Chapter 12

When Gregor came to, he was lying in a hospital bed. He wasn't actually hurting; he was just a little numb. He realized he was ravenously hungry, but was disappointed that nobody had brought him food yet. What time of day was it? Where were his sisters? How was Luxa? He needed answers.

He waved a doctor down from the hall. "Oh good, you have awakened. You cannot do any strenuous movements with your arm for a while, due to that shoulder." She said. "I will bring you some food and medicine." She walked off, and was back in two minutes with some painkiller and, what he assumed was, lunch.

The food was kind of bland, just some stew and bread, but he was hungry anyway. He wolfed it down in record time, about five minutes. He didn't really want to take the painkiller because he wasn't in pain, so he just left it sitting there, and hopefully the doctors wouldn't notice.

The doctor came back in to clear the food, and after seeing the painkiller bottle, looked at him quizzically. "You are supposed to drink more than a drop, I hope you know." She said.

"Sorry." Gregor said. "Can I walk around yet?"

"Well, just around this wing. I think that boy Howard has been asking for you." The doctor answered.

"Thanks." Gregor slowly got out of bed and walked out, and not to pop his stitches. Those scars would be yet another addition to his map of scars, scrapes, and cuts. It would just bring more questioning from the people in the Overland.

He asked a doctor where Howard's room was, and, after getting an answer, walked to it. Nike was there too, and they were playing chess.

"Gregor! I see you've awakened!" Howard jumped up and greeted him.

"Yeah, I'm awake." Gregor answered. "So how're you?"

"I am as well as I may be at a time like this. My broken nose was not much compared to yours and Luxa's injuries. I should be returning to my doctor's course in near a day." Howard answered.

"Great! What about you, Nike?" Gregor asked.

"I am fine! My wing tear has mended, and I am as good as new! I, too, and glad to see you awakened!" Nike happily answered.

"Does anyone know how long I've been out?" Gregor asked.

"Oh, about a day, maybe a few hours more." said Howard.

"Great, well I'd better be going back. Bye!" Gregor left, and went to find Luxa's room. On the way, he saw a flash of white and gold, and stopped in to see Hera. She was fluttering around her room, testing her wings. "Hey, Hera." Gregor greeted her.

"Oh, hello Gregor! Wonderful to see you've awakened!" said Hera.

"Yeah, I guess your wing's better?" said Gregor.

"Yes, it has been stitched and disinfected. I will be able to take flight, so if you wish to go anywhere, do not hesitate to ask!" Hera said cheerfully. "So where are you off to?"

"Me? Well, I was going to see Luxa, have you seen her yet?" Gregor asked.

"No, I have not seen her. But fear not, I am positive she shall mend." answered Hera.

"Okay, well, I guess I'll go find her." Gregor said.

"Goodbye!" said Hera, and she began to flutter more. Gregor walked off to find Luxa's room. He found it towards the end of the wing, and she was eating lunch. Her arm was covered in bloody bandages, but other than looking tired, she seemed okay. She smiled when he came in, and he went to her bedside and held her hand.

"Hey, Luxa. How are you feeling?" Gregor asked.

"Better, as my cut is wrapped up. The doctors said it was badly infected, but they stopped the infection from spreading any further. That gnawer must not be very hygienic!" she gave a small laugh, and so did Gregor. "What about you? Your injuries weren't pale themselves." She asked.

"Nah, I'm good. Just a few stitches here and there." He said.

"Gregor, I am really sorry this happened. We as well thought you were finished as the warrior. You should not feel obligated to fight for us any further, nor do you have too. It is not your place any longer. Maybe you should stop the fighting, because you have your family to think about, and alas, I barely have any." She sighed. "You have no reason to fight for Regalia's fares any longer."

"Yes I do." Gregor said simply.

"Why?" she asked.

"For you. It's your city, and what would they, and me, do without you? Luxa, everyone needs you here, and if I have to fight to protect you, I will. I love you." He replied, and it was easy to say the words.

"Thank you." Luxa said. Gregor wrapped his arms around her, and they stayed there for a long time. He slowly moved his head and kissed her, and she kissed back. This was the longest of all, and they heard a chuckle outside, and let his eyes drift, but he was still with Luxa. Uh oh, it was Ripred! He moved away from Luxa.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'll be going, you two. And again, privacy!" He laughed, and walked away. Luxa sighed. She still held his hand, until the nurse came in and ordered Gregor out, so Luxa could sleep. He stumbled around the hallway, still thinking about the kiss. He felt like everyone knew about him and Luxa now, for better of worse. Ripred was going to use it against him, he knew that, but what about everybody else? Would they be mad about it, like Howard, or would they be amused, like Vikus and Aurora? And worse, what if Luxa got sick of everyone knowing, and decided she didn't want to see him anymore? He knew he sounded like a lovestruck pigeon, but he couldn't imagine life without Luxa! He was so caught up in these thoughts that he didn't notice Howard standing in front of him, and he only noticed when he was about an inch away from crashing into him.

"Oops! Sorry Howard!" he went to go around him, but he stopped him.

"Stay, Gregor. We need to talk." Uh oh. Now he was going to get it.

"Gregor, Ripred has told me more about you and Luxa. What do you really feel about my cousin?" Howard asked sternly. Gregor just shrugged. "She is a queen, as you know, and you are an Overlander! There could not be a worse pair! It will not work out! Nobody would be pleased! You must understand that! If you do not, it will only hurt Luxa more!" he snapped.

"So you're saying we shouldn't be together? That Luxa's to good for me?" Gregor was getting really angry.

"Luxa will need a spouse who is there for her always. I am sure you do not plan on staying in the Underland for ever! She will not be happy when you are gone, nor is she now!" Howard snapped back.

"Howard, I don't want to marry her! I know we're too young! My mom won't even let me see girls in the Overland! You think she'd be any happier about Luxa?" Gregor was practically screaming now. Doctors were looking at them from rooms quizically.

"Well, that's all I'm asking! But be aware, though, she might soon get those feelings in her head!" Howard walked off.

That meant Gregor was left to the stares of the doctors. "What?" he said, and walked to his room. He hoped Luxa hadn't heard them arguing, but then he remembered the doctor had told her to sleep. If she listened, which was doubtful, he wouldn't have to worry about that. If not...well, he would worry about that later.

He had been dropping in and out of sleep for about two hours when his sisters came in. "Hey, Liz. Hey, Boots. What's up?"

"We just wanted to come and talk. Daedalus said he'd be waiting for us in Luxa's room. We've been doing puzzles. Well, Daedalus and I were, Boots was singing nursery rhymes." said Lizzie.

"I can sing Bat, Bat, Gregor!" Boots squealed happily.

"Great Boots! You too, Lizzie. I'm glad you've been having fun. Has anyone wrote to mom and dad about where you guys are? I'm sure their wondering." said Gregor.

"Um, yeah. They wrote back. They're in Virginia, with dad's family. They wanted to tell them about Grandma. They made sure we were safetly here, though, and Mrs. Cormaci is watching the apartment, in case we come back." Lizzie answered uncertainly.

"Okay." said Gregor.

"I read the prophecy. Nerissa showed it to me." said Lizzie.

"Cool. Anything you want to talk about in it?" asked Gregor.

"No, I'm good." said Lizzie.

"Gregor, Hazard has big boo-boo!" said Boots.

"Yeah, Boots. I haven't seen him. You guys want to go find him?" asked Gregor.

"Ye-es!" so they went to find Hazards room. It turns out it was right next to Aurora's so Gregor stopped in and said hi and told her that Luxa was okay. Boots went right up and petted Aurora's golden fur. Aurora gave a "huh huh huh" of laughter. Then they went in to see Hazard. His leg was propped up on a pillow, but he looked okay.

"Hello!" Hazard greeted them. Lizzie gave a small wave, but Boots got in on the action.

"Bandidge!" she poked it. Hazard winced, but seemed to be okay.

"No, Boots. That hurts Hazard." Gregor pulled her away. "So, how are you, Hazard?"

"I am okay. Everyone has been visiting me, and Luxa gave me a present!" his face lit up. He showed them a crystal cup on his bedside. It must have taken a while to make, because there wasn't much crystal in the Underland.

"It is from the same beach as where Luxa got her crystal fish. Someone who she told to make the cup has just finished, and she gave it to me!" he showed it to them.

"And guess what else? Vikus let me pick something out of the museaum, for me to keep! This is what I chose." He reached under his bed and pulled out a electric toy car. It didn't look old, only a couple years, and Gregor swallowed at the thought of a little child coming to a tragic end in the Underland, with his toy car. Hazard brought him back to reality. "I don't really know what it is or what it does, it just seemed amazing to me. It came with this." he held out a remote control.

"This is a car. You guys use bats to get around, but in the Overland, we use cars. This one is special. Look what it does!" Gregor took the remote control and pressed the button. The car moved forward. He pressed another button, and it moved backwars. He moved a joystick to the right, and it turned right, and same with the left. Hazard's jaw dropped in amazement.

"Wow! Can I try?" Gregor handed him the remote, and he seemed to get the hang of it quickly. "I love this! Thank you for showing me how to use it, Gregor!' He continued driving it around while they left.

The girls went back to Daedalus, and Gregor found himself with nothing to do. He decided he would go see if Luxa was awake. He really wasn't prepared for what he saw in her room.

She was gone! He only had one thought in his mind. He rushed to Aurora's room, and he wasn't surprised to see her gone as well.

Where had they gone?