Here we are again guys. I'm really happy to see even more people reading my story. This chapter was an interesting write and I hope you all enjoy.
Chapter 23
It was strangely quiet as he lay there, staring into the darkness. His head was full of thoughts as it so often had been in the last few days. Things were on the upswing, getting better for him. Fewer odd looks from people. Fewer people who avoided him. But there were still those that dreaded him and doubted his innocence. Those that would tie him up and give him a toss over the edge of cliff if they had their way. "They are few and far between," Gregor thought as he breathed out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in.
Luxa rolled over next to him and he wondered what she was dreaming of. She had been under more and more stress over the last few days, Gregor knew. More and more reports were flooding in on the stingers and the news was not always good. He didn't know the specifics, but Luxa had confided in him for assistance. He knew the stingers were going to the spinners and the crawlers trying to rally them to their cause. You know insects stay with insects and all that.
There was words that some gnawers wanted to side with them and that the spinners might as well. The crawlers had sided with the humans though. That much Gregor knew was certain. He hadn't seen a single crawler since his return, but he was certain that would change soon. A group of delegates from the crawlers was on their way to assist the humans anyway they could and to his joy Temp was coming with them. That was a friendly face for his sister to see as well.
But all this was wearing down Luxa. Late nights reviewing the information in her head and with him. Long periods in conversation with her generals and her advisors. She was beat. He could see it in her eyes and in her voice when she talked to him. His eyes fell on her as she turned over in bed again. Her eyes were shut, but her arm crossed over his chest and her head snuggled against his shoulder.
It had been almost a week since his trial and Luxa had fully forgiven and forgotten the trial by now. She needed him more than either of them realized. He was her number one confidant. When she had no one else to turn to she would turn to him and he was always there. He was there to give her all the help she needed, a different opinion, a different perspective. And he was happy to do it. But he to keep it on the down low.
Every night since he and Luxa had made up with each other, he had spent in her chambers with her. He was fine with it and she was fine with it. Heck even Hazard didn't mind when he would come in. But they were only a few and there were many that would want to hurt him if they found out he was sleeping in the same bed as their queen. Perhaps even some of his friends.
He had brought it up to Luxa a few nights past. "Luxa, are you sure I'm supposed to be here?" he asked as he held her in bed. She had pushed off his chest and looked him in the eyes.
"Why would you not? Do you not want to be here?"
"Of course I want to be here. I love you, but I also know there are those that don't want me here." Gregor replied as his hand rubbed her back.
"It does not matter what others want. You are here and that is how it is. If they have issue they can speak to me." Gregor had known she meant it, but he wasn't sure they would go speak to her. He more expected a good telling off or even worse a fanatical trying to kill him. He didn't fear for his life, but the life of the person who would try to kill him. And the chance of the council making some ridiculous ruling against him. That is what he feared the most. The council was weak, he knew now. And it had been for six years. But that weakness also lead to unbelievable acts they could pull. He had almost been one of them.
Luxa stirred again next to him. His arm wrapped around her shoulder and he held her there next to him, hoping the contact would help her. Her eyes flickered open and Gregor let out a slow sigh. He had hoped she would sleep through the whole night. She needed it more than anyone. Her head moved slowly as she took in her situation in the limited light. "Gregor," she mumbled as she fought the sleepiness. "Why do wake?"
"I'm just thinking," said Gregor so quietly it barely qualified as a whisper. "Go back to sleep. You need it." His hand rubbed her shoulder and she put her head on his chest and was quickly back asleep, her light breathing the only sound Gregor heard. It was soothing to his nerve and he felt his heavy eyes start to droop and finally he fell into sleep.
When his eyes fluttered open, he was disoriented for a second, forgetting where he was. His head spun for a second and then he remembered. His hand fell onto the bed where he figured Luxa was supposed to be sleeping. But she was gone. His body bolted upright and he looked around. Her sleeping gown was laid out on the bed and her daily clothes were gone. He jumped out of bed and grabbed his clothes from where he left them the night before. He yanked his pants on and quickly pulled his shirt over his head. Boots slid on his feet and as quickly as he could he tied them up. Lastly, he strapped his sword belt on and he poked his head out into the sitting room. It was empty.
Gregor tip toed in making sure to make as little noise as possible. Hazard was up from his room, so Gregor bolted for the door. It opened slowly and he looked through the crack. The hallway was empty. He walked down the hall, an excuse for why he was there already formulating in his head. That came in handy quickly. A servant turned the corner and bumped right in to Gregor dropping the bedding she was carrying. With mumbled apologies he picked up the bedding for her.
"Do you happen to know where the queen is?" Gregor asked, fully knowing where she was. "I can't quite seem to find her." The servant stared blankly at him and blinked a few times. She pointed down the hallway behind her and scurried off. Gregor shook his head and continued on hoping he wouldn't encounter anyone else. And his hopes held true as he didn't pass any more people as he walked through the halls. The guards hardly seemed to notice him as he went out. That wasn't their business what he was doing there.
Gregor returned to his room for a change of clothes. His friends would be quite suspicious if he was wearing the same thing two days in a row. He threw the clothes on and walked back to the High Hall to see if he could catch a bite to eat. Gregor's mind was clouded with thought that he didn't notice the other people in the room. He grabbed some oatmeal and sat down to eat.
Nobody tried to talk to him as he ate and he didn't seem to mind. He could feel it was earlier than normal for him and it was nagging him why Luxa had left without at least waking him first to tell him why she was leaving. His spoon was scraping the bottom of the bowl, but he was moving like a robot, the actions mechanical. Finally, he realized there wasn't anything left to eat and looked up. The room was empty except for the other dishes on the table. Gregor shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He pushed himself up, off to where he was certain he would find Luxa.
Instinct took him to the tactics room, where he was greeted by chaos. Organized chaos, but chaos none the less. There were people coming in and out with news of the stingers, the gnawers, the nibblers, the crawlers, the cutters, the diggers, and the spinners. Every species was being watched and reported on for the allegiances and their aggressions. The one thing Gregor could see was Ripred was not in the room. And that was a surprise because the rat had basically been living in the room for the last few days. When news of some of the gnawers wanting to dissent came in Ripred had instantly started to send information out hoping to keep the other rats at bay. He had made it his job to stay in the tactics room helping to keep everything at peace.
And that was without the news of increased stinger activity. That had put everyone on edge. Gregor had gone back to training with a vengeance, putting in more hours than he thought he could. Today though he felt as if he could be needed somewhere more important. He took a few steps into the room just in time to get out of the way of a soldier speeding into the room. The man stopped in the center of the room where most of the fuss was going on. He gave his report caught his breath and was gone just as fast as he came in.
The tactics room had been busy, but he had never seen it this busy. There were more people and fliers, and to his surprise there were now nibblers amongst the mayhem. He hadn't heard that there were any nibblers coming into Regalia. Perhaps, Luxa had just forgot. He casually walked over to the central hub of all the motion. Three people stood looking at a small map of the underland. They were in quiet discussion.
Perdita glanced over her shoulder after he had been standing there for a few moments. She opened her mouth as if to issue an order, but then closed it and softened her face for just a second. "It is good to see you, Gregor. What brings you here?"
"I was looking for Luxa, but it looks like you guys could use some help so here I am," Gregor replied hoping that he hadn't just gotten himself into a busy day. Perdita's eyes had glowed at the mention of help.
"We can always use the help. Perhaps you can take and relay messages. It would save us much time," Perdita replied. She pointed Gregor over to the left side of the room. That was where a lot of the information was coming into from fliers that came in through an opening high up in the room. As Gregor turned and went Perdita stopped him. "Did you mention you were looking for Luxa?"
"Yea. She's okay, right?" asked Gregor wondering what Perdita had to say.
"She is well. But she is not here. She left to meet the envoy from the crawlers. I am sure she told you that Temp was coming and I am sure he will want to see you and your sister. I will send for you when they return." Perdita turned back to her work with Eisen and Mareth. Mareth looked up and gave him a strong smile before bringing all of his attention to the map. Eisen hadn't even lifted eyes the entire time Gregor was there.
"Thanks," Gregor said to no one in particular as he wiggled his way over to his work spot. Perdita had said something about taking and relaying messages, but Gregor wasn't ready for what came. An old bat, probably the oldest one Gregor had ever seen, was in charge over the operation and she introduced herself as Helen. That was the nicest thing she said to Gregor before ordering him to read and relay messages that were coming in. It didn't seem to hard at first, but Gregor soon found out just how bad it was.
Fliers and humans came in constantly with news, both verbal or written, and it was his job to determine what was and what wasn't important. And on top of that he was set to run the message to whoever it was important to. Information on alliances went to one group and news on supplies went to some completely other group that often wasn't even in the room. Troop movements were important to everyone. Gregor did more running and talking than he thought he had ever done. Most of the information was useless to him. There was word that more gnawers were moving to Regalia. The stingers were on the move again, but to where was the question. News of a skirmish was the biggest thing to him. It came from a flier, way out in gnawer territory. A group of stingers had been seen and the gnawers attacked. Casualties were not known, but both Perdita and Eisen instantly sent a squad of soldiers and medics to check. That part had made him smile.
Only years ago, the news of possibly dead gnawers would have made every human happy. Less of them to attack them. But now the alliance kept them together and the news made most of them worried and sad. The gnawers were vicious fighters, but even they were falling to the stingers when they were in numbers. This boded much worse for the humans should the stingers decide it was time for a full scale attack on the city.
Time ticked by and messages came and went. Gregor ran back and forth relaying a message to one group, reporting back a message to send back, only to be reading something new and running off again. It went on for what felt like hours and he was worried there was no news of the skirmish again and even worse no news of Luxa and the envoy of crawlers. He had no clue where they were meeting or when, but he was certain they had been gone for hours.
That's when Perdita yelled for him.
"Gregor! To me!" Perdita yelled over the din of the room. He had been about to deliver a message on the productivity of the fields and how much they could continue to grow, but he dropped the scroll to the floor and pushed and shoved his way to the commanding officer.
"What's up?" Gregor asked anxiously.
"We have word that Luxa and the Crawlers are back in our territory. Go and meet them in the High Hall. I will send someone to have your sister brought as well." Gregor could only nod. It would be good to see the cockroaches again, especially Temp, and seeing Luxa wasn't to bad either. He excused himself and half walked, half ran to the High Hall. He stopped and waited on the balcony. His eyes scanned the horizon where he thought they would be coming back. They strained to see anything over the towers and spires of the city. And then he saw a small cloud of speeks in the distance. They were moving fast towards the palace and with each passing second the speeks grew bigger. A large group split off and just two bats came flying towards the palace. One was gold, Aurora, and the other was gray. It was Vikus' bond Euripides. Gregor could make out the two humans riding on their backs and the two crawlers that flew with them. "Two crawlers hardly make up an envoy," thought Gregor as the two bats slowed and coasted into the high hall.
Something wasn't right Gregor could tell before the bats even touched down. He could see Luxa's face was hard and cold, but that she also had red, bloodshot eyes. That wasn't uncommon of someone who hadn't been sleeping well, but they were somehow worse than that. He could tell she saw him and before Aurora had even landed, Luxa had leaped off and rushed to Gregor. She threw her arms around him and he could feel the pain inside her. The rage and the anger. And the sadness. He felt her body convulse and then heard the first sob. He squeezed her to him and held her there. His gaze fell on Vikus as a servant helped him dismount Euripides. Vikus looked at him and the sadness in the old man's eyes was strong. Something bad had happened. Something really bad.
"Lux," Gregor said to get her attention. Her wet eyes looked into his. "What happened?" Luxa let out a hiccup and wiped her eyes with one hand, never letting go of Gregor.
"It was terrible," she started before a spurt of hiccuping took her over. She continued on though, "We went to meet the envoy and bring them into Regalia. It was only on the border of our territory and was not far away. But when we arrived nothing was as it was supposed to be. Everything was... was…" She couldn't get the last word out, but Gregor thought he knew what she was trying to say. Luxa, who at twelve had witnessed all the same terrible things he had never once had cried. This must have been something truly terrible.
"They were dead, weren't they?" Gregor asked even though he knew the answer. Or he thought he did.
"Not dead, they were, not dead," came the reply from Gregor's left. A roach had scuttled up next to them. One antenna was bent and Gregor smiled. Temp was still here like always. His shell was starting to show his age with hints of gray amongst his black shell. His body seemed slightly more stiff than normal, but he had still moved quietly enough.
"Not dead?" Gregor asked to no one in particular. Then what wa so bad?
"The crawlers are dead now, Gregor," Vikus said as he too walked over to them. "We arrived to a scene of pure cruelty. Something in all my years I had never seen and wish I never see again." Vikus even sounded older from his experience if that was even possible.
"What was there?" Luxa took a deep breath and let go of Gregor for a second. Her voice and her tears had gone back to normal and she spoke with a great deal of sincerity and hatred.
"The crawlers had been attacked. All of them we saw were wounded fatally, but none had died yet. They were left to bleed out. Many of them lay on their back and their legs… oh their legs." Gregor could see Luxa was repeating the scene in her head. He was imagining it in his head. He had seen many a cockroach cornered by his mother and flipped over. The legs flailed around wildly and it was scary to watch then when it was one only an inch or two long. But these were massive bugs and they were friendly intelligent creatures. Gregor felt a little sick. He opened his arms and Luxa fled back into them.
"Did the stingers do it?" Gregor asked to either Temp or Vikus.
"No," Vikus answered quietly.
"Swords, cut by, swords," Temp said in the weird roach talk. The words hit Gregor hard. This crime, this atrocity was caused at the hands of a human. And Gregor could only think of one person.
"Roderick," Gregor said through clenched teeth. His hatred for the man was only growing with each passing day. There would be a time when Gregor would get a chance and he would put Roderick in the ground. He promised himself that it would come. And he would enjoy it when it came. It couldn't please him more to destroy someone as evil as Roderick.
Gregor squeezed Luxa in his arms. She needed it, he knew. She was strong, but he knew if she held it all in she would explode. Him just being there was always good for her. Nobody moved. Nobody talked. It was quiet and still.
"Let's go in and get you all something to eat," Gregor said and he guided Luxa inside. Temp followed behind and Vikus cast him a sad smile, before turning inside with them. And it was at this time that Margaret showed up.
"Here, the Princess be, here," Temp said and he scuttled over towards Gregor's sister. He watched as the two roaches looked at his sister and Gregor could tell she was having feelings flood back into her. It had been so long since she had been down here, that her memories were so muddled. He knew she remembered them and Temp most of all, but she had told him once that she didn't remember all that much at all. If that was true she didn't show tried to get her to sit on his back, but she assured him she would probably crush him if she did and that she was fine walking with him. The odd trio came over to them and Gregor wrapped his arms around his sister. She returned the hug briefly, but then pushed away. It was obvious she wanted time to herself with Temp. He had been her best friend for a solid year of her life and now she was getting the chance to see him again. A series of clicks could be heard as they walked away from them all.
"How does she do it?" Gregor asked shaking his head.
"She has been attending lessons with Hazard," Vikus said. "Mathematics, history, and of course our special languages. Crawler she picked up on quite fast. Hazard has told me she is rather good at nibbler as well, but just can't seem to master gnawer." Gregor was smiling now. His sister was already starting to get smarter than him and still seemed to be better at making friends than him. But it was good for her to be able to do all of those things, that she was learning skills that could prove invaluable in the underland.
Gregor walked with Luxa and Vikus back to tactics room. The day sped by after that. Temp and the other crawler, whose name was Sil, were amongst the discussions on troops and if they should come to the aid of the humans should an attack come. It was decided that while the crawlers were brave, they were not much of a match for a fully grown stinger. However, with some wisdom from Temp, the crawlers were determined to be useful for getting injured out of battle and able to be scouts due to their low profile. It was towards the end of the day for Gregor and his friends when the news came.
A nibbler Gregor had seen around during the day came over with a message in its paws. Luxa took the message and thanked the nibbler. She read it and looked up at everyone with surprise in her eyes. "What is this Skirmish it speaks of?" Gregor quietly cursed himself. He and everyone else had forgotten to inform her of the fighting the rats had that morning.
"There was a small battle between the gnawers and the stingers this morning, Your Highness," said Eisen before anyone else could speak up. "In our discussions it seems we all had forgotten about it."
"Only a small battle?" Luxa questioned and Gregor could see something in here eyes.
"Yes, Your Highness," Eisen replied back.
"Read this," she said thrusting the message into his hands. "Aloud."
Eisen took a deep breath and looked down at the message. "Casualties from Skirmish counted. Ninety gnawers dead, twenty seriously injured. Forty-seven stingers dead, injured unknown." He looked up at everyone. Luxa was burning holes into everyone.
"This is not a small skirmish. This is a small battle. Does anyone know who was leading the rats in this?" Luxa was clearly angry. Gregor thought about reaching out to calm her, but realized it was not the time or place for it. "Do we have anymore information on this battle?"
"Your Highness, it was not a battle but only a skirmish between some gnawers and stingers. Nothing to worry about," Eisen said, confidence in his voice. Luxa turned on him then.
"Nothing to worry about, you say. The gnawers are our allies. Their deaths are as important as the deaths of our own citizens. Do not contradict me again. Choose your next words wisely, commander," Luxa had a cold look in her eyes. A look Gregor had never seen. Luxa had used to be hard and cold, but never like this. This was something different.
"I apologize, Your Highness," Eisen said and stepped away from the group, thoroughly scolded. Luxa turned back to the rest of the group, a little smile on her face. She winked at Gregor. He knew she enjoyed that. It wasn't often she got to yell at important people and she took her chances and used them. Mareth had a similar look as Luxa. He had been on the end of his friends anger before. Everyone of them had.
"It looks like our queen is a little snappy today," came a raspy snarl from the doorway. Gregor whipped around to see Ripred standing in the door. How long he had been standing there, none of them knew. When Gregor looked at him, he could see ugly wounds on the rat. Part of his left ear was missing and his front leg was clearly broken as it hung at an odd angle.
"Ripred, are you okay?" Gregor asked. Ripred fell over laughing.
"Oh so nice of you to care. I'm fine. Except for this broken leg. Can't really do much with it."
"How did you get like this," inquired Luxa with her eyebrows raised and her arms crossed across her chest.
"Leading this little skirmish you guys have been talking about. Who else could get a group of gnawers to kill all of those pesky stingers?" Ripred replied with a yawn and a smirk as he lounged on the floor.
"Why were you even there, Ripred? Did you not have pressing matters here?" Perdita asked jumping into the inquiry.
"Oh yes. So much to do here as I wait for news of brethren deciding to jump ship. I left early this morning when a message came in telling of stingers coming into gnawer territory. Lapblood sent it in and I left as soon as possible. There was at least a hundred when I lead the attack on them. i believe they were trying to get the gnawers to help them in their fight against Regalia. But alas most of those stigers are no more and the gnawers are still here for you, You Majesty." Ripred gave a mock bow to her. "Now I'm going to go get this leg fixed and get something to eat."
"I will have all the food you need sent to the hospital," Luxa said right before Ripred rounded the corner. He stopped for all of the slightest second before continuing, but Gregor could feel the rat was more than happy about what Luxa had said. Of course, he wouldn't show it though.
Time sped by as the group went and ate a small meal of stew and bread in the dining hall. There was little conversation amongst them as they sat in their own thoughts. Luxa kept shooting him looks down the table and each time he saw different emotions. She was happy and sad one moment and the next she seemed indecisive and nervous. He would definitely sit her down and find out what was on her mind.
The time came when they went back to her chambers. Luxa was playing with Thomas on the floor her back leaning against one of the couches. Gregor sat watching her, listening to her happy voice as she laughed at what the little kid did. But Gregor could hear something in her voice. She was trying to cover something up in her happiness, but right as Gregor was about to ask Hazard came strolling in and sat down next to them. He had several scrolls in his hands and he opened one and started to read.
"What's that?" Gregor asked the boy. He jumped at Gregor's words.
"Oh, hello Gregor. I did not see you there. These scrolls are my, as Margaret called them homework. I am to practice each scroll in a different language and be able to read them tomorrow." Hazard returned his eyes to the paper and Gregor could hear him muttering sounds as he went along. Gregor's chance to ask Luxa what was on her mind was gone for the moment, but there would be chances later to ask her about it.
It was later and Dulcet had come and taken Thomas away to put him to bed. Hazard had left and gone off to his own room, his entire body looking exhausted. It was only him and Luxa left and they sat quietly. Gregor watched her stare into the fire in the hearth. He could really see that something was bugging her.
"C'mon Lux. Let's go to bed." He reached his hand out to her and she took it, getting up from the ground. Gregor could feel that she had something to tell him the whole time he lay there watching her ready for bed like she did every night. She still seemed tense. As she laid down next to him he pulled her into him and they lay there cuddling.
"Is something on your mind?" Gregor finally said. Luxa looked at him and he could see she was struggling to decide whether to tell him. She sighed.
"Yes, Gregor. I have been trying to tell you this for the last few days, but I have not been able to. It is important to know. You do not know what tomorrow is?" Gregor shook his head. Tomorrow was something special apparently. "Tomorrow is a day that has meaning to all of us, but most of all to you. Tomorrow is the anniversary of when you drained the Bane of it's light." Gregor's eyes grew wide. His heart skipped a beat and his hand instinctively moved up to the scar on his chest. Memories came flooding back to his brain. He could still see the scene clearly.
"I've got to get in closer if I'm going to take him out!" said Gregor.
….
"Get out! Gregor cried. "Get out, Ares!"
….
Those words kept playing in his mind as he saw the Bane rip into Ares throat. his sword piercing the Bane's chest. The cry of pain and the shuddering jarring of the Bane's claws swiping and ripping his chest open. The feeling of blood leaving his body. The image of Ares with no throat and the bloodstained coat of the bane. It was all so clear.
Something touched his arm and he snapped back to reality. He shuddered and Luxa wrapped him in her arms. He sat there motionless, the feeling of warmth and safety from Luxa's arms soaking into his body. He breathed deep and opened his closed eyes.
"I had no idea it was tomorrow," Gregor said so quiet it was hardly able to be considered a whisper.
"I know, Gregor. I did not want to tell you and make you remember, but somehow you would find out tomorrow. There will be parties and people will be rejoicing. It has been that way the past five years and I can not see a reason it will not be the same this year."
"Then we shall celebrate, too," Gregor said hoarsely. "It is a day to be happy and we will be too. You and I will have our own day. A picnic, just the two of us. In Ares cave." It was too much to think about now. He could feel his throat tightening like it did every time he thought about his former bond. It always made him question what they had done. How they had fought the bane. Ares had not come out of the fight, but he would always be remembered. It was to hard to forget.
Gregor rolled over onto his side. He wanted to be alone for a little while. He could feel Luxa looking at him, but he ignored it. He could feel his eyelids growing heavy and his body slipped off into sleep.
When he woke up, his body felt heavy and lethargic. His legs were stiff and his neck was sore. His eyes scanned the room and he saw he was waking up alone for the second day in a row. He stepped out of bed and stretched out his arms, his legs, and his neck. He looked for where he left his clothes the night before, but they were gone. He panicked for a second before he saw some clothes folded off to the side. Someone had put them there and there was no way they hadn't seen Gregor there. He shook his head and threw the clothes on, grabbing his sword belt and strapping it on. He clambered out of the room and down the hall. He passed a few guards and some servants, but he didn't feel like saying anything to any of them. None of them said anything to him either, but he felt them all watch him as made his way out.
He stepped into the High Hall and was taken aback by what he saw. All of his friends were there. His sister was there. Luxa was there. Even Ripred was there. They all had the same look on their face. Gregor smiled, happy to see all his friends, and that they were there for him. His sister ran to him and hugged him tightly. He patted her on the back.
"How are you, Gregor?" Vikus asked.
"I'm fine. It's just any other day to me. What happened is the past and I have to live with it every day," Gregor said his hand resting against his chest. "I see the scars every day. I have Ares in my heart every day. Every second of everday. Today is just like yesterday. I have all of you and you all have me and that's what matters. Six years ago something terrible happened, but something greater happened too. I just try to forget."
Everyone was nodding with him. His sister let him go and looked him in the eyes. Her eyes shined with tears. Perdita signaled everyone to go about their business and Vikus came over to Margaret. With a gentle hand he guided her off over to Hazard and the two went off to their lessons. All that was left washim and Luxa. And the two bats he hadn't seen before. Aurora sat with Artemese, a picnic basket strapped to her back.
"Shall we," Luxa said gesturing to the bats. Gregor quietly mounted Artemese and they rode out of the city and into the caves. Over to Ares cave. It was dark, but Luxa set up torches on the walls. The light filled the cave and Gregor could still see all the things that reminded him of his lost friend. Luxa had laid out the food already, but Gregor barely felt like eating. The words he had said earlier were true, but he was left hopeless to his brain. He kept seeing what he didn't want to see. With a gurgle his stomach brought him around and he grabbed some food. In time Luxa had him laughing and soon he was almost back to normal. He was talking and cracking jokes. It was fun, the most most fun he had had in a long time. The most fun either of them had had in a long time. The pending war with the stingers was lost on them for the moment. They were just two teenagers who loved each other. They were doing what they loved to do and that was being with each other. Aurora and Artemese had come in for some food, but they left quickly not wanting to interfere on their friend's fun.
It was late in the day when they decided it was time to head back to the palace. There was the urge to stay there as long as they could, but reality was going to come back to them at sometime. The two fliers came when they were called and Luxa and Gregor mounted up to head back to Regalia. They flew out of the cave and back into the winding tunnels. When they burst out over the city, Gregor was still in a good mood. His face was smiling and he let the wind blow through his hair. But something caught his eye. To their left was a lone flier. And on its back was a slumped figure.
"Artemese, go over to the wall!" Gregor shouted. The lone flier kept flying, but Gregor saw Luxa and Aurora flying towards it. Artemese sped up and they soared over to the wall. There wasn't anything there, but a faint rumble could be heard in the distance. The flier soared out past the wall and several hundred yards into the tunnel. The rumble was getting louder.
"What is there?" Artemese asked him. Gregor's smile was gone. His good humor was gone. It was what he and Luxa had been escaping from that whole day. The first line of stingers came into view of his echolocation and Artemese drew a deep breath in.
"You want to know what is there. That is a war at out walls." The stingers came in wave after wave marching tails erect in the air. There was no space between them. They were in perfect unison. And it was scary.
I hope you guys liked that. Mixed in a lot of things that are going to show up later. But it was still all over the place and it made this chapter really hard to write. I'm very thankful for all the reviews I'm getting and I really hope you all continue to post them. The more the merrier. Also, I'm not sure how many of you know, but I started a new story to go along with this one. It is called Return from the Darkness. I posted the first chapter a few days ago and I would really like everyone who reads this story to read it. It would mean a lot if you guys read both of them. Thanks in advance guys.
Question: Who will win the battle and how will they do it?