Ooh, I know people hated me for such a short chapter! So now I'm gonna try to make up for it.
~*~
Chapter 8: My Fault
Roger cackled gleefully, his feet up on the desk. Ah, when that fool Kalasin had raised him, she had had no idea what she had done. It was very, very simple to remove the spell of power from him- the one that gave the raiser power over the raisee. He'd done the same for Thom- ooh, what fun he was going to have! Just like the old days. Only better- Alanna now had children…
~*~
Thom (***Alanna's son, not bro***) struggled against his bonds, trying to break the shields against magic around him. Roger was looking at him intently, from different angles, from time to time shooting little bolts of pain through Thom with a flicked finger.
"Ah, How much you look like your uncle!" he said. "All too the good. Blood calls to blood, as they say, and my darling Lioness shall be rushing in soon. We should have a nice chat, no?"
Thom glared at Roger, and if looks could kill, Roger would have been dead long ago.
Just as the Duke had predicted, Alanna came rushing in five minutes later.
"Roger," she growled. "Please tell me I don't have to kill you again!"
Roger smiled sweetly at her. "Oh, have we met?"
Alanna spat on the floor. "Talk straight, will you? I hate you, you hate me, so lets just get it over with?"
"Oh, it's not quite that simple." Then Roger was behind Thom, holding a knife not a millimetre from his throat. "I don't really need to say anything brilliant, you get the point. Come a step closer, your son dies, yada yada yada…"
Alanna crossed her arms. "What happens if I don't come a step closer?"
Roger shrugged. "Well, he dies anyway." And the duke cleanly cut the boy's head off. It rolled to the floor, blood dripping from the severed neck.
Alanna wasted not one second. Face twisted into an expression of grief and fury, the lunged Roger and was immediately deflected by Roger's shields. She rushed him again, mad with rage, and an orange flash tore the air. Alanna lay stunned on the floor, one leg twisted at an odd angle underneath her, and the other ankle broken and bloodied.
Roger stood over her. "Ah, how rash, dear. Didn't your mother ever tell you to look before you leap?" He drew the fine sword from his belt and twirled it in his hands. "I must punish you for that." Roger then flicked the weapon deeply into his enemy's body in many places, just enjoying giving her scars. "You wanted to be a boy, once. Would you still like to be one now?" he mused. "Can't work the spell now, too much trouble. But, I can, however…" He went to his knees and balanced his sword on Alanna's knee. In a moment he arced it horizontally, cutting off both Alanna's breasts.
"Now, that's nice, isn't it?" he laughed. "Must hurt terribly. Do you want me to stop the pain?"
Alanna sweated, and did not answer.
"Ah, I can stop the pain. But it will come at a price- your life." He laughed and raised his sword high in the air.
And collapsed on the floor, an arrow in his throat. Kalasin stood at the doorway, shaking, her strung bow in hand. She rushed into the room to help Alanna, who was fighting unconsciousness. Kalasin ripped up half her tunic to make a bandage to put around Alanna's mangled torso, and worked her healing Gift to the fullest. The Lioness reached up to grasp Kalasin's arm. "Don't…. make…. me sleep." Kalasin frowned, but obeyed as Alanna's friends ran into the room.
"Gods, oh gods…" Raoul added his own clothing to the bandage, which was soaked with blood despite Kally's healing.
Kalasin sat down on the floor, hard. It's my fault, she thought. I was stupid- I lost it- I brought back Roger- oh, gods, it's my fault Alanna's like this and I can't heal- heal- heal that. She ran backwards out of the room and dashed down the hall, tears streaming down her cheeks. I don't deserve to be Queen, I don't. I can't even heal my friends. I can't do it, I can't do anything right! It's my fault. My fault.
________________________________________________________________________
I'm evil. You thought I'd kill off Alanna, didn't you? Nahh. Review!