by Billy Wong
"We can reforge it later. Get all the pieces. I think some of them fell in those bushes with the red flowers."
Finn shook his head with a grin of admiration for her. "Even like this, still thinking clearly. I love you so much."
"Love you too," she breathed, returning his smile though she was wracked with pain. As he went around gathering up her sword, she remembered to ask, "What about Sean and Danica, and Julian?"
"Sean's just inside the door. I wanted to share a moment with you before you got all fussy about him. Julian's still on the roof last I saw. Didn't bother going to check on Danica after I spotted you lying all injured from up there."
She looked inquisitively at him and asked, "Did you kill Julian?"
"No, I knew you'd disapprove of smashing him when he was down, so I left him to live or die on his own. His burns are pretty nasty, so maybe..."
Rose coughed blood out repeatedly before speaking again. "Either way, I'm sure Sean will be glad to stop being ordered around by him. So can I see him now? Sean, I mean." Finn walked back towards the palace, but before he could enter a gruesomely burned Julian appeared in the doorway, his arm around the neck of a limp Sean.
"What are you doing?" Rose growled. "We just helped you, and already you betray us?"
"With Deathend dead," he said with a smirk, "there's no reason for me not to kill you, or for Fanteia not to resume the invasion of Terlon."
Finn waved his mace at Julian. "Kill us, huh? What makes you think I won't embarrass you again like I did already?"
"Because, if you don't drop that mace and shield I'm going to kill him."
"Oh really? No chance in hell I'd let you kill me just because you have a hostage!" But he glanced back at Rose, as if wondering what she thought.
She was torn. On one hand, she definitely didn't think to let themselves be killed, when Julian would just kill Sean afterwards in that case. But if they went along with Julian's requests for now, maybe they could find an opportunity to rebel and save Sean later. Then again, the emperor probably wasn't stupid enough not to kill them the first chance he could. "Get him, Finn," she said softly, thinking she resigned Sean to death.
Julian raised his sword towards Sean's throat. "Then the blood of this boy is on your han-" He gasped, dropping Sean as he arched his back. Rose realized Danica stood behind him, and had plunged the point of her halberd through his spine. "I forgot about you," he said, falling to his knees before Danica cleaved his head from his shoulders.
"What took you so long?" Finn asked the queen. Like them, she had many bloody rents in her armor, and bad cuts on her cheek and chin. "Rose could've used your help against Deathend." When she walked outside past him without a laugh or smile, he mumbled, "Sheesh, just kidding. I guess there goes your plan of not killing him, huh Rose?"
"It's fine. With Deathend dead, like he said, there was no reason to keep him alive anymore either."
They rolled Sean onto his back and tried to rouse him. He opened his eyes and gaped at Rose; having had her armor removed to bind her wounds made it easy to see how extensive her injuries were. "Oh no, Rose, are you going to be okay? Please don't die, hold on! You can make it, you always do!"
She chuckled, wiped away blood that flowed out her nose and mouth. "I know, Sean. Thanks for confirming you care, though."
"You killed Deathend?" he concluded then. "Did you all do it together, or..?"
"My lady did it all by herself," Finn said. "Because she's the greatest warrior in the world."
Rose gave a half shrug with her right shoulder. "Yes, I killed him. But I had to use all I had, every trick and every last bit of strength, to beat him. I think it was an upset. He would be a better warrior than me, if he still lived." She blinked as she realized Sean had passed out again, and Danica lifted him up to put him on a shoulder.
"It's easy to be humble when the rival you talk up is dead," Finn teased. "Although, he did have magic over you, which makes it harder to judge who was purely the better warrior. By the way, we'd best get out of here before any other Fanteians work up the courage to attack us. Can you walk?"
Even though she felt close to death, she didn't think being carried would improve her chances of survival to any meaningful degree. "I think I can." She might not brag as much as Finn, but she had pride nonetheless.
Leaning heavily on Finn while he helped her up, Rose forced herself to her feet, the world a spinning blur all the way. He mused as she rested her head on his shoulder, "You're putting all your weight on me. It's almost as bad as making me carry you." His tone let her know he understood he couldn't expect anything more considering her condition, though.
They walked towards where they'd left their prepared wagon. Though they passed some Fanteians on the way, nobody tried to attack despite their wounded states, probably too shocked by Deathend's defeat to dare challenge his slayers. Rose grew sleepy, her torturous pain largely replaced by simple numbness, but she kept going, her adamant spirit unwilling to let go of her flesh. She stumbled several times when her weakness peaked, but Finn held her up, as if by doing so he refused to let his wife slip into the reaper's grasp. Finally they reached the wagon.
Finn helped Rose lay herself down inside the vehicle, fear clear in his eyes that when she fell asleep, her life would flee in her slumber. "How are you doing, love?" he asked, sitting at her side as Danica drove them out of Ohere.
Her reply came out a weak cough. Clearing her throat, she whispered, "Feel all broken up. I never had such big holes put in me before."
Growing panic showed in his voice as he begged, "Don't die, Rose. Promise me you won't die!"
She smiled wanly. "I'll try."
"Don't try, live. I need you."
She nodded. Cradling her in his lap, Finn stroked her singed, blood-caked hair and she relaxed, savoring the comfort his love gave her no matter how her body felt.
Chapter 12
Sean woke to see Rose pale and still beside him in the rolling wagon, a peaceful expression on her face, and his heart sank with grief. She must have died from her wounds, an inevitable tragedy given their awful nature. Yet she'd achieved the destiny that was supposed to be his. How useless he was...
Relief flooded his mind when she opened her eyes. "Idiot. You thought I was dead, didn't you?"
"How did you know..? Your eyes were closed."
"I heard you crying." She smiled as she pointed out, "This is the second time you mistakenly thought my life was at the end of its endurance. Don't you ever learn?"
"I'm very glad you're still alive, even if it should be medically impossible. So how do you feel, lady of iron?"
She giggled. "I don't know if you can call me a lady. As for my health, I have barely working torn up lungs, a well-cooked heart, mostly shattered ribs on one side, and a giant gash through my shoulder. I'm also covered in severe burns and deep holes we had to fish metal out of. How do I feel? Happy that all of us survived!"
He smiled at her amazing capacity for humor even when hurting as much as she was, then frowned with disappointment in himself. "Looks like I couldn't even fulfil a prophecy I was destined to and you had to do it for me, huh? I'm so useless."
Rose looked compassionately into his eyes and shook her head. "No, Sean, don't think that way. The prophecy could be interpreted many ways, remember? If you give up Belar to be reunited with the rest of Terlon, you can prevent war... between you and your sister. And if you help her work towards peace with whoever comes to lead Fanteia, and rein in her temper, maybe you can really rid this land of war's grasp."
Thinking about it, he hadn't been really running Belar much more than Rose had as queen, and mainly just let his advisors egg him into making the choices they wanted him to. He wasn't experienced or strong-willed enough to truly be a leader yet, but maybe as an advisor, he could actually do more. "All right, you've convinced me. When we get back, I'm going to hand my crown over to Danica."
Rose nodded with a satisfied grin. "I'm glad you've decided to do what's best. It sho
uld be safer for you and Katie too, not to mention your kid."
"Yeah, I guess I've been pretty inconsiderate of her. I'm sorry, okay Rose? I'll try to be a mature person from now on."
"Oh, don't apologize to me. I mean, coming here to help you with your family issues led to me getting to put a 'war god' on my win record."
Sean hugged her, wondering how long it would be before he saw her again after she left this time. He wished she could stay, but knew they both had their own paths to follow.
"So how many soldiers do you think you killed before they stopped coming?" he heard Finn ask his sister.
Danica shrugged, yet managed to look cocky doing it. "At least two fifty, maybe more. You?"
"Two hundred-ish. I had two Fanteian champions to your one, though."
"Mine wasn't falling apart."
Finn grunted. Then he scooted over next to Rose and mussed her hair. "We all know who the real woman of the hour is, though!"
"Cut that out! It's making flakes of dried blood fall into my eyes, you oaf!"
"By the way," Sean asked after things calmed down, "about that magic center..."
"I think we'll wait to discuss that when the country's a little more stabilized," Rose said. At Danica's insulted look at her, she added, "Yeah, I know you're a proud strong queen. But after all that's happened, you should probably focus on making sure the current institutions of the country are working smoothly before adding any more."
#
Back in Polier, after they'd all gotten a chance to have their injuries properly treated and clean up, Sean visited Danica in her room. He bowed his head nervously when she looked his way. "Hi. I came to tell you I won't be competing with you any longer. You can have Belar back, and your crown too." If hearing that pleased her, her cold eyes didn't show it. "By the way, hope your wounds heal up well—especially those nasty ones on your face. That looks painful."
She spat, shockingly for a queen in her own dwelling. "What, all of a sudden you like me now?"
He exhaled, knowing he deserved hostility after all the wrong choices he'd made. "No. I won't lie and claim I like you, because I don't know you. But we're family, and I realize it'd be better for us to work together for our country than be at each other's throats. So I'm willing to get to know you, and maybe then, even though you're a brutal monster, I can like you."
"That was... blunt enough to be admirable," Danica said with a hint of a smile. "By the way, I consider 'brutal monster' a compliment."
"I kind of figured you might. Bet living here in a trade city isn't very interesting to you, huh? I guess you won't have to stay anymore now that you have Belar back."
"I think I might, though. I've come to like being near the sea. The smell, the breeze, the seafood, they all soothe me." She paused. "So how would you like to be mayor of Belar? You'll get to stay in that nice big house you're used to by now, and continue to have a place in government."
Though surprised by her generous offer, Sean shook his head. "No. I still want to participate in politics, but I'd rather do it at your side as an advisor. Thanks for the offer anyway. What do you think of mine?"
"You wouldn't be a very savvy advisor, I'd think." The grin tugging at her mouth turned into a full blown smile. "But I suppose I could trust you to be honest more than most. Fine, you can 'advise' me; whether I'll listen remains to be seen."
He nodded, figuring he would earn her respect if his advice proved to have merit. "That'll do," he said, and shook hands with his sister—reminding him of her very strong grip.
#
Despite her incredibly severe wounds, Rose insisted on going home. This time, thankfully, Finn got them a ride on the sturdiest looking ship he could find. She wouldn't have enjoyed a swim now. They waved goodbye to Sean, Katie, and Danica, Finn supporting Rose as she could still barely stand. When their friends were out of sight, they went downstairs, and she smiled gratefully as he covered the hard bed with soft linens for her benefit. He tucked her in gently, his face full of concern and worry though she'd already survived for over a week since taking her hideous wounds.
"So Rose," he said unexpectedly, "want to visit Evan on the way back? It'll only take an extra day or so."
It was true the trip wouldn't take them far off course, but she asked, "Why?"
"The question, remember? I still want to ask him that question I missed the chance to when you decided to run away from Julian and Trevor."
"I did not run away!"
"Yes you did."
Technically, she supposed she had at least avoided a battle with them, but said, "Hey, I probably could have taken them both by myself." She had beaten Julian and Regis at the same time, even if it'd cost her dearly.
Her husband stroked her cheek. "Of course you could have. But you still made us flee like cowards!"
She punched his arm and found herself surprised at how weakly she hit. And that was with the right arm, the left still not working yet. "I'm one beat up woman, aren't I?"
"Right now, or in general?"
Rose chuckled. "The answer's the same, isn't it?"
"Yes. You're the beat up, scarred to hell woman of my dreams."
"Dreams? I'm right here!"
Rose and Finn stopped by Evan's island, only to discover the seer was nowhere to be found. She'd thought he never left. The couple looked for him until nightfall, but then had to return to the ship. Finn's offer of doubled payment convinced the captain to wait another day, but they still could not find Evan. Finally they abandoned the search and resumed their journey back to Kayland, the question of Evan's whereabouts nagging at Rose's mind. They disembarked at Nacin and headed home.
Returning to Gustrone, Rose could already feel something was wrong. They entered the Center for Magical Study, and their clerk Wendy confirmed they were about to receive bad news. "There's something Derrick needs to tell you," she said without looking at them. "He thought it would be best if you heard it straight from him."
Rose's heart raced like a boar with its tail on fire as she limped hurriedly up to Derrick's room and threw the door open, forgetting even to knock. The scholar lay in his bed, brown hair obscured by bandages around his head.
"Derrick! Are you all right?" Finn asked.
"I'll live. Just a little bump on the head. The big problem isn't that I'm hurt. Rose, Finn... your children got kidnapped again. And once again, I couldn't stop it. I got hurt when the man who did it shoved me down and I hit my head on a lamp rest—sorry."
It'd been less than two years since the first time Jacob and Amber were taken from their home by an enemy of their parents. Why did people find them such appealing targets? She had thought about improving security, but that would be hard in a place like this. This type of thing certainly made a good argument for her and Finn to stay home more... "What did he look like? Did he say anything?"
Derrick's answer surprised her as much as any could have. "He said his name was Evan and to tell only the two of you, and that you'd know where to find him."
Evan? Why would he kidnap her children?! They weren't enemies—were they?
"I'm going to kill that damn prophet," Finn snarled. "Always messing up people's lives by making them do crazy things in hopes of fulfilling their destinies, and now he has to go and mess with our kids, too? If he did anything to harm them..." His clenched fist quivered with rage.
Rose couldn't even imagine how she'd feel if her children got hurt, but wondered, "Why would he take them? I see no reason for him to, and he didn't seem like a malicious person." But then again, they'd only talked to him briefly. How could they possibly know what kind of person he was? "Let's go see him. I assume he'll be back on his island, considering what he told Derrick." And after Rose retrieved her old steel sword to replace her broken Thorn, the couple rushed back downstairs to the stables.
#
They reached Nacin well into the night, and had to wait a few hours before finding a ship to take them to Evan's island. "Think he's set a trap for us?" Rose asked as they d
ragged their rowboat onto the beach where they'd swam up the first time they visited the isle.
Finn shrugged, anger exaggerating the movement of his shoulders. "If he has, we'll smash through it and destroy him."
Though she still couldn't figure out why the hell Evan might have taken their twins, she nodded. Making their way swiftly yet with caution through the forest to where the seer resided, Rose and Finn prepared themselves for anything. But what happened next still surprised them. A few short steps into the cave, Evan stepped forth and handed them their children.
"I'm so glad you're here," Jacob and Amber's kidnapper said.
"What?!" Rose asked, shock not quite negating her outrage. "Why did you take them in the first place?" Finn's mace was out and raised, and she stepped in front of him to keep him from possibly killing Evan before he could explain his actions. He obviously hadn't harmed the kids, and didn't intend to keep them, so why on earth..?
Keeping a frightful eye on her husband, the seer spoke fast. "Please don't hurt me, I did it to save them! There were assassins coming for them."
"And did you see this in a vision?" Finn demanded, no longer seeming to have murderous intent, but still understandably irate. Rose herself didn't appreciate being nearly scared out of her wits by Evan, but if his words were credible, she was more interested in knowing who would try to kill her kids so she could promptly put an end to them. People willing to murder children didn't need or deserve mercy.
"No! I heard it from the mouth of the one who intends to kill them."
Rose could sense that Evan was terrified to reveal what he knew, and asked gently, "Who is this person? I promise I won't let them harm you, because they'll be dead."
His face didn't grow any more confident as he said, "It was the regent of your country, Crown Prince Lawrence."
What?! This was crazier than anything she could have imagined; not only did she consider Lawrence a good, honorable ruler and man, he knew Rose and Finn personally, and had often granted them favors in reward for the deeds they'd done for the nation. It seemed preposterous that he would consider doing such a thing. Now Rose was the one to ask, "And did you see this in a vision?"
