Alistair kicked the rocks on the ground as he plotted. He needed to take the damned collar off if he was going to succeed in killing that female. He would torture her, sell her to a whore house, make her suffer until she wanted only death.

Yes, he thought with savage glee, he would win in the end, he would make her suffer.

In that moment a dwarf with large black eyes and a scar over her face opened the large wooden door.

"Master." She called as she trembled. Alistair looked at the dwarf with distain, "What."

"The Miss asks if you could come in and assist her." The dwarf shuddered at his voice. Alistair rolled his eyes, he strolled over and viciously kicked the dwarf back into the caverns. The dwarf yelped and rolled backwards. Scrambling, the dark haired dwarf ran towards the darkest, deepest parts of the cavern.

Alistair scoffed and followed, he took out his handkerchief to plug his nose from the stench and walked into the depths of the caverns.

He followed the dwarf until he reached the end, his lips curled in disgust as he recognized this place.

Cybelline sat on a large rock, studying the monster before her. He was a plain man, nothing out of the ordinary. But then, who could tell what monsters looked like anyways?

"Why did you bring me here?" Alistair asked, it was the very end of the tunnel, the stench of death and despair nearly blocked his sense of everything else.

They were standing on the edge of a large pit, in the center were hundreds of rock made urns stacked against each other.

"Do you know this place. Alistair?"

It was not Cybelline who spoke, but the dark haired dwarf that had led him into the caverns. She stood tall and proud, a knife in one hand. There was no more fear in her voice, she no longer the coward.

Alistair frowned and raised his hand about to strike the dwarf, "How dare you speak to me thus!"

Before he could even raise his magic, a chain of hardened earth gripped his hand, locking it into a column of earth that was harder than rock.

Alistair stared in disbelief, no dwarf could attack a human. The collar prevented that. Unless...

"Your collar! Where is it?" Alistair's voice was thick with disbelief.

"Do you know this place." Kima's voice was gentle, almost dreamlike.

Alistair struggled against the dwarfish magic, but it did nothing. He could only use magic when Cybelline allowed it. He looked to Cybelline, begging with his eyes.

Cybelline only shrugged, "I'm not the one in charge here. Also, even if I was, would I free you in this moment?"

Alistair felt a sudden stab of pain and realized that the column of earth was now crush his hand. He screamed in pain and answered Kima, "Yes. I know. I know!"

"What is this place?" Kima asked, her voice still soft and gentle, but her eyes were harder than rocks that have withstood the coming and passing of time.

"It's where dead dwarves are buried! Unhand me, you disgusting creature!"

"Buried?" Kima's smile was mocking, "We do not bury our dead by piling their bodies together and burning them. We do not disrespect the dead in such a way." She raised her and and the pressure on Alistair's hand increased, he screamed, his voice echoing in the vast chamber.

Kima looked at urns, "To our dead, we sing them songs about our homeland and allow their spirits to flow back to earth, a rite of purification. You burned their bodies for convenience, you destroyed our traditions and ensured that they would never find peace."

He crumpled onto the floor as a pit opened below him. The ground turned into soup as the heavy earth covered his body making it difficult to breath.

"The ashes of my father and mother are here. Do you remember them? Do you remember those you killed for the pleasure of hearing their screams?" Kima asked. Behind her, hundreds of dwarves appeared, anger and pain in their eyes.

Alistair looked up and gasped, he felt fear as he stared into those eyes. They held no mercy.

"You may never have understood our people and you may think we are animals, but today I will have you understand the pain we felt." Kima said as she spoke a spell, "Especially since this is what you did to us."

Earth piled onto the man until he was nothing but a mound of earth.

After two minutes Kima raised her hand, and like a rag doll, Alistair flew out of the earth.

The haughty lord was choking and spluttering mouthfuls of mud. He looked at Cybelline. She looked down at him, "You have something gross on your face."

She leaned forward, "Oh, nevermind, that's just your face."

"Why are you helping them? They are nothing!" He cried, his beautiful visage ruined by the chunks of dirt on his face, "They are only tools to be used. Animals, nothing more."

Kima raised her hand and uttered a spell, and once again the man was buried alive, over and over.

Cybelline lost count, but the last time Alistair had been pulled out of the earth, he had fainted.

"He is weak." Kima said coldly, "He will never know the pain of our people who were forced into the mines day in and day out without food or water until we found precious magical stones for the humans."

Cybelline looked at human who looked more like a pile of excrement, "Yes. He is worthless. But" She turned to Kima, "There are good people out there. You can punish those who wronged you, and I absolutely understand it. However, promise me that you will not take out your bitterness on the innocent humans."

Kima lowered her eyes, "I promise." Cybelline nodded, the wounds would heal, but it would take time.

Alistair woke up with a scream. He found his arms and legs manacled to the posts as he struggled.

Kima was talking with Cybelline, "I know this is a difficult request. But do you mind moving the ashes of our dead into your land?"

Cybelline nodded. In half an instant, the urns in the pit disappeared.

"What magic is that, bitch?" Alistair asked his voice hoarse with disbelief. Then after a moment he realized that he had said what he felt. Looking down, he noticed that his collar was gone. He opened his mouth.

"Don't bother using your magic." Kima said without looking at him, "We would spear you through before you could even mutter a spell."

Alistair glared daggers at Cybelline, "You are betraying your own kind for these slaves? The world will know. I'll make sure of it."

Cybelline smiled sweetly , "Really, how?"

"I'l...I'll..." Alistair struggled.

Cybelline knelt by him, "Do you really think I would let you see this much and live to tell the tale?"

She got up and walked a way, "Don't worry, I won't let you die too easily. Kima, I think it's time."

Kima nodded and took out a black crystal, "I think you know what this is?"

Alistair stared at the crystal and started to struggle. He begged and cried, "No! No! Please, don't! I won't speak of anything I've heard. Please!"

The man struggled, tears and snot going down his face. There was a nasty smell as he lost control of his bowels. But still the man struggled and begged, cried and pleaded.

His begging would only be in vain. Like those he had killed, the earth would swallow his screams.

------

The great fire that burned the gambling house was as sudden as it was powerful. When people arrived, the renowned gambling house had already become ash, rubble had covered the arena and the caverns.

Killian arrived on horseback and ran through the ravaged field, his eyes wild with concern.

Philip, the prince of thieves, was already there. A group of guards blocked him from entering.

"Move." Philip ordered. The men shook their heads, "My lord, you are the prince of thieves. It is too dangerous for you to enter."

Killian didn't even pause, taking out his sword, he walked towards the soldiers.

In seeing his face, they froze, no one could blame them. It was not everyday that one stared into the face of death.

The Lord of War walked past the men as if they were air.

In front of him was an enormous pile of rubble, dangerous loose rocks and fire that had not been put out yet, in the distance was the caverns and dungeons that had once housed all the dwarves in the land.

Phillip pushed passed the guards, "They said that she went in earlier today. She might be buried down there."

Killian only nodded and walked forward.

"It's dangerous!" Phillip called out, "The way to the cavern is blocked by the damn cliffs that Alistair built. We have to wait..."

But before he could finish, Killian had already walked towards the first tower of flaming rocks. Taking his sword he gave a mighty roar and swung with all his might.

The tower had been twenty feet tall and impossible to go around. But with the swing that that man's sword it crumbled into a pile of rocks.

Killian rushed forward and with a few swings of his blade he had turned the rocky pillars of immovable stone into piles of gravel.

Killian stood in front of the cavern doors, his heart pounding like never before. What if she had not survived? The thought made his heart tremble. He gripped the hilt of his sword as his hand shook. He had lived all these years on the knowledge that she was out there somewhere.

But if she no longer existed in this world then this world had no meaning for him. The green in his eyes seemed to fade as his body shook.

The iron-wrought doors to the cavern creaked open, and a figure stumbled out.

Alistair ran outside, his face covered in burns and marks. He was covered in dirt and ash. In his hand was a bloody dagger.

He laughed as he saw the crowd in front of him, "Dead!"

He screamed, "Dead. Dead! Dead. Fire and death. Dead, I killed them all! All the Dwarves are dead!"

In his other hand were a handful of collars.

Killian kicked his dagger away and grabbed the man by the shoulders. "Who is dead. Tell me now!'

Alistair's eyes were empty and insane, "They were mine. Mine to play and kill and they are all dead. They dared to disobey me! They wanted to obey that woman."

"Where is she." Killian gripped Alistair by the neck and raised him off the ground, "Where is Cybelline."

"All gone. All poof. Gone. Where are they? I don't know." Allistair said his eyes far away. He laughed manically, "All destroyed. Fire! Fire!"

Killian's hand gripped tightened, as his face drained of color. He would not live without her. Suddenly he threw Alistair down onto the ground, cracking his spine in the process.

Alistair screamed and then laughed, "Dead. Dead!" And then he curled into a ball and started screaming, "Make it stop! The pain! The Monsters! Make it stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!" He started to smash his head into the ground as if there was something terrible in his head.

He grabbed Killian's Boot, "She is death! She is poison. Beware! Beware! She is darkness itself!"

Killian raised his sword, his eyes seemed purple in the glint of steel. But he only kicked the man aside and sheathed his sword. He must find her.

"My lord! It's too unstable to go in there!" Evans rushed forward. Killian looked at him and Evans back away.

"She is not dead. She can't be. I must find her." Killian said, almost to himself, "I don't care if she's thirty feet or three hundred feed down there. I will find her."

"And what if she is?" Evans asked as he tried to talk sense into his lord, "What then? What if she is nothing but ash?"

"If she becomes ash then so will I."

"Ahem."

Cybelline popped up from above and raised her hand in greeting. She sat on the top of the cavern, her head peaking above the top.

She smiled, "Hey."

Killian's eyes were a bright, brilliant green as he rushed to the top of the cavern. He stood in front of her, drinking her in, his body shaking uncontrollably, the thought of loss still fresh in his mind.

He reached out and touched her fiery hair, his hand shaking as he pulled the woman of his dreams into his arms. Warmth seemed to flood back to his soul, he held onto her as if they were one.

Cybelline considered pushing him away, but she felt the coldness in his hands and sighed. It was only a hug after all. Slowly, gently, she patted his back, "You get a free pass, just this once."

-------

Author's note: Hello readers! I noticed the lovely comments you guys are writing and it makes my day! I have a few days off from work and am taking full advantage of writing. For those who are asking what my updating patterns are like, I can only say that I am pretty sporadic (very sorry!). While I would like to post more, it's just easier when I'm on break or on vacation.

I love that you guys like Cybelline, she's slowly coming into her own into this world. It's a pleasure writing this story and I'm so appreciative of both my vocal and silent readers! You guys are amazing for following this long story!