Heyo! Yup, it's a note from the author. I've seen that this story has had 26 views, so I wanted to say thank you. Please leave a review!
-Winter
People rushed by holding swords and torches. Some were wearing armor, but some weren't. There was so much chaos Thalia could barely hear her own thoughts.
She clutched her mother's arm. "What's happening?"
"The gnawers are attacking! We are going to fight them!"
Thalia stared at her mother in horror. "But you could die!"
"So can everyone else!" Her mother shouted, pulling away and running out the door.
"But I just met you..." Thalia whispered, knowing her mother wouldn't hear her.
Hazard stayed with Thalia even when everyone else left.
"Why don't you go fight with everyone else?" Thalia asked curiously.
"I do not fight. It was my late father's wish for me to never be a warrior."
"Oh. But what do you do when a battle occurs?"
Hazard began to speak but was cut off by a wounded and bleeding Underlander bursting into the room.
"Valomar! What happened?"
"Gnawers...too many to fight off...invading the palace..."
With that, the man fell down, dead.
Hazard did not let grief consume him, instead he raced over to Thalia. "This may hurt," he warned. Thalia just stared up at him with wide eyes. Hazard picked Thalia up and ran out the door. It did hurt, being jostled around, but she didn't complain. She just wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. They rounded a corner and saw three rats charging straight for them. Hazard whistled and called out, "Fiona!"
Just as the rats reached them, Hazard jumped up about 3 feet. Suddenly, they were riding on a brown and white spotted bat.
"Was that fast enough Hazard?" The bat purred.
"Oh, thank you so much Fiona." Hazard settled Thalia down in front of him.
"And who is this?" Fiona asked.
"Thalia the Half-Lander."
"Welcome to Regalia Thalia. I do understand that the circumstances are...complicated, but don't hold it against us.
"Now, Hazard said that you were a Half-Lander. Which one of your parents are the Overlander, and which one is the Underlander?"
"Well, my dad is the Overlander, and my mom is the Underlander. According to Howard, my dad is "the warrior." I already met my mom. She's the queen."
"I suspected that," Fiona sighed. "That isn't going to work out well with the gnawers."
"So I've heard." Thalia mumbled.
They flew over the fighting. Thalia scanned the battlefield for her mom but she couldn't find her. "Where are you?" She whispered.
"Fiona! Go down!" Hazard suddenly shouted. He wrapped his arms around Thalia to keep her from falling as they dived down. As they got closer to the ground, Thalia could see why they dove. A young mother was surrounded by rats, and she was trying to keep her two children safe. Fiona grabbed the mother and the older child in her claws, while Hazard reached down and grabbed the younger child with his free arm. Fiona quickly flew back up before the rats could catch them. They flew off to a stable, high ledge where the rats wouldn't be able to get to.
"Thank you!" The mother yelled as they flew off again.
"This is what I do when a battle occurs," Hazard whispered into Thalia's ear.
