:cheers: Yay! An update!
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14.
Thayer cursed himself, Her and the Princess. He didn't bother to consider why he was going to rescue the stupid girl as he dashed down the stairs and out to the stable.
He quickly brushed his stallion and checked the horse's hooves for any stones. Then, he saddled and bridled the horse in record time, jamming his sword into the saddle sheath.
"Get on," He smacked the horse with his reins, picking out the hoof prints that the Princess's mare had left in the ground and following them.
He could feel the hoof beats thudding through him with each stride that the horse took. He tracked with the skill that came only with years of practice and familiarity of the surrounding area, following a trail that was almost invisible.
The stallion shied violently as the baying of a hound filled the night air. Thayer shivered and calmed the horse, at the same time pinpointing the cry.
He kicked the horse in the direction of the howl, crashing through the forest.
Another howl, closer this time, and the horse reared, frightened by the imminent danger.
"Easy, brother, easy." Thayer calmed the horse again and wondered how many hounds there were in all.
The howls were soon coming from a distinct circle in front of him, and his mount was almost useless, so paralyzed as it was by fear. Thayer grabbed his crossbow, the familiar wood solid in his grasp.
He drew the bow, and sent the bolt soaring into the shadows. A furious growl made him smile in satisfaction.
More bolts flew from his hands, delving into soft fur and muscle with many shots. Sometimes the hollow sound of wood answered the whistle of the bolt, and Thayer would grimace, picking out a new target with a ruthlessness that wouldn't give up.
The stallion continued to dance beneath him, shifting nervously from foot to foot. Sweat drenched the animal's hide, and steam rose off of him, spiraling into the night air.
A sudden, feminine scream made him whirl around. "Mirian!" He bellowed, and his voice carried above the noises made by Her hunting pack. "Princess!" He yelled, and then was distracted by another of the dogs.
Mirian pressed into the tree, feeling the rough bark biting into her back. "Get away from me!" She cried, tears streaming down her face. She kicked out at one of three dogs that were closing in on her.
Her foot connected with a nose and the hound whined and leapt away. Two more closed in on her, baring teeth that were slick with saliva. She screamed again as her tormentors set in again to lunge at her, nipping her every time they got close enough.
"Mirian!" The cry echoed through the woods, and she looked up, terror in her eyes. "Princess!"
"Thayer!" Mirian screamed as loudly as she could. "Thayer!"
A canine growl snapped her attention back to the problem at hand. Mirian whimpered in fear, tears streaming down her face.
"Oh Sky, save me. Oh Sky oh Sky ohskyohsky…" Her words became a mumbled litany that she repeated over and over again as she methodically repelled the dogs, attack after attack. Mirian wasn't sure if she believed in the god that had not saved her father and that let her be brought here, but it was reassuring to plead with someone for help. Anyone…
The pack could smell her fear. They could practically taste it in the air. It made them hungrier, and they fought harder for the kill. The blood they swallowed every time they cut her only augmented their frenzied bloodlust.
The pack's divided mind concentrated easily on both the man on horseback and on the girl. Must eat, their collective consciousness cried. Kill them, kill them all.
Their sensitive ears perked as the girl's screams grew more ragged at the same time the horse's frantic whinnying did. They derived their pleasure from this; their hunt was drawing to a close.
They noticed, as the pack's mind grew smaller, that there were things missing; senses were suddenly cut off and they were limited to less than they were used to.
Slowly, the pack began to associate the man with this loss of sensitivity and retreated slowly. They slunk away into the shadows, going to their pack mates and helping with the hunt that they were having.
Kill, they thought, as one. Kill.
Thayer made his way through the woods, following the baying of the hounds and Mirian's frantic screams. The stallion snorted and pranced beneath him, terrified by the blood and the hounds. "Hush," Thayer crooned. "Hush." The animal's muscles surged beneath him like a roiling sea of anxiety. Equine tension filled the air, eager to be set free, to run away from the death and the blood.
Another scream rent the air, and Thayer looked sharply to where it had originated from.
"That way," he muttered, inwardly cursing the girl and her stupidity. His horse picked his way through the bracken, shying at the merest flap of a leaf. He was on edge, and that set his mount on edge. "Easy, easy…"
They whirled around a tree as the screams and baying grew to a frenzied pitch. "Mirian!" Thayer bellowed over the human and horse screams, and the snarls of the angry dogs.
He bit into the pack, mercilessly hacking at them with his sword and bringing them down one by one. Sprays of blood and muscle flew up as he thrust at them, again and again and again. He lost sight of Mirian in the seething mass of furry bodies, only to hear her screech once more. Thayer fought his way to her, furiously cutting through bone and sinew to get to his Princess.
Mirian was not hers. She could not have his Princess. His!
"Mirian!" Thayer called out to her, and heard a gasping sob in response.
"Thayer!" Mirian waxed incomprehensible again, and then managed a few moments of coherence. "Help me! Ohsky, oh gods, they've got me…" And then her petrified shrieks filled the air.
Thayer battled onward, shouting his own rage as the hounds struck back, biting into his flesh. He heard the cracks and shrill whinnies of the stallion holding his own, just as he was trained to do.
A jaw closed around his wrist. He brought the hilt of his sword down with a heavy hand onto a hard head. A yelp followed shortly by silence told him that his hit had been successful; one less enemy to dispatch.
He fought for what seemed like an eternity, hacking and slashing, maiming and murdering. He continued until there was nothing left to fight except the continued lust for blood. He was the best, he was Kalid-Na'in. He could not lose.
He didn't lose. He had won. Thayer jerked slightly to the side to look at Mirian, and found her watching him, fear in her eyes.
"Ohsky…" He groaned and pitched forward.
"Thayer?" Mirian poked him cautiously with a branch, eyeing the carcasses that were scattered around him. "Are you awake?"
Thayer moaned softly, but otherwise demonstrated no signs of consciousness.
"No." Mirian took a shuddering breath and wiped her eyes. Her hand came away colored with a mix of blood, dirt and tears. "Thank you," she murmured, glancing over at the mercenary.
She got up slowly, not trusting her legs to hold her. Her hands shook where she clutched the tree, using it to pull herself up. The bark dug into her palms, scraping against the tender skin.
"What do I do now?" She asked whoever might be listening. "I can't go anywhere…I can't just leave him here…" Mirian trailed off pensively, trying to come up with a solution to her dilemma.
A whicker from the stallion diverted her attention to Thayer's equine companion.
"Hello, pony." Mirian's hand trembled as she reached out to touch the horse's soft, sticky nose. "Are you hurt too?"
Thayer's stallion bobbed its head in a facsimile of an answer.
"That makes three of us, then." Mirian pushed the tangled, lank hair away from her face and sighed, waiting once more for the world to stop spinning. "Can you help me, pony?" She took a few, faltering steps and managed to grab a handful of dirty mane. "We've got to get him up there." One grimy hand patted the horse's sweaty back. "Think we can do that?"
It made her feel better to have someone to talk to, even if that someone was a horse. The horse huffed at her in response.
Thayer mumbled something unintelligible into the dirt, and Mirian turned in an unsteady whirl of dizziness.
"What?" She collapsed onto the gory leaves by the swordsman.
"Tell him…" Thayer coughed loudly, interrupting himself. "Down. Then up. Then…" Thayer coughed again, and it sounded like he was attempting to remove his lungs through his throat. "Then follow." He fell face forward into the leaf mold, raising a little pfft of sound as he landed.
Mirian turned away from him, confused but open minded. "Down," she commanded as imperiously as she could.
The stallion folded his long legs beneath him and slowly lowered himself to the ground.
"Right." She looked at the large man lying on the ground. Determinedly, she picked up his foot and pulled. Nothing moved. She pulled again, harder, fixed on succeeding.
Finally, she managed to get Thayer draped over his mount. With a hand placed on his back to steady him, she commanded "Up."
The horse lurched to his feet, nearly dislodging Thayer. "No!" Mirian pushed the heavy mercenary up with the horse, making sure he was steady before grabbing the reins that dangled from the bit. "Follow," she told the horse.
It followed, plodding along behind her. They trudged through the forest, Mirian stopping to adjust Thayer whenever he looked as if he would fall.
As then rose up out of the clouds, a bloody red light cascading over them, Mirian, Thayer and the stallion were found, utterly exhausted, in the court yard by the stable. Lohen rushed out, dropping his porridge on the floor, with Garrod quickly following after. They took charge of Thayer and the horse, sending Mirian off to sleep and bathe.
Mirian watched them tiredly, her mind moving at a different speed from the world around her. She stumbled through the door and up the stairs, falling into her bed without another thought. Within moments, she was unconscious, her mind busy at work to try and digest the events of the night.
Unaware of the world, she slept.
Author's Note: This chapter has been far too long in the writing! It took me over a year! Gah! Thank you so much to all the people who reviewed! You guys are absolutely fantastic for putting up with me. This wasn't the best writing that I've ever done, but hey, it's still something.
Of course, now I'm traveling almost the whole month of July…so it's not like I can really update a lot. Although I might be able to bring my laptop with me to some places, I don't know if I will have any internet access…We shall have to see.
Once again, all the people who have waited forever and a day to read this are simply amazing. Thank you!
To Those Amazatory People:
Chrischelle: Thanks for all the nice comments! I obviously didn't update soon…but can you forgive me:o)
Vixonl: Thank you!
Shards of Dawn: Thank you so much! I didn't update very soon though… .
AuraRayne: Thanks!
Zagato: I'm not entirely sure what Fiacha is…but we shall most definitely find out eventually!
Aureusangel: Fiacha is just kind of weird…I'm still working out what I want her to be. I'm glad you like this!
Glaze: There! I continued it!
Sheyana: As for your questions…the answers will be found in later chapters! (I'll try not to take so long to update, either.)
Athena Diagon Cat: Fiacha is definitely not good. Definitely.
Nubilius: Yay! You like this! For points of confusion: 1. Thayer going from mean to nice? I guess he's just that way around girls, or the passage of time has made him soft…or at least softer. 2. Johan, Risa and Petra are just kind of there now. I know I had some big plan for them, but I can't remember it now. I'll probably just use them as extra points of view, and other than that, they aren't really important. 3. As for the flow of the fic…it keeps giving me writer's block, so I stop and start over and over, and I seem to lose the feel for a scene once I've stopped. I hope the clears things up a bit! I am completely in awe of your fic. It's entirely awesome!
Rainkisser: Well, I updated! I'll definitely need you to help me remember to update…and since there's ten? Eleven chapters? That you haven't reviewed yet…haha.
Sara: Thank you for the e-mail you sent me! It made me really remember about this and that I really should update…so, thanks for that!