Maybe I Will Chapter 8
Disclaimer: I own nothing! The unrecognizable characters belong to my sugar-rushed mind, and the rest are owned by the almighty goddess Tammy. May she forever write our favorite books. Or, may she write until I'm old enough to write my own books, and then you may all worship me! Ha ha ha! (See? Major sugar-rush!)
AN: Hello to all readers! Thanks for reading! Special thanks (very special, as I never personally thank reviewers) to dares to dream, xxTunstall Chickxx, Mrs. Dom Masbolle, oirishgoddess, Lady Knight Jocelyn, bloodsucker13, CourtneyFirehand, and all others! Sorry if I missed you, my internet connection is on the blitz, and I couldn't see all the reviews.
BTW, Courtney, love the reviews. Is there a quick copy/paste tactic, or did you actually write all that out?
One more thing, in case I forgot to write this earlier. Only Kora and Erskren are there with Beka and Rosto. Aniki's running the Rogue for Rosto, and the Dogs are doing their job. Erskren actually should be working also, but I wanted him there with Kora.
Kora POV:
Me'n Erskren followed Rosto to Srimfor's place, despite his insistence that he go alone. I mean, really, did he think we'd let him save Beka (and deal with Srimfor) himself?
We slipped through the gates behind all the confusion Rosto caused. Erskren glanced at me, silently asking for directions. I nodded towards an empty hallway, going away from Rosto and toward where the spelled dungeons were located. Being a mage here gives me certain benefits of knowledge in that area. We set off.
About an hour later, Erskren turned to me.
"You sure she'd be here? We searched every room here, and the closest we got was a couple of bloody ropes!" I almost responded, but a mew stopped me short. I glanced down.
"Pounce!" Maybe I'm insane, but when he mewed again, it sounded like speech.
Silly mage. Yes, Pounce. Follow me! Beka's in danger! He turned and ran down a corridor that leads to Srimfor's rooms. Without a second thought, we followed. When we arrived at his rooms, they were littered with bodies. They included the Rogues Rosto suspected of the kidnapping. There was an open door behind them. Inside, Beka's voice could be heard.
"I'm not a healer. You'll need a new plan." Another voice answered, one I didn't recognize.
"You lie. You will heal him, or the Piper will die, regardless of whether Srimfor is awake or not."
We walked in, to see Beka kneeling over Rosto's prone form, with some old man standing near the far wall. He saw us as Pounce walked in. Crying a word in old Thak, a red mage wall bloomed between us and them. I glanced at Rosto, pushing some power into him, to counteract whatever kept him down. The old man grabbed Beka, holding her immobile with a spell. He held a knife to her neck.
"Surrender, or the doxie dies." I stiffened at the name. How dare he call her that! Erskren did likewise. Then, in a flash to fast to watch, Rosto kicked the old man's legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground, unconscious. Before he fell, however, the scum slashed Beka's throat.
Her eyes widened as blood spurted everywhere. The mage wall fell as we ran into the room. Her arm twitched, then she collapsed onto the floor. Rosto was yelling her name as he scooped her up off the floor. I glanced at the wound and swore loudly, which is very odd for me. Erskren was cutting his tunic into strips already, while I ran my hands over Beka's throat, healing it as best as I could. I burned out the infection, but could only halfway heal the cut itself. Erskren handed the strips to me, and I bound the would tightly, but loose enough so Beka could breath. Rosto looked at me, painful hope burning in his eyes.
"Please, Kora, will she live?" I looked back at him despairingly. Tears were threatening to spill over the edges of my eyes as I answered.
"I don't know, Rosto. We need to get her to a proper healer now." He 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. Rosto gave them a cold glare, like at the court, completely emotionless.
"The mot needs healing. Now." The tone of his voice gave me chills, and left no room for argument on their part. He handed Beka to an old woman, 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. Rosto sank into a nearby chair, where he wouldn't be in the way of the healers as they saved, or perhaps ended, our friend's life. Me and Erskren joined him. A young man walked over to us, looking a bit scared. I don't blame him.
"Excuse me, but…. Um… what happened?" He watched us, mostly Rosto, warily, reminding me how violently misbehavior is treated. I glanced at Rosto, silently telling him that he had to tell the tale. We weren't there. He sighed.
"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 him in shock, as did I. When did this happen? I was left no time to ponder, however, as another healer came over.
"Rosto the Piper? Kora? I never thought I'd see you again." Rosto looked at her, then muttered quietly, "That's a friend of ours over there. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here." She nodded. She glanced 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. Rosto stood and walked over to the bed. The healer looked at Erskren and me.
"If you like, I can get you three some rooms. You look like you'll be here awhile. That wound'll heal, but it'll be a bit of a wait." She watched me mostly, not knowing Erskren. I smiled, if a little sadly.
"Yes, that would be lovely. Thank you." She nodded, then left, presumably to get the rooms organized. Rosto sat next to Beka's bed, and leaned in close. His lips moved, but I heard nothing. Erskren and I stayed where we were, in silence. After some time had passed, the same healer came back.
"I'll show you to your rooms now." I nodded, and walked over to Rosto.
"Rosto, come on. They've rooms for us. We'll get some sleep, hear the entire story outta you." He barely looked at me.
"I'm staying here. You go." There was no room for argument in his tone. Nodding, I left the room with the helpful healer and Erskren. When we got to the rooms, we practically fell into the bed. I sighed as sleep blanketed me, having one last coherent thought.
Rosto really is in love with Beka. When she wakes up, will he tell her?