The Banished

Chapter 29

"I didn't mean to the stay the night."

"It's alright. I wouldn't have let you leave if you tried." Luxa snuggled back against Gregor as he pulled her tighter to his chest. "Mmmm. I must get up soon."

Gregor only groaned as she moved to get out from his grip. "Lux…"

"You need to get up too, Gregor."

"Overlander. Just be mean to me again. Please." He rolled onto his back as she got out of bed. "I cannot take the suspense. Tell me what you did that you want forgiveness for."

"Why would I ever ask for your forgiveness? That would imply that I care about your feelings."

"There. That's more like it." Gregor peeked an eye open, watching as she began to dress. "So, hey, I've been thinking."

"Do be mindful of the fact you do this rarely."

"Ha. Well, anyways, last night, after you went to bed, I thought some about this whole banished business."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." He pushed to sit up some then, not caring at all about his nakedness. "They've run off, after killing off the majority of their soldiers. I mean, all of the important ones at least."

"As far as we know."

"As far as we know," he agreed. "And I would think, you know, that they would run off back to base."

"Base."

"Yeah. Like…there has to be somewhere out there in the Uncharted Lands that they call home, right?"

"I consider them nomadic."

"And that might be true, but if you look at their organization, their weaponry, and just their overall size, I doubt it." Gregor shook his head slightly. "I think that, maybe, they have some sort of a civilization back there in the Uncharted Lands."

"It's plausible," Luxa agreed, glancing over at him. "They have had adequate time to accomplish such a thing."

"Overly adequate time," he agreed. "The only thing I don't get is, if they have this place, why do they want Regalia? Why now?"

"I do not know."

"See, that's why I want to know more about these prophecies. This is the only real thing that we know about them," he said then. "You know? There must be something to them, huh?"

"What are you asking me, Gregor? Just come out with it."

"I just want you to know why it's so important for me, you know? To find out about this stuff?"

"I do not care what you do on your free time."

He rolled his eyes. "You know what I'm saying. And I know that you're curious as well. Right?"

"What difference does it make what I think? You decided to get involved in this all on your own." She sighed as she finally finished getting ready and slowly walked back over to the bed and sat down. He just stayed where he was, staring at her silently.

"Gregor?"

"Hmmm?"

"Before I go…"

"What's wrong?"

"I just thought that you should know that, well, you know."

He gave her a slight grin. "What are you telling me? That you love me?"

She nodded slightly before glancing back at him. "No matter what happens…today, I do care for you. Okay?"

That made him laugh slightly, though it was a nervous one. "Today?"

"In the coming days," she said. "With the banished."

"You said today."

Rolling her eyes, she turned back around. "You know what I meant."

"If you would just tell me-"

"There is nothing to tell you, Gregor," she said, moving to stand then. He just sat there, watching. "I only know that things are frequently tumultuous between us. Just know that I love you, no matter what, and that I only make the decisions that I find best."

"If you're breaking up with me or something-"

"What?"

He cleared his throat then before looking down at the bed. Suddenly, his nakedness made him embarrassed, but he did not feel like moving to cover himself.

"I mean, I was just in the Fount, Lux, and York and I talked. And Susannah and I talked. And I mean, they're pretty happy together."

"Meaning?"

"Well, York told me that he was forced to be with Susannah. That it was arranged. And so was your parents' marriage. It was…good, I think. Right? And Susannah and York's is still very good."

"What does that have to do with-"

"Would you just listen? It's not like it's easy to say." He glanced up at her then before shaking his head. "It's not like either of us thought it could last forever. And I mean, things have been pretty shitty between us the past few-"

"If this about Barrett last night-"

"It's not just about Barrett, Luxa," he told her, swallowing heavily. It shouldn't be that hard, to talk about the one thing that they've always known about. The one thing that kept them apart. "It's about everything and everyone. It's-"

"Gregor-"

"No, just listen."

"I do not want to listen."

"Well, you're going to," he told her before letting out a long breath. "I'm not stupid, you know. I can tell that you…I mean…It's not like we can go anywhere with this. And it's obvious that you…"

"That I what, Gregor?"

"I don't know, Luxa. We're twenty-one now. You're about to be twenty-two. And then what? How long does it go on for?"

"For as long as we want it to."

"But how long is that? Now that I'm a general and everything, stuff's only going to get more complicated. And you hate me half of the time-"

"I never have hated you."

"Oh, yes you have," he said, shaking his head. "But that's not the point."

"Then what is your point? You are sitting here, accusing me of want to…end this and yet I have never said such a thing. Every single time it is brought up, it is by you. Always. Every time we fight, you are the first to suggest it. And now we are not even fighting and you say it. So do not put this all on me, Gregor. Not only do I not have time for it, I do not wish to deal with it. If you want this to end, then just say so."

"I'm not trying to say that."

"Then what are you trying to say?"

He just looked down at the bed again before letting out another breath. "I don't like you to be around other people. Barrett and other guards and guys in general. I don't like that we have to play games like that. You say that you love me."

"I do," she told him softly.

"Then why can't you say it aloud?"

"Gregor, you know that-"

"You're queen of this whole fucking thing and you can't even be with the person you want? Do you know how fucked that is? I don't want this damn kingdom. I don't want control of anything. I just want the thing that I'm putting my life on the line for every freaking day to respect my freaking relationship. Is it that hard? Huh, Luxa? What does it matter? Why-"

"Oh, Gregor, stop it."

"No," he said, glaring at her then. "I almost had my skull crushed in for your stupid kingdom and then I have to watch you walk into the room with another guy?"

"So this is all just because your jealous?"

"I'm not jealous!"

"Be quiet. You-"

"I'm not going to be quiet, Luxa. And who will hear? Hazard? You sure don't have any damn guards around since you freaking fired me. And about that. Where the hell are your guards anyways? Huh? You-"

"I sent them away."

"You what? Luxa, Vlad and his stupid wife are on the loose and-"

"I sent them away for us, Overlander." Her tone was taking that annoyed one once more as she turned to full face him and glare right back at him. "I knew you were coming back, so I dismissed most of them, so that we could be alone. So that you did not have to sneak back out of here. I wanted us to be alone for awhile. I thought that you would like that, but-"

"I do like it. I just-"

"I can take care of myself."

"I know that. I'm only-"

"Are we fighting? Again? Because if so, I have things to attend to."

He didn't have an answer for her and only looked down once more. "If you wanna go, just go. I don't care."

She stood there for a moment or two, just staring at him, before she made a clicking noise with her tongue. Then, slowly, she closed the distance between them and got back into bed, moving to lay against him once more. Gregor merely fell back as she found her way onto his chest, wrapping his arms around her.

"Why can we never just have a good moment," she mumbled against his chest. "Why does it always have to end like this?"

He kissed the top of her head, shifting slightly. "I think that if every fight ended like this, I wouldn't hate them as much."

She only groaned slightly, kissing his chest then. "I have to go."

"I know."

"…You have to let me go for that to happen."

"I know."

"Are you going to?"

"I don't wanna yet." He kissed her again. "You're still not going to tell me what's happening today, are you?"

She ran a hand down his chest, sighing slightly. "I love you, Gregor."

"I know. I love you too."

"I mean it. No matter what. Forever."

"You really are planning something, huh? Gonna throw me in the dungeons? Force me back to the Fount? The Overland? Send me to my death in the Dead Lands? Or did you do something wrong? Hmmm? Something while I was in the Fount? Did you…God, I don't even know what you could have done."

She kissed his lips that time, lingering for awhile, before pushing up and away, slowly moving to climb right back out of bed.

"I will see you later today, Gregor."

He only grinned at her. "Even after all that, I get nothing?"

"Until…later, Gregor. I love you."

He laid around for some time after she left, only finding it suitable to get up when his hunger finally over took him. As a general, he was not sure his day to day duties. With the banished MIA, he was almost certain that he was supposed to go back to regular schedule. The only problem with that was that he had no regular schedule. At all.

"Hey, Hazard," Gregor greeted, as they both ended up walking out into the hall at the same time. "What's up? You going off to study or something?"

"Not really," he said, easily falling into step with the older guy. "I felt bad yesterday, at dinner, when Nerissa came in and was…like that. So I thought that I'd go visit her."

"That's nice," Gregor said, smiling down at him. "You think it'd be okay if I tagged along?"

Hazard shrugged. It's not like he really planned on spending that much time with Nerissa anyways. Just enough so he stopped feeling so guilty. Maybe he'd even go see his grandfather later, if he was up for it. Maybe.

"So, hey, do you know what's up with your cousin recently?"

"Luxa?" Hazard made a face at him. "No. Is something wrong with her?"

"She's just been really…nice to me since I got back."

"Lucky you," the teen remarked dryly. "She's been horrible to me since she found out that I'm leaving."

"Oh, hey, I talked to York and Susannah some for you. They said whenever, alright? I just want you to do something for me before you go."

"What?"

"Thank Luxa," the man said.

"Gregor-"

"I'm serous, Hazard. Thank her for everything that she's done for you, because she's done a lot. It's not easy for her to, you know, get close to people, but she took you in. She's taken care of you. Raised you. So just thank her and tell her before you take off, huh?" Reaching over, he ruffled the teen's hair, who responded by batting at him. "She cares more about you than anyone. It's going to be a big adjustment for her, not having you here."

"You told me to go. You said I could. And now you're-"

"I want you to go, Hazard. I want you to go have fun. And you will have fun there, in the Fount, with your other cousins. Hero and Kent are really cool. And so are York and Susannah." Gregor shifted his hands into his pockets with a sigh. "Luxa will just miss you, is all I'm saying."

Hazard paused for a moment before saying, "It's not like it's forever. And I'm not going back to, like, the jungle or up to the Overland. Luxa still controls the Fount, huh? So I'm really not going that far."

"I know."

Looking up at him, Hazard said, "You're not coming with me anymore, are you, Gregor?"

"I, uh, don't think so, no."

"You'll come visit though, huh?"

"Of course. And you'll come back to Regalia whenever you want. And we'll hangout then or whatever."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

So they walked for a few minutes, silent as they headed to Nerissa's room.

"You'll miss me too, huh, Gregor?"

He glanced down at the boy before nodding slightly. "I will, but things have to change. You can't rely on Luxa forever anymore than I could rely on my mom. You have to make your own way eventually."

"I guess so."

"And besides, Hazard, I'll be fine," Gregor assured him. "After all, I won't have you in my hair all the time, bugging me."

"Yeah, and I won't have you always wanting to come with me when I do something or asking to hangout. I won't have to spend all my time with you."

"And I won't with you."

"It'll be great."

"Yeah."

They both glanced at one another again before Gregor smiled. Still, neither said anything else until they finally got to Nerissa. She was in her bedroom, sitting up on her bed, almost as if she was waiting on them.

"Gregor, Hazard," she greeted, smiling brightly at both of them. Hazard just immediately went to grab the desk chair and take a seat, clearly bored already. Gregor could not scold him though, because at least he had had the decency to think up coming to visit her all on his own. Besides, he was starting to get too old for that anyways.

"Hello, Nerissa," Gregor said, nodding at her.

"You came, just like you said you would."

"Aye."

She looked to Hazard then, still all smiles. She was rather bundled up that day and Gregor knew she must have not been doing too well.

"You seem rather happy today, Hazard," Nerissa said though the teen wore his usually blank expression. Still, he nodded, being a good sport for once.

"I am leaving for the Fount soon," he told her, glancing at Gregor, as if for confirmation that he was doing well.

"The Fount?"

"To stay with my aunt and uncle," he told her. "Perhaps even find a job."

"Oh, that will be most fun for you. I have been to the Fount quite frequently. Not in recent years, but before, when I was young. Henry, Luxa, and I…" She just trailed off then, looking around, as if confused. Gregor cleared his throat then and brought her right back "Oh, the Fount. Yes. With your aunt and uncle. York and Susannah. They are most kind. And your cousins. Let's see, there's Howard…no, he's here now. Yes, he's here now. There's Hero and Kent and Chim and…Stellovet."

"Yeah," Gregor mumbled. "They're there."

"What kind of a job will you get then, Hazard?" Nerissa seemed slightly energetic at the thought. "Shall you be a…a teacher? Or a farmer? A merchant?"

"I do not know," Hazard said. "Luxa tells me that I have many skills, but I do not see how any of them translate into work."

"The qualms of many, I assure you," she said. Gregor just continued to watch her, clearly uncertain.

"Are you feeling okay today, Nerissa?" he asked then, slowly. "Is everything alright, I mean?"

"Everything is fine with me, yes, Gregor."

"Well, I mean, you're on your medications again, aren't you?"

"Yes. It was explained to me before dinner last night that it is best for me to take them." She smiled at him. "It is just how it has to be, they say."

"Did they force you?"

Conflicted for a moment, she thought before saying, "It was highly suggested to me."

"Well, I'll talk to Luxa about it, if you want," he offered. "Maybe-"

"You believe that you know better than the doctors?" Hazard questioned Gregor. Not in an unkind way, but in that curious tone he always seemed to have.

"No," Gregor said slowly before glancing at Nerissa. "I only wish for Nerissa to be comfortable."

"Oh," he said, nodding then. "Before she dies."

"Hazard!"

"What?"

Nerissa didn't seem bothered though, only laughed slightly, as if they were being funny. Seriously though, Gregor was going to have to talk to Hazard some about his sense of personal boundaries before they shipped him off to the Fount. He could just imagine him saying something about Susannah's dead mother and what a wicked woman she was. Honestly.

"When are you leaving then, Gregor?"

"Leaving?" he asked, glancing back at Nerissa.

"Yes. To find the banished."

He shook his head. "Luxa and I were talking and I think, maybe, you know, we should just let them go. I mean, if we can find them, then I want Zander back, but other than that, I say to hell with those psychos."

"But Gregor, you haven't done it yet."

"Done what?"

"Met in combat with them," she told him. "Like I warned you of."

"Nerissa, I just fought them, not a week ago," he said, making a face at her. "Remember?"

"That is not the battle, Overlander."

"No?"

"Of course not."

"How do you know?"

She just smiled at him then. "Because, Gregor, you don't win that battle."

"W-What?"

"I could not see it before," Nerissa said, shaking her head at him. "That is why it troubled me. I did not understand what I saw. But last night, when I slept, I saw it in my dreams. You don't win."

"Nerissa, it was a dream. I-"

"It was more than that." She shook her head. "I saw you with them. That man and his wife."

"You've never seen them. You don't-"

"And yet I know them. I know that it is them." She smiled at him then, this really creepy one. "That is why I am at peace now, Gregor, as you should be. If you already know that you shall not win, then why worry about it?"

He was just staring at her then, as was Hazard, neither finding the words to convey their thoughts. Honestly, Gregor was content with allowing her to live in her delusions in that moment, as he knew there was no way that he would lose to the banished. He had just beaten their best soldiers! And he found it very unlikely that Usha or Vlad would be back any time soon after the travesty that befall them last time. In fact, given how impoverished their people that he had seen in the Dead Lands looked, he would not have been surprised if there was an uprising when they returned to them. Or if they even returned at all.

It was in that momentary silence that they heard footsteps and shouting out in the hall. Hazard and Nerissa both moved to rise, but Gregor merely held his hand up.

"I am sure it is nothing. The horn would have blown if we were under siege," he told them with a shake of his head, though he too was extremely curious as to what exactly was going on. Moving his hand to the hilt of his sword, Gregor started towards the closed curtain though it was then that it was suddenly flung open.

"What's going on?" Gregor asked, taking n the men in the doorway and hall. He immediately recognized them as regular guards, dressed in their armor and standing in some sort of a formation. He assumed they had come to get him for some kind of a meeting or something. "Is there-"

"General Gregor, a warrant is now enacted on behalf of the crown for your immediate capture and arrest."

Gregor frowned at the man who spoke before glancing at Hazard. He had gotten to his feet and was standing next to Gregor, a frightened look on his face. Gregor just shook his head at him. It must have been some kind of a joke or hazing or something.

…Right?

"My arrest," he said slowly, keeping his hand on his weapon. "On what grounds?"

The men didn't answer though, just came further into his room. It was such small quarters that Gregor was cramped as he tried to draw his weapon, though it was useless as one of the bigger guys, a man about York's size, immediately grasped his right arm and shook him hard.

"Let him go!" Hazard immediately tried to come to his defense, but another guy just shoved him to the ground. "Gregor-"

"What is going on?" Nerissa sounded more distressed than she had in ages. "Gregor, what-"

"Tell me my charges," Gregor said, jerking from the hold of the man. "Now!"

"You are brought up on the charges of treason against the crown as well as conspiring with the enemy." One of the men had enough room to draw his blade, which he immediately pointed at Gregor. As he was being restrained and was armor less, should the man actually stab him, he could truly hurt him. That was not his main concern though, as Nerissa was still yelling. He did not want her or Hazard hurt.

"Hazard," Gregor said, still struggling slightly against the two guys now restraining both his arms. "Get your cousin. Go to Luxa. Tell her-"

One of the men snorted, shoving Gregor forwards then. "Queen Luxa? Who do you think issued the warrant?"

The cell was dark and dank, but it didn't matter to Gregor. He just laid there on the ground, his arms chained behind his back, staring up at the ceiling. He knew that it was all just some big misunderstanding, probably some disgruntled Regalian that went through the proper procedures to get him arrested for some trumped up charge. That had happened once, back when he was eighteen. Luxa had sent him off to discuss something with Ripred about some disagreement or something and while he was gone, some high ranking guy had issued a warrant for his arrest for conspiring with the enemy, as a scout reported him for being in the Dead Lands. Luxa handled it immediately and the guy was removed from his position not a week later. He was sure that he was in the same position as then.

But still. Who would want him out of commission with the banished still filtering around? Could it possibly be the same person that had that guy attack him with the hammer? Probably. But what was all that noise about Luxa being the one to bring up the charges? And treason against the crown? Like backstabbing Luxa? He had never done anything remotely close to that. Something sounded awfully fishy.

Gregor clicked his tongue, but nothing was in the cell with him except for some more chains over in the corner, where they could chain someone to the ground if need be and another set suspended form the walls. They had not even given him any food, which really was the worst part of it all. In his rush to get to Nerissa, he had neglected to eat anything. God, was he regretting that at the moment.

"You know, you could at least slide me some bread or something," he yelled over at his cell door. "No matter what you idiots think I did, I still saved all of you from certain death, oh, twelve billion times. It truly is the least you geniuses could do."

Nothing. Not that he was expecting much, but still. You know, it was at times like that that Gregor honestly did consider betraying them all. The majority of them weren't worth saving. It was as Hero had said. Many of them had such shallow lives that when war was not a part of it, they were mostly lost. Meaningless. They were filthy, bloodthirsty creatures that were no better than the dang gnawers.

…But they were his filthy, bloodthirsty creatures and that's what mattered. He had sworn himself to Luxa and that meant swearing himself to her kingdom. Like it or not, he and Regalia were connected forever.

"Overlander," a voice boomed as the stone door to his cell was slowly opened. Gregor just stayed the way he was, not moving in the slightest. The stupid pricks. "Arise. It is time for your hearing."

"You mean time for all of you to lose your jobs? Because that's what's going to happen."

The man just came further into the room, another joining him. None too lightly they forced Gregor up before leading him from the room.

"Do not try anything, Overlander."

"Do you not see my hands behind my back? Chained?" Gregor snorted. "You guys really aren't too bright, are you?"

Needless to say, Gregor was not in a good mood. At all. He hadn't eaten since dining with Luxa and he wasn't sure exactly how long he had spent in that cell. It was well passed luncheon by that point. Luxa owed him big when the whole mess was all over for allowing it to go on for so long. If she thought the night before was something, she'd be in for a shock later.

It was so embarrassing, be led from the dungeons and through the palace. He passed a few people he knew and couldn't make eye contact with him. At one point he was drug passed Matthias and it was all Gregor could do not to turn red. The teen looked really pained, though he was not able to leave his guard position and had to look off, as if he did not see him.

It was once he was in the throne room that it was the worst. It had apparently been a few hours since he had been taken down to the dungeons because scores of people had gathered to fill the seats, yelling out things at him. It was all so loud that Gregor couldn't make any of it out, but he still held his head up high as he stared at the stage in front of him. Luxa was there, in her throne, looking as regal as ever. Finally. God, she owed him such a vacation for this.

"Move it, Overlander," one of the men leading him hissed as he pushed him. Gregor almost tripped, but was able to catch himself.

Turning from Luxa, Gregor scanned the crowd. He easily picked out Vikus, near the back, looking rather unwell. There was Hazard, next to him, a stony look on his face as he glared at his cousin up on stage. Perdita, Mareth, and Barrett were all on the front row, the first two speaking softly to each other while glancing at him. Only Barrett seemed to know what was going on. Gregor sent him his best glare, having no doubt in his mind that the fool had something to do with all of it.

Silence was called for when Gregor finally made it to the point that the accused was to stand. It took awhile, as the crowd was in such a frenzy over it all, but once it was finally silent, a man off to the side read off Gregor's charges. The whole time Gregor just kept staring up at Luxa, but she wouldn't look back at him.

"Your charges have been read to you, Overlander," the man said after he finished. "What says you? Do you plead guilty? Or proclaim your innocence?"

He gave the guy an eye roll before calling out loudly, "What the hell do you think I proclaim?"

The crowd erupted again and one of his guards gave him a swift kick to the back of his leg. Gregor was able to hold down any signs of pain, though he did stumble slightly.

There was some mumbling up on stage then before Luxa held up her hand for silence. Gregor rolled his eyes again, wishing she would just get on with it.

"Answer him, Overlander," she finally said once it had quieted down some. "What says you? Guilty or innocent?"

"Innocent," he told her through clenched teeth. Was she freaking serious? God.

Luxa made a motion with her hands. "We shall hear his case now."

Gregor frowned as Helix stepped out from the crowd and came to stand next to him. Bowing down before Luxa, he took a moment before beginning.

"There is irrefutable proof that it was the Overlander that told the banished of our plan," he said. "I myself saw the exchange. Many also saw him have an exchange with Vlad in which they discussed a prophecy that the banished follow, in which the Overlander helps them defeat us-"

A loud murmur went through the crowd. Luxa was still stone faced and Gregor was about tired of it.

"Not to mention the accusations that he fathered a child with their queen," Helix went on. Gregor about chocked on his own spit.

"That I did what?"

That caused even more of an uproar, one that was harder to contain. Eventually, Luxa just had to speak over it.

"What says you then, Overlander?" She finally looked at him full on and he saw something, just for a moment, in her eyes.

Was this it? Was this what she had been hiding from him? That she was going to throw him to the wolves? If so, why? What had he done to her? They had both professed their love to one another only hours before, had they not? And now here she was, basically accusing him of…of…'fathering' a freaking child? Gag, for one thing. Really, just gag.

"What say I?" he repeated back, glaring at her then.

"On your behalf, should you choose to speak," she clarified, as if he needed it, as if he hadn't sat through a thousand trials with her.

"I say that this is all bull. I say that you have some kind of secret motive in this and when I find out about it, you had better hope to be far away from me, Luxa. I say that I wish I had let the Bane kill all of you idiots instead of Ares! Maybe Henry had the right idea-"

The guard hit him hard on the head, but Gregor just jerked against them again. It was in vain, but still, it was showing his anger and that's all he wanted at the moment.

"Silence, Overlander," one of them hissed at him, though it was barely audible about the crowd at that point.

"You shut up," Gregor retorted, pulling harder. "I'm so tired of this. Why am I always the freaking pig for you idiots anyways? If I'm not getting captured and threatened to be dismembered by the enemy or risking my life to save you all for one of you to hit me in the back with a freaking hammer, I'm being put on trial for some stupid charges that don't even make sense. So you know what, Luxa, yes, guess what? Zander's mine! I tipped off the banished, it was me! And for anyone else listening, I've fucked your queen about three billions times over by this point, so-"

The next blow to his head was hard enough to cause him to see black for a moment. Considering he had just had a massive head injury, he feared that he might blackout.

"Easy now, Overlander."

Barrett. Gregor held down a string of curses as he replaced one of the men hold him.

"Get off me," Gregor growled, trying to struggle again, but it was useless. Hs head was killing him. He was literally seeing spots. He heard shouting then, above all the rest. Mareth. God, what was he saying? He was yelling at Luxa, it sounded like.

Lifting his head was painful, but Gregor did so, turning it slightly to glance at Mareth and Perdita. He looked down right pissed while she had a hand to his chest, as if to hold him back. He wasn't having it though.

"How could you do this to him? Let him go!" Mareth finally shoved Perdita off, quickly covering the ground over to where they were holding Gregor. One of the guards stepped up, as if to block him, but Mareth only drew his sword.

"Stop it, Mareth," Barrett hissed at him. "You do not-"

"Fight me then," Mareth said, glaring more at Barrett than the man in front of him. "All of you. You cowards!"

Perdita was next to him then, looking about ready to join him when Luxa spoke.

"Are those your words, Overlander?" she called to him, above all the chaos.

"Aye," he growled at her then. "Those are my final words, Luxa."

She shook her head at him. "Then I find you guilty. And the sentence for treason is death."

"I hate you!" Hazard's shill cry rang up from the back of the court room, above all others. "How can you do this, Luxa? I hate you! Gregor, run! Leave! Gregor-"

He turned his head then, easily placing the boy above all others. Vikus was trying to grab him, but Hazard shoved his grandfather off. He was still yelling at the top of his lungs, but it was drowned out by the sound of pounding in Gregor's head. He needed a medic. His head…

"This is a joke of a trial," Mareth was accusing then. "Luxa, listen to us! How could you do this? What are you doing?"

"The Overlander is going to faint," Perdita said then, almost pleading. "He needs a doctor. Look at him. His head-"

Gregor closed his eyes tightly. He couldn't take all the noise. It was so loud. God.

He heard Barrett shouting orders then to the guards, something about getting him back to a cell. Gregor couldn't help it then though as he finally fainted, the blows to the head no doubt aggravating his head wound.

What was Luxa planning?