Ducking, Nimira spun to lend strength to her slash, catching one rebel in his side. With a sixth sense, Nimira smoothly dodged an attack from behind. Turning on the ball of her foot, she faced another rebel. The Wardens had been outnumber, and outplayed. But Nimira wasn't about to give up and let them kill the Steward. While the Steward was pompous and taking more control than was his right, he was better than the rebel's leader. Underneath the slick charisma the rebel leader wore like a skin was a scheming beggar who thought he could strike it rich.
As if the plate and chain mail armor was a second skin, Nimira fought and parried. Sweat poured into her eyes, stinging them but she fought on. Her body begged her to stop. All her healing was catching up with her. Nimira could feel weariness dragging at her movements. She barely brought her shield up in time to deflect the fatal blow. She heard the rebel's sword ring when it glanced off her armor. The rebel could see the sweat damp hair coming out from under the helmet. She looked more like one of the furies of legend. Not the Amazon the leader had told them about. The rebel tried to faint right, but Nimira saw and dodged his attack. On a sudden move, Nimira twisted her blade and slashed it down his chest from left to right.
She didn't watch as he crumbled, but turned to check on Rafe. He was grinning, taking two of them at once. Nimira was moving to help him when she heard the Steward squawk. She spun around to see two advancing on him, her father already taking one down. Knowing that he could take the one that was left, she moved back to help Rafe. That was when she saw a figure in the shadows behind the Steward, but she missed the other figure behind the first one.
Calling out, Nimira tried to run over to protect her father. Her call, fear and pain already filling her voice, cause both her father and Rafe to look up. The shadow jumped to stab her father in the back, and she stood in horror as she watched him fall. Her limbs were deadened with shock, her eyes going wide with it. She didn't see the other Warden cut down the bastard who had stabbed her father, or the one he had been fighting.
The second cry surprised her. She looked over to see one of the rebel's swords in her Rafe's chest, his eyes latched on to hers with surprise and sorrow. On a cry of anger, Nimira beheaded the rebel in one smooth swing. She cradled Rafe's head as he began to slump down to the floor.
"Rafe, come on. You can't die now, we need you. You're one of the best we've got, you can't die." Nimira stopped herself from babbling. The last thing he needed was to see how scared she was. Rafe reached out to her, and Nimira snagged his hand, holding on to it as if it were her last line in a black sea.
"Ni, not even you can stop this. Protect the Steward, and follow the other Wardens. That's―"
His final request ended in a cough, raking his body, leaving blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Nimira cursed that she had already spend her power, that she could do nothing for him or her father. She was the healer; she was supposed to be able to save them.
She didn't see the shadow over her. Her grief blinded her. She heard one of the other Wardens call out, looked up in time to see the face of the man who thrust his sword into her right shoulder. The pain was dull, as the blade was a master's work. Her hand fluttered to it, wedged into her shoulder. He was a mere boy, swiftly cut down by a fellow Warden.
Nimira felt when the blade left her shoulder, leaving a line of fiery pain inside her shoulder. She wavered; the pain blinding but she refused to leave her father and brother. She saw one of the old Wardens over her. When had she fallen to the ground?
"Nim? Come on, we need you, girl. Come on, Nim." The older man gently lifted her up and carried the smaller woman, careful to watch her wounds and not harm her shoulder more.
Her shoulder hurt. It was the first thing that she was aware of. The pain in her shoulder was so great. All she wanted to do was die.
"Ni? You awake? Come on, Ni, I need you."
The small voice caused her to shift her head. It was one only thing that didn't either hurt or feel weak. Her throat was so dry that she knew it would hurt to speak. Nimira was able to open her eyes, and saw a young man, barely younger than herself, blue-grey eyes staring back at her. Her father's eyes. She remembered that her mother's had been a clear, almost ice blue.
"Ni, thank the gods that your awake!" The man stopped himself from throwing himself over her to hug her, but gripped her hand even tighter.
"Nate… where am I?" She squeezed back, despising the weak grip. Her brother's eyes turned sad in feeling the attempt to comfort herself.
"Ni, you're in the healer's wing. You're lucky to be alive. That boy almost killed you." His grip gentled, aware that he might have hurt her.
"What about Rafe, and Father? Are they here? They were wounded…" Ni trailed off as she remembered what had happen, how her cries had distracted them. And, in the end, her cries had killed them.
Nate rubbed her hand, worried again. Her pale face lost what little color it had. "Ni, they died… there was no chance for them. Mother… she's gone too."
Nimira's eyes fluttered closed and she leaned back into the pillows. Their mother loved their father so much. Now, thanks to her daughter, she was dead too. "Nate… I'm sorry…"
"For what? That the rebels caught us off guard? That you were the only healer in the fight? You have nothing to be sorry for, Nimira."
Nimira's eyes opened to see the commander standing at the foot of her bed. She was finally aware of what a mess she was. Covered in bandages, and the one on her shoulder covered the worse of what was sure to be an ugly scar. The commander stood straight, his steel hair cut short.
"Nimira, we shouldn't have won that fight. Far many more of us would have died if it wasn't for you. You're father and brother didn't blame you for their death. Fact is, your father died shortly after you had been wounded. He told me that he was damn proud of you." He swallowed, and saw that his words didn't have the desired effect. Fact was he was here to tell poor Nim that she was getting shipped out to a strange place. One he had never heard off. But their explorers had just made contact, and the Steward wanted someone to go over and make a good impression on them.
"The reason I'm here is to tell you that you've been give a special job. Our explorers have discovered another kingdom, and he wants you to go and be a diplomat of sorts. After you've had more time to heal from your wounds, you will go to a kingdom by the name of Stormwind."
Nimira eyed him, translating in her head what that really meant. "You mean that the Steward finds me unable to serve him in defense, but I can help another kingdom by slopping their stables."
Nate looked between his sister and their commander. There was no way that Ni could think that's what the Steward meant, was there? She must think that it was the same as a death sentence, or she'd never talk to the commander that way. He figured it was time for her to rest. "Ni, you're going to be fine. Everything will be fine. Just get some rest, don't try to talk too much. I'll make sure that someone gets you a drink for your throat." He watched with minor relief as she turned her head to the pillow.
Following the commander, Nate gathered his courage to ask what he couldn't in front of her. "Sir, the Steward can't really think that she's of no use? She needs time, but…" Nate trailed off when he was the look in the commander's eyes. It scared him, that look, and he wasn't certain why.
"The Steward is suspicious of Nimira. He feels that she believes he is the cause of your loss, and that she will come after him. I am certain that she no longer holds kind feelings for him, but I believe that she blames herself. The poor girl can't see that there was no way she could have saved them."
Nate glanced between the too still bed and the commander. "There is one way, sir. But it would have killed her for sure, and I'm not certain that she would have been able to save them both."
The commander shook his head. "It will take her time. I just hope that she will make friends that will care about her enough to help her. Pray to the gods, lad, that her way won't be too hard. I know one thing. She won't kill herself, she's been taught too well to take her own life. I do fear that she will sacrifice herself, to make up for her supposed sin."