~Dreams~

Her eyes still shut tight, Oris held her breath, waiting for what the three men in front of her would choose to do.

There were really only two options.

The first was attacking without any concern for her life.

The second was letting Bren go now and attempting to capture him later when her safety had been ensured.

It was obvious that the second option would give Bren the highest chance at surviving this whole escapade, so his only hope now was that Oris' well-being turned out to be more important to the men than capturing the man that had almost killed the Emperor.

"Don't be hasty," she heard Magnus try to play mediator, his voice as cool and calculative as ever, "if a way out is what you want, we will give you one. Just leave the lady behind."

"You must think me a fool." Bren's voice was equally as frigid. "The moment I drop her, your bowman will sink a bolt in my back and I will die without having had a chance to help myself."

Oris felt the blade of his sword press harder against her neck as he continued, "Here is what will happen. None of you shifts their foot by even a step as I leave. If I get any sense of you chasing after me, I will slit her pretty throat."

"How are we sure you won't kill her anyway?" Oris heard Lord Eugene ask.

"I'm not the one who shot her now, am I?" Bren replied emotionlessly. "After I leave, you will find the lady in one of the many rooms in your palace, unharmed by me."

"Fine!" It was Hermes speaking now. "Do as you wish. As long as you do not hurt her, we will not give chase."

"I'm sorry," Bren whispered to Oris a moment later and tightened his arm around her waist to apply to her wound as discreetly as he could.

He dragged her with him as he took a step away from Hermes and his entourage. "I didn't know."

"I forgive you," Oris whispered back, glad that the men could not see her lips moving behind her blood-soaked veil.

"I cannot take you with me."

Another step back.

"The palace is too fortified. I didn't plan on escaping."

Oris' breath halted at that. "You planned to die."

"I had nothing to live for without you by my side," he said quietly. "I did not know what happened to you or who had taken you. Revenge was the only path left for me."

"Don't you dare leave me behind."

"You are dying in my arms."

"I don't care."

"I do."

Another small step towards freedom.

When Bren began loosening his grip on her, Oris' eyes flew open. Her mind reeled as it tried to come up with a way to stop him from leaving this hallway without her.

She saw Mikeal's worry as he stared at her and gripped the hilt of his sword restlessly. She saw Lord Eugene's guilt as the sights of his crossbow continued to follow her and Bren's movements.

She saw nothingness on Hermes' face. Only his furrowed brows gave away the fact that he was thinking deeply.

It was obvious that all three men were waiting for an opportunity to turn the situation around.

Oris didn't want to be the one to give that to them. She couldn't let Bren's indecision cost him his life.

How great would it be if his hostage was anyone but me? Her gaze fell to the sword still in her hand. It was a miracle that she had managed to hold on to it all this while. She could barely feel her arm, not to talk of the fingers she had wrapped around its hilt.

Slowly, her thoughts and vision were growing fuzzy, but she was sure that she couldn't let abandon Bren her here.

Not like this.

She didn't even know when she was going to see him again. After this attack, the level of security in the palace would no doubt increase. If she couldn't go with him today, she wouldn't have the opportunity to do so for a very long time.

Now that she knew that her supporters were the assassins that had snuck into the palace, she had so many questions.

How are we going to gather any more troops after today's slaughter? How am I going to confirm my identity if another attack is planned and I get caught in the middle of it? How do we keep morale up when it spreads through the camps that I am in the running for being one of Hermes' women?

There were still too many things left unsaid that could not remain so, and in order to shed light on them she needed to buy time.

The instant Bren released her, she let a pained cry slip past her lips and staggered forward forcefully to make it look as though she had broken free with a sudden burst of strength. Before Hermes and the others could react, she spun on her heel and swung the sword at Bren.

It was a sloppy attack. She didn't have enough control of her limbs to put any power into it or get into a proper stance. It was likely that the blade wouldn't even manage to graze Bren, but he raised his own sword to defend anyway. Years of training made the movement instinctive.

Oris couldn't stop the sword from flying out of her loose grip. She paid no heed to her lost weapon as it clattered further down the hallway, choosing instead to set a glare no one else could see on her knight.

Swaying unsteadily on her feet, she silently dared him to leave her behind.

Lord Eugene was no doubt aiming his crossbow to get another shot in, leaving Bren with little time to make a choice.

The first bolt nearly scratched Oris' cheek as it made it's way to Bren, leaving her convinced of the bowman's accuracy and thankful that she had shielded Bren with her body the first time around.

There was now no doubt in her mind that he would have died if the bolt had met its mark.

She watched him deflect the first of many waves of bolts that would attack him.

He knocked the short arrows aside with the body of his sword then reached into his belt and pulled out a handful of black pellets.

They exploded when he threw them at the ground by his feet, and soon the hallway was flooded with thick grey smoke.

It bought Bren some time before Hermes and his men rushed to attack him.

He slid his sword into the scabbard on his back and rushed to Oris, lifting her off her feet and holding her close to his chest before she could fall to the ground.

"You are too stubborn," he hissed by her ear.

He sounded just as he had in her dream, and his voice filled her chest with warmth and nostalgia.

"I missed you," Oris admitted weakly and pressed her face into his arm, trying to forget about the blood still pouring out her side. She couldn't feel it just yet and she wanted it to stay that way. "I could not bear thinking that this would be the last we see each other."

"You doubt my ability to escape, Your Majesty?"

Oris waited a breath before answering. It was getting harder to speak. "I doubt my ability to live."

"You will not die." Bren managed to get one of the many doors in the hallway open while holding her.

He rushed into the room and laid her on the bed there with as much care he could manage.

For a moment, they just stared at each other until Oris reached up to drag her hand along the black cloth covering his face. "Let me see your face, Bren."

"What?" He grabbed hand before she could begin tugging on his mask. "What did you call me?"

"Bren," she said with a strained laugh that had her gasping a moment later. "I. . . missed that."

"Your Majesty-"

"Call me. . . like you used to. If I die-"

"You won't-"

"Not now. In the future," Oris whispered earnestly, hoping he understood.

"Hermes does not seem to suspect your identity."

"He will," she retorted. "His mother. . . wants me dead."

Bren stayed silent. He only held onto her hand and rubbed comforting circles into her clammy palm before feeling her pulse.

"Don't move," he said after he was done. He pressed her hand onto her wound and walked out of the room without another word.

She shut her eyes when the door shut and tried to regulate her breathing while applying pressure around the arrow. Bleeding to death was not a pretty way to die but she knew that pulling it out would only make things much worse.

Despite everything about her current situation being dismal, Oris felt no panic.

She had already foreseen that this was the day she would finally succumb to her acts of stubbornness. Fate had just decided to add a crossbow bolt into the mix.

The wound on her neck was probably infected. More than one poison might be coursing through her veins. And she was more starved than healthy.

She supposed that if she survived this, Hermes would have no choice but to make it up to her. His mother tried to kill her and one of his men shot her. These sort of things could easily be brought up by dissatisfied members of his Court and if it not handled properly, turn into a huge conspiracies that would wreak unimaginable havoc on his already poor image.

When Oris opened her eyes again, Bren was sitting on the bed beside her, wrapping a white cloth around bleeding his hand.

She hadn't heard him come back in.

She blinked back her surprise. "What did you do?"

"For someone with a bolt sticking out of her, you have a lot of energy," he muttered and held his unwounded hand in her direction. "Eat this."

Oris stared at the little pill sitting on his palm. "What is it?"

"Not poison."

She didn't ask again, parting her lips slightly so that he could drop it into her mouth.

She grimaced at the sour taste of it but swallowed regardless.

"I was leading the Emperor and his men on a fae chase to buy us more time," he said to answer her first question. "How did you get into the palace?"

Oris understood that this was not an opportunity for them to catch up on each other's lives. Any moment now, Hermes could burst through the door and apprehend the both of them. They had to be fast about their conversation.

Despite her shortness of breath, she managed to give a manageable version of the events that had led up to where they were now.

"That slimy innkeeper." Bren grinded his teeth on each other. "He told me that you were kidnapped. I doubted it when I found no signs of struggle at the stables but he was my only clue. It was no wonder the trail grew cold."

"Eve. . .and her father?"

Bren shook his head.

"They. . . devil's preach." Oris blinked, trying to think of the words that had just slipped her mind. "Letter. . . Me. . . Palace."

"When everything has been settled, I will find a way to contact you." Bren nodded then glanced at the door. "They will be here soon, I have to go."

Oris wanted to reach out to grab him but realized that she couldn't even raise a finger. "That pill. . ."

". . .is the only weapon I have against your stubbornness." Bren chuckled and pressed his lips on her forehead.

He patted down her hair and held her for gaze a moment. "Close your eyes, Oris. Pretend that this was all a dream."

"You always. . .cheat," Oris managed to say, despite her slurring voice and leaden tongue.

"It was necessary this time. You are running on fear alone, once that runs out, the pain is going to rush at you and take your breath away. It is better that you are asleep when it happens."

"How. . .you. . .going?"

At last, Bren tugged down his mask. Now she could see his lips curve up into a smile more brilliant than the ones she remembered. "The same way I got in, through the window."

That was the last thing Oris remembered before the drug kicked in and darkness consumed the last vestiges of her consciousness.

~

Oh, finally done. Was so busy today. It's almost 10om where I am. And yes, there is a reason Oris barely felt pain during this entire thing, I wasn't just pretending like being stabbed doesn't hurt. A lot.

Who's glad to have Bren back? Who thinks that Oris is stupid for wanting extra time with him? Tell me your thoughts!

See you next Monday!