Chapter Eight

Saved?

Riku held the maid down. She had the woman's arm held behind her and Riku had her knee stuck in the small of the woman's back. "Shot?" Riku breathed, feeling her heart break into, "No… no, she's going to be alright… right, Karl. Go get Julia!"

Seeing Riku like this made Karl feel terrible. It had been quite a long time since he'd felt bad for anyone else. "I'm… I'm sorry, Riku."

"No!" screamed Riku… tears had started falling down her face, "Frannie, hang on! Please!"

Riku got off of the woman, and ran to her side. Karl saw that horrible woman get to her feet. She was going to run for it. 'Oh, hell no you don't!'

Karl, with so much speed that he was almost unseen, got to her. He grabbed her, and slammed her against the wall, "I haven't felt anything in a long time," he snarled, "I have no problem with killing you. Why did you do this?"

"He said I could be like you," she whimpered.

"Like me? Why the hell would anyone want to be like me? You killed that woman for that?"

"…leak…" Frannie choked.

She was hemorrhaging… she was choking on her own blood. Riku sobbed, "Don't die, Frannie, please!"

Frannie gasped for breath… her breathing had become shorter and shorter, "…keep Tatem… alive…"

"Karl, what do I do!" Riku cried.

Karl closed his eyes, "You can save her if you want to."

"Why wouldn't I?" Riku sobbed.

"Give her your blood."

Riku's eyes grew wide, "Oh… that way."

Tears streamed down Frannie's face, as Riku picked up the letter opener. "She's going to be like me," Karl smirked at Tatem, "You'll rot in jail, you bitch."

Riku slit her hand open. Blood began to pour down her arm. "I'm sorry Frannie, but this is the only way you won't die. I don't want you to die like this."

Riku let the blood drop into Frannie's mouth. Riku waited for what seemed like forever… 'maybe it was too late,' she thought, in horror.

Then Frannie's body began to convulse. She screamed as if she was in excruciating pain, and she flopped around on the floor. "This is normal," Karl told her, "She'll stop in a minute."

He was right. After a little while, her body seized, and then she was still and her eyes closed. "What did I do?" Riku cried.

"You saved her," Karl sighed, "In a sense. Now you can call Julia."

Riku pulled out her phone, and with shaky hands, dialed Julia's number.

II

Everyone was there… DJ, Julia… and Kai and David who had just returned from New York. Riku sat in a corner, hugging her knees. "How is she?" David asked Kai.

"Miserable. She won't even talk to me. I wish Saya was here. Or at least Mao," Kai sighed.

"That's not a bad idea, Kai," Julia said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Maybe you should call Mao."

"I think I will, but now isn't a good time."

"When will she wake up, mom?" DJ asked.

"I'm not certain. I'll monitor her… keep a close eye on her. For now, that's all we can do."

"It's all my fault. I should've stayed with her a bit longer…"

"DJ, it's no ones fault except the person who shot her," David told him.

"Tell that to poor Riku," DJ sighed.

Riku watched everything. She felt as though she'd stepped outside her body. Karl stood beside her. He hadn't said a word so far. He just watched the events quietly. Finally, he said, "Don't blame yourself. How could you have known this was going to happen? When she wakes up, I can guarantee you she won't be sorry she let you do it. No one here is sorry you saved her."

"I changed her. Frannie will never be the same."

"That's not true. Your father never changed. I didn't know him very well, but I saw him as a human… and a Chevalier. He was the same. If you treat Frannie the same… she won't change."

"I don't know… if I can face her. I don't know if I can take her looking at me, and saying… I'll never forgive you."

"She won't say that."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. Stop moping," he said.

His voice sounded annoyed, but he had a sympathetic look on his face. After that, both of them became quiet again. Kai walked up to them, "Come on. I'm taking you guys home."

"Is she okay, Dad?" asked Riku, quietly.

"We won't know for sure until she wakes up, but… I think she'll be fine. Now, come on. You two need to get home and rest."

Riku got to her feet. She and Karl followed Kai out of the building.

III

"They've caught her, sir," Chera reported, "Now what?"

"Don't worry. She won't talk," Nathan sighed, lazily.

"What if she does?" asked Nole.

"It doesn't really matter. She doesn't know anything useful. I haven't told her any locations. They can't get anything useful out her."

"She shot a woman… a woman named Francis. Giles reported that Riku, the other queen, turned the woman into a Chevalier."

"I see. Well, now… Riku has two. It's a good thing we sent Giles in to keep an eye on the situation," Nathan smiled.

"What are we going to do about Dalton?" asked Chera.

"As long as he doesn't betray us again… I suppose we'll leave him alone. After all… he is the queen's favorite," Nathan sighed.

At this, Chera and Nole sneered. "Of course," Chera sighed.

IV

"Georgie?" Dalton said, entering the room.

"Hi," Georgie tried to smile.

"Your family has caught the leak."

"Who was it?"

Dalton shook his head, "They didn't give a name. Nathan never said a name… except for Francis. A woman his leak shot."

Georgie gasped, "Frannie! Oh, God! Frannie's dead!"

Dalton shook his head, "Your sister… she gave Francis her blood."

Georgie looked grief stricken, "Damn him! Damn Nathan! This is all his fault. My sister is probably… I don't want to think about it. She was pushed into a corner, and… Frannie is our friend."

"Which is why your sister did it. I'm sorry, Georgie."

"How could this happen to us?" Georgie asked, tears streaming down her face, "We were so happy. Why couldn't he just leave us alone? Why couldn't he just let us stay happy?"

A/N: Gah! I don't know if it came out right or not! I decided to do two chapters today. The leak turned out to be some random chick! We'll I hope it turned out okay. I hope you guys like this. Things are going to sort of pick up in the next couple of chapters. Some familiar faces are about to make appearances… as soon as I look on wikipedia and remind myself how to spell their names. LOL! Anywho… thanks for reading. And to my two reviewers so far… thanks guys, for taking the time to read this piece, and thanks for your kind words.