OK, I decided to give every character a name :D (you get a name, you get a name, everybody gets a name!). And things will hopefully pick up after this chapter.
"No," Glinda said. "You're lying. I can tell. You know that woman. I saw her come out of this house. Don't deny it."
A momentary look of panic crossed his face, but then returned to its previous state- a mix of angry and annoyed.
The woman had raised her head slightly. "Burnum?" she called. "Burnum, please don't hurt her!"
Glinda raised her eyebrows. "So you do know her. Just as I thought. How exactly do you know her? And don't bother lying. I can tell if you're lying."
Burnum sighed. "Her name is Cardinia. She's... my wife."
Shaila gasped. "Your wife? And the child is..."
"Our daughter."
"And why is she in this condition?" Glinda asked.
Burnum looked around frantically. What could he say? Certainly he couldn't tell this... intruder... about Cardinia's... condition wouldn't be the right word, would it?
But Shaila had pieced things together, the clever person she was. Now she just needed to tell Glinda somehow.
Glinda had an idea of what happened as well. But not the full picture. Not enough.
Cardinia gasped for air for a moment. Shaila helped her move into a sitting position, then gasped in horror.
There was a long, narrow gash in Cardinia's back. Now Shaila was positive that she was correct in her accusation. "Excuse me," she called. "But your wife is suffering from blood loss. How did this come to be? And why is she scared of you, may I ask? Are you purposely hurting her? Because great job, you did. And I think you're going to prison because of this. If Lady Glinda agrees, that is."
Glinda met Shaila's gaze and nodded. Shaila was so smart. Glinda wondered how she managed to become friends with so many smart people. But she'd have time to dwell on that later. She called for guards, and they were there almost instantly. They took Burnum away. He was still protesting, saying that they had a vicious cat.
Shaila rolled her eyes. "How did you figure that you so quickly?" Glinda asked.
Shaila just shrugged. "It just sort of came to me. Cardinia, do you need help getting up?"
The mother nodded. Shaila took her hand and pulled her up. Cardinia staggered for a moment, but Glinda caught her before she fell. Shaila and Glinda lead her to the palace.
But Cardinia seemed to be having more difficulty walking. At Shaila's suggestion, the three sat on a bench so she could catch her breath. Cardinia still held her daughter protectively. "What's your daughter's name?" Glinda asked.
"She..." Cardinia's voice was barely above a whisper. "She does not have a name. Burnum didn't want her to have a name."
"But now that Burnum is out of your hair, will you name her?"
Cardinia shrugged. "I hope to."
She hopes to? What does that mean? There might be a little girl growing up without a name? Glinda thought incredulously.
Cardinia suddenly let out a gasp and slumped against the bench. Her daughter stirred and began to cry. At the sound of the wails, Cardenia's eyes flew open. Her daughter was her first priority.
Eventually they did make it to the palace, but they had made a mistake, one that cost them a life. Looking back on it, Shaila had considered what their options were, from when Burnum had left and on. She had pondered this many a night and had come to the conclusion that they should have assessed it the moment they were safe.
But what was it that they forgot?
What was it? *evil grin* So I actually didn't name the little girl :/ But this will make sense in the next chapter! I promise to update soon!
*super evil grin* And who dies? You know it's not Shaila. So that leaves Glinda, Cardinia, and the girl.
Also, do you like my name choice? Burnum means "fierce warrior" and Cardenia means "the dawn".
I come with a bargain today because I'm feeling generous:
Whoever reviews gets a preview of the next chapter! Everyone gets the same one, of course. Though it would be kind of cool to distribute my chapter... I'll look into it. But now everyone gets the same preview :D