Disclaimer: Okay. I've said it before, and here it is again. All characters recognizable from Beka Cooper belong to Tamora Pierce, not me. All others are mine, but you can borrow them for your own stories if you want.
AN: Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the great reviews! I would thank you all individually, but I… uh… Okay, okay, I'm lazy! There, happy? Okay. Enjoy the chapter!
Maybe I Will Chapter Seven
Rosto POV:
"What?!"
What? Why do we have to stay? Srimfor's going to be fine! Personally, I would rather get out of here before he wakes up, or recovers, or whatever. It may have been Krimal that orchestrated all this, but Srimfor may have similar views on my new occupation. I'd rather not be around to find out.
Beka was watching me warily, as though she was afraid I was mad at her. I raised an eyebrow, looking for all the world like I couldn't care less.
"Why?" It was a simple question, but Beka looked confused, and glanced at the old man behind her. He looked at me, sighed, then spoke.
"There are several reasons I cannot allow you to leave. One, this young lady," here Beka scowled. She hated being called 'young' or 'lady,' "is the only one who knows what ails him. Secondly-''Here I interrupted.
"She could tell the healers what is wrong with Klyminet. That's no excuse." He glared at me, angry that I had interrupted. He then, for some bizarre reason, began to grin.
"Secondly, Srimfor simply can't wake up to find the little Piper that has so irked him the past few months has escaped." HE gave a small hand gesture, and before I could move, I was blasted by a glowing red bolt and the world went black.
Beka POV:
"Rosto!"
Without thinking, I left the bedside and ran to Rosto. Quickly, I felt for a pulse. Finding one, I turned to the old man, who watched, smiling infuriatingly. I gave him an icy glare, and the grin faded.
"What did you do to him?" He looked at me, as though sizing me up.
"I merely put him to sleep. I can't have him sneaking away before Srimfor awakens. The only reason you are still awake is I need you to heal him." Now I was staring him.
"I'm not a healer. You'll need a new plan." He looked slightly surprised for a moment, before masking it.
"You lie. You will heal him, or the Piper will die, regardless of whether Srimfor is awake or not." I was stuck. If I tried to heal him, they would think I wasn't trying and kill Rosto. If I convince them I had no gift, then they would kill me and Rosto.
I was so deep in my thoughts that at first I didn't notice Pounce as he came into the room. But the old man did. More importantly, he noticed the people behind Pounce. He yelled a word I couldn't make out, and a red wall went up between us and Pounce, Kora, and Erskren. . Kora glanced at Rosto almost imperceptibly. A very faint green glow centered itself around where the blast had hit him. It lingered for a moment, then disappeared.
AN: I was going to have the whole group there, but these people were the only ones who could leave.
He reached for me. I tried to dodge, but he used a spell to hold me there. He pulled me up, then holding a dagger to my throat, addressed them.
"Surrender, or the doxie dies." I could see them all stiffen at the name. I would have killed him, right then and there, but I was still under the spell. As it turns out, I didn't need to. In a blur of movement, Rosto kicked the old man's legs out from under him, knocking him to the floor. He lost his grip on me as well, but before he went down, he slashed the blade once across my throat. Blood spurted everywhere. Vainly, I tried to press my sleeve to my throat, but my arms wouldn't move. My legs would, however. They decided that here and now would be a great place to take a nap. They buckled, and the last thing I heard was someone calling my name…
Rosto POV:
I watched in horror as the old man slashed Beka's throat as he fell. Her eyes widened as blood poured out of the wound. Her arm twitched, as though she had tried to raise it, then she fainted, collapsing onto the floor. Unknowingly, I was yelling her name as I picked her up off the floor while, behind me, Kora quickly disengaged the shield and ran over. She looked at the wound and swore. That was shocking. She rarely swore. Erskren was cutting his tunic into strips already, while Kora ran her hands over Beka's throat, healing it as best as she could. She burned out the infection, but could only halfway heal the cut itself. Erskren handed the strips to her, and she bound the would tightly, but loose enough so Beka could breath. I looked at her with pleading eyes.
"Please, Kora, will she live?" She looked back at me, despair in her eyes. Tears were threatening to spill over the edges.
"I don't know, Rosto. We need to get her to a proper healer now." I nodded, and we all left the room at full kilter, leaving Srimfor and the old man unconscious behind. We arrived at the healer's wing. They stared at us. I put on my Rogue face.
"The mot needs healing. Now." The tone of my voice left no room for argument. I handed Beka to a woman at least twice my age, who set her on the bed and carefully removed the hasty bandaging. She whistled at the sight. Barking orders to the other healers, she began to work. I sank into a nearby chair, where I wouldn't be in the way. Kora and Erskren joined me. A young man walked over to us, looking a bit nervous.
"Excuse me, but…. Um… what happened?" He watched us, mostly me, warily, as though he was afraid we would attach him for speaking. Though, he probably thinks we will. Scanra is like that. Kora looked at me. I sighed. I was going to have to explain it.
"Srimfor has been ill for a month and a half. An imposter, a mage by the name of Krimal, has been posing as him for at least two weeks. I don't know if it was longer. Krimal organized Beka's, the girl in the bed over there, kidnapping from Corus. The intent was to get me here. He tried to kill me, Beka killed him, and I killed the rushers that were loyal to him. Then an old man that had been in Srimfor's sickroom knocked me out and slashed Beka's throat. He's unconscious on the floor of Srimfor's bedroom." The young man looked at me in shock for a moment, then nodded and went to speak to a rusher in the corner, who left, presumably to take care of the mess we had left in Srimfor's quarters. Another healer came over a minute later.
"Rosto the Piper? Kora? I never thought I'd see you again." I looked at her, then muttered quietly, "That's a friend of ours over there. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here." She nodded. Then, glancing at Beka's bed, which was completely surrounded by healers still, then back to us.
"You got her here just in time. We managed to completely heal the cut before she lost too much blood. Mots lucky. The knife just missed her windpipe." As she spoke, the healers slowly dissipated, leaving Beka alone. I stood and walked over to the bed. Behind me, Kora and Erskren thanked the healer for her services. She, in turn, offered to find us rooms. They agreed, and she left. I sat next to Beka's bed. I leaned in close.
"Please get well soon Beka. Please."