She lay on her bedroom floor. Tears still falling and staining her face and the tiles under her. The aftermath of DG's fury lay about in forms of broken vases, glass and wood. Now that fury slowly died, fading to agony. In a matter of a day, DG had nearly lost her life and survived to lose her friends.
Though her cries had silenced long ago, her tears refused to stop and now she was shaking with exhaustion. Her eyes couldn't focus on anything and kept wandering from one thing to another. She did hear as someone came into her room and gasp. DG listened as whoever brushed debris aside before feeling a hand on her neck, "DG?"
Glitch… DG didn't stir or acknowledge him; she just wanted to be left alone. At least until she could sort all this out, figure her heart out. He called out to her again, but she stood this time and kept her back to him.
"Please Glitch, just leave." DG said, her voice barely a whisper, "I don't know, but I just want to be alone."
"You know I can't do that." Glitch stated, standing closer, "Let's go to Az's room…"
"NO!" DG screamed, turning to him, "Just leave me alone!" She tried to push the man out of her room. No avail as Glitch easily stood against the exhausted Princess. He just let her shove and pound against him, staring at his friend.
"We knew this would happen, that there would be resistance." Glitch said once DG stopped her rampage against his body, "You know both Jeb and Wyatt, so you know how strong they are."
DG finally looked up into Glitch's eyes, "I know, but the others… even if… God Glitch this isn't what I wanted."
"What do you mean?" He asked, "Tell me after we get to Az's room. I'm not letting you stay here until we get this cleaned up."
DG numbly followed Glitch out of her room, both careful not to step on anything broken or sharp. He held on to her hand and he lead the way down the hall to Azkadellia's room.
The knock on the door woke Az up from her small nap, "Come in?" She called, sitting up in her bed.
Glitch opened the door and slowly pushed it open, meeting Azkadellia's eyes in the process. He watched as the elder sister went from sitting in her bed to at her sister's side within seconds. Complete shock was evident and Az looked to Glitch for answers.
"She's taking the ambush hard. I would suggest not having any art pieces in her room. For a long time…" Glitch said, maneuvering DG into her sister's room, "I'll show you later."
"Okay…" Azkadellia just shook her head before taking DG from Glitch, "Go lay in my bed, little one."
"I'd rather have the couch." DG answered, pulling herself free. She collapsed on Azkadellia's nice silk couch, but didn't close her eyes.
Azkadellia looked back to Glitch again, terror and confusion swirling in her eyes, "What is going on?"
Glitch looked from DG to Azkadellia a few times before sighing, "Come on." Glitch nodded towards the door, "Come and see this."
Azkadellia nodded and followed Glitch from her room, but stopped after closing her doors, "Guards? Axel, Zahne?" Azkadellia called. Two men came from an adjoining hall and bowed to the elder Princess, "Stay at this door and let no one, but myself enter first. No need to be at full attention."
The guards bowed again and took their positions next to the door, leaning against the wall as Glitch and Azkadellia walked down to DG's room. Glitch gave her the 'I warned you glance' before opening the door and hearing her take in a sharp gasp.
"She did all this? Destroyed all this because she feels at blame?" Az asked, careful not to tread to far, "Let's get this cleaned up and soon." She stated, leaving the room quickly.
Glitch nodded and left to find some help as Azkadellia went back to her room. The two guards were still there, but were looking at the door, chilling Azkadellia to the bone.
"What is going on, now?" She whispered to one of the guards, "It is DG?"
"We can hear her crying, but we just didn't want to barge in so we're keeping quiet… in case…" Axel whispered back.
Azkadellia nodded and slowly entered her room, "Thank you and just keep an eye and ear out incase." Azkadellia nodded, dismissing them.
Azkadellia watched the men leave and shut the door when they were out of site. She turned to the couch, her heart shattering at the sight of her younger sister. DG was tossing in her sleep, plagued by nightmares as tears streamed down her face. Azkadellia could hear DG cry out for friends, mainly Wyatt and Jeb.
All of them: Glitch with his brain back, Raw now a more confident Viewer, Azkadellia and DG closer sister, and Cain and Jeb reconnecting; were the best of friends to one another. DG had made sure of that, always planning outings or some event. Azkadellia had to smile at the memories, realizing that the friends may never be the same.
She made her way over to the couch, trying to stay quiet. She lifted her head so that the younger sister has her head resting on the lap of the elder one. Azkadellia gently held onto DG's hand while she stroked DG's hair with the other. DG seemed to visible relax, but Az knew better. Settling herself, Azkadellia drifted off to an uneasy sleep herself.
Azkadellia woke hours later, feeling a cold breeze blanket her body. Blinking away the sleep that still clung to her eyes, Az looked out the bay window. The window was opened, causing the blinds to dance in the moonlight. Figuring that it couldn't be much past midnight, she wondered why she had woken up.
Wait… the window… Az realized two things, one: the window, all the windows had been closed and locked and two, DG wasn't on the couch. She glanced at her bed and seeing it untouched, immediately raced to the open window.
She couldn't, she wouldn't… Azkadellia peered out the window, fear lacing her being, she did. DG ran…
Azkadellia could see down the side of the castle, where DG must of climbed down. She even saw where her sister landed, seeing the crushed grass and flowerbed below, "Please let DG be okay." Azkadellia prayed as she leaned back into her room and closed the window. Turning, she saw a piece of paper coming to rest near the couch.
The fear was slowly being replaced with desolation each step she took. Az knew what the paper held, DG's apology and reason why she left. Though that would never lessen the pain, why couldn't her sister stay? Why, when DG spent so much time trying to bring them all together, would she run at the first sign of a crack?
Picking up the paper, Azkadellia folded it back the way DG had it. No, she wouldn't read it until they all could. Raw, Glitch, Jeb, Wyatt and herself, not before. Azkadellia wouldn't keep a secret from them.
"Princess Azkadellia? What are you doing up?" A voice came from the door, causing the elder princess to jump.
"Jeb Cain, I should be asking you the same thing." Azkadellia turned to him, a hand over her heart.
"Glitch is in DG's room sleeping with a pile of broken pieces on the floor. With DG not in her room, I'd figured she was here." Jeb said, walking into the room, "But she's not." He noted, looking around.
Azkadellia didn't answer, refusing to look at the young Cain. She could hear him began to take shaky breaths before rushing passed her, reopening the window, "DG!"
Out in the woods, DG was making her way from the palace. Though she wasn't making that much progress with a bad ankle. She had to drop the last eight or so feet to the ground, scraping her leg and twisting her ankle on the landing.
DG was racing as fast as her legs would from the aftermath of the ambush. No one had been able to come out and 'clean up the mess'. Bodies littered the ground as blood stained the dirt, giving the air a sickening coppery smell. One bad enough that she almost lost what dinner she had earlier, but managed.
"DG!"
It was Jeb calling for her, making her stop in her tracks. Jeb was not only awake, but in Az's room. Now she had to hurry, knowing Jeb wouldn't take much past morning to come and look for her.
Nothing would be the same, not for her in any case. Too many of her friends were dying for her. Including her best friend, Wyatt Cain. DG remembered the reports just after lunch earlier that day. Tears slipping down her cheeks at the memory.
"I'm sorry to bring this terrible news, but Ahamo's group was ambushed. Whoever shot DG was not alone and they were in the process of cutting down the Hedge Maze. As the group neared the maze, the Longcoat opposition destroyed the last of the hedges and the two engaged in a shootout. Though, with reinforcements, we managed to kill the enemy, but not without taking heavy losses.
Nearly everyone as been either grazed or shot, but those that were on the frontline took the worse. Suffering the heaviest barrages; Ahamo, Marcus Temple, Jeb and Wyatt Cain, but Marcus was the only one to be killed instantly. The Longcoats and our forces took cover…"
That was when DG started to blank out, hearing only bits and pieces until the guard finished.
"…and unfortunately, even though we were winning, our men started to fall from loss of blood. One of them was Wyatt Cain. His son, Jeb left t to bring him back to palace. Ahamo luckily wasn't as bad, only being shot in the arm once and was able to keep orders going. I have no further knowledge of the Cains or others that were wounded…"
Soon, another guard came in with news of the wounded. DG looked around for a place to bolt, but her sister held her hand. The two exchanged a mournful look before the Queen allowed the man to speak.
"My Queen, out of the twenty men, seven died on the field and five more have died due to their wounds. Ahamo has already been discharged and is making his rounds to check the others. Jeb Cain is recovering slowly, but is still considered critical. Wyatt Cain is the worst of the survivors now and the Healers are not sure he will make it through the night. We are…"
DG fell to the ground, crying out at the memories. Her heart and soul were official torn. Though she had resolved to do this already, something seemed clearer now. As if something snapped in and out of place, changing her forever.
If the Longcoats want a fight, I will give them one for the ages… DG swore, getting back up, ignoring the pain in her leg as she left her Princess past for good.