Author's Note: Hello, everyone! I have a new chapter today!

I was SO excited to write this one and I'm so happy to get it out!

Steve and Celina have a little more talking with each other in this one... and we'll see a certain someone in the end!

Enjoy!

A small creaking suddenly caught Celina's attention, she looked up to see Irona at one of the doors leading out of the side of the Throne Room. She had three bottles in her hand as she peeked in the doorway. "Oh, Irona," Celina spoke. "Good, you got the rest of the potions. Bring them here, please."

Irona nodded and made her way to the miner's side, looking down at him. She gave him a tiny wave, seeing how he still looked so tired and weak.

Steve smiled softly. "Oh… hi, Irona. How are… are you?"

She let a few creaks come from her lips.

The miner nodded. "That's good."

Irona let out a soundless giggle, before handing one of the bottle to Celina.

"Thank you, Irona," the queen said, popping the cork on the concoction. She looked down at her friend who was eyeing the bottle with great fear. Despite his half-closed eyes, she knew he was still very much afraid of the potion and its effects. Celina let out a tiny sigh. "Steve, can you hold out your arm for me," she asked.

Feeling himself shaking, Steve slowly moved an arm out from under the blanket and held it out to her. "Celina," he asked. "Is it… will it hurt?"

The girl looked down at him, seeing such an innocent expression on his face. It broke her heart that she would have to hurt him again. She nodded. "I'll be honest, Steven: it'll definitely hurt. But it's the only way your wounds will start to heal without you bleeding out." She then poured some of the potion into the cut.

Steve felt a sharp pain run up and through his arm, seeming to come back to his chest and making his other injuries throb. He bit his lip hard, trying to stifle his whimpers. It hurt so bad, but he knew he just had to stick it out until the anesthetic kicked in.

Celina pursed her lips as she watched the miner. "I'm sorry, Steve," she apologized. She then took the bandages back into her hand and began to unravel them. "Here, while that's working, let's wrap that wound."

Steve nodded and Celina carefully placed the end on his arms, slowly working around his forearm and wrist. There was silence between the two of them for a moment, before Steve's violet eyes moved up to the queen's face. "Hey, Celina?"

She stopped, looking down to her figurative brother. "Yes, Steve?"

"How did you... know I was-out there?"

Celina blinked, before continuing to wrap his arm. "Well," she started. "I was brewing some potions with Irona and everything was quiet. We suddenly heard a scream come from the forest. It was loud and sounded so pained and scared. I started thinking and realized that it could have been you. I remembered my dream and the torch, and what you said this morning to me. I figured He must have attacked you, so Irona got Maximus and I headed off. After that, I just followed the sound of your voice. I didn't realize it was you though… not until I found you."

She finished with Steve's arm and tucked the bandages, before looking to his biggest wound. It had been cleaned by her, but it still looked very painful. She sighed once more and picked up the bottle with the rest of the potion.

"Are you gonna… have to-pour… pour that into my chest?"

Steve's words surprised her. But then again, it was the only wound Celina hadn't wrapped yet. She could see the fear and agony on his face and in his violet orbs. It made her wince at the thought of taking the potion with so many wounds. She knew how strong it was, Celina knew this would hurt him.

The queen nodded in response to his question. "Yeah… Steve, can you sit up?"

The miner pushed himself up with his arms, shaking the slightest bit.

Celina watched him, before asking, "Okay, ready?"

"I… I guess."

With that, Celina poured the potion into his chest.

It felt like lightning was surging through Steve's veins in a instant and it made his body jolt and shudder. Pain like a fire flooded into his system, worse than the sword being moved in his chest. He sealed his eyes shut and shouted out, "AHHHHH! OW, OW, OW! IT HURTS!"

Celina watched the miner writhe on the bed, seeing him trying not to move too much but still reacting to the agony his body was in. She cringed at seeing more tears fall down his face, instinctively reaching over and wiping them from his cheeks. This made Steve look at her in surprise despite the potion's effects.

"My apologies, Steve," she said softly. "I didn't mean to hurt you. If I could, I would take away the pain for you."

Steve heard her words as he closed his eyes, his teeth clenching. He took some deep breaths, trying to swallow down the need to cry out again. He could tell he was worrying her, and he needed to assure her he would be fine. "It's… it's… okay, Ce-Celina," he managed to strain out. "I… I kn-know-you're just… trying to… to help me." He managed to let a smile form, making Celina blink in surprise. "I… I know… I wouldn't have-survived… if it wasn't for you. And I… I'm grateful for someone like you. You… you saved my life."

Celina's expression changed to a soft smile with gentle eyes, and she put a hand on her chest.

After a few more minutes, Steve let out a shaky sigh, his body shuddering, and the queen knew the pain-killing effects had kicked in. She began to wrap more bandages around his chest, being mindful of touching his wound.

As Steve watched her, Irona tapped on his shoulder and he slowly looked up at her. She had her head tilted to one side. "What is it, Irona," he asked. She made a small series of clicks and squeaks, but Steve couldn't quite understand her with his weakened state. He squinted. "What… Irona, I didn't quite get that."

Celina had understood and spoke. "She's asking what happened out in the forest. I was going to ask you the same thing when I was done treating your wounds."

"Oh…"

Celina snapped the bandages and tucked them in. She then took her crown off, something she only did in serious times or when she knew something would be touchy. She set it on her lap. "Steve… what did Herobrine do to you out there? Can… can you tell us?"

Steve looked down in thought. The silence that followed was very nerve-wracking, but Steve eventually nodded. "I… I suppose I could."

So the miner, slowly but surely, told the tale of his fight against the Demi-God. He could hear every tiny gasp that escaped Celina's lips and every creak from Irona doing the same. He gestured to his wounds as he talked and made small motions with his hands. His voice cracked greatly as he tried not to cry anymore when he mentioned his parents and what Herobrine had said about them. His voice became a little stronger as he spoke.

When he finished, Steve could see Celina's wide gray eyes looking down at him.

The queen put her hands to her chest and watched the miner as he took slow breaths. "Steve," she spoke up, her voice soft from shock. "I… I had no idea… I didn't realize how… how cruel he truly could be to you. I knew he… didn't like you, but… he really left you to die out there."

The man nodded. "I know. And… I really thought I was going to." His expression suddenly softened. "But… you came to my rescue, Celina. You heard me and found me in my time of need. You… you saved my life, and I thank you for that."

Celina's heart melted. She giggled. "Steve, you mean a lot to me. I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I hadn't saved you. You're like a brother to me. I love you, man."

Steve felt his smile get just a little wider. He saw her as his sister, as someone he loved like family, and he knew she felt the same.

Celina noticed Irona gesturing to her. "What is it, Irona?"

She clicked again and saw the queen nod to her.

"Irona's right. Steve, you should get some rest. You need time for those wounds… and you look so weary. I'll sleep down here if I need to. For now, you need to sleep, okay?"

Steve nodded and slowly moved to lie on his side, his head sinking a bit into the pillows. He used one hand to pull up the blanket and Celina tucked him in. She spoke softly to him, telling him, "Sleep well, Steve. I'll be here if you need anything. Please rest, okay?"

"Okay."

Celina stood back up, dusting off her skirt.

"Celina?"

She looked down to see Steve giving her the softest gaze through half-closed eyes. He then let his eyelids fall and whispered, "Thank you."

Celina smiled and blushed, watching the miner as he fell asleep. He was soon out, his body truly relaxing for the first time that night. She carefully wiped away a stray tear from his cheek. "No more tears, Steve. You're safe here. I promise." She leaned down, placing a gentle kiss to his forehead.

Irona watched her queen, before clicking again to ask her a question.

Celina listened and tapped her chin. "I'm note entirely sure, Irona. I know how quick my potions work, but it also goes for the person's body and will to survive. I think maybe… it'll take a month or two for him to fully heal and be able to move with perfect vitality. Some of those wounds are pretty deep."

The golem tilted her head, raising a hand and clicking again. Celina sighed. "To tell you the truth, Irona, I don't know. He says that Herobrine had haunted him most of his life, and he has beat him quite a few times. I've seen some of the bruises he's had before from him, and one time, Steve even got a black eye from him." She put a hand to her chin. "It's strange that he would just suddenly decide to kill Steve out of the blue. But… we might not ever really know why he did it. For now, we just need to make sure he's safe and healing." She shrugged. "I don't know what else we can really do other than that."

Irona nodded, before tilting her head and pointing to the door she had come through.

"That would be wonderful. I'll stay here with Steve." Celina watched Irona nod again, before she walked out the door. When it clicked shut, the queen looked down at the miner. His breathing was soft and he looked so peaceful. She knelt down to his level. "Oh, Steve," she started. "I don't know why Herobrine would try to kill you like that, but I know one thing. And that's that I'm going to protect you, no matter what."

Celina carefully took one of Steve's hands into her hands and held it close. "I'm gonna make you a promise, Steve. I promise that, one day, I'm gonna make Herobrine pay for what he did to you, and everything he's done to you before. You don't deserve such agony inflicted upon you, and I promise you: I'll make him pay someday."

As a sudden rainfall began to pour from the sky, lightning lit up the skies, followed by loud cracks of thunder. The queen kept her head bowed and carefully put the miner's hand back under the blankets. She didn't even notice the creak of the door to the Throne Room opening. A humanoid form stood there, arms crossed over their chest as they took a moment to flip their hair over their shoulder.

"Hello, Queen Celina."

Celina's eyes widened in a split second, her face falling to horror. She slowly stood up and felt her whole body begin to tremble. A dark, powerful aura now filled the air around her and made her shudder. She had heard that voice before. It was the voice of all her greatest fears. It was the voice of a being who struck terror into anyone who knew who he was.

But she also realized something.

It was the voice from her nightmare.

"No…" Celina whispered. She gulped, wanting so badly to run away, but only able to turn around. Before her stood a being who looked almost like the miner. However, he had no freckles, his build was much stronger, his hair was curly and long, and he had those snow white eyes that glowed brightly in the dark of the night.

"Well, well, well," his echoing voice came once more. "So, we finally come face to face, Queen Celina."

Herobrine now stood before Celina, only blocks away with a devious smile on his face.

Author's Note: OOOOOOOO! Herobrine and Celina have finally met!

The next chapter is one of my favorites, so I'll try to get it done as soon as I can for you all!

Hope you all are enjoying this story! :D Thank you all for the support you've given me so far!