After quite a bit of encouragement to continue my Incarceron stories, I've written the third story, which follows To Fall and Rise Again. It's not exactly what most had been hoping for, but I hope you'll like it all the same.

As Always, leave a review!

Attia watched from the back porch of her father's Primstone manor as Ronan and Keiro shot arrows from a selection of rather expensive bows into an array of targets of varying sizes set up at varying distances away. In the small, but expanding, garden, six year old Kyra played in the dirt as she pulled up the flowers or weeds that were exceptionally bright in color. Her nanny was seated nearby her, watching over her and intervening every few seconds when Kyra tried to taste the petals or stems of the flowers in her fingers. Off in the distance, Mason, now second in command of the Royal Guards, followed three paces behind seven year olds Christopher and Finn, who over the last year had grown exceptionally close. Now, they were as inseparable as Finn and Keiro had been years ago Inside.

As Attia's eyes traveled back to Ronan and Keiro, she noticed they'd grown bored of the never moving targets and started to shoot their arrows towards the tree line of the forest, some fifty yards away from them. They were probably shooting at some animal or another, but from where she sat she couldn't see anything but the trees.

"Christopher is lovely, Attia," Claire commented from the side. Ronan and Claire, in the last two years, had been married, and Ronan had been officially recognized as Attia's father at Court. None of that meant anything to Attia, Keiro, or Ronan, but Finn said those distinctions would make things easier for him later on. With Ronan recognized as Attia's father, she was now set to inherit the Primstone Manor after his death, and with Ronan and Claire married, her daughters from her previous marriage were able to keep their father's inheritances separate from their mother's after some rearranging on Attia and Finn's parts.

"He's sweet," Attia answered before she finally turned to Claire. She was seated across the table from Attia, a little cup of tea in her hands as she overlooked the grounds as Attia was.

"Your father adores him," Claire said as she let out a soft laugh. She turned her gaze to Attia, half amazed at how alike she and her father were. Attia turned as well, but said nothing since she noticed one of Claire's daughters coming out from the house and join them. As Zoe took the empty seat between Attia and her mother, Attia looked back out at Keiro and Ronan.

"That bow is going to snap," Attia commented suddenly, not realizing she was cutting off Zoe when she'd just started to say something to her mother. The two other women looked out at the Ronan and Keiro just in time to watch Keiro pull back on the string with an arrow. Just as he pulled back completely, a loud crack filled the air when the wood snapped in his hand and he instinctively reacted by dropping it.

"How did you know that?" Zoe asked in complete shock as she turned to Attia, but Attia had already stood up and gone into the manor to find the bandages. When she returned to the porch, Keiro was seated in the seat she'd risen from, his arm laying out on the table with Mason looking over the wound.

"There's wood embedded in the cut," Mason said simply when he noticed Attia return to the table and drop a collection of bandages and cleaning solutions on the table. In her other hand, she held a clear bottle of alcohol until she set it down on the edge of the table gently. In a sealed pouch among the bandaged, she retrieve a long tweezers like instrument before setting the pouch back down and lifting the bottle again.

"Here," she said simply as she passed it to Keiro's good arm.

"Is it going to hurt that bad?" he questioned as he took the bottle. She just shrugged as she looked at him until he raised the bottle to his lips and let a generous amount of the liquid slid down his throat. After he set the bottle down on the table, Attia slowly pried open the wound, only vaguely aware that Claire and Zoe had escaped the table so as not to get sick by Attia's makeshift surgery-like treatment of Keiro's sudden wound.

Keiro gasped at the sudden pair, his other hand grasping the edge of the table tightly as Attia quickly drew out the three slivers of wood that were embedded in the bloody gash. When she finished she dropped the tweezers on the table and used a clean towel to wipe around the wound. She used a cream inside the wound that quickly alleviated the pain before she bandaged it up tightly.

"You should be fine tomorrow," she told him after she tied off the bandage and looked up at him. "These fancy creams work really well," she added when she sensed Keiro's hesitation at how soon the wound would heal. With Finn on the throne, the medical and technological advances that been restricted were flowing freely and making changes in everyday life that were unheard of just a short five years ago.

"Are you ok?" Chris asked from the steps of the porch, pulling attention to him and little Finn, who must've come up to the house at the same time Mason had. Attia had taken a seat where Zoe had been, while Keiro's attention went to the two boys.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Keiro answered as Chris took a few steps forward slowly. Finn, however, nearly ran forward, eyes wide at the thick, but still bloodied bandages around Keiro's forearm. Keiro had pulled Finn up to his lap when the boy had tried to poke at the wound, while Christ was perfectly fine to stand a few paces back. The way the boys regarded Keiro's wound was hardly surprising though. Whenever Finn had hurt himself running around, he was always eager to watch the healers fix him up, even stitch his wounds closed if the wound was big enough. Chris, however, always looked away and was rather squeamish until the point where Attia had requested the healers at Court give him a sedative when he'd fallen and broken his arm.

"Did it hurt?" Finn asked, eyes glued on Keiro's face.

"Of course it hurt," Kyra commented from behind the three boys. Attia had leaned over to watch her step up the stairs, one hand clutching at her nanny's skirt. Her knees and socks were now brown with dirt as was the hem of her skirt. "Don't be silly, Finn."

"I'm not being silly, Kyra."

"Alright," Keiro said before Kyra could respond. It had been an all too common exchange between the pair as of late and Attia was sure Keiro didn't have the patience to hear it again. Keiro put Finn back down on the ground and the two boys had followed Kyra and her nanny after the nanny had waved for them to follow, leaving Ronan, Attia, and Keiro on the porch. Mason was still lingering as well, but over the last few years, they'd learned to just let him blend into their surroundings unless his presence really was too distracting.

"How does it feel?" Attia asked as she looked over at Keiro again. He met her gaze, feeling the tenderness of her gaze for the few moments that it lasted. It wasn't as though those moments were rare anyway. Since having children, Attia had grown a lot gentler than she'd ever been before. In the beginning, those moments were only reserved for infant Finn. By the time they'd had Kyra, she'd started to be gentle with Keiro as well, and he always matched it whenever those moments included him.

"It's fine, now," Keiro answered, still surprised at how well all the new medications could work, even if he'd used them countless times before. Attia only nodded as she reached over to slip her fingers into his and squeeze his hand for a second or two before she retrieved her hand.

"Zoe's husband should be here soon," Ronan said as he pulled out a chair from the table and sat across from Attia and Keiro.

"Great," Attia replied sarcastically and Keiro let out a laugh.

"He's not that bad," Ronan said as he turned to meet Attia's gaze. She narrowed her eyes at him before she rolled her eyes and turned away. "Alright, he's pretty annoying, but Zoe doesn't like either of you very much anyway."

"Because we're not as refined as she is," Attia commented as she turned her gaze to her father. Her tone of voice did not go unnoticed by either her father or Keiro.

"It's the town's annual festival and Claire volunteered the manor for the location, so just behave," Ronan replied, obviously beyond carrying too much about the ridiculous things of life on the Outside. Of course, given the choice of hosting his wife's ridiculous festival or going back Inside, he'd choose the party any day.

"Aren't we always behaved?" Attia replied.

"Yes, well, with those kids running around I suppose you are."

"They hear anything you whisper within fifty feet of them," Keiro commented rather bitterly at how easily the children could pick up things he didn't necessarily mean for them to.

"Children can be like that," Ronan replied, though his eyes had shifted over to Attia. She noticed the change in his expression and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she questioned, but Ronan said nothing as he shook his head. Eventually, the three moved into the manor, Mason trailing behind them as he always was as part of his job. He hadn't actually shadowed Attia and Keiro in some time, but since they were leaving Court, Finn had assigned him to them again out of safety reasons. Of course, by now, Keiro had mostly gotten over any half-baked conspiracies he had about Attia and Mason.

"Attia," Claire called just as the three had moved through the hallway that ended at the front room of the manor. "Would you like to come with us into town to get the rest of the supplies?" she asked sweetly. Whether she was aware of her daughter's dislike for Attia or not remained to be seen.

"I think I'll stay behind, thank you," Attia answered as she forced a sweet smile for roughly two seconds then turned back to Keiro. Before either could say anything, Zoe's husband had emerged from the side hallway, appearing to have just washed his hands. Keiro and Attia looked up at him, but neither said anything as they walked around him to go down the hallway he'd just come from. Ronan knew they were escaping for their bedroom, so he was the one left to converse with the man left behind.

"It's almost worse than Court out here," Keiro muttered after he'd shut the door behind him. Attia had continued through the room to sit on the bench pushed up against the foot of the bed. She pulled one ankle up to her knee in order to pull her rather feminine shoes off her feet. Since she didn't respond to him, Keiro assumed she hadn't heard him, not that he really cared. She'd started to rub the outside of her foot briefly before she dropped her foot to the ground and pulled up the other.

"I don't think it's that bad," Attia finally responded when Keiro had positioned himself on the bed behind her. His feet were flat on the bench top on each side of her, his hands resting on her shoulders. "At least out here, we don't have to pretend too hard to like everyone."

"What? Because we try so hard at Court?" Keiro laughed and Attia laughed with him. He didn't say anything further as he fell back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. When Attia joined him on the bed, his arm moved instinctively to the same spot around her shoulders that they'd found was the most comfortable position for both of them.

They were in the same room Ronan had fixed up for Attia years ago, and it was the same room she and Keiro had shared during every trip there since that first trip. Over the years, Ronan had finished the restoration process so now the room was complete. The wallpaper was done, the furniture all in place, and all the fixtures in their adjoined bathroom connected to the water supply.

"It's not like anybody will be expecting anything from us anyway, tonight," Attia pointed out. He nodded a she turned his head towards her. After a moment or two, he pressed their lips together, partially surprised that she'd returned the gesture. Her free hand moved from her side to his cheek, then down to his neck. Even with one arm recently sliced open, he managed to roll them over so that he lay above her.

The hand that had been on his neck slid around to the other side so that her arm now wrapped around his neck. Her other hand was searching for the bottom of his shirt, and once she found it, her fingers slid up against his bare skin. At the same time, Keiro let his kisses shift from her lips to her cheek, then to her neck and finally settle in the single spot that made Attia tense and freeze beneath him as the sensation ran through her.

"Will you wear that blue dress tonight?" Keiro asked absentmindedly as he moved his lips from that spot to continue down her collar bone. She would've rolled her eyes at his question, considering the timing he'd chosen for the question, and ultimately what he was asking. Why the question was so surprising, she didn't understand. It certainly wasn't the first time he'd ever passive-aggressively told her what he wanted her to wear, and yet she could never seem to wrap her mind around the concept. He was Keiro. Handy with a knife, kill someone in two swipes of a blade, escaped prisoner. And here he was asking her to wear a pretty bless dress because he liked to look at it from across the room.

"Sure," she finally answered, realizing that her answer was somewhat overdue, not that Keiro cared at all. They didn't have that kind of relationship. They were Finn and Claudia, and they definitely weren't Casper and Anne. Those were love stories from fairytales. Attia and Keiro were a practical match. Been at the same place at the same time type of situation. Or at least that's what they still told themselves three kids later.

They're tryst was rather short lived, but that was not a testament to how much it was enjoyed. Rather than dressing in the clothes Keiro had scattered about the room, Attia retrieved the blue dress Keiro had indirectly requested from the closet. She had a number of blue dresses, but she knew exactly which one Keiro meant. He always meant that dress. He was a fan of the corset too, but after two pregnancies Attia refused to be in the same room as one.

She stepped into the skirt and pulled the straps up to her shoulders before she adjusted the placement of the dress across her chest. Before she even turned to call for Keiro, he'd appeared at her side, one hand holding the dress just below the zipper, the other delicately pulling the zipper tab up slowly until he completely zipped up the dress. As Attia smoothed out the dress to complete her appearance, she felt Keiro move to stand behind her, his hands shifting slightly until one was on each side of her.

"You're very affectionate today," she told him as she looked up to meet his gaze in the mirror.

"Is that a problem?"

Attia's lips pulled up in a grin before she could stop it. Keiro's smug smirk made an appearance as well in response. "An insecure woman would think that meant you were cheating on me with some whore of yours," Attia replied suddenly. Her comment wasn't entirely out of line for her character, considering he heard her say far less kind things in the past, but the comment startled him all the same. She hadn't shifted to that side of her in a very long time, and as such, he'd become accustomed to mothering Attia. The Attia who was unconditionally sweet and kind and full of gooey things to say about anything and anyone. The Attia who had biting remarks for any pretty woman that might've gained his attention some ten years ago was a harsh comparison and yet the same exact person.

"So if some attractive woman's body turns up tonight, will I know who did it?" he replied, as he held her gaze. She narrowed her eyes at him as she smiled. He could tell she'd considered covering up her smile for maybe a second, but she'd resolved in letting him see how his remark affected her.

"You think I'm insecure?" she asked as she turned to face him, one hand landing on his chest. Her fingers pressed into his flesh softly, but certainly enough to create some pressure beneath each fingertip.

"I think you're a little homicidal if given the motive."

"And you fancy yourself a good enough motive?"

He raised his eyebrow at her as he mulled over a response. It hadn't been that long since their last banter-filled conversation, nor had it been much longer since their last argument. Yet, he was lost for a response all the same.

"Aren't I?" he finally asked and Attia let a laugh escape her and paired it with a smile. She stopped pressing back into his chest, and instead curled her fingers around the open flap of his shirt to pull him down to her. Meeting his kiss was not terribly difficult in her heels, but the change in her height did require some adjustments on his part. He wasn't used to the extra few inches she had.

After a few moments, Attia released his shirt and he stood up again as she started to smooth out the wrinkles she'd created on his shirt. After she buttoned it up for him, he held out his arm for her and she started on his cuffs, every so often peering up to meet his gaze. "You're just being ridiculous to think some other woman would have you," she finally commented just as she finished with the other cuff and started to walk away from him. Of course, she lingered just long enough to see him smile at the comment and accept his fate to lose in another banter. But when did winning or losing ever matter when he got to have sex with her no matter what?