Chapter 9
"Hazard!" Luxa shrieked, and rushed to his side. "Howard! Howard! Get Howard!" she shouted, randomly. "Pervett, get my cousin!" She cried, seeing a nearby Underlander guard. Pervett ran off to the hospital, seeing Hazard. "Oh Temp, what has happened to him?"
"Single gnawer, it be, single gnawer." replied Temp.
"It was a single gnawer? What did it do?" Luxa needed answers.
"Clawed boy, did it, clawed boy. He fell, boy did, he fell. Human kill, did she, human kill." Temp answered. He bent over Hazard again, with Luxa. The gash on Hazard's leg was pretty deep, and his skin was pale, even by Underland standards. Then Gregor realized that if a human had killed the rat, then where was the body?
"Hey Temp, what did they do with the body?" he asked.
"Body dragged, it was, to river." Temp answered. Gregor wasn't surprised. That was what all Underlanders did with dead bodies. Just then, Howard came running up, panting. Pervett returned to his post.
"Cousin, what has happened?" Howard asked. But Luxa seemed unable to answer, so Gregor did for her.
"A rat got into the palace and clawed Hazard!" Gregor said. Howard immediately took out his first aid kit and started treating the wound. Luxa was in a fit of hysterics. After Howard cleaned and stitched it, Hazard stirred.
"Luxa...a rat...got in...Keedra killed it...took to river." Hazard choked out.
"Yes, Hazard, Temp has told us." soothed Luxa. "It was Keedra who saved you?" Hazard gave a feeble nod. "Then many thanks is in order." said Luxa. At that moment Keedra returned, bloody, but hurt nothing beyond scratches.
"Oh Queen Luxa!" Keedra cried, seeing her. She was about to continue speaking, but Luxa interrupted.
"Keedra, recognize you the gnawer who clawed Hazard?" she asked.
"Yes, many know his name. He helped the gnawer Twirltongue bring the Bane to power. It was Reekwell, Your Highness." Keedra answered.
Reekwell. The rat who had tried to reak Gregor's neck down in the passages below the palace. The rat who was one of Twirltongue's friends. Who knew he would stand alone one day? But now he was dead, and it didn't matter. But what about the other one, Gushgore? What was he going to do? Was he for the compromise, or against it? Gregor didn't know.
Just then Vikus and Nerissa rushed over to them. Actually, Vikus rushed, Nerissa kind of just moved along, swaying. She looked like she was about to faint, and it only worsened at the sight of Hazard and his blood. She had to lean against a wall for support. Luxa had blood all over her hands now, but she didn't seem to care. Gregor explained the story to Vikus and Nerissa, and Nerissa's face lit up.
"The prophecy!" she breathed. "Can you not see it? 'Is there not scratching left to hear?'" she quoted. "We were unsure of this until now, but there is scratching left! Clearly, there are gnawers left that wish to attack! That is but one question answered by this attack!"
It took a moment for this theory to set in, then everyone except Gregor started praising Nerissa for realizing this. Gregor still wasn't sure about the prophecy or its truth. Luxa frowned at him. "Gregor, why do you not approve of Nerissa's wonderful discovery?" She asked coldly.
"Whatever. Great job, Nerissa! I'm just thinking." Gregor replied. Luxa gave him a stare. After a little discussion, Hazard was carefully moved to the hospital. He was dropping in and out of conciousness. Not wanting to go to Luxa's room, he went to the only other place he could think to be alone, the prophecy room. Hera was there, reading over the prophecies. She gave a sigh when she read the Prophecy of Time, but then noticed Gregor in the doorway.
"Oh, hello Gregor." she pulled her eyes from the prophecy.
"Hey, Hera. Did you hear about Hazard, Luxa's cousin?" asked Gregor.
"Yes, Aurora flew in and told me none less than a minute ago. I hope he will be okay." said Hera. She let her eyes fall back to the Prophecy of Time. "It is amazing how easily one can misinterperate a prophecy, isn't it?" She asked. She was looking at the part that fortold the "warrior's death".
"Yeah. That happened with almost every prophecy." Gregor anwered.
"I can only hope we did not misinterperate this one." Hera said. Gregor gave a nod.
"Oh yeah, before I forget, I just wanted to say thanks. You've made everything alot easier, and since...Ares died, having another flier around is really helpful. So...yeah, thanks." Gregor said.
"I would like to thank you, as well. You have reminded me what it is like to have a human around to talk with, and not just shiners. " she shuddered at the thought of Photos Glow-Glow and Zap arguing. They both laughed.
"Yeah, shiners aren't exactly who I would choose to be locked up in a room with." said Gregor. Hera snickered.
"Yes, I know what you mean. It was not pleasant, even though it can't have been much longer that two months." Hera smiled. She fluttered her wings happily. "I must use my wings before I become terribly stiff. Would you care for a ride? We can go anywhere." She asked.
"Yeah, lets go." agreed Gregor. They went to the High Hall. It was strangely empty, so they took immediate flight out of the palace.
It was a peaceful day in Regalia, but everyone was still cleaning up after the war. A kind of orphanage had been fashioned for children who had lost their parents to the rats, and there were alot of them. Gregor felt very bad and very lucky at the same time. Even though he had lost alot of people who were close to him, he still had his parents and sisters, a family. These kids didn't have any of that.
They flew out over the feilds and looked down on the cows and sheep. The farmers of the Underland were hard at work, using the scythes. Gregor always flinched at the sight of scythes, after he had seen it as a mark of secret. The scythe sybolizes death, and after seeing it, the little bat, Thalia, had suffocated in the firelands from poisonous fumes and foul air.
They kept flying, sometimes in circles, sometimes just straight. Gregor loved being in the air, but it felt different than when he was with Ares. He didn't know why, it just did. He and Hera talked, sometimes making more jokes about the shiners. Hera laughed alot, and was extremely good-natured. She listened to everything he said, and responded accordingly. He told her about what went on in the Overland, and she seemend interested in hearing about the bats up there. She had never seen a bat much smaller than herself, even the newborns in the Underland weren't that small! He also told her about the crawlers, spinners, nibblers, gnawers, cutters, and shiners in the Overland. She seemed genuinely fascinated.
They flew for over five hours, and Gregor lost track of the time. When they were both getting tired, they flew back to Regalia. He could see the feilds clearing of Underlanders; they were all going back to their homes to sleep. Then Gregor remembered his sisters.
"Hera, my sisters! They don't know where I am! I've got to get back!" he cried.
"I will hurry, Gregor." Hera said. She flew faster, her wings beating fast. They neared the palace and landed in the High Hall. Gregor was dismounting when Luxa rushed up to them.
"Gregor, where have you been? I, as well as your sisters, have been looking for you!" she cried. Hera gave Gregor a wave of her wing and flew off.
"I was just flying with Hera. Where are Lizzie and Boots?" Asked Gregor.
"In my chambers. You may sleep there as well, if you like." said Luxa. They walked to her rooms and after reassuring his sisters that he was there, he fall alseep, exhausted from the long day.