| Chapter 57 The white unicorn made its way through the trees. It was tired, having run as fast as it could for most of the day. It was also worried. The poor soul on its back hadn't moved in quite a long time, and the unicorn could sense its heart beat and breathing. Neither were what it remembered as normal. Something about this creature on it's back tugged at its heart. There was a desperation in his eyes, a longing the unicorn couldn't explain. The rain had finally stopped, making the path easier. Picking up it's pace a little, the unicorn trotted out of the trees into a clearing. He remembered this place from when he was little. The unicorn trotted across the clearing to the house on the other side. Everything seemed the same, down to the tattered barn behind the house. Slowly walking to the door, the unicorn hoped the same people still lived here. Upon reaching the door, the creature turned around and kicked it with its back leg. He looked back, waiting for someone to come out. Another moment passed, and the unicorn kicked the door again, this time harder. Hearing someone coming, he turned to face the door. He watched as the door flew open, a young man coming out. "Who is banging on my....?" he said, stopping mid-sentence seeing the unicorn standing there. The man cautiously walked forward, not knowing if this was some kind of trick, or the man riding the unicorn was really in need of some help. The man looked up at Brian, "Hey, you alright?" Getting no answer, he reached up and shook him, noting how hot his skin felt, "You awake?" The unicorn turned its head and let out a pitiful whine. "Aubrey, come help me!" the man called, trying to untangle the unicorns mane from Brian's wrists. A young woman came out of the house, "What is ...... oh my," she said. "Help me get him untangled," the man said, finally freeing the hand he was working on. Aubrey ran to the other side, unwrapping Brian's hand. She gasped when she uncovered his mark, "Cameron, come look at this!" The man walked over, taking Brian's limp hand and looking at his mark, "Well, bless my lucky stars. This is the kings friend, the blended one." Aubrey looked at him, "What's he doing way out here?" "I don't know, but lets get him in. He's not sounding to good," Cameron replied, reaching up and pulling Brian down off the unicorn. He carried him into the house and deposited him on the bed. "We need to get him out of those wet clothes," Aubrey said. Cameron nodded, helping her disrobe Brian and get him settled. "He's burning up with fever," he noted, as he unwrapped the dressing from Brian's injured leg, "Oh shit!" Aubrey looked down, grimacing at the wound. Cameron got up heading to the door, "I'm going down to the clinic to get a few things. Try to keep him warm." Aubrey nodded, watching her husband head out the door. As the door shut she looked down, seeing how matted Brian's hair was, and his unshaven face. "Let's get you cleaned up, shall we?" she said, going to get the supplies she needed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A.J. sat in the hospital room watching Marie sleep. He'd been there all day. He knew the doctors had sedated her, but still he stayed, just in case she woke up. He didn't want her to be alone, and he felt somewhat guilty. He'd promised her that nothing would happen to the baby, and it had. He knew he didn't have any control over the situation, but he still felt like he'd broken his promise. He sighed, resting his head in his hands. This whole situation was just to much to take. After hearing the news, all the boys had cried. Then Nick took off in a hurry, not telling anyone where he was going. Kevin had taken Ana out to the garden to get some air, and Howie had gone to get A.J. something to eat. He wasn't about to eat what the medical ward was serving, knowing that all hospital food, wether you're on Earth or Celeste tasted the same, tasteless. He raised up, staring out the windows. The suns were making their decent. It had rained for most of the day, the clouds only clearing an hour ago. As twilight fell, he wondered where his brother was. Wondered what Brian was having to endure, if he was still alive. He hated to admit it, but he was losing hope of ever seeing him again. But he would never let Marie see that. For her he would hang onto the last shred of hope there was, just to spare her the pain of the alternative. He looked over at her sleeping form. Even in heavy sedation, her face still looked pained. A.J. shook his head, trying to make the tears that welled up dissolve. He had gotten close to Marie since Brian's disappearance. They had gotten to know each other better, and had become good friends. It pained A.J. to see his friend like this, haunted even in her sleep. He looked up as Howie came in carrying a tray. "I grabbed this from the kitchen," he said, setting it down. A.J walked over and picked at the fruit. "She still out," Howie said. "Yup," A.J. answered. "You wanna take a break? I can stay," Howie offered. "Naw man, I feel like I need to be here when she wakes up," he said. Howie nodded, sitting down and scanning through the vid for something to occupy his mind. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick sat in the cave, staring at the picture on the wall. He'd been there for hours, but he couldn't make himself leave. He felt awful. Knowing he was needed back at the palace, but not having the heart to go. He knew Marie would be angry with him. How could she not? It was his fault Brian was taken, and because of the stress that put on her, she lost their baby. If Maire never spoke to him again, he'd completely understand. He didn't feel much like talking to himself either. He stared at his image on the wall, chills running down his back. He knew it was the future he was seeing. The only problem was, it didn't portray how it ended. There were no paintings of a victorious king. Nor were there images of a defeated one either. He sighed, trying to push his anger away. None of this should be happening. He knew being king wasn't all a bed of roses, but no man should have to endure what he was. The stress was weighting him down, clamping his soul and smothering him. Realizing he was getting nowhere sitting here feeling sorry for himself and his situation, he got up, leaving the cave in a hurry. He needed to vent, and he knew just where to go. He ran through the garden and quickly entered the palace. Storming through the halls, his anger building. He passed several guards and servants, saying nothing to them. Thankfully they were all smart enough not to address him. The look on his face said it all. The king was royally pissed! He made it to his destination, ordering a guard to open the cell. Once the door was open he rushed in, glaring at Devon. Devon stood up, realizing something had happened by the look on Nick's face. "Do you want to know what your silence has done?" Nick growled. Devon stared at him, afraid to answer. He'd never seen Nick this angry before, and didn't know what to expect from the younger man. "I'll tell you! Your beloved sister lost her child!" Nick yelled. "What?!" Devon said, in shock. "She lost the baby. You could've prevented this! If you'd just told us who your superiors were, we might have found Brian by now!" Nick seethed. Devon looked down at the floor, tears stinging his eyes, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he uttered. Nick grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him into the wall, "Sorry doesn't cut it you asshole! Now who are they!" Devon cringed with each word, still looking down, "I-I can't, you don't understand." Nick let go, glaring at him, "What? Tell me what I don't understand, other than you're to worried about your sorry ass to do anything to help your sister!" Devon shook his head, "I'm doing this to protect her!" Nick sighed, still glaring at him, "You're what?" "I'm staying quiet to protect her. These people are very powerful, if I ...if I tell you who they are, they'll hurt Marie and my dad," Devon cried, letting the tears he was holding back fall. Nick stepped back, considering him for a moment, "So all this time you really did care about your family?" "Yes, I um I never thought I needed them, but lately we've gotten close again. I can't tell you what you want, they wouldn't be safe," he answered. "I would protect them," Nick offered. Devon shook his head, "Not even you could keep them safe." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aubrey added another log to the fire. She had washed Brian from head to toe, even shaving his face. He looked much better, but his breathing was worrying her. He wheezed with every forced breath, and she silently prayed for her husband to hurry back. She sat down, picking up her knitting project, looking around the old house. Her husband had inherited the home from his father, who during his lifetime was the local doctor. Cameron had followed in his father's footsteps, taking over the practice when he passed on. Aubrey had grown up in the next village, and the two had recently been married. She glanced over when Brian coughed in his sleep. Getting up she walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, gently stroking his face as he wheezed. She knew Brian had recently gotten married too, and wondered how he'd gotten so far away from the palace. Just then Cameron walked through the door, his arms full of supplies from his clinic. Aubrey got up and helped her husband. Cameron immediately started an IV and rolled the portable oxygen tank over, setting it up and placing the mask over Brian's face. "What do you think is wrong with him?" Aubrey asked. "I'm sure that's a bite from a war dog, which means he's fighting the poison," he answered. Brian coughed again, making them both wince at the sound. Cameron looked at his wife, "Right now the poison's winning." "Did you try to contact the palace?" she asked after Cameron finished working on Brian. "I tried, but I think the storm knocked out the satellites. I'll try again in the morning," he answered. "Did the unicorn tell you what happened?" she asked, going into the kitchen to prepare supper. "He told me as much as he could. That unicorn knew dad, that's why he stopped here for help," Cameron mused. Aubrey smiled, "Well, your father was well known in these parts." Cameron laughed, "I suppose so." Brian's moan caught both their attentions. Cameron walked over as Brian began coughing. He noticed how badly Brian was trembling, and the tiny beads of sweat on his forehead. "Honey, can you get another blanket?" he said, sitting down next to Brian, trying to calm him. Brian's eyes fluttered open, then closed again. Aubrey spread the blanket out over him as his eyes opened. Cameron leaned into his line of vision, "Hey there, how are you feeling?" Brian stared at him for a moment, looking confused. He opened his mouth to say something, but coughed instead. "Easy," Cameron said, "You're safe now." Brian nodded, then closed his eyes. Aubrey glanced at her husband as Brian drifted back into unconsciousness, "He's not doing well is he?" Cameron shook his head, "No, he's not." Chapter 58 |