Chap. 10
"Your Majesty! Shana? What're you...oh, never mind- those criminals are about. Come in," Lavitz's mother said quickly, bolting the door behind them. She helped the two of them into the den where Shana quickly suck refuge in a chair and the king laid down on the long couch. "You're wounded" she went on, "-both of you." Shana nodded- a difficult movement considering she had her head between her knees. She suddenly felt very ill, like perhaps she was going to be sick. "Are you okay, dear?" She nodded again, pointing.
"Albert first." Lavitz's mom nodded and went over to the couch.
"What is wrong, My Lord?" Shana looked up and realized he probably couldn't talk.
"He's going to want you to call him Albert- he insists on informality with the rest of us. And he probably can't answer you, ma'am. Ever since the accident we had with the phantom ship in Illisa Bay he's had a lot of trouble breathing."
"I heard the tale of the seven who killed the unkillable," she told the younger girl, "I figured it was your group. Are his ribs damaged?"
"Yes. I think six are broken." The woman clicked her tongue sympathetically.
"No wonder his face looks so ashen- it must take a great deal to hold up that armor you Dragoons wear." Shana hadn't thought of that. "He'll be fine, I should think. He's bleeding from inside by the look of things, but I don't think it'll kill him. I hope not, anyway." She chuckled just then and Shana looked up in surprise.
"What is it?"
"You two have matching black eyes," she responded, "Lavitz would have found humor in it too."
"I want you to scour this whole town!" Mappi roared at his gang several hours after their prisoner had escaped and they had returned without any trace of him. "Rough the people up but don't kill anyone or burn any houses- there'll be plenty of time for that later. We just need to find the damned king before those friends of his figure out what's happened."
"How they gonna know?"
"Because the girl followed us, dumb ass, and she's one of them! Go search now, and don't come back without him!"
How sweet it is to be back! Please R&R!
-K-