The Banished

by Fallen Ark Angel

Being the head of the royal guard is hard enough without factoring in the fact you're an Overlander. How can Gregor possibly guard the queen while constantly having to watch his own back? But when a more prominent threat forms over Regalia, far more sinister than any they have faced before, Gregor must put his own problems aside for the greater good of them all.

37. Chapter 37

The Banished

Chapter 37

Luxa wasn't well, no matter what she said. Gregor could tell. At one point, she had to stop and vomit again. He was nearly certain that Usha had been poisoning her with something, something slow that wouldn't take effect immediately. Whatever it was though, it was starting to set in.

He tried to carry her, but he was not as strong as he had been either. Luxa told him that if he could leave her behind and run ahead, maybe he could catch the army and bring them into the caves. He assured her though that he would die in those caves with her before he ever left her behind.

So they stopped to rest at certain intervals. Luxa kept telling him that she was well enough to keep going, but he knew better. She clearly didn't feel well for whatever reason and he forced her to lie down on the ground as he kept watch, her head rested in his lap.

"Lux?" he whispered, shapes popping out to him softly as his breath bounced back to him. Luxa only moaned slightly. "Can I ask you something?"

She sighed slightly, running a hand down her stomach. "Mmmm?"

"…How does Usha know your mother?"

"I think," she began softly. "That my mother and father are well known for the deaths they allowed."

"Meaning?"

"My mother was of her mother. I am of my father."

"Your mother was like Solovet."

"Yes," Luxa sighed. "Everyone tells me I look of her."

"Hamnet thought you were her, that day."

"Mmmm. Vikus, at times, when he is not lucid, he…he calls out for her when I am in the room. And I let him. Do not correct him. It comforts him." Luxa let out a slow breath. "My mother was not cold, Overlander. She was just not…she did not…love like others. She loved like Solovet loved. Solovet loved me, but you would not know that if you saw the way she treated me."

"Tough love."

She nodded slightly. "My father was very warm. They tell me that once, when I was a baby, there was a guard that tried to harm me."

"Harm you?"

She nodded again. "He was a royal guard and wished to get back at Solovet for something or other. I do not know. But he and another were charged with looking after me as I slept. They planned to slit my throat and then blame it on another. But someone walked into my bedchamber before it could happen."

"That sounds horrible."

"I'm sure it was," she agreed softly. "Anyhow, they say that my father was so upset, so angry, that he could hardly contain himself until their trial the next day. They were of course going to be killed or banished, whatever have you. But at the end of the trial, when he sentenced them to death, he did not shove them off the cliff or have someone behead them. Instead, he did it himself, with his own blade."

"…I thought you were telling me about how warm he was?"

She smiled slightly with fondness. "Nerissa's mother is the one that liked to tell me of that time. After it happened, my father would not allow me to be alone with hardly anyone. He would take me with him to all meetings, all meals. It annoyed my mother, they say, but she was never too…doting of me."

Gregor frowned slightly, recalling the stories Luxa had told him in the past, of how Nerissa's mother cared for her more often than her own mother. "Maybe kids just weren't her thing."

"Do not misunderstand," Luxa began. "She did not hate me. She just was very busy. She loved me, Gregor, she just did not…indulge me like my father. That is all."

"Of course."

"My father would take me with him to visit other lands, with his bond, and not invite my mother. I would go to the flier's land quite often when I was young. I loved flying. It made my mother quite jealous."

"She couldn't be jealous of her own kid."

Luxa only sighed slightly. "No one speaks of her anymore. Or Lennox."

"Maybe it's because you don't," he told her gently. "Maybe they are afraid that if they do, it will upset you."

"Most that knew them are dying off."

"Yeah," he whispered.

"At times, I wish…" Luxa shook her head then. "No."

"Hmmm?"

"I wish that they were here with me at times, but I know that if they were, you would not be here. There is a high chance Hazard would not be here. Aurora. I could not give this up for my parents."

"They wouldn't want you to," Gregor assured her. "They would want you happy."

"I loved Lennox and Judith," she mumbled then.

"I know you did," he said. "I loved my dad too."

"Do you think…that Zander will-"

"Right now, Lux, I just want to get to him. That's all. Make sure he's okay. Finish with this banished bull and go home." He shook his head. "He's young. He'll forget."

"But what will we tell him? We can't pretend, Gregor, to be…that he is ours."

"We won't need to. We'll just tell him that we love him and-"

"When he gets older, Gregor, is what I am talking about," she said, sighing slightly. "You do not think that he will ask-"

"I don't ever want to tell him about this," he said, gesturing to the darkness then. "I don't want him to know about this. That his parents…that we killed his parents."

Luxa paused for a moment before saying, "Then we won't."

"We won't?"

"He shall be raised in the palace with us. He will not know that he came from the banished. And when he is old enough to wonder, we will tell him the original story. That someone left him and you found him. That he was ours from then on."

"That's lying."

"That's protecting," she corrected. "I do not think that I shall make a great parent, Gregor, but I do know enough that there are things you do not tell them. You just do not. That shall be one of them."

"Someone will tell him eventually."

"No one will care for him, Gregor," she told him with a sigh. "He shall be of interest at first, like Hazard was when he first came to stay in the royal wing with me, but then another truce shall be broken or another war started and interest shall wane. He-"

"The royal wing?" Gregor made a face at her in the darkness. "He's staying with me."

"Hardly. You are nothing, but a-"

"General. I am a general. He's going to be a general's son."

"He is going to live with me and be lavished with servants and guards."

"He's going to train with me daily and become a warrior."

She smiled up at him then, shaking her head. "We are living as if we have already won."

"Yes," he sighed. "It is most fun, is it not?"

"I agree," Luxa sighed. "But it is time consuming."

"You need to rest. Even if the army is not there when we arrive, we shall merely head out of the Uncharted Lands. Or they shall question someone and they shall tell them that Vlad and Usha to these caves."

"Hopefully."

"Hopefully."

So they sat again for a moment, him rubbing her stomach gently while clicking softly as he continued to survey their surroundings.

"You never speak of your father either," Luxa told Gregor eventually.

"Aye," he agreed. "I know that he would not be pleased with me."

"What do you mean?"

"He would not like me here anymore than my mother does."

"Your father seems most understanding. This is where you wish to be."

"I did not finish high school. That's kind of a mandatory thing, above."

"Schooling." Luxa snorted. "We teach young children to read and write their names at least. Only higher class learn more."

"Like you."

"Like me," she agreed. "The rest learn real skills. To pander, to sword fight, to cook. Things they need."

"It isn't that way, up there. You have to go to school to be anything. That's what they tell you."

She snorted. "Here you know what you are when you are young. You know what you are good at and you become that. Or, you are good at nothing and you become one of the whores at the wall."

Making a face down at her, he asked, "What is with you and whores? That is all you ever speak of. As if you think you are better than they are."

"I am."

"Then why do you need to bring them up constantly? I never talk about it. You always do."

She huffed then, frowning. "I do not speak of them constantly. Only as a warning to you not to-"

"Are you jealous then?"

"No."

"Then what is it? If you did not like what happens there, then you only need to shut it down. You are in such power."

"And ruin all the men's fun?" Luxa shook her head. "It goes on regardless, just not so openly. Not to mention, the rapes go down. It has been so shown. Men are disgusting."

"Oh, men are?"

"Not all men," she told him gently. "But usually those that are disgusting are the ones that we need to win us wars."

"What are you trying to say?"

She made a soft noise. "Only that it is usually soldiers that end up before me on counts of assaulting women. Rarely is it the man who sells fruits."

He made a face. "I think it is the heart of a man that decides things like that, not his profession."

"And typically a man with that sort of heart chooses your sort of profession. Look at Mareth. He-"

"Mareth would never-"

"I am not saying he would…rape a woman, Overlander," she told him with a sigh. "Only that he is well-known, even to I, for the way he treats women."

"He does not treat them badly," Gregor argued, not liking where the conversation was going. "He-"

"I know that you respect him," she told him softly. "He is a very respectable man. However, he does many things with women that I would think you would not."

"He sleeps around. So what?"

"That is not an acceptable thing. Sleep around. That makes it sound too kind."

"Oh, please, a lot of guys around here sleep around on their wives."

"Not ones in such a high positions."

"Whatever."

She let out a long sigh then before closing her eyes. "You're making my stomach hurt."

"Sorry," he mumbled before clicking again.

"Mmmm. I used to think you were so silly, trying to learn echolocation."

"Yeah."

"Look at you now."

"Look at me.

"I'm still going to murder your rat friend."

Gregor snorted. "He thought that you had gone rouge. He-"

"Are we going to spend the day arguing then, my knight? Over two men that mean nothing near as much as I do to you?"

He stared down at her. "Am I your best friend?"

"Mmmm. Overlander, at times I fear you are my only friend."

So they sat again, for a good ten minutes. Gregor knew that he needed to hurry, but he also knew that they were lost. Not to mention Luxa was only getting weaker. He did not want to push her too much.

"We must get back."

"These caves are rather…"

"I know," he said. "I believe that we are headed the right way, but I am not certain. It is hard to navigate with only my echolocation."

"Then we should be on the move again," she sighed, moving to sit up.

"Are you okay again?"

"I can walk," she told him with a nod of her head. "Let us go."

He slung his arm around her shoulders again, to guide her.

Click.

"My mother always wanted more children," Luxa told him softly then as he clicked again. "But she had a hard time having them."

"That's funny."

"Why?"

He glanced down at her before shaking his head. "It's just, you know, Susannah isn't having any problem."

Click.

"Yes," Luxa mumbled softly. "Too bad she isn't."

Click.

"Hero and Kent are not too bad. I spent some time with them. You know, when I was stuck in the Fount and you were playing house with Barrett."

Click.

Pause.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

"Uh, Lux? Are you going to say anything?"

"I am actively ignoring your rude insinuations, Overlander."

Click.

"Not rude. You'd be annoyed too if I had a woman all over me."

Click.

"You do," she told him with a frown. She was leaning heavily against him at that point and he knew she really wasn't well, but when it came to the two of them, they were always up for a fight. God, they'd probably go to their graves arguing. "Women love you when you first get home from battle. I am not stupid, Overlander. I hear them. Many of them would just love for you to…to…fuck them."

He about lost it then, not even remembering to click. "You know how cute you sound when you try to talk like me?"

This made her no happier though and got them no closer to the exit of the cave. "Perhaps we should try to make a fire. Then at least we could see."

"I don't need to see, Lux," he told her. "It would not help me at all. I just hope that we don't get turned around in these tunnels is all."

Click.

"And besides…are there really women that want me to…well?"

Click.

"Do not pretend, Overlander," she told him flippantly. "You know as well as I that there is an abundance of women that would just love to say they have been with you. And not only just to throw it in my face."

Click.

"You know, many guys want to, uh, get with you too."

"Many men want the power that doing so would bring."

"What do you think I'm doing?"

She tripped them, over a rock or something, but Gregor had such a good grip on her that she didn't fall.

"Are you alright?"

"I- Gregor, do you see that?"

Click.

"What?"

"There."

Click.

He could see Luxa's hand pointing and followed with his eyes.

Click.

There. In the darkness, there was something, poking its head out of a little cavern in the side of the tunnel.

Click.

"Greg-"

"Shhh. You're alright."

Click.

"It's looking at it. What is-"

"An animal. Just an animal. Keep walking."

Click.

"Gregor, it's moving."

"How can you tell?"

"I don't…I can see, a little. My eyes have adjusted. Can you not?"

Click.

It was coming towards them. She was right. Suddenly, Gregor remembered Vlad's vague warning that time, about how there were things in the Uncharted Lands that those of Regalia and the Fount did not want to know about. He thought that the man was just trying to be mysterious and misleading, but perhaps what he said wasn't far off.

"Gregor-"

"I have a sword. What I need you to do is go ahead and run. Can you?"

"No. I-"

"It's getting closer."

Click.

It was big, whatever it was. It moved in a rather disconcerting way, on all fours, slowly out of its little hole. It appeared rather large, whatever it was, but Gregor was having a hard time getting a good size gauge on it.

Click. Click. Click.

"Just run, Lux. I'm the one that can see. I have the weapons. Go."

"No."

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

He shoved Luxa then, causing her to stumble slightly, but also get the point. The only problem was when she took off running, so did the thing coming after them.

There was no time for Gregor to react, given the fact it was so dark. The beast made an impossible leap, easily meeting its mark, which happened to be Luxa's turned back.

Gregor could hear the impact loud and clear as her skull made a horrible cracking noise against the hard ground. His breath stopped for a moment, but he just as quickly drew his sword.

"Get off her!" he yelled, rushing over, not even thinking about what the creature could be. It didn't matter. There was no way that Luxa was okay after what had just happened. Not to mention the poison that was apparently in her body. She was on borrowed time as it was. He did not have time for such a complication.

When he moved to attack the thing though, he felt something jump on him as well. He was not nearly as off balance as Luxa and was able to stay upright, though he knew immediately it was another one of those mysterious, dark creatures. He could feel its breath, its stench, its whole aura washing over him. He felt sick. He felt determined.

It had claws, whatever it was, that it tried to dig into his shoulder blades. Gregor jerked back though before shaking forwards, eventually succeeding into knocking it off him. Just like that, it was on the ground in front of him, making this horrible rasping noise. It pushed itself up again, no doubt ready to pounce again.

It did not get the chance.

Gregor ran his blade right through the belly of the beast, quickly withdrawing it. It made a worse noise then, a piercing cry, and Gregor knew if he did not get out of there soon, he would be swarmed.

Click. Click. Click.

He rushed to Luxa's side once more, the monster on her back lifting its head and barring its teeth at Gregor. There was no light, so Gregor could not make it out at all, but whatever it was, it smelled rancid.

He didn't hesitate to plunge his blade through that beast as well, laying waste to it. Then he kicked it away from Luxa before dropping to his knees next to her.

"Lux," he breathed. He knew that with head injuries, you weren't supposed to really move the person, for fear of parlaying them, but he was really in no position to think about anything. He flipped her over as gently as she could before patting her cheek gently. She was out.

Great. Just great. Now what was he supposed-

He heard it. Scurrying. More were coming.

Taking a deep breath, Gregor felt Luxa's pulse, not shocked to find it weak. Okay, so he had been on the other side of this problem so many times. What did you do for a person that had a concussion? He knew from when he was a kid, just from hearing people say it all the time, that you don't move them because if their neck moves or something you could paralyze them or worse. He had no option in that. Were there any other precautions? If so, his brain was not bringing them to the forefront.

It was then, just like that, that he felt the most excruciating pain down his back leg. It was blinding, almost, which was really bad considering he needed his echolocation then more than ever.

He knew what happened though, without turning. One of those things had dug it's claw into Gregor's leg and it had to be the most horrendous feeling in the world. He felt like his entire body was on fire.

It was second nature to him, pulling his dagger while clicking, easily finding his target and slitting its throat. It had been practically on top of Gregor. He should have considered himself lucky to only get a wound to the leg, but he did not. Especially not when he tried to stand. He felt the gash pouring out blood profusely and it was all he could do not to collapse back to his knees.

He set his jaw, not wanting to cry out in pain like his body was begging him to do. He was a man. He was strong. He could keep it together. He had to. He had to get Luxa help. She was more important than him. She was always more important than him.

More. He could hear another breathing.

He turned, having left his sword on the ground, to face the beast with only a dagger. He either had the best timing or the worst, he wasn't sure, because it was in mid-flight when he moved to face it. Had he had his sword instead of a dagger, he would have easily pierced its heart. Instead, it only caused him to fall back, the creature on his chest.

Click.

His sword was too far away. He had to use his dagger. He held his breath as his leg throbbed and the creature barred his teeth. He could make it out better then, a little, but not much. He had no idea what it was and, much like Vlad said, had no desire to know.

He thought then for a brief second about Sandwich and how much he had hated the man when he found out he killed the diggers for no reason other than for their land. He didn't want to hurt the creatures, which seemed to only wish to live in their little cave alone. Sure they had attacked them, but could he really hold it against them?

…Yes. In that moment he could. Only because he needed to get the heck out of there. He knew that he would never come back to the caves after, never question what those things were nor bother them ever again. The Uncharted Lands could stay uncharted. All he wanted was his girlfriend and to get the heck out of there.

He stabbed the thing, causing it to reach out and slash his chest, the fire spreading there then as well. God, it burned. He was glad for his echolocation, as blood splashed up and covered his entire face, shielding his eyes. Had he have needed them, he would have been in big trouble.

He shoved the then carcass of the beast off him before flipping onto his stomach and slowly pushing up. His leg was killing him. Not to mention his cheat was burning. Where was Luxa?

Click.

There. Still where he had left her. His sword as well. He retrieved it first before moving, slowly, to try and lift her into his arms. His leg did not like that.

He stumbled with her in his arms and feared falling down, dropping her once more. He found his balance though it was hard, taking a deep breath after he had it. He let the breath out slowly before clicking.

He had to hurry. He couldn't though, as his leg was in so much pain. He wanted to run, but it was nearly impossible. He was losing blood and he knew that he had to get to a safe place, so he could wrap his wounds and check Luxa out fully.

So he did the best he could, praying that one did not land on his back like it had Luxa. Eventually the pain in his leg was so numb that he felt nothing, which he was not so sure was a good thing. They say that eventually your body goes into shock during blood loss or immense pain and if that was what was happening, then he was in big trouble.

The pain in his chest was of little concern compared to his leg. He did fear his new scars though, for one very brief and very vain moment. It felt like four claw marks, which he was sure would blend just as nicely as all of the rest of his scars did with his flesh. By which he meant not at all.

It felt like eternity before he made it out of the cave. And even then he did not know where to go from there or even if he had left through the right place. Maybe they got turned around and were on the other side of a tunnel? He had no way of knowing. All he knew was that he was away from those creatures then.

He fell practically to the ground and knew in that moment that he would never be able to get up again, not on his own. Luxa had not moved in the slightest and he was convinced that she was dead and he had just been carrying around a corpse.

His breath fell from his body raggedly. Was that it then? Because there was no way he was going to be able to take her much further in his condition and she sure as hell couldn't just walk. The idea of leaving her behind did not even exist anymore, as he doubted his ability to get very far on his own even.

He felt like laughing. He felt like crying.

Click. Click. Click.

…What was the use? It was over. It was all over.

He banged his hands against the ground then before letting out a loud yell. That was it? That couldn't be it! He refused to let that be it.

He pulled what was left of his shirt from when Usha used it off slowly before looking down at Luxa. Her head was bleeding, he knew that. She came first.

"I've got you," he mumbled to her, his mouth feeling full of blood, as he gently lifted her head to wrap up her wound. It was easy, as she had cut her hair recently, as she had been for the past few weeks, as she always did during time of turmoil. "Okay? It's okay. We have to keep going, Lux."

He was as gentle as possible, but he was also swift. Then with the left over fabric he wrapped his leg wound the best he could. It bled through the thin fabric easily, but it was the best he could do.

He didn't check Luxa's pulse before he picked her up again. He didn't want to. Dead or alive, he was bringing her home. He was bringing both of them home. Because he always fulfilled his mission down to the last detail. Always.

Even if he killed himself in the process.

He felt like crying when he forced himself to stand once more and lift Luxa into his arms. He didn't, of course, but it did not make the feeling go away. It wasn't just the pain either. He had gotten so far for that to be the end? It didn't make sense. All that they had gone through for that to just be it? No way.

His chest was killing him. His leg numbed once more quickly, but his chest was not so lucky. He was not even sure if it was as bad as the Bane's claw marks, but it didn't matter. In that moment pain was pain and it was all he was feeling.

When he first saw the light, he thought that it was his eyes either playing tricks on him or letting him know that it was his time to go. Neither was too appealing in that moment, but just as likely.

But no, it was neither of those. It was not until he blinked a few times and it did not go away that he realized it was a torch. Or a few torches. Not many. They were still too far from the town for that. But someone was coming. And he did not care who it was. He was running straight for them.

"Hey!" He meant for that to come out loudly, but it did not. His throat was too dry, his body was too beaten. He had to make sure whoever it was kept coming though. "Hey!"

He tripped before he made it to the light. He fell, but was able to only go down to his knees, as to save Luxa. There was no way that time though that he was getting back up. His only hope was that the person kept coming.

And they did. The light was moving faster then. They must have heard him. Gregor's entire body hoped so as then his knees also cried out in pain, apparently not liking his full weight crashing down on them.

"Hey!" His throat was killing him then, but it was his last usable resource. "Hey!"

The torches burned his eyeballs when they finally got to him. So much so that he could not make out the man in front of him for a long time. That was fine though because the man was not concerned with him for some time.

"Luxa. Luxa!"

Gregor had never heard York so panicked before and never wished to again. He was usually so sensible about things that nothing shook him. Clearly though, seeing Luxa lay there, lifeless, had done something to him. Because Gregor too was nearly certain that her light was back in those caves at that point.

Luxa was taken from his arms, but Gregor did not blame York. The second she was away from him though, Gregor fell forwards, using his hands to stop his fall. Now those hurt as well. Great.

He vomited then, some sort of mixture of blood and water. After he kept his head bowed, breathing harshly. His mission was done, after all. He could go then.

York was yelling then as more men came, carrying those same blinding torches. God. Gregor had never wished for darkness more.

A flier arrived. Rhea. Gregor heard York call her by name. He did not get on her though.

"Careful with her," York was yelling then at the man who scrambled onto his flier. Then he laid Luxa up there as well. To Rhea he said, "Fly straight to Regalia. There is nothing anyone in this place can do for her. She needs real attention. Now."

"You-"

"Now, Rhea."

And she was gone, taking Luxa with her, leaving Gregor behind. It was just as well.

"Oy," one of the man called out to York then. He was standing over Gregor, looking down at him. "The warrior is not doing so well."

York was quick to rush over. "Gregor? Gregor, can you hear me?"

He just kept staring at the ground, not moving. He felt like passing out.

"I might be the strongest man you've ever met, son, but I cannot carry you. I have sent another back for another flier, but they are all in town. Can you stand?"

Gregor wanted to tell him to just go. That he didn't want to be treated like a woman. That he was tired of finishing a battle only to wake up in a hospital. That he wanted to be a man about it for once. And death was far more manly than limping or being carried in.

…Life won out in that battle.

Gregor couldn't help the loud noise he made as he got to his feet. He almost fell back down, but one of the men caught him. York shoved the guy away though before slinging Gregor's arm over his shoulder, on the side of his bad leg.

"I will carry you, son," York told him softly then. "If you need it."

Gregor gritted his teeth then before shaking his head slowly. "No."

Another man appeared on his other side then, easily moving to sling his other arm around him. Gregor could hardly walk, there was so much blood. The medic though had left with Luxa and there was nothing they could do for Gregor. There best shot was getting him to someone who could help him.

"Where's that man then, warrior? And his wife?" one of them asked. York shut that down real quick.

"Silence. All of you! If you are not of help-"

"Dead," he choked out then. If both he and Luxa died, someone needed to know that. "Don't go…caves. Don't-"

"It's alright, Gregor," York told him with a sigh. "Don't speak. There will be plenty of time for that later."

He hung his head then, stumbling slightly. York was there to hold him up though.

"Whatever happened, happened," York told him then. And suddenly it didn't make any sense to Gregor, York being there. Hadn't he called war on Luxa?

He was too far gone to care.

The next time Gregor tripped, York shook his head before telling the other guy to help him sit the warrior down. Once they had, York moved to carry him, but Gregor shoved him away.

"You-"

"No," Gregor groaned, shaking his head. He had some pride, even if it was foolish, in that moment. "No."

"The flier comes soon," one of the men said softly then. "Until, we can at least change his bandages."

York ordered one of the men to tend to Gregor's leg as best they could with the cloths from their shirts. Then he got on his knees next to the boy, always an imposing force.

One of the men gave York a wineskin when he called for it. The man quickly held it to Gregor's lips and made him drink. It was ale, of course, strong and bitter.

"My eyes," Gregor whispered then and York opened his mouth to order someone to come over with a torch, so they could see them better. Gregor shut them though. "No."

"What is it?"

"The light." Gregor kept his eyes shut tightly. It burned.

"He is unaccustomed to the light," one of the men whispered timidly, no doubt fearful of being reprimanded by York again. "Here."

So they ripped a shirt and wound the strips over Gregor's eyes. And finally, with the darkness, Gregor fell back to the ground and succumbed. That was all he wanted anyways. The dark.