Chapter 3
More Questions and…hope?
The last two days had been quite an ordeal. She had waited for Lucas to return and he had returned within the hour with two large soldiers, a carriage, and an extra horse. The two soldiers were careful with the mage as they pushed and pulled him onto one horse and tied him firmly in place. The two soldiers also carefully helped Alanna place Daine's body into the floor of the King's wartime carriage. It was more of a glorified cart with its simple design and appearance, but it was much easier to use when handling a body. The king only used it as a last resort safety tactic in cases where he had to be escorted out of an intense event. Once the two bodies were secured, Alanna mounted the extra horse and followed the party back to the king's main camp.
Upon their arrival, many pairs of sad and or curious eyes followed them to the Healer's tents. Most were wondering if they had heard correctly that the wildmage had been killed. Some had believed it and were already mourning. Others were simply confused and curious as to what was going on. The two soldiers promptly dismounted their horses and brought Daine's body, still wrapped in Alanna's cloak, into the largest Healer's tent. Numair was then carried into a smaller tent to the right of the largest one. Alanna quickly dismounted and accompanied the body into the darkened tent.
"Do not under any circumstances rouse him. If he regains consciousness promptly put him back to sleep. If you cannot get to him in the first minute of his waking there will be problems. I will also need to be notified if he does wake. His unconsciousness is in the prime interest of everyone in this camp. Please be very careful with him," Alanna had said quietly but firmly to the healer in charge of the tent. She nodded solemnly and grasped one of Alanna's hands.
"Is it true?" the blond whispered. Alanna now repeated the solemn nod. The blond hung her head.
"I understand. This is…terrible," she said after a moment. Alanna nodded.
"Please be careful Briana, he is in a fragile state and his magic will be uncontrollable by most anyone else."
"I know. I will be on guard Alanna, you just worry about what you have to do for that poor girl." Briana wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye and turned to another patient who had begun to groan painfully. Alanna sighed heavily and left the tent to find King Jonathan.
She found him sitting on his bed, a portable desk resting on his lap. In his hands he held a small mirror with the royal crest engraved on the back.
"Why are you scrying," Alanna asked forcefully. She was instantly on alert. "Have you received news that there are more pirates?" Jon turned wide eyes on her. She had surprised him with her sudden appearance. He sighed deeply as she looked at him earnestly.
"I want to make sure. There could have been renegade pirates that escaped into the surrounding woodlands. I've sent two reasonably ready groups to search, but I want to be positive. Death has become too comfortable here and we need to leave as soon as possible." Alanna nodded.
"Where is Numair?" he said quietly as he returned to scrying.
"He is in Healer Briana's tent right now. He is unconscious," she added before he could ask.
"And Daine?"
"She's…she's in the T.O.D." Jon looked down.
"So she really is gone?"
"Yeah Jon, she's gone. I, uh, I need to get to my tent."
"Alanna…" Jonathan wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to comfort her in some way but felt lost. Daine had been an amazing contribution to his kingdom. She had saved him and his friends and family countless times with her power, wit, and love. He hadn't felt a loss this personally in a long time, and somehow felt completely unprepared for how much it burned. Jon was sure that Alanna was feeling guilty as well. She hadn't lost a patient in while, no matter the circumstance, and here, one of her dearest friends had perished in her presence.
Alanna watched Jonathan struggle with his thoughts and emotions.
"I know Jon," was all she managed before she turned sharply and quickly exited the tent, tears already streaming down her cheeks. Jon sighed again and tried to scry a little further as tears welled up in his own eyes.
The first round of bodies and soldiers had left that night around ten. Thirty dead bodies, including Daine's, were stacked neatly in several carts. Alanna's cloak had been wrapped around Daine's white-sheet covered body. Many of the least injured and the rare uninjured soldiers accompanied the dead back to Tortall. The trip was supposed to take four whole days of travel, give or take some hours for complications. This group was lead by a group of Riders and two soldiers form the King's Own After the first round, twenty four hours later the second group would depart the camp. This group would be the largest. The healed soldiers, the rest of the bodies, and most of the supplies went with this group. After them, the third group would go. This was usually made up of the king and the rest of the King's Own. Any bodies that had been found or that had died recently were taken with this group. The last of the foot soldiers also went in this group. The last group to leave would be a mixture of Riders and select officers within the army; they made sure that no one was left behind and that the enemy hadn't returned to the area.
Alana was impatiently waiting for the third round. She was tired of Death's grip on the area. The cold autumn air was doing nothing to help her and it had begun to drizzle irregularly throughout the last day. Despair rolled over her in waves as she thought of the numerous people lost. Daine had been her closest personal loss, but she felt sure that Numair would soon join her. She had never seen such a connection between two people before and on some level she realized that one could surely not live without the other. She remembered sleeping terribly over the last few days as she guiltily watched Daine die over and over again. Something about her death just didn't sit well with her. Something in her mind would not allow her to believe that Daine had died…the right way. A strangled moan left her throat as she got off of her cot and began to pace over the rug that covered her tent floor.
"Hey…" Jon began as he walked into the tent when his request to enter had been unanswered. "What are you doing? What's wrong?" He asked quickly as he covered the distance in between them and placed two solid hands on her small shoulders.
Alanna looked a bit out of sorts. Her hair was wildly flying in different directions from what looked like fingers continuously going through the beautiful red strands. Her eyes were red and puffy, purple rimmed them thickly. Pale had never so effectively described her pallor as it did in this moment. She had been pacing the floor of her small tent for two hours.
What had happened to Daine was not only devastating but puzzling. She remembered her wound on the field. It had been anything but truly fixable. The stomach had been ripped open leaving toxins to poison the rest of the body. The gash had been a bit longer then she would have thought it to have been considering the point of entry, but she had to take into account her wolf form. Daine had been smaller in that form so any damage done to that body would have been different on her human body…
"Alanna!" Jon shouted as she had turned to resume her pacing, quite ignoring his hands on her shoulders. Wide violet eyes gazed at him as if just realizing that he had been in the room.
"Jon, why are you here? What's wrong?" Her voice sounded scratchy and dry, like she'd been talking for hours. He turned to get her water skin when a short coughing fit erupted from her mouth.
"I came to check on you. You were not at dinner and Briana was worried about you when you went to visit Numair. She said you'd looked distracted and sick. Are you all right?" Alanna took another gulp of water and placed the half empty skein in her lap when she sat heavily on her cot.
"I am not ill, I just haven't been sleeping well."
"Daine…" the question did not need to be asked. Alanna lowered her eyes.
"What did Thayet say when you told her?" Jon had not been prepared for this question. The queen had been fighting at the main stronghold of the pirates about ten or so miles from the small port town. The stronghold had been the former home of the lord and lady that had ruled the area. They had been some of the first killed when the pirates invaded Port Merrick. Her and her Riders had taken down the strong hold after three days of fighting. Two of those days had coincided with the attack in the countryside surrounding Port Merrick and the couple had not spoken to each other in the following few days. When the strong hold had fallen, Queen Thayet and half of her regiments had retired to Pirates Swoop to keep Thayet safe while Jon was in battle. The other half of her regiments had went into battle with the rest of Tortall's army.
"Shall I take it that she doesn't know yet?" The king also bowed his head.
"I didn't want to tell her without looking at her myself; she will be heart broken."
"She will be more upset if she has been dead for a long time and hasn't heard anything about it . Her fury will intensify if she realizes that you did not tell her when you found out," Alanna said solemnly. Jonathan nodded.
"You will go to her then."
"What!" Alanna's face turned sharply to look at him. He had now begun pacing.
"Yes, you will go home to Pirates Swoop. They are already aware that the fighting is over. The main group of Riders has already returned to the castle. A few, including Queen Thayet, are waiting for me to return home safely before she travels. You know how this works."
"But why are you dismissing me," she deadpanned. Jonathan returned her fierce glare.
"You are not being dismissed. I need someone that we are close to, to tell them about Daine and Numair."
"No. Get some private to do your bidding. I am not a messenger."
"You are being unreasonable! Why do you want to go to the castle?"
"You need me there! I have work to do before I return home! I have soldiers to take care of and there are arrangements…"
"These things can be done by others. I am not getting rid of you because you are weak or sick. You need to go home. Thayet needs to know. You need the comfort of your family."
"I don't…"
"Please don't make me order you to do this," he begged. He'd finally stopped pacing and instead sat on the rug in front of her. Another heavy sigh escaped her.
"She does need to know. I will leave first thing in the morning," Alanna did not look at Jon.
"Good. Don't worry about your tent." She still did not look at him. "Good night then." He said quietly as he rose form the floor and turned to leave.
Then that flash of light. It was so powerful it denied me entrance into her body…she looked so small…so frail…what happened? What is going on here…
"She didn't die naturally." Alanna whispered before his hand reached the tent flap.
"What?" He turned around again to face the small figure on the cot.
"I said, she did not die naturally. Something is wrong." Jon stared at her. He could not be sure if these were simply the ramblings of a grief stricken friend, or hard observed facts from an expert Healer.
"What do you mean?" His tone was nondescript. Alanna looked into his gaze.
"On the field, her wounds were…bad. They were grotesque even but, I thought there had been hope. When I found her lying on the dirt…there had been so much blood…"
"Alanna don't…"
"No Jon! I saw the wound. I started to heal her, I started to block the blood from flowing and her stomach toxins from contaminating her body but…but…,"
"Please, please Alanna. You can't do this…"
"Wait! There was a flash of light! I thought I heard a voice tell me to stop but I didn't, I didn't understand. It couldn't have been a real voice, maybe it was her but…Jon after that light something blocked my magic! It's like it stopped in my body, I couldn't touch her! Then when…she screamed," Jon wrapped his arms around her shaking form.
"There was nothing you could have done. She…"
"No! After the light I couldn't even use my magic on anything and then she just…she died…on the ground in all of her blood and…I was thrown away! I was knocked from the body when she stopped breathing! Something is not right!" Jonathan looked into her wild eyes. Alanna was breathing heavily. Tears were streaming unchecked down her cheeks and her voice had become heavy with emotion. She stared at him, willing him to understand that she was not crazy. His gaze softened slightly and he clenched his jaws.
"Jon I know that something happened. Where is her body! I bet…"
"No! Alanna she is gone! Get ready to go home. You need to rest!" and with that he fled from her tent, tears welling in his deep blue eyes.
"May the Goddess bless us," he prayed as he reached his tent and sat heavily on his cot.
"We must be patient. For some reason she landed in Magnuma Credo, which as you can see, did absolutely nothing for her health! Oh when I get my hands on Loki I'm going to…"
"Joplyn, our guest is with us," came a beautiful contralto voice. Daine tried to open her eyes but found that they were resisting with all their might. Eventually she was able to part them slightly, but she instantly shut them when her vision was obscured with a harsh yellow light.
"Ah, we've blinded her Jops," the soft voice drifted musically over her ears. The light dimmed and Daine once again resumed her efforts in opening her eyes.
"Where…" she began as her voice started to work for her again. Joplyn's voice interrupted her.
"Wait." Daine stopped trying to talk and was rewarded when she felt a cup and cold water on her lips. She drank slowly but drained the cup. After a few coughs, she leaned back down. Her eyes had eventually opened enough that she could make out her immediate surroundings. Two worried, but kind faces stared back at her.
"Hello Daine. How do you feel?" the face on the right asked. This face was warm and beautiful. Long lashes lined big hazel eyes. Her cheekbones were high and her face well proportioned. A gentle smile graced delicate, full lips. The slightest dusting of freckles over a pert nose provided an air of playfulness and mischievousness. Daine watched as a graceful hand ran through a head of long honey-colored waves.
"I think…," she wasn't sure how to answer. Her head was in the beginning of a terrible headache, the dull throbbing in time to her heartbeat. Her entire body ached and she felt like gravity was going to pull her through the floor. A very heavy weight sat on her chest and she knew that if she tried to get up she would lose consciousness for a long time.
"I think…I'm dead," she managed with a ghost of a smile. Two pairs of eyes glittered at her. Daine tried to ask more questions but Joplyn raised a hand.
"My name, as you know, is Joplyn. This is my sister Martica. We are not here to harm you, only to help you with your mission. Please don't ask about that yet," he laughed as he saw Daine trying to mouth the question that her body was too tired to put voice behind.
"You are in the Realm of the Gods. We are in the house of the Goddess, this is one of her guest bedrooms, in the bed to be the most specific," Martica smiled. Joplyn rolled his eyes.
"You are technically not dead…" a soft grunt interrupted his words.
"Numair," Daine ground out with as much strength as she could muster. Joplyn's eyes lit.
"Your Numair is fine, for now." Daine's eyes briefly got larger and she made to move out of the bed. Joplyn put a hand forward to keep her from moving. Her body was in no condition to put up any fight so she simply stilled and looked imploringly into Joplyn's eyes.
"That was terrible phrasing dear brother. Numair is being kept sedated as your king and his army move back home. They are afraid of his powers once he awakens and realizes that you are gone. We want to help him though," Martica began.
"Which is what I was getting to before you tried to escape," Joplyn laughed at Daine's weak, but sarcastic look. "Your body on Earth is not living by human ideas, but is not dead. Everything is working discreetly and slowly. As a matter of fact, it is being preserved by magic and it needs to be recovered, which is why we've come to disturb you. You need a contact on Earth that will protect your body and see to your business. This person must be able to help you and must be trustworthy. They won't be able to tell just anyone that you aren't really dead…"
"Oh stop stalling Jops. You know she will choose Arram. Go tell Loki's partner so that they can get things set up, I will continue to fill her in and what not." Joplyn glared briefly at his sister before turning a warm smile on Daine.
"Right, well, I'll see you soon. Don't let that girl," he pointed theatrically at Martica, "talk you to death…ah, no pun intended." With that Joplyn left the room in a flash of yellow light. Martica rolled her eyes.
"He is so dramatic. He will explain your Earth contact when you are well enough to make it, which should be soon. Now let's see, who, where…ah how. Well you were pulled here much the way you were pulled into court during your battle with Uosae. Your spirit, or soul, was here, but your mortal body was left in the human realm. You hurt now because your mortal body was wounded terribly and we took you against your will. You did not want to leave your body which always creates more problems then is really necessary. Your pain is probably more intense now because you landed in Magnuma Credo upon entrance into this realm by mistake. That place does terrible things to the human soul. That will be elaborated on later.
As for your purpose in being here, I am not at liberty to go into the full details, however I can give you the basics. The gods have a problem with many of the immortals. They are affecting the animal gods here which in turn affects the mortal animals of Earth. Your magic is needed to help them fight. The rest will be explained when you are well enough to really understand. Now, I need to know if you will help us." Daine stared into the earnest hazel orbs boring into her own blue-gray ones. The animals needed her help; how could she refuse that?
"Numair," she uttered again. She had to know if he would be all right. She needed to know that her home would be safe and that her husband would live. Martica grinned broadly.
"Such dedication! My dear girl, Numair or Arram, as I like to call him, will be fine once you contact him. Your home will be safe. Now, I need to know if you will help the gods." Daine closed her eyes and fought to reopen them. She had never been so tired before.
"I will help the People." Though her voice was weak, her level of conviction was powerful. Martica nodded solemnly.
"Good." Her hand disappeared into a bag that seemed to appear out of the air, and reappeared with a luminescent green bottle. She poured half of the contents of the bottle into a crystal goblet that appeared in her other hand. With an unearthly gentleness she helped Daine sit up slightly and drink the liquid.
"This will help you while you sleep. It will keep your soul in this realm, as opposed to it trying to return to your body in the mortal realm. Now, rest, we will talk more when you wake." The goblet and bottle dissolved into the air and Martica stroked Daine's brow tenderly. In mere seconds Daine had drifted back to sleep. Martica smiled at the sleeping form.
"Legends, always so young," she muttered before dimming the lights and disappearing as her brother had done earlier.
Ah, another chapter completed. Sorry, I know I started this story about FIVE years ago, but I was very young then and some kinda busy! Not that I'm not hella busy now, but every now and again I like to pretend that I'm not and right something that makes me happy! As always, thank you so much for reading and I will TRY REALLY REALLY HARD to get the next chapter out sooner than this one. Later!