Disclaimer: I don't own Pern. I do, however own many of the characters in this story.
Chapter Thirteen: Rescue
Hayatch, Urtiatch and Kilatch were herded down the passageway just outside of the tiny room they had been cramped up in. When they were thrust into a larger room they found that Satch was already here.
Kilatch threw herself at her mate, and the clung to each other. "I told you we'd see each other again," the bronze told his queen with a slight chuckle, "but I didn't mean quite like this."
Hayatch greeted her father too, and they sat down to talk. Satch told that he had been knocked over the head and dragged down here also, and had woken the night before. Then Kilatch told her story, then Hayatch and Urtiatch.
The day passed slowly. Food was brought, and they ate, then rested again. It was all they could do.
Kilatch woke the other two queens and her bronze with a coughing fit. She huddled on her bed, shaking and hacking coughs. Virisail brought food for them and another drink of her cough-away drink, but Kilatch seemed too had developed a fever. Hayatch and Stach stayed by her bed all that day. She never ate or drank, but coughed.
In her fevered dreams she cried out to fly free again. Her pleadings all but broke the others' hearts, and when Virisail looked in again they begged her to take the queen outside, just once.
There was little the woman could do, save ask the man in charge of the room to let them out. She begged too, having become quite fond of the queen in the short time they had spent together.
000
Virika and Vyrania woke in their own home, in their own room. They looked at each other, then got out of bed. Both collapsed back, gasping. Their mother came in. "What are you doing? Rest, both of you. You've been asleep for two days and nights. Rest is what you need from all you're time out there in the wilds." She pushed her daughter back in bed and brought them soups and drinks.
They kept trying to tell her about the dragon-folk, but she always sad "Rest. Later." They often heard her go out. After the second time they started timing it. It took about fifteen minutes. On the fourth time, near nightfall, they slipped out and followed her outside.
On the beach Virika suddenly put out her hand to stop her younger sister. "Try to contact Urtiatch," she said. "I can't believe I didn't think of it before!" Vyrania gaped at her for a second, then laughed.
"I've Impressed her and I still can't ever remember to speak mind-to-mind, not out loud!" Both closed their eyes and called to their queens.
Hayatch?
Urtiatch?
It's us! Are you all right?
Virika?
Vyrania?
Oh, you're both safe!
Are you both well?
Where are you?
Can you find us? We're in a human house, but we don't know exactly where.
We'll find you.
Don't worry! We'll look all over.
We found Kilatch and Satch, but mother has a fever and she's coughing and sleeping.
She's really not good. I don't know what happened to her, but she doesn't wake up.
We'll find you, all four of you, and we'll get out of here.
The girl left opened their eyes, looked once at each other and dashed back as fast as they could to the camp.
000
Hayatch sat with her mother, whispering over and over again variations of "oh, hurry, Virika!" and "hold on, Mother. It'll be all right."
When Urtiatch gasped she spun quickly, but to her delight Virika and Vyrania were crouching at the small barred window.
"Hayatch, Urtiatch, Satch Kilatch! You're all fine!"
"Yes, but mother's… bad. I don't know what's wrong with her, but she's sleeping and she doesn't wake."
"Later," Virika said, setting her mouth in a grim line. Her face disappeared. Vyrania reached one arm through the bars and Urtiatch took it.
"You're fine?" she asked.
"Yes. Hayatch has been taking good care of me, and we've all been trying to help Kilatch."
Vyrania nodded to her sister's queen in thanks then stood as well, following her sister.
Virika walked around to the building's entrance. Somehow Vyrania expected her to knock. Later she told herself that it was stupid to believe they would hand over the dragon-people. Now she watched in fascinated horror as her sister coldly walked up to the door and kicked out, slamming it open, sending splinters of wood all around.
The two men playing dice on the floor stood, and she walked calmly into the house. "You kidnapped my queen, her parents and my sister's queen." She squared her feet and stood braced as coolly as if she had just asked for a bubbly pie, but her body was ridged. Vyrania came up behind her and stood at her side, trying to look as menacing as her sister.
"They are down in you're cellar. We want them." At this statement the guards looked at her slight, lanky figure and laughed. In a sudden bound she leapt into the air and came down kicking the first man's chin, sending him sprawling. When the second turned and unsheathed his sword, starting to frown she dove under his swing, somersaulted beneath the blade and sprang up, hitting him in the belly and landing there in a crouch as he fell over with a wild cry.
Vyrania saw the first man stand with his sword and lunged, swinging her fist so that it hit him solidly over the head. He swung his sword at her and she ducked. Then Virika was there and she swung her leg as his ankles, knocking him over. Then she leapt forward and landed on his stomach like she had his friend.
Virika stood and delicately settled her hair out of her face, then nodded to her sister and jerked her head at the stairway through an open door.
They found one other guard, standing beside a door they assumed to be the prisoners' cell. With a cry Virika dashed at him. Before he could react she had sprung forward and landed on her hands, then fell on his chest as she had the other guards, neatly winding him.
"I learned that from the dragon-folk," she said to no one in particular as she kicked out, knocking the man between.
Vyrania looked at her sister for a long moment. Virika had changed. She was not the shy one without any friends, getting picked on all the time. Now she had learned unarmed combat from seven-foot dragons and was rearranging the structure of their lives.
She was harder, not consciously, perhaps, but she was different. Vyrania decided not to judge her sister. The change was for the better, she was sure.
Virika tried to open the door and found it locked. Vyrania knelt to take the keys from the unconscious man's belt. As she straightened up Virika kicked out and slammed the door. When it creaked but held she glared at it, then backed up as far as the narrow hallway would permit, clearly about to run at it.
Her sister cramped her style by smoothly unlocking the door. Vyrania smiled as her older sister glared at her. "As impressive as that would have been, let's save your energy to fight the guards who are probably upstairs discovering the busted-open door right now," she suggested. Virika humphed, but shrugged as if she had to agree. Grinning at her the older girl Vyrania followed her inside.
