Chapter Seven
Battles Fought
Thayet awoke again to find the sun up almost halfway into the sky. She winced with the throbbing feeling in her head and willed it to go away. She silenced at the sound of a patter of footsteps outside her door. Was this what had drawn her from her sleep? She rushed to the door and peeked out.
"Gee you look pale mom! What happened? Where's Dad? And all the other squires?" Instantly the room was bombarded as Thayet's two youngest children and two redheads rushed onto her bed. Then it hit her.
"The fight! I have to go help Jon and Alanna!" She headed for the door but four children blocked her way.
"What fight mom? What fight?"
"Is that where my mom went?" Thom, Alanna's redhead asked.
"Why can't we go mom? I'm great with a sword, the shang horse said that one day I could be the greatest fighter in the realm if I kept practicing!"
"And how many children do you think he said that to Kalasin! You will find out about the fight when I return." She slipped into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later in dark green breeches and a musty brown shirt.
"I don't think so highness."
Salma Ayanner, head of the servants stood in the doorway, the children incircling her waist. "I received strict orders to keep you in this room until the battle was fought." She walked over to the bed and began to make it as if the four children hanging off her apron were feathers.
" WHAT BATTLE MOM!" Jasson, the youngest prince wanted to be heard. He had never been one for subtleness.
"OUT!!!!!!!" Never was there a roar in the castle as when it echoed from Salma's lips, the children, were wise to obey and scurried out, like dogs with there tails between there legs.
" Where is Buri? And what are the children here for, I thought they were with friends of George in the pirates swoop for a week or so." Thayet sat, down in a chair by the window, her head was beginning to throb again.
"Bury is off fighting! Protecting the crown I presume. George's friends joined forces with those of the Knights of Tortall and while I'm not one to sit at home tatting lace someone had to look after the children." She moved into the bathroom. "I'm drawing you a bath. You are to soak until you are wrinkled like a date, then you may come out." She handed Thayet a towel and bustled out of the room.
***
As the sun burned higher in the sky a group of four scavenger's headed deeper into the inner city, towards an Inn. From the outside they showed no signs of bearing arms. But if anyone one person had looked closer they would have seen the four, three men and one woman were heavily armed.
The first, with dark hair and blue eyes carried a strong, pliable sword with a silver blade as quick as wind, closer friends knew he possessed a strong, ocean blue magic.
The second had more blades on him then you could shake a stick at. He had four blades up his left sleeve, three on his right one on each side of his hips, one down his ankle, and one in each armpit, it was probably extremely uncomfortable but you wouldn't know it from the ease with which he moved.
The third, a woman with a fiery mass of copper hair, well hidden by a hood. Carried only a sword and a sparkly purple magic, matching her eyes.
The fourth, a towering man in black, was probably the most suspicious looking for his eyes glittered like hot coals, and anyone, even the most oblivious could tell he possessed an incredible amount of magic.
They approached the door to an old abandoned Inn. The tallest of the four bent down and whispered silently into a device that hung around his neck. The blue eyed one opened the door and silently stepped in. There was a pause and it seemed like the world was holding it's breath. The next second there was a flood of people coming out of the busy market crowds, cloaks were thrown off revealing Tortall colours and knight's shelids. There was a mass surge for the door as a multitude fighters began to emerge.
***
The Dark Squire was not happy. She paced the stone hallway, which had once been so familiar, where was the king, Alanna, anyone? They should have arrived by now, why was she made to wait? The Dark Squire should never be made to wait, the Dark Squire was not happy.
***
1.1 Thayet rose from the deep luring waters of her bath and climbed into a
white, warm towel. There was a thump outside, and then another. Salma had said that there was to be no one in the East Wing as long as she was sick. Not even servants were allowed. She tiptoed to the door and peeked out, just in time to see a piece of green material whip around a corner. The only thing down that corridor was Jon's private library, only Timon Greendale, head of the palace servants was allowed into it unless Jon was present. Thayet ran back into her room and grabbed a white pair of breeches and loose white shirt, then she slipped into the hallway and like a cat slid after the intruder.
***
The fight was thick, all around her balls of fire were exploding, it was a fight to the death. Alanna, took a deep breath and lunged at an attacker who was aiming an arrow at George.
"Hey buddy! He's a father of three!" With an arm wrenching thrust her staff hit the offender with a sickening thud, the young man fell to the floor his head bleeding, Alanna looked at him and wretched.
George was having better luck, he had managed to knock six men unconscious and when Numair had a moment of spare time he but them under enchantment. Looking back he watched his wife wretch and sighed, they had had eggs for breakfast.
Numair meanwhile was focusing on controlling the fire balls which the Dark Mages were hurling into the air. They were powerful no doubt but they didn't have much control, if he wasn't so worried about what Daine was up to he could have done this in his sleep.
Daine sat on the street corner in poor beggar's clothes, her face was hidden by the hood of her mucky brown robe, her toilet-bowl green dress hung loose on her hips. Lalasa had done a good job. Underneath the hood, her mind was hard at work, all ready she could here sparrows attacking people inside the Inn, rats were slowly chewing there way through all the Dark Squire's supplies and the dirt basement of the Inn was covered in slithering, deadly snakes, slowly making there way up the stairs with one intent, getting back at the people who had raided nests for their experiments. Daine laughed quietly at the thought, Neal hated snakes.
Neal looked around as he held a swab of cloth against his arm, it was bleeding badly from a gash a Dark Warrior had given him with his dagger. As he looked around he noticed Kel attacking a man viciously with her staff, he rushed over to help her with the job.
Kel laughed as Neal knelt down behind her attacker, with a swift kick to his belly the man stumbled back, tripping over Neal and falling onto the hard stone floor, he forgot to slap the ground when he rolled, Kel noticed bitterly, Merric would never forget that.
Merric was fighting like never before, he might have been shy at first, but now his mission was very clear, these were the people who wanted to bring back the spidren's, the very thing's that had taken his parents' lives, he wasn't going to let that happen again. He looked over at his cousin, the last thing he wanted was another dead relative.
Faleron looked up sharply and winced, the bruise around his eye was beginning to swell. All around people blessed with the gift were slowing down and wincing, as if in pain. He looked for the force as he saw he gift inside of him wavering.
Jenslaw of Stone Mountain sat in a corner of the warstricken tavern room. His magic was that of the animals, not of the pure kind, yet here he was trying an advanced trick that only the Dark Squire had ever used. Slowly he felt gifts of all kinds flying out of there posseser's heading towards him, but two main gifts that of Numair and Alanna were not with them, when the impact hit, Jenslaw of Stone Mountain now possessing so much power passed out from the effort.
Alanna looked at Numair, he was already narrowing in on Jenslaw.
"He's passed out from the effort, not that I would blame him, but it was a stupid thing to do, if he wasn't such a powerful mage in the first place a hit like that would have killed him. I can reverse the spell," he said, looking at the slumped bodies in the room, the only ones still moving were those of the people from Tortall who did not posess the gift. It looked as though all the Dark Warrior's possessed some form of it.
"So was he working to help us?" Kel asked, joining the two of them, unharmed, "or was it just unknown to him that all the Dark Warrior's had magic and he figured there were more gifted in this group then in his own?" She looked down. "Jenslaw!"
Numair looked up swiftly, "you know this is Jenslaw?" He stared at her with coal eyes. "Are you sure?"
"I know how to be positive, Joren, come over here." A haughty looking squire with a long gash hobbled over to them, when he saw they were staring at the fallen man he looked down as well, and when he did he gasped. "Jenslaw! What is going on?"
"I want to go and find Delia. Numair, with all the mages passed out there is no one to risk myself on except her, and I want this fight, woman to woman. I don't waste time with sluts indeed!" Alanna looked around with an incredible amount of anger. "Kel, come with me, you've got a head on your shoulder's and you can't be hurt if she takes my magic." With a nod and a strained look, the two women hurried up the stairs of the inn.
***
Numair looked over the group then turned to Joren who was standing, shaken beside his fallen brother. After explaining what had happened to him, Numair began the process of sending back the magic, slowly, he reached into himself, pulling out vines of black glittering fire and began to send it into the young man. The pure force of his craft forced the man into the air, Numair was floating parallel to him, bound by his magic to the man. Then slowly, fire began to jet out of Jenslaw, he fell as if he were paused while descending backwards. Jets of blue, ivory, purple and red began to shoot forth from his chest, each bolt of light dispursed to a different slumped person in the room. Locking all the bodies together in one single flash of pure, gold light.
Then the fire vanished and Numair fell to the ground, slumped in exaustion.
***
Jon awoke as if from a deep sleep, he looked around and saw Numair slumped on the ground, the other people still rising like himself, slowly he pieced together what had happened. A small humming on his chest drew his attention from the room to the quivering sound of Alanna's voice.
"Jon?" She said, "Keladry of Mindelan and I have searched the Inn, there is no sign of Delia or the book. There is however I detailed map which in a locked compartment, Kel here came up with the password. Roger. The map shows all of the castle, every part, there are passage ways here the Lord Provost must not know about, but there is one green x on the map, in your library, Jon, I don't think we can get there in time. We're going to have to get Thayet. She's the only one at the castle."
Thayet crept along the corridor, silent as a cat. She spoke nothing and hardly dared to breath. As she approached the door she stopped, from inside she could here a faint scratching noise, noiselessly she snuck down the passageway and opened the door, in a chair that had been facing the fire sat Delia of Eldorne, waiting for her. "Hello," the words were like ice, "have you come to die?"
***
"So you're saying I have to cut off my arm?" Jon looked sceptically and his champion.
"No, you dunce!" A few heads turned, the squire's weren't used to having their champion insult their King. "That's what they had to do to STOP the flow. But we have Numair to tell us how to do that. For now though take my hand, now we take our fire, and fling it at an image of Thayet which we visualize in our minds." The two stood, facing a window in case that helped at all and reached into there magic. Slowly, a beam of purple blue magic twined up their arms and seemed to dissapear from their finger tips. When they were almost drained Alanna struggled to break her hold with Jon.
Then slowly, Jon called up the image of Thayet, and told her what to do.
***
Thayet stood with her arms raised and faced her opponent.
Delia smiled cruely, "you don't think combat will help you now do you?"
Thayet grimaced and gritted her teeth. With a solitary motion Delia sent her flying across the room onto the wall where she was pinned. Delia laughed and opened the book. "It was here all along you know. But your stupid mage numair wasn't smart enough to do a quick check of the castle." Delia continued speaking in a high pitched, crazy manner, Thayet tuned her out and tried to figure out what to do.
From what seemed like the back of her head Thayet heard a soft voice.
"Thayet? Darling this is Jon."
"And Alanna" Annother voice butted in. "Thayet, do you remember what Jon meant when he described what it was like to go inside yourself and gather your magic?"
"Well vaugley, yes." Thayet commented.
"Good, because Alanna and I have sent you our magic, you're going to need it against Delia."
At that Delia seemed to have found what she was looking for, she stood up with a small blade and began to walk towards Thayet, the blade aimed straight at the Queen's chest.
It was now or never, with a huge breath of air as she would if she were going under water, Thsyet closed her eyes and reached into herself. At the very inner core of what she guessed was her heart, the queen reached for a swirling, sphereical ball of hissing white magic, once the ball was in her hand she applied it to Delias' force that was holding her up and sent Delia flying across the room.
"A little to much effort I guess," Thayet mused, pleased with her new found power.
Now though, Delia was pissed off. "You and your stupid red haired friend. What is it with you two? First Alanna gets me sent to prison, just because my master was trying to kill off the nobility and take over the realm, I mean come on! It took me ages to figure out that all the guard wanted was a bit off a good time and I could be sent on my way." Delia smirked at the queen's shocked expression.
" Arinson? But he's married!"
"Get over yourself Queenie," again the nasty sneer returned to her face. "Not every one is as virtuous as you and your group, there are those who just want to get by, there are those who don't share your view of morals."
Thayet grabbed a pool of crystal and flung it towards the woman across the room it formed a web across her mouth. "That should shut you up. King Roald was too nice when he gave you a life sentence. I hate killing, especially merciless, but the hate I feel for you is so strong, I don't have a choice, I'm afraid, Alanna might not be so nice." She lunged towards the woman, green eyes piercing.
Delia was ready, with a shot of magic, she sent her mouth cover flying and pulled up a sword. "I've had a lot of time to practice, let's see then, how are you with a sword?"
Thayet drew a sword from a hilt at her waist and circled warily. Delia flew at her, blade flying, Thayet blocked her with a stiff hand, she preferred a dagger or staff any day, her strokes were choppy, Delia was good.
Swords pressed against each other's Delia smiled, "You're much to honourable Queen," she pulled a green jewelled dagger from a holder up her sleeve and drew a slit across the top of Thayet's chest. Then she leapt back and mocked, "I guess this won't be my end after all."
Thayet slumped against the walled and gasped, feining a horrible pain, quietly though, she was appling a huge amount of magic to her wound. She lifted her shirt to cover the newly healed wound and leapt at Delia with a flurry of sword movements, Delia blocked them hastily, but Thayet could see a trickle of sweat slide down her neck.
With a sharp kick in the shin Thayet sent Delia onto the floor and then swept her blade from underneath and it skirted away onto the other side of the room. Delia was now powerless.
"So this is it? I'm going to die in the King's private library by the hand of the Queen." Delia face turned scornful, "alright then, be done with it." Thayet winced, this was the one thing she had never done before, it was a test of strength, pyshical and mental, she raised the blade and plunged it downwards, but all she hit was steel, Delia had grabbed a fire poker and now held it as her only defence.
"This is just getting tedious now," Thayet sighed, standing up and preparing to duel again, Delia's poker came towards the queen's stomach, she tensed and slid away, aiming her sword for Delia's shoulder blade, she managed a large nick but nothing more, for Delia had ducked and aimed for Thayet's legs with the butt of the poker.
They were going to be bruised in the morning Thayet thought, wincing, she swung at Delia who just slid away and took a slice towards Thayet's neck. Thayet her it make contact and looked down at a pile of brown locks on the ground, that was it, NO ONE touched her hair.
With the fatal stab felt the blade dig into flesh, she looked to see through the sweat pouring into her eyes that Delia was carrying Thayet's blade in her stomach. With a gasp of disgust of what she had done Thayet threw up all of her dinner and fainted ungracefully into a slump on the floor.
***
"Darling? Darling wake up? Thayet? Where is Delia? What happened?" Thayet sat up to her husband's worried eyes and threw up again onto his lap.
"I-I killed her, Delia, I stuck my blade into her stomach now she's dead." She winced holding down yet another wretch.
"Thayet? We can't find Delia's body. Are you sure you, you know," George mimed cutting off his throat, "killed her?"
"Shut up father of my children," Alanna said sternly, "Thayet, where did it happen?"
"Here," Thayet said, standing shakily to her feet. " Stabed her here infront of the fire," she mimed the deed, "then I threw up, see" she pointed to the mess on the floor. "And then I fainted where you found me. Where are Numair and Daine? Is everyone allright?"
"No, I'm afraid, George lost eight of his friends, we lost for knights and two squires, Zahir ibn Alhaz, of friend of young Joren's and Esmond of Nicoline, I have the wonderful job of notifying there parents I expect." He rubbed his temples and sat down in a chair.
"We have taken 15 people into be questioned and find out just how much they new about what it was they were doing." Alanna hugged her friend and sat down on another chair.
Then it hit Thayet, "wait a second, if I stabbed Delia in the stomach and you came back and said you don't know where she is you mean to tell me she didn't die?"
"It looks as though that might be the case," Jon said, stroking Thayet's now shoulder length dark hair.
"So she's still out there? And alive." Thayet sighed, it looked as though her battle, had just begun.
2 The End
(Well, that's it! My first fan fic is officially over! Sob, Sob! No really, I'm glad it's finished. I'm going to take a week or so break and then start on book two of Thayet's adventure's as Queen of Tortall. Thanks to everyone who has read this fanfic, or those who are just discovering it now. I hope you liked it!)
Battles Fought
Thayet awoke again to find the sun up almost halfway into the sky. She winced with the throbbing feeling in her head and willed it to go away. She silenced at the sound of a patter of footsteps outside her door. Was this what had drawn her from her sleep? She rushed to the door and peeked out.
"Gee you look pale mom! What happened? Where's Dad? And all the other squires?" Instantly the room was bombarded as Thayet's two youngest children and two redheads rushed onto her bed. Then it hit her.
"The fight! I have to go help Jon and Alanna!" She headed for the door but four children blocked her way.
"What fight mom? What fight?"
"Is that where my mom went?" Thom, Alanna's redhead asked.
"Why can't we go mom? I'm great with a sword, the shang horse said that one day I could be the greatest fighter in the realm if I kept practicing!"
"And how many children do you think he said that to Kalasin! You will find out about the fight when I return." She slipped into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later in dark green breeches and a musty brown shirt.
"I don't think so highness."
Salma Ayanner, head of the servants stood in the doorway, the children incircling her waist. "I received strict orders to keep you in this room until the battle was fought." She walked over to the bed and began to make it as if the four children hanging off her apron were feathers.
" WHAT BATTLE MOM!" Jasson, the youngest prince wanted to be heard. He had never been one for subtleness.
"OUT!!!!!!!" Never was there a roar in the castle as when it echoed from Salma's lips, the children, were wise to obey and scurried out, like dogs with there tails between there legs.
" Where is Buri? And what are the children here for, I thought they were with friends of George in the pirates swoop for a week or so." Thayet sat, down in a chair by the window, her head was beginning to throb again.
"Bury is off fighting! Protecting the crown I presume. George's friends joined forces with those of the Knights of Tortall and while I'm not one to sit at home tatting lace someone had to look after the children." She moved into the bathroom. "I'm drawing you a bath. You are to soak until you are wrinkled like a date, then you may come out." She handed Thayet a towel and bustled out of the room.
***
As the sun burned higher in the sky a group of four scavenger's headed deeper into the inner city, towards an Inn. From the outside they showed no signs of bearing arms. But if anyone one person had looked closer they would have seen the four, three men and one woman were heavily armed.
The first, with dark hair and blue eyes carried a strong, pliable sword with a silver blade as quick as wind, closer friends knew he possessed a strong, ocean blue magic.
The second had more blades on him then you could shake a stick at. He had four blades up his left sleeve, three on his right one on each side of his hips, one down his ankle, and one in each armpit, it was probably extremely uncomfortable but you wouldn't know it from the ease with which he moved.
The third, a woman with a fiery mass of copper hair, well hidden by a hood. Carried only a sword and a sparkly purple magic, matching her eyes.
The fourth, a towering man in black, was probably the most suspicious looking for his eyes glittered like hot coals, and anyone, even the most oblivious could tell he possessed an incredible amount of magic.
They approached the door to an old abandoned Inn. The tallest of the four bent down and whispered silently into a device that hung around his neck. The blue eyed one opened the door and silently stepped in. There was a pause and it seemed like the world was holding it's breath. The next second there was a flood of people coming out of the busy market crowds, cloaks were thrown off revealing Tortall colours and knight's shelids. There was a mass surge for the door as a multitude fighters began to emerge.
***
The Dark Squire was not happy. She paced the stone hallway, which had once been so familiar, where was the king, Alanna, anyone? They should have arrived by now, why was she made to wait? The Dark Squire should never be made to wait, the Dark Squire was not happy.
***
1.1 Thayet rose from the deep luring waters of her bath and climbed into a
white, warm towel. There was a thump outside, and then another. Salma had said that there was to be no one in the East Wing as long as she was sick. Not even servants were allowed. She tiptoed to the door and peeked out, just in time to see a piece of green material whip around a corner. The only thing down that corridor was Jon's private library, only Timon Greendale, head of the palace servants was allowed into it unless Jon was present. Thayet ran back into her room and grabbed a white pair of breeches and loose white shirt, then she slipped into the hallway and like a cat slid after the intruder.
***
The fight was thick, all around her balls of fire were exploding, it was a fight to the death. Alanna, took a deep breath and lunged at an attacker who was aiming an arrow at George.
"Hey buddy! He's a father of three!" With an arm wrenching thrust her staff hit the offender with a sickening thud, the young man fell to the floor his head bleeding, Alanna looked at him and wretched.
George was having better luck, he had managed to knock six men unconscious and when Numair had a moment of spare time he but them under enchantment. Looking back he watched his wife wretch and sighed, they had had eggs for breakfast.
Numair meanwhile was focusing on controlling the fire balls which the Dark Mages were hurling into the air. They were powerful no doubt but they didn't have much control, if he wasn't so worried about what Daine was up to he could have done this in his sleep.
Daine sat on the street corner in poor beggar's clothes, her face was hidden by the hood of her mucky brown robe, her toilet-bowl green dress hung loose on her hips. Lalasa had done a good job. Underneath the hood, her mind was hard at work, all ready she could here sparrows attacking people inside the Inn, rats were slowly chewing there way through all the Dark Squire's supplies and the dirt basement of the Inn was covered in slithering, deadly snakes, slowly making there way up the stairs with one intent, getting back at the people who had raided nests for their experiments. Daine laughed quietly at the thought, Neal hated snakes.
Neal looked around as he held a swab of cloth against his arm, it was bleeding badly from a gash a Dark Warrior had given him with his dagger. As he looked around he noticed Kel attacking a man viciously with her staff, he rushed over to help her with the job.
Kel laughed as Neal knelt down behind her attacker, with a swift kick to his belly the man stumbled back, tripping over Neal and falling onto the hard stone floor, he forgot to slap the ground when he rolled, Kel noticed bitterly, Merric would never forget that.
Merric was fighting like never before, he might have been shy at first, but now his mission was very clear, these were the people who wanted to bring back the spidren's, the very thing's that had taken his parents' lives, he wasn't going to let that happen again. He looked over at his cousin, the last thing he wanted was another dead relative.
Faleron looked up sharply and winced, the bruise around his eye was beginning to swell. All around people blessed with the gift were slowing down and wincing, as if in pain. He looked for the force as he saw he gift inside of him wavering.
Jenslaw of Stone Mountain sat in a corner of the warstricken tavern room. His magic was that of the animals, not of the pure kind, yet here he was trying an advanced trick that only the Dark Squire had ever used. Slowly he felt gifts of all kinds flying out of there posseser's heading towards him, but two main gifts that of Numair and Alanna were not with them, when the impact hit, Jenslaw of Stone Mountain now possessing so much power passed out from the effort.
Alanna looked at Numair, he was already narrowing in on Jenslaw.
"He's passed out from the effort, not that I would blame him, but it was a stupid thing to do, if he wasn't such a powerful mage in the first place a hit like that would have killed him. I can reverse the spell," he said, looking at the slumped bodies in the room, the only ones still moving were those of the people from Tortall who did not posess the gift. It looked as though all the Dark Warrior's possessed some form of it.
"So was he working to help us?" Kel asked, joining the two of them, unharmed, "or was it just unknown to him that all the Dark Warrior's had magic and he figured there were more gifted in this group then in his own?" She looked down. "Jenslaw!"
Numair looked up swiftly, "you know this is Jenslaw?" He stared at her with coal eyes. "Are you sure?"
"I know how to be positive, Joren, come over here." A haughty looking squire with a long gash hobbled over to them, when he saw they were staring at the fallen man he looked down as well, and when he did he gasped. "Jenslaw! What is going on?"
"I want to go and find Delia. Numair, with all the mages passed out there is no one to risk myself on except her, and I want this fight, woman to woman. I don't waste time with sluts indeed!" Alanna looked around with an incredible amount of anger. "Kel, come with me, you've got a head on your shoulder's and you can't be hurt if she takes my magic." With a nod and a strained look, the two women hurried up the stairs of the inn.
***
Numair looked over the group then turned to Joren who was standing, shaken beside his fallen brother. After explaining what had happened to him, Numair began the process of sending back the magic, slowly, he reached into himself, pulling out vines of black glittering fire and began to send it into the young man. The pure force of his craft forced the man into the air, Numair was floating parallel to him, bound by his magic to the man. Then slowly, fire began to jet out of Jenslaw, he fell as if he were paused while descending backwards. Jets of blue, ivory, purple and red began to shoot forth from his chest, each bolt of light dispursed to a different slumped person in the room. Locking all the bodies together in one single flash of pure, gold light.
Then the fire vanished and Numair fell to the ground, slumped in exaustion.
***
Jon awoke as if from a deep sleep, he looked around and saw Numair slumped on the ground, the other people still rising like himself, slowly he pieced together what had happened. A small humming on his chest drew his attention from the room to the quivering sound of Alanna's voice.
"Jon?" She said, "Keladry of Mindelan and I have searched the Inn, there is no sign of Delia or the book. There is however I detailed map which in a locked compartment, Kel here came up with the password. Roger. The map shows all of the castle, every part, there are passage ways here the Lord Provost must not know about, but there is one green x on the map, in your library, Jon, I don't think we can get there in time. We're going to have to get Thayet. She's the only one at the castle."
Thayet crept along the corridor, silent as a cat. She spoke nothing and hardly dared to breath. As she approached the door she stopped, from inside she could here a faint scratching noise, noiselessly she snuck down the passageway and opened the door, in a chair that had been facing the fire sat Delia of Eldorne, waiting for her. "Hello," the words were like ice, "have you come to die?"
***
"So you're saying I have to cut off my arm?" Jon looked sceptically and his champion.
"No, you dunce!" A few heads turned, the squire's weren't used to having their champion insult their King. "That's what they had to do to STOP the flow. But we have Numair to tell us how to do that. For now though take my hand, now we take our fire, and fling it at an image of Thayet which we visualize in our minds." The two stood, facing a window in case that helped at all and reached into there magic. Slowly, a beam of purple blue magic twined up their arms and seemed to dissapear from their finger tips. When they were almost drained Alanna struggled to break her hold with Jon.
Then slowly, Jon called up the image of Thayet, and told her what to do.
***
Thayet stood with her arms raised and faced her opponent.
Delia smiled cruely, "you don't think combat will help you now do you?"
Thayet grimaced and gritted her teeth. With a solitary motion Delia sent her flying across the room onto the wall where she was pinned. Delia laughed and opened the book. "It was here all along you know. But your stupid mage numair wasn't smart enough to do a quick check of the castle." Delia continued speaking in a high pitched, crazy manner, Thayet tuned her out and tried to figure out what to do.
From what seemed like the back of her head Thayet heard a soft voice.
"Thayet? Darling this is Jon."
"And Alanna" Annother voice butted in. "Thayet, do you remember what Jon meant when he described what it was like to go inside yourself and gather your magic?"
"Well vaugley, yes." Thayet commented.
"Good, because Alanna and I have sent you our magic, you're going to need it against Delia."
At that Delia seemed to have found what she was looking for, she stood up with a small blade and began to walk towards Thayet, the blade aimed straight at the Queen's chest.
It was now or never, with a huge breath of air as she would if she were going under water, Thsyet closed her eyes and reached into herself. At the very inner core of what she guessed was her heart, the queen reached for a swirling, sphereical ball of hissing white magic, once the ball was in her hand she applied it to Delias' force that was holding her up and sent Delia flying across the room.
"A little to much effort I guess," Thayet mused, pleased with her new found power.
Now though, Delia was pissed off. "You and your stupid red haired friend. What is it with you two? First Alanna gets me sent to prison, just because my master was trying to kill off the nobility and take over the realm, I mean come on! It took me ages to figure out that all the guard wanted was a bit off a good time and I could be sent on my way." Delia smirked at the queen's shocked expression.
" Arinson? But he's married!"
"Get over yourself Queenie," again the nasty sneer returned to her face. "Not every one is as virtuous as you and your group, there are those who just want to get by, there are those who don't share your view of morals."
Thayet grabbed a pool of crystal and flung it towards the woman across the room it formed a web across her mouth. "That should shut you up. King Roald was too nice when he gave you a life sentence. I hate killing, especially merciless, but the hate I feel for you is so strong, I don't have a choice, I'm afraid, Alanna might not be so nice." She lunged towards the woman, green eyes piercing.
Delia was ready, with a shot of magic, she sent her mouth cover flying and pulled up a sword. "I've had a lot of time to practice, let's see then, how are you with a sword?"
Thayet drew a sword from a hilt at her waist and circled warily. Delia flew at her, blade flying, Thayet blocked her with a stiff hand, she preferred a dagger or staff any day, her strokes were choppy, Delia was good.
Swords pressed against each other's Delia smiled, "You're much to honourable Queen," she pulled a green jewelled dagger from a holder up her sleeve and drew a slit across the top of Thayet's chest. Then she leapt back and mocked, "I guess this won't be my end after all."
Thayet slumped against the walled and gasped, feining a horrible pain, quietly though, she was appling a huge amount of magic to her wound. She lifted her shirt to cover the newly healed wound and leapt at Delia with a flurry of sword movements, Delia blocked them hastily, but Thayet could see a trickle of sweat slide down her neck.
With a sharp kick in the shin Thayet sent Delia onto the floor and then swept her blade from underneath and it skirted away onto the other side of the room. Delia was now powerless.
"So this is it? I'm going to die in the King's private library by the hand of the Queen." Delia face turned scornful, "alright then, be done with it." Thayet winced, this was the one thing she had never done before, it was a test of strength, pyshical and mental, she raised the blade and plunged it downwards, but all she hit was steel, Delia had grabbed a fire poker and now held it as her only defence.
"This is just getting tedious now," Thayet sighed, standing up and preparing to duel again, Delia's poker came towards the queen's stomach, she tensed and slid away, aiming her sword for Delia's shoulder blade, she managed a large nick but nothing more, for Delia had ducked and aimed for Thayet's legs with the butt of the poker.
They were going to be bruised in the morning Thayet thought, wincing, she swung at Delia who just slid away and took a slice towards Thayet's neck. Thayet her it make contact and looked down at a pile of brown locks on the ground, that was it, NO ONE touched her hair.
With the fatal stab felt the blade dig into flesh, she looked to see through the sweat pouring into her eyes that Delia was carrying Thayet's blade in her stomach. With a gasp of disgust of what she had done Thayet threw up all of her dinner and fainted ungracefully into a slump on the floor.
***
"Darling? Darling wake up? Thayet? Where is Delia? What happened?" Thayet sat up to her husband's worried eyes and threw up again onto his lap.
"I-I killed her, Delia, I stuck my blade into her stomach now she's dead." She winced holding down yet another wretch.
"Thayet? We can't find Delia's body. Are you sure you, you know," George mimed cutting off his throat, "killed her?"
"Shut up father of my children," Alanna said sternly, "Thayet, where did it happen?"
"Here," Thayet said, standing shakily to her feet. " Stabed her here infront of the fire," she mimed the deed, "then I threw up, see" she pointed to the mess on the floor. "And then I fainted where you found me. Where are Numair and Daine? Is everyone allright?"
"No, I'm afraid, George lost eight of his friends, we lost for knights and two squires, Zahir ibn Alhaz, of friend of young Joren's and Esmond of Nicoline, I have the wonderful job of notifying there parents I expect." He rubbed his temples and sat down in a chair.
"We have taken 15 people into be questioned and find out just how much they new about what it was they were doing." Alanna hugged her friend and sat down on another chair.
Then it hit Thayet, "wait a second, if I stabbed Delia in the stomach and you came back and said you don't know where she is you mean to tell me she didn't die?"
"It looks as though that might be the case," Jon said, stroking Thayet's now shoulder length dark hair.
"So she's still out there? And alive." Thayet sighed, it looked as though her battle, had just begun.
2 The End
(Well, that's it! My first fan fic is officially over! Sob, Sob! No really, I'm glad it's finished. I'm going to take a week or so break and then start on book two of Thayet's adventure's as Queen of Tortall. Thanks to everyone who has read this fanfic, or those who are just discovering it now. I hope you liked it!)
