And I am back again. Can't believe I got to chapter 10 already. It really has been amazing the amount of support I've had writing the first 9 chapters. Plenty of good reviews and PM's giving me some ideas and helping me improve. I'm so gracious for it.
Shoutouts to Great Reviews:
Jenny
Coleman321
CrazyJ888
HiddenBlade
Jedi1
Silent Ninja22
AssassinAuthor
So that's that. Get to reading this chapter which took some good revisions and some sisterly advice to write. Enjoy!
Chapter 10
His heart was beating so loudly that he figured the entire castle could hear it. His unnatural scowl that had covered his face after the days events transformed into a smile. The sore muscles of his body cried in agony, but he made them move. He forced himself off the bed, willing his feet forward. His eyes became unfocused when his thoughts darted to who could be asking for him. At this time of night everyone would be asleep except for someone who had been sleeping all day. At the realization his thoughts zoomed back into focus.
Howard saw the look in Gregor's eyes and felt bad about what he had to say. "Gregor, we are not going to the hospital. Please follow me so as not to get lost." Gregor's heart fell. His jovial spirits collapsed upon themselves and his weariness came back. His mode turned sour and he plopped back onto his bed and closed his eyes. There was no way he was going to see anyone tonight other than Luxa. Howard stopped a few steps from the door. He had to get Gregor to come.
"This is important. I have been sent to bring you as this is urgent. The situation is dire." The final words roused Gregor for the second time. Dire? Who could have such dire news at what must be two in the morning? There was only one way to find out. "Let's get going then, Howard," Gregor mumbled hoping out of bed and sliding on a pair of sandals. His feelings were still hurt, but if they needed him for something then he was needed.
Howard led them through halls Gregor had never been down. He passed intricate statues, carvings, painting, and windows that looked out over all of Regalia. They were climbing higher and higher into the palace, climbing long staircase and winding corkscrew halls. Sometimes they darted down side halls or down a flight of stairs. If he was by himself there would no way he would be capable of finding his way back to his room. After about the thirtieth flight of stairs and fifth corkscrew they entered a lavish hall that had only one door. "Howard, where are we and why was it so hard to get here?"
"The room behind that door was Sandwich's chambers. They were unused for the final years of his life as he did not leave the prophecy room. They are unused today, but are still kept clean. Vikus sent for me to send you here. He is waiting inside." Gregor was nervous. What would be so important that Vikus would have them meet in Sandwich's chambers? He walked toward the door. It was a solid red stone the color of blood, polished so much that Gregor could see his reflection in it. The handle was a simple brass one. It didn't turn but the latch in the door opened when it was pulled up. He pushed the door open and nearly fell at the site before him. The room was covered in tapestries depicting who knows what, fine rugs,statues of beautiful woman, and paintings of the most extravagant things. Things Gregor had never seen or dreamed of. Sitting in front of him in two lush, purple chairs were Vikus and Nerissa. The door closed with a resounding clash that broke the silence.
The room was so breathtaking that Gregor was entranced by it. It was like walking into a billionaire's house. He was so taken by it that he did not hear Vikus beckon him to sit. The old man climbed to his feet and reached out to Gregor, touching his shoulder gently. The touch abruptly brought Gregor back to reality. Vikus looked sad and worse than he had ever looked. His eyes were puffy like he had been crying. Nerissa was a little better, but she too looked as if she had teared up some. "Please, sit Gregor."
Gregor sat on the couch and was relieved by the softness of it. For not having someone sit on it for 400 years it was more than comfortable. "Why did you want to see?" Gregor asked calmly and with as much intrigue as he could fit into the question. Vikus turned to Nerissa asking her to explain. If Nerissa was going to be explaining it then it could not be something good. Nerissa spoke in a quiet voice that was barely more than a whisper, "I had a vision that Regalia had been destroyed by an army of Spinners and Gnawers. There was not a building standing and they were surrounding the palace."
"So you called me here, to this room, to tell me that Regalia would be decimated by war?" Gregor interrupted. Vikus and Nerissa both shook their heads. There was more to this terrible story. Vikus spoke next. "If we wanted to tell you that we could have done it before the entirety of our generals. The next piece is why we requested you to come here at this hour. Nerissa please continue."
"I then saw an attack. Many were dying and you were doing all you could. I saw you kneeling over someone you loved, tears welling in your eyes. I could feel the anger that radiated from you, that I smashed things in my room. You then rampaged through the enemy killing more than I have ever seen someone kill. The key part was the sword's you used. You had the same sword you are currently using: The sword of the son. But you also had another sword. A sword so beautiful, so carefully crafted and deadly that it could only have been one of Sandwich's own creations."
Each one of her words had caused Gregor's heart to drop lower and lower into his body. By the end of it all it was resting somewhere near his kidneys. It took him awhile to speak, for words would not come to him. The words came out hoarse and quiet, "You said someone I loved. Who?" He felt that he already knew the answer. There were only a few people he loved down here. Luxa, Mareth, Howard, Vikus, and maybe Ripred. Knowing Nerissa it would be the one he loved the most, the one he could not live without. Luxa.
"Your mother." That was all Nerissa said before covering her face in her many layers of clothes. "My...mother. How!?" Gregor yelled at them. He felt his anger coming over him. The same anger he felt when he yelled at Perdita and saw the spinners attacking the citizens of Regalia. An unnatural anger. He felt himself moving. He was doing something but he could not figure out what he was doing. He was screaming but he could not hear what. He was scared of himself. A searing pain filled the back of his head. He spun around and had enough time to see the shape of a fist hit him right between the eyes.
Pain was a common thing for Gregor to feel. He had felt more pain than probably anyone else his age above or below ground. More scars crossed his body than even the strongest military men. His heart had been thrown around and played with, broken, and put back together more than even the biggest lover boy in his school. He was tormented by recollections of death and destruction. Pain was common and Gregor was used to it.
The pain he felt now, however, was none he had ever felt. His head felt as if it had split in half by someone's bare hands. His heart felt like it was crushed between two blocks of stone. Turned into paste. There was no hope that the pain would ease itself away. No chance that he could save himself from more agony. He tried to open his eyes but the effort to do so was more excruciating than leaving them closed. What was going on with him? He let out a moan and tried to lift his arm. That's when he realized his arms were tied down with restraints. His legs were the same way. What was going on? He continued to struggle to try to break out of them, but there was no chance of it.
"Stop fighting you little troublemaker. They won't take them off," said Ripred from in front of Gregor. Gregor forced his eyes open and his left one burned with pain. He let out a yelp of agony and closed his eye. His right eye though was open and he could finally see where he was. It was a perfectly circular room. He was in the middle strapped down into a chair that had him sitting at an angle looking towards the wall. Sitting in front of him were Ripred, Howard, Vikus, Nerissa, and his parents. His parents. What the hell are they doing here? All six of them had concern etched across their face. "Where am I? What am I doing here? Why am I strapped down? Why does my head feel like someone cleaved it in half with a sword?" The questions spilled out of Gregor's mouth like fast running lava. There was no time for anyone to answer.
"Slow down dear. Everything is okay," his mother said. "You had a bit of an accident and they don't want you hurting yourself. I'm sure they'll let you out once the doctors come back." Gregor still had no clue what was going on. He continued to struggle at the restraints. Maybe he could break them.
"I told you to stop doing that. You aren't going to break them!" Ripred exclaimed with a snarl. Giving up on the restraints he started to think why he was here. The last thing he remembered was hearing Nerissa tell him that his mother would be hurt and he would go on a rampage killing everything. There was a major blank that he needed filled. "Someone please tell me why I'm restrained and why my head hurts?" Nobody wanted to talk. His parents probably knew but did not have a way to explain it. Howard probably could, but he looked away from Gregor when they looked at each other. Vikus and Nerissa looked scared to talk to him, so that left one person. "Ripred, please." He was begging now. Whimpering like a puppy.
"I guess you deserve to know what you did. You are being restrained for your own good. You could really hurt yourself or get into more trouble than needed." Ripred's voice was calm and caring. There was no sarcasm. No wittiness. It was all business. "After Nerissa told you what she told you, you went off. You started to destroy the room. You flipped chairs, ripping the legs off and beating the paintings on the walls. Precious statues destroyed. You chased Vikus and Nerissa from the room and knocked out Howard when he tried to calm you. The room is destroyed. It took 10 guards to calm you and two are in the hospital with injuries. Your head hurts because one guard hit you in the back of the head with a mace, but you didn't stop. You only stopped when someone punched you in the face and knocked you out."
None of this made sense. He was angry yes, but he destroyed a room. Was he that angry? He hurt Howard and guards? Impossible. Howard was such a nice guy and guards usually like Gregor. He almost killed people. What was wrong with him? Why did he not remember any of it? There was something going on here and he had to figure out what.
"I don't remember doing any of that. The last thing I remember was Nerissa telling me something and getting really angry. Then I woke up here. Is something wrong with me?" Nobody wanted to speak. He was an outcast now. There was no use for him anywhere if he couldn't control himself. He would end up killing someone next time. The sound of a key in a lock sprung everyone from the silence. A doctor walked over to Gregor. "It is good to see you awake. Your eye is swollen shut and your skull is cracked. But you do not seem aggressive. We can take you to your regular hospital room now." He undid the restraints and Gregor stood up shakily. His head injury wasn't too bad but it left him slightly off balance. Howard offered him some help and Gregor obliged, leaning on him for support.
"I'm sorry for what I did, Howard. I really had no clue what I was doing."
"I know, Gregor. Ripred thinks he might be able to help you when you are better. You will need to talk to him about it." Of course Ripred could help him. The old rat has seen everything and knows more than most. "How long was I out?"
"A full day." They had entered the hall of the hospital that Gregor was most used to. He had a room that he stayed in more times than he wanted to remember on the hall. The room was right next to the Royal one and Gregor hoped for a chance to see Luxa. Howard, instead steered him into the room and he settled on the bed before Gregor could even ask him for the chance. The bed was much more comfortable than the chair he had been sitting in. So comfortable the he fell back to sleep right away.
His dreams were clouded by a red mist. Images of disturbing. grotesque things flashed in and out of the mist. Dismembered bodies, rotting corpses, a dead Ares, a dying Luxa, a smoking Regalia. Gregor stood rooted to the spot. His feet would not let him move closer to the images. His throat would not let him scream. His eyes would not let him shed tears. The images continued. Dead Vikus, eyeless gnawers, empty shells of dead spinners, dead Luxa. This had to stop. It was so disturbing, that the Gregor in the dream tried to fold into the fetal position. Tried to close his eyes, but it wouldn't let him. He had to watch and watch. Waves of nausea hit his body and racked his body with convulsions. The vomit would not leave him though. His body had to stand and watch. More and more disturbing things came by. Everyone he loved was dying before him. Luxa, Mareth, Vikus, and his mom. That was the last straw.
He forced his leg to move. He ran to his mom who laid on her back a gaping wound in her stomach. The wound was deeper than any Gregor had seen. There was no chance to save her. The tears sprang from his eyes and then his anger hit him. His mind blanked of everything around him. All he saw was the mountain of entities around him. He jumped to his feet drawing two swords that had appeared at his sides. He killed everything: human, gnawer, spinner, crawler, and flier. Nothing stood before him. The carnage he caused finally snapped him from his dreams.
Gregor awoke with a start. He was soaked in sweat and surprisingly some blood. His arm was bleeding from a cut. He looked around to see what he had injured himself on and saw to his own horror that he had clawed his arm open with his own fingers. His nails were covered in blood and some had broken in his own flesh. The pain in his arm was taken over by another pain. Gregor's nails started to grow into claws and his teeth grew into fangs. A fear he didn't know he had raised up from the depth of his chest. He was frightened by what was happening. His back arched in agony as the transformation took place. When the pain finally stopped, his body was nearly the same besides the four inch claws, sharp fangs, and greatly heightened sense of smell. A half-rat half-human.
There was no way he was awake. This had to still be a dream. It's impossible to grow anything like that. The bed was behind him now as he walked out of the room and turned to Luxa's. He opened the door and walked into the room. On the bed laying there still as a board was Luxa. Beautiful as ever and so harmless, but his heart was telling him to kill her. That she was an evil, vile creature. His mind told him he could not murder his love, but his own legs carried over to her.
Her eyes flashed open to see Gregor standing above her. He could see the fear in her eyes. She screamed as his claws flashed down and blood splattered the walls. Wounds erupted across her body as claws swiped her from every direction. The scream continued but morphed into someone elses. A much more familiar one. One he heard too many times to not recognize. It was his mother's. He looked at the body before him and saw not Luxa's but his moms. He broke down and started to scream a loud, agonizing scream. Tears fell from his eyes into the deep wounds on her body. He had killed his own mother.
"Wake up, Gregor. Wake up." Gregor woke with a start. He was laying on the floor covered in only his sweat. He looked down at his hands looking for the claws only to find his usually hands. Finally looking up he saw more people around him than he wanted to see. Two guards, Vikus, Mareth, Howard, three doctors, his dad, Lizzie, and Boots. Why did his sisters have to seem him like this? An incoherent mess. The only two faces he actually wanted to see, however, were kneeling right next to him. His mom and Luxa.
Luxa had concern written all over her face. Her violet eyes stared into his brown ones and a smile erupted on her face. Her regular Gregor was back. He sat up all the way and she embraced him. Gregor had waited for this moment. The moment he could have Luxa back in his arms. He hugged her back and she buried her head in his shoulder. He felt tears wetting his shirt. "I was scared you were hurt. Do not do that again."
"I won't, Luxa. I promise." Gregor replied in a soothing voice while stroking Luxa's hair. Grace gave a small sigh. Her little boy had grown up. Gregor looked up into his mom's face and smiled. She returned the smile and gave the two a hug. Luxa pulled her head from Gregor's shoulder and kissed the tip of his nose. She sat in his arms while he asked questions.
"What happened?" Gregor asked. His dream still fresh in his mind, he trembled and leaned back against the stone of the bed Luxa still in his arms. His dad sat next to him placing an arm on his son's shoulder and his mom watched him from above. Howard and Vikus stood against the wall.
"The guards heard a disturbance in your room. You were speaking in your sleep and rolling around very violently. When the doctor's arrived you had rolled off the bed onto the floor. They tried to wake you and when you would not wake they tried everyone else. Nobody was able to wake you until Luxa showed up and coaxed you awake."
"Your mom could not get you to wake up and started screaming at you." Luxa picked up, "I woke up from the shouts and got irritated at her for screaming, so I came to see what was happening. I saw you on the floor and was so scared. I ran to your side and I guess I have the magic touch to wake up the warrior." Gregor blushed and leaned down and kissed the top of Luxa's head. Luxa blushed a little at his touch They sat silently just Gregor and Luxa. Nobody else spoke and eventually just left the room to leave the young couple alone. After the last person (his mom) left Gregor spoke.
"So you remember me now." Luxa looked at Gregor. She did remember. She remembered everything they had done together. She remembered every feeling she had for him. She remembered she loved the boy who was holding her in his strong arms.
"Yea, I remember everything from before I lost my memory and some of the last two months. I do not remember the last couple days after we went to see the spinners. Other than that though I am doing well. How did you manage to get my memory back anyway? Howard told me you could tell the story better than anyone." Gregor went into a full explanation of the events of that day. She winced and put her hand to the bandage on her head when Gregor told her she jogged her memory by hitting her head. She squeezed herself closer to him when he told her how scared he was that she wouldn't make it and the terrifying flight back to Regalia.
"Thank you for everything, Gregor." And before he could reply she leaned over and kissed him. It was almost exactly like their first kiss. Two kids sitting on the floor leaning against each other for emotional support. The kiss was different though. It felt more natural. It felt like they were doing it because they did actually love each other not because they were scared they would never see each other again. There was passion behind the kiss and the pressure on their lips. They finally broke away for air.
"I missed you so much Luxa. It was hell in the overland without you. I couldn't stand it."
"I missed you, too. I wouldn't leave my chambers and cried more than I thought possible. As you say it was hell." The two sat for hours just glad they could be with each other. Just glad they could hold each other and feel the others warmth. They would have plenty of time to reflect on the events of the past year on another day. All they had right now was to look to the future. A future that had the two of them together.
And no cliffy this time. Couldn't come up with a good one. I bet you weren't expecting what happened in this chapter. Any who Review and PM me if you have something that you think will interest me. Also, I have school starting in less than a week so I won't be getting chapters out as often. Maybe only 1 or 2 a week.