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Chapter 9

"Oh, this is wonderful, thank you," Kel told yet another refugee as they handed her a present. "I don't know where I'm going to put all these things, mama," she whispered to her mother, who sat besides her. It felt like she had been there for days, but really it had probably only been a few hours. "Everyone, don't think me rude, but I just had a major healing a few days ago and I'm still tired. Please excuse me for a little while, because I don't want to fall to the floor from lack of sleep," she tells the refugees gathered around her. They all said things like 'of course' then Kel got up and left. She was half way back to her rooms, with refugees and soldiers all around her when Dom was suddenly there. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a deep kiss. The people around her cheered and yelled. They broke apart, and Kel blushed deeply. "I'm going to have a nap, and I thought that you had gate watch?" she questioned him.

"Actually I knew that the refugees were throwing you the baby shower, and decided that you didn't need me there to protect you from all the mean refugees," he said trying not to laugh.

Kel groaned, and started to walk away, leaving Dom there by himself. "Hey, where are you going?" he asked.

"I just told you dummy! I'm tired so I'm going for a nap," she snapped. At the surprised look on his face she said "Sorry I snapped at you, I'm just tired, I didn't mean it.

"Oh, I know that, I was just wondering if you did," he replied cockily. "So, you're going for a nap? Want some company?" he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"No, I think I'll pass. After all, that's how I got in this condition in the first place," with that, she walked away.

Back in her rooms she looked around. She had no idea where she was going to put everything that she had just gotten, not to mention the wedding presents she'd be getting. Kel rubbed her head. She would probably be going back to Masbolle after Dom and she got married. He told her that they could have rooms in the keep, or they could build a house, either inside the keep walls or outside them, whichever she preferred. She had so much to do she had a terrible headache. She slipped under the covers on her bed and tried to get to sleep. First, the light was too bright, so she closed the shutters. Then, her throat was dry, so she got a drink of water. Lastly, she got very cold, and got the 4 woolen blankets from her closet, as she thought, 'maybe I should of gotten Dom to join me. At least then I wouldn't be so gods damned cold'. Finally she was able to get to sleep, but later on when Dom and Neal came to wake her up for supper the found her in a sleep-induced coma, and couldn't wake her up. They had to take all the blankets off of her as it was summer, and she was sweating like a pig.

"Neal what's wrong with her?" a worried Dom asked.

"I have an idea, but it's not very likely," he reluctantly said.

"Well, what is it? Is there anything you can do about it?" Dom queried.

Neal looked back and forth between Kel and Dom. "I think that maybe it's an after affect of the poison that was in the blade that cut her. It's very unlikely, and would have to be extremely rare for me not to have cured, or noticed it while I was healing her. We'll have to get my father, or Alanna to come and try to heal her, I don't think that I have the power," he told his cousin.

"Well can't you at least try to heal her? Please, I'm asking you as a cousin and a friend, not as a soldier, please she's your best friend and she's pregnant with my children. You have to at least try to heal her!" Dom cried, nearly having a mental break down.

Neal tried to heal her, but his power was limited, and so they sent the fastest messengers they had to Alanna the Lioness and Duke Baird (did I spell his name right?) of Queenscove, telling them to hurry and get to New Hope as fast as they could, or there would only be one female knight once again, not to mention the fact that Baird's great-nieces would die along with their mother.

Two days later Alanna arrived and just a few hours after that the Duke arrived as well, Neal and a frantic Dom led the two of them to the infirmary. When they got there they took one look at Kel and knew that something was seriously wrong. She was white as a sheet, and sweating profusely, they would have to do something soon if they wished to save her, and especially if they wanted any hope of saving her twins as well.

Alanna, Baird, and Neal shooed everyone out of the infirmary, then started healing Kel. They discovered that it was a very strong and resistant poison that can lay dormant for up to 10 days after injected into the blood stream. While it was dormant it is virtually undetectable by any means, even to someone with a powerful gift, one has to be looking for that specific poison, and know exactly what it is, before they can detect it.

After over 14 hours in the infirmary the three came to the door and said that Dom could come in. He closed the door after him as the 3 healers sank into chairs.

With a worried look on his face Dom asked just one question "Will she live?"

"Hopefully, she will and the twins as well," Baird told his nephew. "But there is one thing we have to know. Did you and Kel…" he trailed off.

Finally Alanna picked up where the duke had trailed off "Did you and Kel have sex after she had been cut by the knife? Because if you did, there's a chance that you could be infected as well."

"No, we haven't, not since before she was attacked," he answered while blushing. He wasn't very comfortable discussing his personal life with the people in front of him. "So, can I go see her?" he asked hopefully.

"She's not awake yet, but you can as long as you promise not to disturb her," Neal told his cousin.

"I promise that I won't disturb her, I'll only sit by her bed, is that okay?" he asked as her went back towards where the beds were. As he sat by her bed he picked up her hand and just watched her. 'She is so beautiful' he thought to himself. 'I don't know what I'd do if I lost her' was another one of her thoughts. He sat staring at her for a few hours before eh fell asleep in his chair. Ha hadn't gotten much sleep over the past few days, because even though she was in a coma, Kel would keep crying out for him. He couldn't bear to leave her there with just Neal, so he had stayed. As he slept he dreamed, and in his dream he saw his worst nightmare. He was staring down at a grave. On the headstone was 'here lies the Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan and Masbolle, she left this world, taking her two daughters, Ilane and Alanna, with her. May they rest peacefully in the Black God's Realms.' He didn't know what to say. He suddenly heard a booming voice say "this is what will happen if she is not taken away from this place within 5 days." The voice was like nails on glass, the moat horrible and the most wonderful thing he had ever heard at the same. It was that of a little girl, yet also that of an old woman at the same time. A voice like that could only belong to the Great Mother Goddess. He would have to find a way to get Kel away from New Hope before the 5 days were up.

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Queen Tigress.