"Neal! Neal! Come quickly!" someone shouted banging on the door.
"What is it, Tobe?" I asked, leaping off my bed.
"It's Lady Yuki, Milord. She fell off her horse during her ride through the forest this morning. A wild boar charged past in front of her gelding and it panicked throwing her off. And if that wasn't enough, the horse tried to run, trampling her into the dirt. Kel sent me to come and get you."
I bit my lip. "She'll be alright, won't she?" I asked shakily.
There was a silence behind the door, then, "I don't know, Milord. Hurry! Your father's healers are out of Corus right now, and she needs healing. If not... she might... might..." He didn't finish, he didn't need to. I pulled on my boots hurriedly and pulled the door open.
"C'mon Tobe, lead the way." He nodded, leading me down the long halls, up and down flights of stairs, and through big heavy iron gates.
"We're almost there, Milord!" he told me, panting.
And then we turned a corner, and there she was. My Yuki. Bloody, bruised, and battered. And I felt like a monster. Just earlier this morning I had resented her presence and now she lay dying. To my utmost horror, I wished that she could die, and I could somehow rest Kel from my cousin Dom, and be with her for the rest of eternity. And there on the other side of Yuki, was Kel. Dom's Kel, I reminded myself. "Do something, Neal!" she wailed, "Don't just stand there!" I've never heard her so distraught. In that moment, all I wanted was to wrap an arm around her and comfort her.