Veronica was glad that she had listened to Marguerite and took the opportunity to get a little rest. She woke up feeling a little better, the dull ache in her head barely registering. The smile that came to her face couldn�t be helped as she opened the door to her room to find Malone asleep in a chair in the hallway. She would have let him sleep except the position he was in would end up hurting his neck later.
She knelt beside his chair and lightly placed her hand on his shoulder. �Ned, wake up.� Veronica was prepared to have to try a couple more times to wake him up as he was a very sound sleeper, but to her surprise he woke immediately.
�Oh, Veronica! Sorry, I must have dozed off.�
Veronica chuckled and stood up. �You know, I�m sure the bed in your room would have been more comfortable than that chair.�
�Of that I�m sure.� Malone stood up and stretched trying to get work the stiffness out of his muscles. �I wasn�t planning on falling asleep.�
Veronica flashed one of her knowing smiles. �Yeah how else could you make sure I actually slept?�
Malone stumbled for an answer but Veronica took pity on him and let it go. She hooked her arm through his.
�Come on, I want to go check on my mother.�
Veronica opened the door to her mother�s bedroom quietly and entered with Malone following behind. Summerlee was seated in a chair at Abigail�s bedside and looked up when he heard the door open.
�Any change?� Malone asked.
Summerlee shook his head sadly. �I�m afraid not.�
Veronica sat on the edge of the bed and took her mother�s hand. �She looks so peaceful, like she�s sleeping. I almost expect her to wake up any minute.�
She felt Malone�s hand on her shoulder giving her silent support. �Don�t give up hope Veronica. If she�s anything like you, she�s a fighter.�
All three heads in the room turned when they heard shouting outside. They jumped to their feet and raced to the door.
�Good heavens!� Arthur exclaimed.
They all recognized Marguerite shouting and followed the sound of her voice towards the entrance of the palace.
�If I have to tell you one more time to put me down you brute you�ll live to regret it, I promise you!�
Veronica and the others rounded the corner to find a somewhat worse for wear Marguerite in the arms of an Avatar warrior. He seemed almost relieved to see Veronica.
�My lady! Your friend needs to be attended to.�
Marguerite tried to get out of the warrior�s arms but was met again with no success. She had regained consciousness on the way back to the city and was surprised to find herself being carried by an Avatar warrior and escorted by a dozen more back to the palace. After several fruitless attempts to get them to turn back to look for Roxton, she settled for trying to get on her own two feet so she could go back herself.
�I don�t need anything, just put me down! Veronica, call off these goons, please!�
Veronica nodded her head and the warrior gently placed Marguerite on her own two feet. �Yeah thanks, next time I�ll call a taxi.�
�What happened to you, Marguerite?� Malone saw Marguerite was a little unsteady on her feet so he moved to stand by her just in case she needed a hand.
�You mean besides Veronica and myself having matching bumps on the head? Well let�s see, Roxton and I got attacked in the city and I got whacked on the head. Other than that, everything�s just peachy! We need to go back and look for Roxton, who knows what�s happened to him!�
�He wasn�t with you when you came to?� Veronica asked.
�I don�t know, Veronica. You try getting information out of these guys. I could break into a vault easier than cracking them.�
Veronica turned back to the warriors. �Was there any sign of Roxton where you found Marguerite?�
The man who had carried Marguerite in shook his head. �There was no sign of him, my lady. The Dark Ones have him now.�
�Dark Ones? Who are they?� Malone asked.
Marguerite scoffed remembering the attire of the men who had attacked her. �Well that�s an accurate description. I ran into Mordren�s son, Dren a little while ago. He is just as despicable as his father and I don�t even want to think about what they could be doing to Roxton so can we get going please?�
�Just a moment, my dear.� Summerlee said. �You said you lost consciousness during the attack. Why wouldn�t they take you along with Roxton?�
Malone nodded his head in agreement. �Marguerite this sounds like a trap. We shouldn�t go rushing in without thinking of some kind of plan. We don�t even know where they�ve taken him.�
Marguerite�s head spun to face Malone. The usual fire and spirit that had burned in her eyes that had been lacking the past few weeks was rekindled. Marguerite swayed and Malone used his arm to steady her but she flung it off. �No, Malone. I am not going to sit here and wait. I know that if they had taken me instead of him, Roxton would not sit here and waste time. He would look for me and I can do no less for him.�
�A noble sentiment, Marguerite, but foolhardy nonetheless.�
All heads turned to the source of the voice. The Avatar warriors bowed their heads in respect with and raised one arm to their chest while the others were stunned into silence.
�M-mother! You�re awake!�
Veronica raced to Abigail�s side and hugged her tightly. Abigail wanted to take the time to reassure Veronica she was fine, but at the moment there were more pressing things to attend to. She pulled back from Veronica and turned to Marguerite again.
�I know your instincts tell you to run to Roxton, but that is precisely what you cannot do, Marguerite.�
Marguerite crossed her arms defiantly. �And why is that?�
�As I told you last night, your place is at Veronica�s side. And this new event tells me what I need to know. The time has come for you both to fulfill your destinies.�