章節 360: Shaken Up
"What happened?" the princess asked, not ready to leave her protective cover.
The Guardian answered her animatedly. "It was crazy! The big guy stopped attacking as soon as the other one made that shriek. Then they hauled up the third monster and fled with some papers from the desk. Mair, what exactly did you do?"
"She saved us," Renat groaned, rolling over to lay on his stomach. Without the weight of the creature on him, he was able to move, although the pounding from the crack on his head had not yet subsided. In addition, his ribs felt on fire.
Mairwen peeked over the desk as she felt her cheeks burn. "I didn't save us; Chancellor Fannur did. I saw what he was reaching for and used it against those monsters." The princess made her way over to the fallen headmaster and shut his eyes. "I only wish it had been able to save him too."
Alaron nodded, "It is most unfortunate." He looked at the drops scattered on the ground. They seemed harmless enough. "I wonder what was in that elixir. It would be most handy to have should we run into those fiends again."
The Guardian went over to his brother-in-law and helped him to his feet. Renat winced and tried to keep from falling over. He settled for sitting in the only chair left in one piece.
"The Chancellor had his own experiments going in addition to monitoring everyone else's. If it was his own concoction, we may never know what it was," the lanky man said as he held his head in his hands. "He was a brilliant man," he added looking over at the still form.
There was no doubt even from this distance that Fannur was dead. Renat pushed away his sadness. There would be time to mourn later.
"What do we do now?" He asked, trying to stay focused.
The Guardian traced the path where the reptiles had fled. "Well we can't chase those creatures with the two of you being injured. I suppose there is nothing to do except get out of here and get you both some help."
"We can't just leave him like this," Mairwen motioned to the dead man, "no one will know what happened!"
The princess walked over to her husband and cradled his head against her stomach with her good arm. The sight of his unfocused gaze made her waver…Not to mention the searing pain that was growing by the moment in her shoulder. Before long, she would be overcome and pass out.
"We should at least leave a note…" she urged them.
Alaron scoffed at her suggestion. "And say what? It was lizards? No, we can tell mother when we are able to talk to her in the mirror. Until then…"
"Over here! A light!" A half dozen footsteps rang out on the stone floor. "Chancellor, we heard a strange sound. Are you—-ahhhh!"
The first guard entered the office and was wholly unprepared for what he saw. The room was in shambles, the Chancellor lay dead, and three strangers in dark clothes were now facing him.
"Don't move!" He ordered as the other two soldiers filed in behind him.
"Time to go," Alaron pulled a spear from his cloak and launched it to the top of the door frame. The metal tip lodged in the wood and the shaft swayed up and down wildly.
The soldiers ducked and tried to shield themselves outside the door, giving Alaron enough time to get Renat on his feet.
"Come on," Mairwen moved to the back of the office and to the Chancellor's large window. Unfortunarely, the office was on the third floor of the massive building. They would have to jump. Already behind them the soldiers had regrouped, fanning out to avoid another surprise spear.
"Surrender," the sergeant ordered.
Alaron did not hesitate. He scooped Renat onto his back and leapt out the window.
"Not again!" the scientist gasped as they descended. The Guardian landed on gracefully on his feet and bent knees. He lowered the man on his back to the to the ground.
"Jump! I'll catch you!" the silver-eyed man called to his sister.
Mairwen turned and saw the soldiers approaching with drawn swords. She thought of revealing herself for a moment. Surely it was better to be in trouble with her mother than leap out a window. However the thought that one or more of the soldiers might be with the lizard creatures gave her pause.
She held her breath, closed her eyes and plunged herself to the ground. Alaron's strong arms intercepted her before she hit the ground, but then the soft ground below the Guardian shifted. Instead of a picturesque landing from a storybook, the twins landed sprawled on the grass in a mess of arms and legs.
The princess's shoulder hurt terribly, but the rest of her seemed to be uninjured. She tried to ignore the pain.
"You are heavier than I remember," Alaron joked as he stood and rubbed his bottom.
"And you are clumsier than I remember," Mairwen retorted, sticking out her tongue. "Look, there's Eira. Let's go!"
Having landed in the front courtyard of the University, Eira was quickly at hand to help the battered trio get to the horses. As the alarm was being sounded and the reinforcements called, the group slipped into the winding streets of the city of Valiant.
Eira led the way in her armor to clear a path, and the few soldiers they passed in the darkness greeted her but asked no questions.
After a circuitous route, the group reached the inn and stowed their horses. The princess ripped off her mask, very glad to finally breathe without the black cloth wrapped around her face. Renat followed suit before they entered.
Finding the inn's halls dark and empty, the group met in one of the rooms and filled in Eira on the attack as they surveyed their wounds.
"It seems like they were after some sort of key. And then they took the notes that we looked over with Fannur this afternoon." Mairwen said as Alaron cleaned her wound. She hissed against the pain.
"Why would monsters be after Dania and Taran's notes?" Eira did not really expect an answer.
Renat, whose head had finally cleared, sighed. "I hate to say it, but...I think I am switching teams. Something is off with Dania's disappearance. You were right, Mairwen. I'm sorry for doubting your instincts. I love you."
"Could you say that again?" The princess looked up at him with an expectant expression.
"I think that something is wrong about how Dania left. She needs our help and we should find her." Renat answered with conviction.
Mairwen furrowed her brow. "Not that part, the next bit..."
"I love you?" The scientist scratched his chin.
"The part that was in between those two, please." The dark haired woman inhaled sharply as her brother tried to remove the last shred of cloth from the scratches.
"Ooooh...you, Mairwen, Princess of Valiant, were right." Renat reached forward and kissed her hand, hoping to distract her from the pain.
"It's nice to hear that after two months of doubt. I love you too." Mairwen winced. "Though it would feel much better if my brother weren't treating me like a science experiment all his own. What are you doing?!"
Alaron pushed back his hood to get a closer look. His face appeared from the void, fraught with concern. "The wound looks wrong. It is already infected. You don't think the lizards had poison on their claws, do you?"
"Possibly. Do I need to stitch it up?" Renat came around to look at his wife's exposed shoulder. He felt suddenly sick. It was nothing like he had ever seen even on the battlefield. Eira, too, seemed speechless.
"Your stunned silence is not reassuring," Mairwen joked, trying to tamp down her rising fear.
"Sorry. It's just…wow." Alaron had no other words.
"Not helpful," the princess was growing frustrated. "What do we do about it? I do not feel well." Eira brought over the chamber pot from the side of the room just in time for Mairwen to retch into it.
With the other woman's help, the princess laid down on her stomach on the bed. The slender female looked ready to pass out. The wound looked worse than it had even a moment before, like it was…growing.
"We need a doctor, now." Eira would not let her mistress die.
"Wait!" Licking his lips, Alaron came to a decision. "I have an idea, Mair. Hold still." He pulled out a vial of glowing light from a pouch at his side.
"What is that? Will it heal her?" Renat's questions overlapped as he squinted at the curious bottle.
"It's hard to explain, and I hope so." The silver-eyed man answered.
The vial had been given to him by Justum to turn him into a Guardian. It was never to be taken internally by another human, but it was supposedly a wonderous topical healer.
Alaron uncorked the stopper and without waiting for permission let a single drop fall from the vial onto the woman's back. It contacted the middle of the viscous crimson stripes and turned black.
Alaron stood suspended over the injury unsure if he should drop anymore. "Hm...I don't know how long..."
Suddenly, the drop glowed. The entire room was engulfed in light brighter than even the sun. The Guardian corked the bottle and shielded his eyes, trying to make sure his sister was alright. The light waned and pulsed. Something was wrong.
"Is it supposed to...?" Renat began but Alaron cut him off.
"I don't think so..." he responded quickly. "We better wash it off before--"
The battle between the injury and the potion came to a head at that moment. Mairwen screamed, her body contorting uncontrollably in ways no human should. A blinding pulse of greenish light accompanied by an unseen force shook Renat, Eira and Alaron from their feet.
"Earthquake!"
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