Part 29

Rudolph scrambled down the side of the mountain. His muscles burned with the effort and his legs were cramped from the long night he had spent by the cave. When Alisen had finally quieted her sobs and had fallen asleep, Rudolph had snaked around to the back wall of the cave- the one covered in tapestries. He had been, for the past two weeks, chiseling into a narrow fissure with the knife he always had in his boot. In the beginning he was only able to stick his arm through---but after all that hard work he had finally made it large enough to squeeze through. He had then filled it with stones to prevent Alisen from breaking out as well. He felt like a cad, and it had been a terrible thing to do, he knew. But by doing so she would not end up lost in a world she had left untouched for months, and he could not bear to lose her. By leaving her in the cave and heaping all the responsibility of getting help onto his own shoulders, he felt more secure. He also, deep in his heart, wanted to be alone when he found Isadora. For this was another motive of his escape- to find the blonde beauty he was so besotted with.