Wine and Roses

Chapter Seven: Attack at Sorian

Okay, I know I have no excuse for delaying this next chapter, so I'm not going to give you one. Just read this next installment and enjoy. This is where the plot really starts to heat up!


After Percival had, rather awkwardly, managed to work himself out of Chris's accusation, he and Borus stood alone at the foot of the main stairwell. Chris had gone off a few minutes before, and the two knights were trying to think of what to do before they turned in for the night. Percival was leaning against the railing, one foot upon the first broad marble step. Borus stood a ways away with his arms crossed, staring out at the windy night.

"I think I'll just head to my room. Sorian is a nice place, but there's not much to do here after about eight." Percival said, yawning as he headed up the stairs, "G'night, Borus, see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Percival." Borus said without much conviction. Sighing, he headed out into the courtyard.

The warm wind whipped across his face, blowing locks of his golden hair into his face. He sneezed and secured his wild hair with his hands as he ran to the inn where he was staying. Once inside, he tiptoed quietly up to his room so as not to disturb the other knights. He wondered for a moment why Chris, Salome, and Percival had been the only ones lucky enough to get a room in the castle.

He stood quietly in the threshold of his room for a minute, blinking into the darkness. He was not at all ready to sleep yet. On a whim, he grabbed a towel from his bathroom and ran back down the stairs, thinking some time at the bathhouse might help to calm his mind.

It took quite a while for him to remember where the entrance to the ship was. After wandering around the first basement level for a while, he finally found it and made his way across the wooden deck.

Gordon had apparently turned in fro the night, but he had kindly left the bathhouse open for any restless residents who might want to make use of them after hours. Borus removed his clothes upon entering the high-walled bath and slipped in, making hardly any noise at all. The warm water felt quite wonderful on his skin after the cooling breeze. He submerged himself to the neck and rested his head back against the lip of the bath, smiling.

After a few moments, he rolled his head back, letting his silky hair sway in the water. As he sat back up and smoothed back his wet hair, he caught sight of the full moon, shining brightly in the darkness. He watched it idly for a moment, before he was distracted by the sound of splashing in the adjoining bath. Curious, he swam quietly over to the thick log wall separating them and looked through a small crack.

It was not until he saw a flash of long silver hair that he realized the pool on the other side was the women's bath. He quickly pulled back and turned around, blushing madly.

He had, very nearly, just seen his captain naked.

The mere thought mortified him. If she found out…

He shook his head and tried to clear the thought from his mind. Instinctively, he pressed his back up against the wall, as if doing so would make him closer to Chris. Sighing quietly, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. This was probably the closest he would ever get.

Chris quietly splashed some water over her bare arms. Slowly, she leaned backwards and dipped her hair in the water. After a moment or two of looking up at the sky, she raised her head, now significantly heavier, and looked around.

She knew she wasn't alone, but her senses weren't on edge as they normally were when danger was near. She moved over to the wall that separated the two baths and leaned her head against it, resting her hands on the side. She smiled.

She could tell it was him. She could feel his presence near her. She made no sound, but she knew he was there.

She didn't know why she was sure it was Borus, but somehow she knew it was. She closed her eyes and leaned closer against the wall.

Neither of them said anything. Neither of them wanted to. The silence was conversation enough. They sat there quietly for a moment, neither of them knowing they were thinking the same thoughts.

They probably would have stayed there for quite some time had they not been disturbed by a sudden outbreak of cries and shouts from the castle. The two knights stood up and quickly wrapped their towels around them.

As the two of them ran out of the bath house and onto the deck, they could see lights appearing in the windows of the manor. There were jarring yells and piercing cries, but the most hideous thing was the screeching coming from the many dark winged creatures circling the castle.

"What the-?" Borus exclaimed.

"Those are the Chimeras!" Chris yelled, panicked, "Come on, we have to get down there and help the others!"

She said this with so much force and determination that the two of them nearly forgot their current situation. Chris quickly looked away, the faintest traces of a blush on her cheeks. Borus realized that he was standing in front of his Captain, covered from the waist down in nothing but a small white towel.

"Um…excuse me, Milady." He said, infinitely embarrassed, as he ran off to retrieve his clothes. Chris shakily followed suit.

When they were dressed, Borus began fiddling with his armor, but Chris appeared out of the changing room.

"No time for that," She said, grabbing his arm, "We'll have to fight without our armor this time."


It seemed as if the entire castle was awake now. People ran frantically around the courtyard, either trying to run away or attack the flying beasts. Borus gave each other a nod of encouragement, then split up to find the others.

Borus eventually found Percival, who was battling a smaller one of the fierce winged beasts.

Despite the urgency of the situation, Percival still had time to tease his friend.

"Where have you been?" He asked, eyeing Borus's wet hair.

Borus rolled his eyes, ignoring the comment, and circled around behind the Chimera. The two knights took turns slashing at the creature as it lunged for them with one of its three heads. Eventually it took to the sky and began to swoop down angrily upon them.

Suddenly shouts filled the courtyard and surrounding fields once more. Soldiers and civilians exclaimed in surprise as the creatures they were attacking suddenly began to vanish into thin air.

Percival and Borus exchanged glances. They grinned. It was all just an illusion.

"Well, my friend, it looks as if we've been fighting phantoms!" Borus declared, dropping his sword.

He had little time to rejoice, however, as a loud shriek filled his ears. Before Percival could open his mouth to shout a warning, the Chimera raised its large paw and raked its sharp claws across Borus's back. The talons left deep gashes between his shoulder blades and he fell to the ground, releasing a yell of pain.

"Borus!" Percival yelled, panicked. He stared wide-eyed at his friend, before growling at running after the Chimera.

"Come back here you wretched beast!" He angrily slashed at the Chimera, rage fueling his actions and making him careless.

Borus watched helplessly from the ground as Percival fought the Chimera. Though there were still other beasts and men upon the field, all Borus could see was his friend valiantly fighting, and losing. Percival was no match for the seemingly invincible beast, and soon the man began to tire.

"Hold on Percival." Borus whispered as he stretched his arm out for his sword. His straining fingers fell just short of the hilt. The beats swiped at Percival with its strong paws, sending him flying backwards a few feet. Borus braced himself and crawled forwards, doing all he could to ignore the unbearable pain that shot through his entire body.

Out of sheer luck, his fingers brushed against the handle of his sword. He instantly grabbed it and began to slowly drag himself to where his friend had fallen and lay still battling the Chimera.

Borus reached the beast's side just as it raised its paw to deliver a finishing blow to Percival. Borus propped himself up. He let out a yell at the shocking torture that this sudden movement caused, but he gritted his teeth and raised his sword. The creature, too focused on Percival, had not noticed the other knight. It screeched and charged. Just as it raised its paw again, Borus let out a loud battle cry and held his sword high. The creature lunged and fell directly upon the point. Growling, Borus drove the sword in further into the side of the monster's chest, aiming straight for its great beating heart.

There was an ear-splitting cry as the Chimera staggered backwards. It's three sets of burning eyes met Borus's for a brief moment. Its legs buckled, it teetered, then finally lost its balance. Roaring, it fell to the ground, its massive bulk falling atop Borus's legs and pinning him underneath its crushing weight. Borus threw back his head and yelled in agony.

After a few seconds, the Chimera began to thrash again, and violently rolled onto its feet, writhing and screeching as it bled heavily from the wound in its chest. Dizzily, it stood and backed off. Flapping its huge wings, the lion head roared furiously as it took to the sky. It flew off shakily, plummeting and barreling as it disappeared over the dark horizon of the trees.

The attack has drained all the strength Borus had left. He let out a quiet, hoarse laugh of satisfaction. His trembling hand, still gripping his sword, lost is grip on the weapon as he slumped over onto the ground.

"Borus!" Percival yelled, but the blonde knight did not hear the cry.


Percival's cry caused Chris to look over to where the knight kneeled, stricken, by the side of a figure collapsed on the ground. Chris caught sight of the fallen man's mop of wild blonde hair and her heart froze.

"Oh, Goddess no!" She exclaimed, clasping a shaking hand to her mouth.

Suddenly everything else on the battlefield seemed to disappear as she raced toward Percival.

Borus lay face down in the grass, blood soaking his brown undershirt. Three long gashes ran down from his shoulder blades to his lower back. Percival was frantically trying to stop the bleeding as Chris knelt beside him.

"Salome, Roland, cover us!" Chris yelled to the two nearby knights. They nodded and ran to protect their comrades, followed by a few castle guards. Chris looked at Percival.

"What happened!"

"He-he was…protecting me. A Chimera had me pinned and he-" He stopped, too ashamed to go on.

"We have to get him to the castle, quickly!" Chris demanded.

She whistled to three nearby guards, motioning furiously for them to come closer.

"We need to get this man to the hospital wing, now!"

The guards nodded and ran off. Soon, they returned with a stretcher. Chris tenderly helped them move Borus, brushing her fingers across his forehead before the guards lifted him up. While Percival, Salome, and Roland fended off the remaining Chimeras, the guards quickly carried the stretcher to the infirmary, a frantic Chris stumbling along behind them.


Chris paced back and forth in front of the hospital wing door, her senses reeling. Her words from earlier replayed themselves painfully in her head. 'No time for that, we'll have to fight without our armor this time!'

Why had she said that! Why had she said such a stupid, stupid thing? She should have known better, she was a captain, for Goddess sake!

She placed a hand over her forehead, trying desperately not to cry. There was no way even a Chimera's claw could have sliced through Zexen armor. If not for her, Borus would be fine right now.

"Percival placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Chris, it's not your fault."

But it was. Oh, it was. She wasn't about to explain that to him, though. She didn't have the strength to speak.

Leo, Roland, Salome, and Louis now stood outside the door as well. Leo looked to be at an utter loss. Roland was leaned against the stone wall, a grave look on his dark face. Salome stood by the door to the infirmary, his hands clasped anxiously behind his back. Poor Lois looked terrified. He shouldn't have to witness this at such a young age, Chris thought.

For a while, there was no sound in the dark hallway. The Chimeras had long since been driven off, seeming to have diminished quickly after the disappearance of the one Borus had slain. Peace had been restored to the manor again. For now. Evidently, the attacks happened so frequently now that the castle residents were used to them. Everyone had been ready for the attack.

Everyone except Borus.

The pale moonlight shone in through the small windows at the end of the hallway. Chris walked over to them and stared out, figuring it was best to have her back turned to the others in case she started to cry.

The wind whipped the long grass that grew on the wide strip of land separating the building from the lake. Though she couldn't see the water, she could hear the tiny waves crashing against the cliff.

Chris looked up at the evening star, remembering how just a few nights before, she and Borus had both stood looking up at it. She had no trouble thinking of a whish tonight.

Chris blinked at the bright moon glared down at her. She had never thought of the moon's rays as being hostile before, but now not even the most soothing sight could subdue the pain in her heart.

None of the Six ever got wounded in battle. It just wasn't possible. It was her responsibility to look out for her knights, and when one of them got hurt, it meant that she had failed.

She felt as though she was being over sentimental, but she knew that there was more than just a bond of duty between herself and her knights. There was a bond of friendship as well.

Chris could recover from the loss of another knight, but she knew she couldn't deal with the loss of a friend.

What if he died? How would they go on? What would happen to the Mighty Six? There was no way they could replace Borus. Ever.

Not that Chris would ever want to try.

There would be no Mighty Six if there was no Borus. There would be no bond of knighthood. There would be no reason to command.

There would be no Silver Maiden.

Chris stopped short. Borus was an integral part of their group. They would crumble if he was taken away from them. They needed him.

She needed him.

Something snapped, and she leaned heavily against the windowsill, her suddenly fragile body now wracked with sobs. Her bitter cries carried through the hallway, and the other knights lowered their heads in respect, politely averting their eyes.

Finally, her throat hoarse, she backed away slowly from the windows, stealing one last glance at the angry moon.

Chris stopped in front of the door. It felt so strange that Borus was so close. He felt so far away. She pressed for forehead across the door, wishing she could see him, but knowing she couldn't. Percival placed a hand on her shoulder again, but she brushed it off.

Covering her mouth with one gloved hand as she felt tears welling up inside her again, she hurried down the hall, her long sliver hair swaying behind her.

The other knights watched this with concern. They knew Chris was blaming herself, but beyond her obligatory responsibility as their captain, they couldn't figure out why she was taking it so personally.

As they quietly drifted from the hallway to their rooms, they all secretly wondered if, perhaps, there was something more tugging at her heart than responsibility.


Chris took a deep breath, collecting herself. Desperate to do something to calm her mind, she headed for the tavern to see if there was any food left. She had skipped dinner that night due to the meeting.

The meeting. Had that really been only a few hours ago? It seemed like days had passed since they had stood together safely in this very hall, before the Chimeras had struck, before Borus had-

'Enough'. She told herself, and pushed open the door to the tavern.

Anne was still at the bar, cleaning up now that everyone had left. Upon seeing Chris, she smiled.

"Oh, I'm sorry Chris, did you want something to eat?"

Chris smiled shyly. "Well, that was what I came for, but if you're busy-"

"Oh, don't worry about it." The blonde Karayan said, smiling and waving a hand dismissively, "Come sit. I've got plenty left over."

Chris obeyed and sat down on one of the stools as Anne pushed a plate in front of her. "Don't worry" She said, winking, "It's vegetarian."

Chris didn't bother to ask how Anne knew that. She ate in silence, battling off the thoughts that plagued her.

She watched Anne hum quietly as she whipped gathered empty glasses from the tables. She enjoyed that all the Karayans addressed her so informally. To Anne, Chris was simply a Zexen, not the Silver Maiden, not Milady, not even the White Witch. She wished her knights would follow her up on that.

Her knights. 'There I go again!' Chris thought with frustration. Knowing she wouldn't be able to eat any more. She pushed her plate aside in annoyance. Anne caught her as she stood up, placing a cool hand on Chris's cheek.

"Don't you worry your little heart, Chris. Borus is a strong man. He'll make it."

Chris watched as Anne danced off to wipe the counter, wondering for the second time that night at the amazing amount of gossip a bartender must hear.

"How much do I owe you?" She managed to ask.

"Oh, no! It's on the house. Don't worry about it, dear." Anne beamed. The young woman was good at guessing emotions, and she could tell the Captain needed a break tonight.

"Chris wasn't in the moon to argue, so she thanked the Karayan lavishly and exited the tavern.


The moonlight cast paneled patterns on the ornate rug that decorated her small but comfortable room. The bed stood to the right, set away from the windows a few feet. Chris sighed. Here, at least, was one place she felt at ease.

The comfort was cancelled out by the realization that she was just across the hall from the hospital wing. The temptation to sneak into the infirmary and check on Borus was almost too great to resist. The doctor and nurse were no doubt in bed by now. She could just slip in and see how he was doing…

'No, that wouldn't be sensible.' She told herself, 'Borus is probably asleep by now too.'

It was a good way to cover her feelings. With such a thought in mind, she could pretend it was the real reason for her resisting, and not that she was afraid of how she might find him.

As she crawled into bed, Chris wondered if Borus would ever wake from that sleep. She lay quietly for a moment, her hands behind her head, staring up at the canopy above her. With so much guilt on her mind, it was hard to fall asleep, but worrying about Borus made it outright impossible.

Eventually, pure fatigue released her from her anguish when her mind would not. Knitting her brow, she slowly drifted into a light and fitful sleep.


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Hehe, okay, I've had my fun.

Once again, thanks to all of you for the wonderful reviews! You fuel my inspiration and keep me going!