So I wrote every time I got a review and ended up writing 3 1/2 chapters. Enjoy!
The creature had released Nuala and now she was helping Lily into the only chair in the room to try and tend to her wound. Lily was drifting in and out of consciousness. The dagger was still in her stomach and blood was oozing out at an alarming rate. Nuala debated in her mind whether or not she should pull the dagger out, and finally came to the solution of leaving it in to somewhat halt the flow of blood. The creature who had threatened the women was watching nearby. It stood between them and the door.
"She needs medical attention now." Nuala said somewhat forcefully. The creature ignored her, so she started to rip her dress in strips to patch the wound. Lily's head lolled while Nuala did it, but showed no signs of consciousness. Nuala patted her cheeks in an attempt to wake her, but that did not work and she instead decided to leave her alone.
The room was silent once Nuala patched up Lily's wound as best she could.
"She will die if she is not given professional help." Nuala tried to reason with the creature who held them captive again.
"That is the plan. Once Nuada sees what we are capable of, he will think twice about crossing us again." The creature said vengefully.
"What has my brother done to you and your kind? He has worked on the side of all magical creatures since the reconstruction of Bethmoora." Nuala asked. She put pressure on Lily's wound once it began to bleed again.
"He has forgotten us! My kind needs to live in higher altitudes to survive and he only expands to FORESTS. Not a mountain in sight. We are beginning to die off." The creature spat.
"The humans will only give him so much land-"
"The humans! It's always back to the humans! What happened to the Nuada who attempted to kill the humans for our land back? He has gone soft." The creature interrupted Nuala.
"I am sorry for your struggle, but my brother must do what he must to keep peace so we are not all pushed underground again!" Nuala's voice raised towards the end of her sentence.
"Foolish Princess!" The creature made a swipe at Nuala with its claws and she held her arms in front of her for defense. It managed to scratch her forearm and make her bleed. "You offer no solutions to our problems! Only empty words!"
Nuala cried out at the pain in her arm. She held it and wrapped her tattered sleeve around it to stop her bleeding.
"They will find you and kill you for what you have done!" Nuala shouted back at it. She called out to Nuada in her mind for help, telling him her whereabouts.
"They will find your bodies and I will be long gone by then!" The creature snarled.
Footsteps and shouts were heard in the hallways outside and the creature snapped its head around. It curled its lip in disgust and turned back to Nuala, picking her up and putting her in another headlock. The door burst open seconds later. Nuada, Meldiron, and Abe were all standing in the doorway, Nuada nursing his arm. They paused once they saw Nuala's position, their weapons drawn for battle.
"Take one more step and I snap her neck." The creature threatened.
"You are outnumbered and your forces are defeated." Nuada told it. "Admit your defeat."
"Defeat?" The creature laughed. "I have mortally wounded your queen and now hold both you and your sister's lives in my arms. I am not the one defeated."
The men now turned to see Lily still lying in the chair, unconscious. Meldiron visibly swallowed at the sight and his heart dropped. Nuada refused to let any emotion show about the situation. Nuala's struggle in the creature's arm turned their attention back.
"Let her go." Abe asked hesitantly.
"Never. You must pay for what you've done to my people! We are dying!" The creature shouted.
"I know your situation and I am fighting the humans for more land. But they are stubborn." Nuada told it.
The creature slackened its grip on Nuala for a second as it considered. Then it re-tightened its grip.
"Lies!" The creature shouted. Nuala whimpered.
The men froze, not knowing how to handle this situation. Would they attack and risk Nuala and Nuada's lives or standby and see if the creature would release Nuala? A groan from Lily claimed their attention and she shifted slightly, but did not wake.
"You have injured a member of the royal family. Your death will be slow and painful." Meldiron threatened the creature. He flew into action and swung his sword at the creature's head, since it was slightly taller than Nuala. Nuala cried out in surprise and fear as the sword came near her. The creature maneuvered Nuala in the way of the sword, but cried out in pain anyway. Nuada had used Meldiron's attack as a distraction and stabbed the creature in the back with his spear. It released Nuala and she fell to the floor, then running over to Abe, who held her away from the creature. Meldiron and Nuada took care of the creature, stabbing it multiple times as it cried out in pain. Once it was truly dead, they turned their attention to Nuala and the unconscious Lily. Meldiron rushed to Lily, while Nuada checked on Nuala before rushing to his wife.
"She's lost a lot of blood. She needs help NOW." Meldiron informed Nuada.
Nuada lifted her up bridal style and rushed with the others out of the room and to the nearest healer. The healer led them to the nearest bed and Nuada laid her down. A group of healers crowded around her, assessing the damage. They decided to pull the dagger out quickly and stop the blood flow as best they could. They used magic to heal Lily faster and in no time she was stable. Her wound was almost nonexistent, yet she was still unconscious. The healers also checked Nuala and Nuada and healed their arms as well.
It was a couple of tense moments of staring at Lily lying unconscious on the bed before the head healer cautiously approached Nuada.
"My king, we have encountered something . . . unexpected." The healer spoke hesitantly.
"Unexpected?" Nuada furrowed his eyebrows. The healer took this as a sign to continue.
"Yes. You see . . . Queen Lillian is pregnant."
Whoa, bet you guys didn't see that coming. That's double good news: Lily's alive and pregnant!