Chapter 22, Insanity

"Oh God Az! No!!," screamed DG.

DG took a deep breath and held out her arms again. Nothing happened. "NOOOOOO!"

"Az!" she screamed as she ran towards her. Azkadellia fell in to the broken window and it shattered under her weight.

She started to fall backwards towards the courtyard.

DG reached the window and gaped in horror. She reached out and screamed again, "AZ!!" She heard footsteps behind her. Her mother and father were calling out to her and Azkadellia. Men were shouting for help for their fallen comrades.

Then it happened.

An eerily green light engulfed Azkadellia. It started out pale and then brightened in intensity as she fell closer to the ground. It became so bright that DG had to shield her eyes.

The voice in Azkadellia's mind whispered, "I will protect you my Queen."

Then it was over.

There were no sickening sounds of death. There was only the faint tinkling of the shattered glass on to the courtyard.

DG sensed that the light was gone and brought her hands down from her face, afraid of what she might see.

Azkadellia was on her back with her arms crossed over her chest. She looked peaceful, like she had just fallen asleep in her bed, not five stories.

The guards who were on the ground pointed their rifles at her. There was no running, no crying out for help for the fallen princess. They were afraid. They had heard the stories that their comrades were slain by her; both in the past and now in the present. They formed a large circle around her.

The Queen and Lord Ahamo reached the window and pushed DG out of the way. The Queen yelled out Azkadellia's name out of both terror and fear of what she might find. They were as shocked as DG to find her peacefully lying on her back. DG said, "A light appeared around her and she just kind of floated to the ground. I couldn't watch all of it because the magic was too bright."

"Thank the gods that they have found favor with her," the Queen softly spoke aloud. She and Ahamo then turned and went to run from the room but stopped abruptly.

It was at that moment that they both shockingly realized what Azkadellia had done to the two guards that had entered her room.

The blood began to seep through the Queen's slippers and a look of revulsion crossed her face. She looked down and gingerly stepped to one side of where the slain guards were laying.

The other guards that had accompanied her and Ahamo were kneeling beside their brethren. They had taken sheets from Azkadellia's bed to cover the bodies but it did not take long for them to become drenched with blood.

The leader of the group was Captain Bower. The Queen now recognized him. He often escorted her daughters when they traveled in the city and he was with Azkadellia and DG yesterday.

He rose to his feet but did not salute her. He stated very coldly "Your highness, these men are dead."

The Queen answered him as she started to pick her way across the glass in order to get to the door, "Yes Captain Bower they are. Please take them down to the infirmary." She distractedly said it; her thoughts were focused on Azkadellia.

Captain Bower glared at both her and Ahamo. "They are dead. Taking them to the infirmary is not going to help them now."

The Queen stopped in the doorway. She turned and glowered at him. "You know as well as I do that the palace does not have a morgue. Take them to the infirmary until their next of kin are notified. Right now we need to get to my daughter." She did not wait to hear his response and Ahamo followed her out the door.

DG took one last look at Azkadellia. She was relieved to see that her sister was not dead but it unexpectedly struck her, why was your magic green?

She dashed across the room and took a glancing look at Captain Bower. As she left she saw that his face was contorted in anger.

It seemed like forever but they finally reached the courtyard on to which Azkadellia had landed. She was still lying there motionless while the guards continued to surround her. They did not walk any closer to her nor did they drop their rifles. They were anxiously waiting to see if she moved.

As the three of them approached and ran through the circle of guards, the Queen ordered to the nearest soldier, "Get Dr. Addison, NOW!"

The Queen and DG dropped to their knees beside her. DG cradled Azkadellia's head and pleaded, "Please Az, wake up… wake up." Ahamo stood silently behind his wife.

Azkadellia's eyes fluttered open. She saw her parents and her sister looking down at her. She saw the moon and the stars. How did I get outside? It puzzled her. She quietly and innocently asked, "Where am I? What am I doing here?"

The Queen started to cry and Lord Ahamo put his hand on his wife's shoulder. She brushed him off and then pushed DG away. She pulled Azkadellia in close to her and cried harder. Azkadellia grew alarmed, "What did I do Mother?"

Then Azkadellia felt the sharp pain from walking on the shards of glass bare foot. Most of the cuts were deep and were bleeding profusely. She cried out from the sudden awareness of it.

Then her torment began.

She grabbed a hold of her mother's dress with her fists. "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" she screamed. "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" she demanded of her mother. A vision of breaking glass and blood crossed her besieged mind. She shook her mother violently and the unexpected action caused her to fall over backwards into Ahamo's legs; causing him to stumble backwards as well. Azkadellia lunged at her mother, tugging and ripping at her dress while all the time screaming "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"

DG grabbed Azkadellia from behind and tried to pull her off of their mother. She cried out, "AZ! Stop it! STOP IT!"

Azkadellia threw her off and the same pale green light erupted from her outstretched hand. Before DG could react, it hit her squarely in the chest and knocked her backwards. Her head hit the walkway with a sickening thud.

The highest ranking soldier of the guards that had surrounded Azkadellia cried out, "MEN, STAND YOUR GROUND!!... GET READY TO FIRE ON MY COMMAND!!" Princess or no princess, he was not going to allow any more bloodshed tonight. He did not know what happened in her chamber but instinctively knew that it was not good, it involved Azkadellia, and that someone probably died… again.

Ahamo rose to his feet and tackled his daughter from behind. They fell to the ground and Azkadellia screamed from the pain of hitting the flagstone. He held her down in a bear hug as she continued to struggle. She cried out in frustration.

The Queen regained her senses and jumped to her feet. Her dress was torn and her hair was disheveled. "YOUR MEN WILL NOT FIRE UPON MY DAUGHTER!" she screamed so loudly that her voice cracked. She glanced over at DG lying motionless on the ground and the tears started to flow again. But then she heard Azkadellia howl out in anger and frustration once more. She was kicking and screaming at her father. Ahamo still tightly embraced her and they rolled back and forth on the ground. His hair which had been neatly tied back came undone and he was breathing hard from the effort of trying to control his daughter. Beads of sweat formed on his brow. The Queen grabbed a hold of Azkadellia's legs and prayed for Dr. Addison to hurry.

Dr. Addison and the guard that had gone to fetch him came running. He carried a small black bag that resembled an old-fashioned doctor's bag.

By now DG was beginning to rouse up. Her eyes quivered open but she was groggy and confused.

Dr. Addison dropped to his knees next to Azkadellia. "Hold her still!" he commanded to Ahamo and the Queen. Azkadellia was still crying out but had started to grow tired from her efforts.

He opened his bag and pulled out a large syringe and a brown bottle of liquid. He filled the syringe with the contents of the bottle. He then leaned over and thrust the syringe into Azkadellia's thigh. She screamed something incoherent and a green light formed in her fists.

Ahamo asked through clenched teeth, "What are you giving her?"

Dr. Addison looked back at him and calmly replied, "A sedative. It should take effect shortly."

The Queen took a sideways glance at Dr. Addison. She still had a hold of Azkadellia's legs. "Xavier, please, please see to DG. She hit her head on the ground and still has not woken up."

But by then DG had pushed herself up in to a sitting position. Through the throbbing pain in the back of her head she heard her mother say something. She looked up and as her vision came in to focus found Dr. Addison walking towards her. She raised her hand to the back of her head and gingerly touched it; it felt wet and sticky.

Dr. Addison knelt down beside her. He looked at the back of her head and said in a soothing voice, "You have taken a nasty fall my child." He reached in to his black bag beside him. He had pulled out another syringe and was filling it with the contents of a different bottle.

"No!" yelled DG as she scooted a little bit away from him. Her head continued to throb but that was a good thing, right? She thought to herself. Then she told Dr. Addison, "I'll be alright."

Dr. Addison's green eyes flashed in the moonlight. To her alarm DG realized that they were the same shade of green that Azkadellia's magic had become. He moved towards her and held out his hand, "Please Princess Dorothy, let me help you." His other hand held the syringe.

DG staggered to her feet. She spotted her mother and father. They were no longer struggling to hold Azkadellia down. The sedative had taken effect and Azkadellia was limp. Ahamo was cradling her in his arms and her mother was stroking her hair; whispering something that she could not hear.

"I said that I would be all right!" Even though she had tried to sound authoritative, her voice sounded tired and weak. By now her whole body started to ache and she gritted her teeth to hold it in.

Dr. Addison continued to walk toward her. He beseeched her one last time, "Please Princess Dorothy. You have suffered a head wound and are confused. Let me help you." His green eyes flashed again in the moon light and he moved so that he was blocking her way. He took a hold of her arm; gently at first and then more firmly. His grip started to hurt. With a sneer he insisted, "You need to take a long rest Princess Dorothy."

"Leave me alone!" With what strength she had left she violently shook her arm free of his grasp. She saw him raise his other hand. It was the hand that had the syringe. He raised it up and was ready to bring it down, ready to jab her anywhere he could. The Queen yelled out, "DG! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" He lunged at her.

DG raised and crossed her arms to block Dr. Addison's downward thrust of his arm. She used her left hand to grab his wrist and her other hand to grab further up his arm. Her stance was solid and she used her right leg to trip him as her arms guided his weight away from her. He fell crashing to the flagstone. He cried out, "Ow!" which was quickly followed up with an "Oh no! No! No! No!" It was a fleeting instant of poetic justice. He rolled over on to his back and pulled the syringe from his stomach. He glared at DG and then his eye lids started to flutter and then finally close. "Serves you right," DG said to him as she half-stepped and half-stumbled over him.

She walked unsteadily over to her parents and to Azkadellia.

The Queen rose to her feet. "What have you done?" she asked harshly. "Dr. Addison was trying to help you." She grabbed DG's shoulders and roughly turned her around. She looked at the back of DG's head which was now caked with blood. "You are going to need stitches."

DG shook herself from her mother's grasp. "I'm fine. What about Az?"

"She's sedated," replied her mother curtly. "And no, you are not fine. Sit down until we can get another doctor to look at you."

Ahamo gently laid Azkadellia on the ground. He stood up and realized that the guards were still pointing their rifles at them. "STAND DOWN!" he bellowed as loudly as he could.

The soldier that had commanded the other guards to stand their ground approached Ahamo. The other guards dropped their rifles only slightly.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" demanded Ahamo.

"That is Lieutenant Callahan!" replied Captain Bower as he approached Ahamo from behind. He saw Azkadellia's limp body. "Is she dead?"

"NO! She's not dead! Dr. Addison sedated her," answered Ahamo.

Both the lieutenant and Captain Bower turned and saw Dr. Addison lying on the ground. Captain Bower asked, "And what has happened to Dr. Addison?" The Queen spoke up, "He has accidentally sedated himself."

She walked over and stood in front of the captain. Her eyebrows furled together and in her most authoritative voice told him, "You will have these men stand down immediately or the whole lot of you will be taken to the stockade on grounds of mutiny."

Captain Bower stared at her. Finally he relented, "STAND DOWN!" Upon his command the guards dropped the ends of their rifles to the ground. "Your highness, this does not change the fact that the princess has murdered two more guards."

The Queen let loose her fury, "Neither you, nor myself knows what happened in her chamber! And until the incident is investigated you will not spread lies or rumors that imply that Azkadellia deliberately killed those men! Is that understood?"

He refused to immediately answer. When he finally did, all he said was, "Of course your highness."

Ahamo then ordered him and the lieutenant, "Bring three stretchers to take my daughters and Dr. Addison to the infirmary."

Captain Bower was short in his reply, "Yes sir." He then started barking orders to the rest of the guards.

Throughout the display, DG had said nothing. She was distracted by her own thoughts. As she held her head, she continued to think of Azkadellia and her green magic. She had not realized what color it had changed to until tonight. And then there was Dr. Addison. He could say "please" and "my child" all he wanted but he was ready to forcefully stick her with that freaking needle. And those green eyes. She briefly wondered if she had lost her mind due to her head wound. But then she remembered the evening's dinner conversation. Both Cain and Jill had found fault with some of Dr. Addison's answers. Those green eyes flashed the same color of Az's magic.

Somehow she had to find Cain again and talk to him.