A Higher Cost: Part Three

She awakes the next morning with John's words hanging over her. She looks at Walter who is still peacefully asleep beside her and she kisses him on the nose.

"Huh?" He said as he woke up and blinks sleepily at the Queen. "Good morning, M'lady."

He smiled at her and she smiles back.

"We should get going." She said softly.

Walter nods and gets up to wake Ted and John.

"Come on you. Wake up." She said as she shook Reaver.

"Couldn't you have woken me a little less violently?" He mumbled.

"Could be worse. I could have kicked you awake." She replied.

"A tap would have sufficed." He said yawning.

Before she could retort, they hear Walter shout in shock.

"What is it?" She asked as she ran over.

She looked where Ted had been sleeping and see that he had been killed during the night and had been stuffed like a scarecrow.

"Oh Avos," She sighed sadly.

"The Duoler strikes again…" Reaver said as he approached them. "I assume the worst is yet to come. He never just murders, he plays games."

"Where's John?" She asked as she turned to Walter.

"He's gone missing." Walter said as he shook his head. "But he left this…"

Walter passed her an old and ragged jacket. Jackie's jacket…

"We'll take this with us. We have to find him." She said as she tied the jacket around her so she can return it to him. Hopefully.

Then they heard the familiar sound of wisps diving into the ground and the blossoming of hollow men. As they turned around, they saw exactly what they expected, a legion of hollow men.

"We're outnumbered." Muttered Walter.

"I'm getting sick of that." Reaver added.

"Run!" She shouted.

They all ran from the legion of hollow men through the forest. They heard the clanking of their rusted armour and the ghostly roars as they chased them. The Queen ran slightly ahead of Walter whilst Reaver was behind the two, but they concentrated on trying not to split up from each other.

"Oof!" Reaver exclaimed as he tripped from a protruding tree root.

"Reaver!" She cried but when she and Walter turned around, he had disappeared.

"Where's he gone?" Walter asked breathlessly.

"I don't know." She said panicking.

"We should keep going." Walter said as he grabbed onto her wrist.

She wanted to resist so that they could find him but instead, let Walter drag her forwards as she saw the oncoming hollow men draw closer. She and Walter ran as fast as they could and he watched as she leapt over a tree stump. He goes to follow suit but as he was about to jump over, he hears a rumble and the stump suddenly grew tall enough to trip him over.

He fell onto the ground hard and quickly glanced up to see that the Queen was missing.

'Balls!' He thought as he frantically picked himself up and started running again. He looks around wildly while crying out,

"M'lady! M'lady!"

'Maybe she ran ahead. She has to protect the baby.' Walter kept thinking to himself while trying to ignore his heart telling him that she'd never leave him behind if she had a choice.

He feels his head throb from the pressure of worry and his heart beat twice as fast from fear that she may have been hurt. He breathes as much as his lungs would allow him but he felt his body start to slow as his muscles began to protest.

He turns as a hollow man lunges at him with its blade drawn. He unsheathes his sword just as he watched the hollow man burst into flames. The light of the fire gave it a demonic glow as it burned its entire body before it crumbled to dust.

He looks round and grins when he sees his slightly battered Queen run towards him as she focused on throwing fireballs at the hollow men. Together, they fought in the midst of the hollow men while she set them on fire, he would cut them down with his sword, leaving only the burnt rags and ashes in a heap on the ground.

When they thinned them out enough, she started to charge her will.

"Get out of the way when I tell you to." She said through gritted teeth.

"But you could be attacked!" Walter said as he shot a few down that got too close to her.

"Do you want to be cooked with them?!" She cried impatiently.

"Alright, alright. Just give me the word." He said as he frowned.

As he blasted any hollow men that came too close to her, he could see a red glow grow brighter.

"Go!" She called.

He ducked under a hollow man's cleaver and runs from the area. He looks back to see her unleash an area fire attack and the hollow men reduce to ashes.

"Yes!" Walter cheered as she stood victorious amongst the dust that blows away. "Well done, M'lady!"

Her smile turns to pain as she falls to her knees while holding her stomach. He rushes to her side.

"Are you ok?" He asked in a fit of worry.

"I'm fine. It just… took a lot out of me." She said as she caught her breath.

"Is the baby ok, do you think?" Walter asked unsurely as he rubbed her stomach.

"I'm sure the baby is fine." She said as she smiled at him reassuringly.

He pulls her into his arms and held her close.

"I was so worried I lost you. I wouldn't know what to do if you…" He said as he squeezed her. "…I love you." He whispered and kisses her on the side of the head.

"I love you too." She sighed contently.

Click.

"Step away from her, Walter."

Walter's eyes widened as he saw his injured Queen emerge from behind the bushes with her gun drawn at… herself?

The one with the gun seemed to have a head injury as a trickle of blood went down her face.

"Get away from him!" The one with the gun ordered.

The Queen in his arms, pulled away from him to see herself pointing a gun at her.

"Oh Avos, the Duoler!" She exclaimed in shock.

"You're the Duoler, you son of a bitch!" The other Queen shouted.

The Queen without the head injury threw a shock spell at her other self who quickly dodged behind a tree.

"How dare you! Using my image to play your sick games!" The Queen beside him shouted.

"Walter, for Avos sake, don't play his game." Cried the Hero from behind the tree. "You've got to know it's me."

"No, look at me, Walter." The Queen said as she grabbed his arms so that he looked at her. "It's me! Just look at me!"

"Don't! Look to me instead." The Hero pleaded as she stepped behind the tree. "Look at me, you know me. Walter, please."

He looks to the Queen and the Hero in confusion. He backs away and shook his head slowly.

"I...I don't know…" He said in frustration.

"I'm carrying your baby for Avos sake!" Cried out the Hero with the bleeding as she starts to well up. "Our baby, Walter…"

"You are sick, Duoler." The Queen said as she turned to look at her other self and shook her head. "Using my baby to play your games. I am going to enjoy killing you."

She said as she drew her gun.

The two women have both guns pointed at each other.

"If you really care about yours and the baby's life, you'll drop the gun." The Queen without the head injury said.

"So you can shoot me?" Scoffed the Hero in disbelief. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"How about you both drop your guns?"

They look to surprise at Walter who had his gun drawn and they both drop their guns and put their hands in the air.

"Walter, don't do this." Whispered the Hero.

"Shoot her! She's the fake!" Cried the Queen.

"Shut up, both of you!" Walter cried.

He kept switching his aim between the two as he tried to make his mind up. With a shaking hand, his aim eventually rested on the Queen without the injury. She starts to shake her head as the look of fear glimmered in her eyes.

"Walter, you're making a grave mistake." She whispered.

"Do it, Walter! Quickly, before he gets away!" Cried the Hero.

Walter winces as he clicks the hammer back and puts his finger on the trigger.

Bang!

They all watch as Reaver stumbles through the trees after he shot his gun in the air. His pistol is smoking and he carefully walks to them as he kept his hand to his side.

"I had a dream like this once." He said grinning as he limped over to Walter. "But the atmosphere was more… inviting."

"Reaver, you know me! You'll know who the imposter is!" Said the uninjured Queen in a panicked hope.

He ignores her as he looked at Walter.

"This could solve both our problems you know…" Reaver said slyly.

"We're not shooting both of them, you imbecile!" Walter shouted angrily.

"No, you fool. I meant we could have one each." Reaver said winking.

"Reeeaver…" The hero said.

"Is this really the time to joke?!" The Queen said in disbelief.

"Oh my! I've been told off. Twice!" Reaver said as he raised his eyebrows. "Although, you're right. This isn't the time to joke, after all, one of you is coming with us and the other is going to die. And as much as I'd like one each, I prefer originals to the fakes and the Queen is definitely irreplaceable."

He holds his gun up.

"Who do you think it is?" Reaver asked Walter.

"This isn't a wager!" Growled Walter.

"I hope not! Considering mine and the baby's life are at stake here." Shouted the Hero.

"I know it's not." Reaver said as he ignored the two Queens again. "I was just wondering what your opinion was. We wouldn't want to shoot the real Queen."

Walter looks at the two Queens again. The Queen without the head injury was tapping impatiently at the ground with her foot, whilst the Hero was biting her lip.

"I…. think, it's the one without the head injury." Walter said with uncertainty.

The Queen stops tapping her foot and breathes slowly with her eyes slightly widened.

"Hmm." Reaver considered as he taps a finger on his pistol. "Lift your tops up."

"What?!" Everyone chorused.

"Just work with me here. I'm not asking you to show me your bare breasts, although that would be fun, just enough to reveal your stomach." He said.

"Fine…" Growled the Hero as she lifted her shirt.

"Interesting… Queen number two, if you please." Reaver said as he looked at her.

She shifts her weight uncomfortably then lifts her top slowly to show her stomach. Reaver looks at her with a menacing smile.

"Found you." He said as he shot the Hero without looking.

She dodges the bullet by seeking cover behind a tree again.

"How would you know?" Walter asked.

"Because our lovely lady has a scar from a bullet when I had shot her." Reaver replied.

A maniacal laughter echoed from behind the tree.

"That is cheating, Reaver." A demonic voice said. "Doesn't matter. I still have a game for you, how many survivors can you save? If any."

The Queen's eyes widened and rushes to see a gust of smoke disappear.

"We have to go!" She shouted as she ran back through the forest towards the camp.

"And we were so close to leaving this horrid place." Reaver said as he runs with Walter to catch up with her.

They sprint through the trees and began hearing distant screaming and shouting.

"Dammit!" She cursed.

They return to the camp and see the place burning and wrecked. Wood was broken everywhere and villages were running frantic from the Duoler who was still in her image but with blank eyes and red will lines.

The panicked survivors looked confusedly at both Queens.

"It's a trick!" A scared survivor cried.

The Duoler began to chuckle.

"This was fun but it's time to end this charade." He said as he turned into his hooded and masked self.

There were gasps of horror as the civilians cowered at his image.

"This has been entertaining but it has grown dull. We'll have to finish this game one day." He said taunting her.

She threw spells at him but he deflects them with a simple flick of his hand, his cold laughter echoing through the air.

"Hero Queen, you should hope that you still have enough of your pieces on the chessboard." He said menacingly. "But I leave you with one last surprise."

"No!" She cried as she attempts to throw another shock spell at him but it misses as he turns to smoke.

"Bastard!" She shouted as she punches a hut in frustration.

"M'lady, we have a bigger problem." Walter said as he looked towards a wreckage of a hut.

Through the billowing smoke and the hungry flames, a silhouette began to approach them.