Nixiesocean: So sorry! I'm in love with Isle of the Amazons! I simply love the story! So sue me… :sigh:. I'll get on it right away. I want seven (7) reviews before I update again though!

Scoutcraft Piratess: Wow. Cool! I'm glad I enticed you to read more of my story!

Narnialover: Love it, eh?

ladyverde88: I'm updating! Keep those stones away!

HelleBelle: I love flipping cliché's! They're so, well, cliché-ish.

Kitty-Kat: Aww, thanks! I hope Katharine is still okay for you. I love thumbs up. It makes me warm and fuzzy inside!... not….

Finally!

I give you the glorious…

Chapter 15: Eric

I groggily opened my eyes. I saw my room. I tried to review why I was in my room during the daytime. It hurt. I couldn't focus on anything. When I tried, I felt sick. I breathed deeply. I knew what I had. I had knocked my head on something extremely hard. The floor? A pole? The wall? Someone's sword? That's when a blurry figure came over. I recognized a long, silver river coming off a peachy pool with black smudges and a red smudge; someone's face. Cyrun's! I tried to speak. An oval crossed my distorted vision. I felt pressure on my lips and realized it was a finger.

"Hush," Her soothing voice said. "You're a bit sick. It was hard fall you took."

I nodded sleepily and she worked the kinks out of my calves and the soles of my feet. Eventually, I lost my grip of consciousness and fell into a blackness.

I reopened my eyes. It was darker, probably sunset or so. My vision was clearer, but my head still throbbed. I had a major headache. Then I remembered the concussion, I remembered Cyrun. She was there, her hair no longer one river flowing from her scalp; I could now make out vague lines that separated the strands of hair. She smiled.

"You're awake again, that's good." She whispered. "I hadn't thought that garden-stone so hard!" She commented, giggly lightly to herself. "Your rooms are nice. Then again, I'd except the fiancée of the prince to have nice rooms, even for a year."

Fiancée? I thought hard. That hurt, so I stopped. I opened my mouth, attempting to form words. She stopped me. "I demanded to watch over you, those royal physicians can be a royal pain!" She laughed good-heartedly. "Oh, well. I suppose Lance'll want to know your up." She stood gracefully. I smiled. Lance? When she left, another person came in, a man. I recognized him. He was Prince Lance of Furde. My fiancée.

"Hey," He said, coming closer. "Cyrun said you were up. You feeling better?" There was something both of them weren't mentioning. Like, why had I fell in the garden? They were hiding something. But what? I nodded. I could barely move my head without getting nauseous.

He sat, reaching out a hand to clasp mine. "That's good. I might have some builders remove those stones! To be out for two days!" Two days? As in forty-eight hours? He saw my surprised face. "Yes, two days, Katharine." My name. Katharine. Lady Katharine Rothloz. "Do you remember anything?" He was anxious. I shook my head. I then stopped. That too made me ill. "I see." He replied. He patted my hand; he then stood. Lance, my beloved Lance, leaned over and kissed my forehead. I slipped out of consciousness. I fell asleep before he had even left the room.

I awoke and stretched. I sat up far too quickly. The blood rushed to my head, making me dizzy. Sunlight streamed through the open windows. Cyrun smiled from across the room. I yawned. My limbs buzzed with energy. I wanted to jump out of bed a run laps around the palace! Cyrun, such a sweet soul, came over. She cupped her hand over my lips and deemed me well-enough to leave my bed.

I slid out of bed carefully, making sure not so make myself collapse from lack of muscle. I cracked my back, feeling the warm carpet under my toes. I yawned again. "How long was I out?" I asked. I could form words!

"After Lance?" I nodded. "Only the night. That's good, since it's been three days; that was quite a fall! Not even I have been out that long!" I smiled. At least I had broken that record. "I heard talk about garden-stones. How did I get knocked out?"

"You fainted." She replied evasively. My vision was clearing; for that I was grateful. I reviewed what she had said. Fainted? Me? A warrior? Faint?

"Why?" I demanded. "I never faint."

She cleared her throat. I tapped my foot impatiently. She gulped and looked up, avoiding my eyes. "I- I," What was her problem? "Your cousin is the ruler of Isle of the Amazons." I have a cousin? Oh, right. My mother had a twin, that twin must've had a child, making her child my cousin… but why would my cousin rule that Isle?

"And that made me faint?" I asked dubiously. "Why would it?"

She bit her lip. "Uh- well… well… your uncle-"

"Uncle?" I asked. "I don't have an uncle on my mother's side. She had a twin."

"A male twin." Cyrun corrected. A male twin? How? Amazons bore only women. Before I could speak, she continued. "I- It's my child too." She said quietly, almost inaudibly.

I gaped at her, my mouth hanging wide open. "Your child?"

"Er, yes." She said.

"So… what, you're my aunt?" I laughed. Cyrun, my aunt! The mere thought of it!

"Not technically." She said. "If I understand family trees, then I'd only be your aunt my marriage-"

"And you weren't married." I finished. "Great."

"I didn't have a choice!"

"Uh-huh. Who told you to go get in bed with my uncle, the Great Warrior Goddess?"

"Well, yes." She retorted.

"Why would a goddess bother to speak to-" She was glaring at me. I stopped mid-sentence.

"I don't know. I didn't have a choice. I was merely curious!" She said. "And don't go telling me that curiosity killed the cat!"

"I wasn't planning on it." I replied mildly. "Besides, satisfaction brought it back, Cyrun." She sighed.

"Normal patients aren't this feisty the minute they get out of bed!" Oh, right. I was out of bed. My knees suddenly felt weak. I leaned back into a chair.

"Normal patients didn't just get informed their friend bedded their uncle and their cousin is the ruler of a legendary Isle!"

Cyrun rolled her eyes. "If it makes you feel better, we've come up with a plan for saving Lance's sister."

"And it includes me, I can already tell." I said sarcastically. "Am I going on a diplomatic mission to the Isle of the Amazons?"

"Well, yes." Cyrun replied. "Come on, we need to talk to Lance. Get into a summer dress, its warm enough." I rolled but obliged. I picked out a "pretty" dress. It was a light shade of jade. I pulled out a pair of slippers; they matched the dress perfectly.

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I jumped up onto my feet. Katharine came out of her bedroom. She was dressed in a beautiful green dress. It accented her particularly feminine aspects. Ones I tried to keep my eyes from lingering on. She smiled, her eyes betraying an odd mix of anger, frustration and sleepiness. Her midnight hair was brushed and shining. If I looked hard enough, I swore I could see small stars locked in her hair. I extended my hand for her to take. She took it, though I could feel the heavier-than-normal pressure, I said nothing. I lightly place a kiss on her forehead.

We sat on the peach-colored couch. The walls were plastered white with breath-taking views of nature. The light shone through the open windows, striking certain silver products and producing a wonderful spectrum of color on the walls. She leaned into my chest, sighing heavily. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her ever so lightly. Cyrun entered and coughed. It startled my fiancée and I out of our reverie. We both sat up straight. She was blushing. I decided I liked to see Katharine blush. It accented her eyes so well.

Cyrun took a seat on a chair by the bench; one Brennin had long abandoned. "So, Katharine, we'll need you to-" A resounding knock on the door interrupted her talk. We were in the waiting room, so someone knocking wasn't a surprise. I stood and went to go get the door, a gentlemanly thing to do.

I opened the door. There, in the doorway, stood a male image of Katharine. Silver streaks marked his similar hair color. "Is this Lady Katharine Rothloz's room?" He asked with a distinctly foreign accent.

"It is." I replied, suspicious. Who was this? Was this Katharine's uncle? "Who are you?"

"I," He said sadly. "I am Eric of the Isle." He looked over my shoulder. "Who are you?"

"I am the Crown Prince of this country, Furde." I said indignantly. Who wouldn't recognize me? After all, I made enough public appearances! "Katharine is my fiancée."

This Eric fellow wasn't at all surprised. "May I come in?"

Of course, Katharine had to speak. "Lance? Who is it?"

I sighed and opened the door so he could enter. Katharine's reaction was far worse than mine. "You look like me." She said. "Who are you?"

"I am Eric." He repeated. "You, are my niece." Of course, the old long-lost relative! I could've guessed. Cyrun was trying to leave. He approached her. "I recognized you." He said astonished. "You were the one on the Isle!"

"I was." She said nervously.

"Anyways," Katharine interjected. "Why are you here. I've lived eighteen years of my life without a mother or an uncle. Why now? How do I know you're not lying?"

"Why now?" He mused aloud. "Because the only Crei I could find wasn't my sister. How, I told myself, could this girl have my sister's name? I have the answer. My niece. My sister had a daughter, like any Amazon, and it's you. Katharine Crei Rothloz."

"Riight." She replied, unconvinced. "So, your name is similar to the one I use to be a knight. So what? You're probably just some random person trying to get money from the country by claiming to be my long-lost uncle!"

He cocked his head. "I've head that Fr'ain are rude. But you, niece, far surpass anyone else."

"That's good." She said rashly. "Because I don't believe you're my uncle. If you want to prove it, name one way."

"Fine than, Fr'ain. I challenge you to a duel of Arms. Crei's strong suit." A duel? Gods! She just got of bed!

I said. "She won't." Just as Katharine said, "Fine!"

Katharine turned to me. "I will duel him! I'm the best there is in all Furde!" I noticed Eric of the Isle narrow his eyes as she said this.

"No." I emphasized. "You won't! You just got out of bed!" Both of us turned to where Cyrun was supposed to be. She was gone. "Cyrun!" I yelled. No one answered. "Fine." I replied testily. "But if you faint or get hurt, I'll not be blamed for it."

"Deal." She turned to Eric. "Where and when?"

"Now, outside the palace." I heard him mutter something about being hardheaded.

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Cyrun squeezed her eyes shut hard. Something had triggered some very unpleasant memories… like the birth. She shook the memory from her head. When she opened her eyes, she stood in her own room… but how?

Nixiesocean: And, alas, I leave you with a cliffie! How I love them! Review!

Remember: I want seven (7) reviews before I update again!