her Mum was alive, it upset her that she was in pain... and so sad.

Kiara looked sadly at her daughter, and held her hand out to her. She said nothing as she wasn't sure on the answer her self. But the term hurting had many meanings.