Hellfire On The Other Side

Chapter 46

   Late at night in New Orleans. Shane and Charlene sit at a table in Tiana's Place. "And... done! We did it! We bought a house!" Charlene exclaims. "You bought a house, Char," says Shane. "This one's all you." Charlene looks at Shane. "Shane, this is for both of us. We share the credit," she says. Tina walks in and says, "Actually, Char, he's right. You're the one that actually paid for the house." Shane smiles at Charlene. "Alright. I guess I'll take this one," says Charlene. "Char, you did basically everything. You got a job, made the money, did a search, and even bought the house. All I really did was make your choice a little bit easier," says Shane. He hugs her tightly. "I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you." "Aww, Shane. You don't need to repay me. You've already done so much for me. If anything, I'd say that buying a house for us was me repaying you," says Charlene.

   Tina sits at the table with Shane and Charlene. "So, what's been going on in Paris while you were there?" she asks Shane. "Well, the execution save really messed up Clara, so she kinda distanced herself from Adri and Claytin for a while," says Shane. "Oh, no. Is she okay?" asks Charlene. "Yeah, she's fine now. But she was really stressing about if she had been off by just a little bit, well, Claytin would be dead," says Shane. "But he's fine. Why was she so worried?" asks Tina. "She was also really mad at him for basically giving up on life," Shane explains. Charlene sighs. "Man, they go through so much turmoil. I can't wait until everything is dealt with," she says. "Yeah, Clara just can't escape trouble," says Shane. "She'll get her happy ending one day, though."

   "Anything else?" Tina asks. "Well, while she was going through that funk, Clara trained at the stables where she keeps Misty, her horse," says Shane. Charlene huffs. "That explains the sword skills," she says. "Yeah, it's great and all. But it turns out that Garrett knows about it, and chances are he's gonna tell the other VKs," says Shane. Tina groans. "They just can't give her a break, can they?" she says. "I'm afraid not. But it's just Garrett. I can take him. And Dawn and Anna are simple nuisances," says Shane. "Yeah! You can handle them!" says Charlene.

   "And on top of that, the Dark Fairies are trying to take Adrianna back to their dimension. Fortunately, Clara and Claytin are keeping her hidden. And I managed to free a slave. With Doreen's help, of course," says Shane. "They have slaves?" asks Tina. "Yeah. The one we freed is a little slave girl named Ash. She's staying with my mom," Shane explains. Charlene kisses Shane. "You always try to do the right thing. That's why I love you so much," she says. "Unfortunately, they won't give up. They'll send more people to get Adri. Which means that we might have to rely on Markus," says Shane. "What?!" Tina shouts. "Yeah, I don't think it's a good idea either. But if Clara thinks that Markus can be good, this would be a great opportunity for him to prove himself," says Shane. Tina nods. "I suppose you're right. Besides, I'd be no better than my parents and how they were with you," she says. "Thanks for having an open mind," says Shane.

   "Any good news?" asks Charlene. "As a matter of fact, yes!" Shane exclaims. "Adri's birthday is coming up soon, and you two are obviously invited." he gets up and makes his way to the door. "Should we make her something?" asks Tina. "If you want!" Shane answers. "Where are you going?" asks Charlene. Shane grabs his helmet. "Mom's house to check up on Ash!" he says. He exits the restaurant and makes his way to Verity's house.

  Shane knocks on the front door of Verity's house. "Come in!" Verity calls. Shane enters the house and sees Verity comforting Ash. "She still shaken up?" Shane asks Verity. Ash flinches back. She had been refusing to eat or drink. And when she did talk she was muttering to herself about how she needed to go back and how she been being a bad slave. "Yeah, it's not looking good," Verity answers. "She's been through a lot in Doreen's dimension. All she knows is fear and punishment." Shane walks over to Verity and Ash. "Well, I guess we could try to show her how to be her own person. Give her some freedom," he says. Ash moved away quickly, she started muttering to herself again. "I have to go back.. bad... bad bad slave..." Verity looks at Shane. "Are you sure she'll be able to handle it?" she asks. "She'll need some guidance, but yeah. I'm sure that she'll eventually learn how to do something on her own," Shane answers. "Ash. I know you probably don't understand, but you're free. You don't have to worry about being a good or a bad slave anymore. This dimension is your home." Ash shook her head. "No... no, they'll come after me. I;ve been bad... I'll be punished... no no no..." she started to shake. Shane and Verity exchange looks. "I guess I'll have to," Shane sighs. He kneels in front of Ash. "Ash, look at me. I promise you, everything will be fine. Even if they come after you, we won't let them take you," he says. "Please, you need to trust us." She shook her head. "No, no, no. I wait till they find me... I need to be a good slave..." she backed up some more, still shaking. Shane sighs and places two fingers under Ash's chin. "Relax," he says with a soothing voice. "You're safe here. Just calm down. Be strong. For me, okay?"Ash started to cry. "My queen and king aren't happy with me... they will yell and punish me..." "It's okay. They can't reach you here," Shane reassures. "I mean, if they could do things themselves, they would need slaves, right?" He chuckles slightly. "If they send another slave, I'll help them, too." Ash moved away again. She hugged herself muttering things under her breath. Shane sighs and goes back to Verity. "I'm not one to say anything like this, but it's hopeless. She's way too scared for me to do anything to help," he says. "Maybe freeing her was a mistake." Verity places her hands on Shane's shoulders. "Shane, you and I both know that no matter how hopeless a situation seems at first, it'll always work out in the end," she says. Shane smiles. "But if you're really unsure about this, then I'll take it from here," says Verity. "That's why you brought her here, right?" "Yeah. If you were able to raise me, you should be able to handle her," says Shane. "Things will work out, Ash." Ash looked up at him but quickly looked back down. Shane nods and smiles as he exits Verity's house.