As the glowing giant bubble floated down from the sky, Bobby bolted from his seat beside to Diana to meet it. He could see three shapes inside, one of which was cradled in Hank’s arms. Bobby saw Eric raise his shield and shatter the bubble, dropping them the last few inches to the ground.

"How is she?" he yelled excitedly. "Is she okay? What did her do to her?"

"Easy, Bobby," Hank smiled as he moved towards the cot Presto had waiting. "She’ll be okay. But I think she’s under some kind of spell. She’s really groggy."

Bobby stood beside Hank as the ranger laid the thief on the bed. As far as he was concerned his sister didn’t look well as all. She was thinner than he remembered, her collarbone now clearly visible beneath Eric’s cape. There were dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in days.

Still, she didn’t look as if she had been beaten or anything. It was hard to say, though, because he knew the others would never tell him the truth anyway, even if they did know.

"So what do you think he did to her?" he asked, looking around at the others.

Hank opened his mouth to answer, but it was Eric who beat him to it.

"Well it can’t be anything to bad, Bobby," the cavalier tried to reassure the younger boy. "I mean, she’s alive and doesn’t look to be hurt or anything. I think maybe Venger just wanted to scare her."

Eric really didn’t believe that, and he suspected Bobby didn’t completely believe it either. Still, he didn’t want to tell the barbarian what he had seen back in Sheila’s chambers: the sex toys and whips on the wall, the handcuffs above the bed. It was better, as far as the cavalier was concerned, if Bobby never knew what Eric had seen.

Hank looked at the others and nodded. "Yeah, Bobby, Eric’s right. I’m sure he just wanted to scare her, not really hurt her."

The barbarian looked at the others dubiously. "Then why’s she only wearing Eric’s cape?"

"Well, she was sleeping when we got there," Eric lied. "And we were kinda in a hurry to get out before ‘ol horn head got back. So we just took her and ran."

This seemed to satisfy Bobby and he looked back at his sister. Reaching out, he pushed some hair out of her eyes.

"Now what?" His eyes never left her sleeping form.

"Let’s get her inside a tent first," Hank said. "Then we can figure it out from there."

For the next several hours, Sheila slept in the safety of a tent and guarded by one of Presto’s protection spells. When Bobby wasn’t looking, the magician had slipped into the tent, and with Diana’s help, removed the harness with a good bit of magic. Presto left Diana to dress the thief in her old tunic and clean her up a bit, while he took the harness and added it to the jewelry box Eric had given him earlier. The magician then tucked the box into his hat for safe keeping until Sheila awoke.

Eric and Presto stood guard outside the tent for the rest of the day while Hank kept Bobby occupied as best he could. Diana remained in the tent with Sheila, keeping watch over her friend. They all wanted to give Sheila as much time as she needed to come out of the spell safely and Bobby’s constant checking on his sister threatened to potentially cause problems.

It was sometime in the early evening before Sheila awoke. At first, she was so quiet, the acrobat had no idea her friend was even awake. Then a small coughing sound came from the general direction of the bed.

"Hey," Diana rushed to bed and smiled down at her friend, "glad you could rejoin the land of the living."

"Diana!" Sheila’s eyes shone with unshed tears. "You came for me."

"Of course we did, silly!" she teased, the relief evident in her voice. "You didn’t really think we’d leave you with Venger, did you?"

When Sheila didn’t answer, Diana simply turned away and called for the others. Eric and Presto were the first two in, followed by Hank, Bobby and Uni. They all cried when they saw Sheila, alive and awake at last. Even Uni let out several bleats of joy.

"Thank you," she gurgled, her throat dry. "I thought… I though you guys weren’t coming."

"No way, sis! We’d never let Venger keep you! We just had a little trouble, that’s all!"

Bobby reached down to hug Sheila and she pulled him into a tight embrace.

"The pip squeak is right," Eric chimed in. "Venger had more bobby traps than the old Halloween haunted house back home."

Sheila reached up and grasped the cavalier’s arm, seeing the still fresh burn. "Thank you, Eric, for coming after me."

"I wouldn't have had it any other way," he said gently. "Here, I have something for you."

He pulled her doll from King Ramoud from beneath his freshly cleaned cloak.

"Oh, Eric! Thank you!" She took the doll with trembling fingers and pulled it tightly to her.

"Maybe we should let her rest, guys?" Hank gestured towards the door. "It’s been a long last few weeks."

As the others filed out, Hank hung back. Reading his mind, Sheila called out to him.

"Hank, please. Wait a minute. I need to talk to you."

The ranger closed the tent flap behind Diana and turned to Sheila. "Whatever it is, if you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to, you know."

"That’s just it, Hank." She looked at her hands and sighed. "I don’t know that I can tell you or anyone just yet. I know you guys will want to help, but…. Could you just tell the others not to pester me for awhile?

"It’s all so new and it… it hurts. There’s just no other way to explain it."

Hank shifted uncomfortably. "I guess so. But Sheila, can’t you even tell me of all people? I promise I won’t tell the others."

She shook her head. "Not yet. Soon, Hank, but not today."

He shrugged. "You do what you have to then. I wish you’d trust me enough to confide in me, but if you don’t, I can’t force you.

"I’ll be outside if you need anything."

He pushed the tent flap open and was gone. Sheila hung her head. That hadn’t gone how she had expected it to at all. She had thought he’d be angry or at the very least insistent. Instead, he had seemed as if he didn’t care. For the first time in days, Sheila started crying. She had hoped for a loving homecoming; rather she felt as if she’d gotten the brush off.

Outside the tent, Hank gulped for air. That hadn’t gone as he had planned. In his mind, he had visions of sweeping her into his arms and kissing her. When it came right down to it, however, he had frozen. He saw the pain in her eyes, but he hadn't been able to reach out to her, to comfort her. The leader in him had taken over again, and he had pushed her away.

"Never choose one over the others," he mumbled to himself as he walked away from her tent.

"Never tell her you love and you'll never forgive yourself." Hank looked up to see Eric standing in his path.

"You don't know. You don't understand," Hank grumbled. "It not that easy."

"It should be." Eric's eyes flashed fire. "I told you before, Hank, you're a fool. If you don't tell her, you're going to loose her. Listen to her in there, crying her eyes out!

"She thinks you don't care! And I'm beginning to think maybe she's right! You don't care about anything except keeping yourself safe! One of these days, it's going to cost you. There won't be another chance."

"Don't lecture me, Eric!" Hank snapped. "You're not doing any better with Diana. Might I remind you, yet again!"

"If I ever tell Diana, she has to be ready to hear it, and right now, she's not! She thinks of me as a friend and I don't want to ruin that! I tell her, I lose her completely.

"But you and Sheila are different! You love each other and everyone knows it! You're just too damn stubborn to admit it!"

"Keep your nose out of my business, Eric!" Hank pushed past the cavalier and strode off.

Eric sighed and looked at Sheila's tent. Small sniffles and sobs were still coming from inside.

"This lady is the best thing to ever happen to you, Hank," he whispered. "Don't be a fool like my father. You'll regret it; I speak from experience on that."

Twenty-two points, plus triple-word-score, plus fifty points for using all my letters. Game's over. I'm outta here. The cavalier spun on his boot heel and went to comfort the thief, still crying in her tent. It was the least her could do for his friend