One Last Hope

  A young woman ran quickly through the woods, her feet slipping on the damp leaves.  Her breaths now came in gasps and her ears heard the footfalls of her pursuer.  She bent her head forward, eyes scanning the ground below her.  Her eyes strained against the darkness that consumed the woods she was in, the only light was that of the moon reflecting off of the dew.  Tears stained her cheeks as her legs pulsed with pain.  She heard her pursuer quickly closing the gap between them.  Her step faltered, and she collapsed onto the cold ground.  A cackle echoed behind her, and a shadow blocked her vision of the moon.

"You are the last one, Elzabet, and you know as well as I do that all good things must come to an end," the shadow hissed, drawing a silver dagger from his shadowy folds.  "You are the last one from the blasted royal line.  After you are finished, I will be too strong to be defeated by mere mortals."  The shadow held the silver dagger in front of its face, red eyes gleaming in the dark.  It held the dagger above its head before bringing it down and into Elzabet.  The last thing she heard was its wicked cackling before succumbing to the darkness.

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"Sir, sir!  I...I believe she is coming to!" a muffled voice said somewhere above Elzabet.
   
"Wha...? Oh, oh, good!" another voice, obviously a male's, said to her right.  She felt a calloused hand rest on her forehead, and a strange warmth spread from the fingertips.
 
  "Milady, please open your eyes" the masculine voice muttered, now above Elzabet.  She groaned as she felt rough fingers prod her stomach, pain coursing through her.

    "I am sorry, milady, but this needs to be healed.  Could you possibly tell me how it happened?"

    "Now, Gregor!  She just woke up and already you are taxing her memory?!  Let her rest!" the woman scolded.

    The prodding fingers were drawn away from her and the pain lessened a little.  She fell back into darkness, hearing the man, apparently named Gregor, arguing, "This needs..."

                                                ~*~*~

    Elzabet woke once again, this time opening her eyes and getting her first glimpse of the room she lay in.  A fire was dying in a brick fireplace across the room from her.  Two wooden chairs faced the fireplace with a small table separating them.  She could see the silhouette of a woman reclining in one of the chairs, but did not see any sign of the man until she looked to her left.  A young man with dark brown, curly hair was slouched in a small chair, clearly asleep.  Elzabet slowly tried to sit up, but she let out a whimper and fell back down onto the bed that she was lying on.  The young man woke with a start, reaching for his belt before realizing it was her that had made the noise.

"'ello" the man muttered, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles.  "Might I know your name?"

Elzabet tried to talk, but only managed a strange noise in her throat.  The young man quickly stood, left the room for a moment, before returning with a goblet full of water.

"Take small mouthfuls, and it should help" he muttered, handing her the goblet.  Elzabet took it, and swallowed a mouthful of water greedily.  She took a couple of drinks before looking the man in the eye, noticing his stunning blue eyes for the first time.

"Elzabet, my name is Elzabet.  Could I know yours?" she said in a quiet voice.

"Gregor.  Might I ask how you got that wound, Elzabet?"

"I...I was attacked in the woods by..by Shadeten.  He...he tried to kill me" Elzabet stuttered.

Gregor's eyes got wide in recognition.  "Elzabet...as in Princess Elzabet?  Oh gosh" Gregor said, his hand going to his forehead.  "Word had spread that you had died..." his voice faded off.  "I...I'm so sorry, sorry about your family" he paused, looking down at her.  "I...I need to heal you.  This may hurt at first, but it will fade into numbness, and I suggest you get some sleep."

Elzabet nodded, feeling tired.  Gregor placed his two hands on her stomach, and started chanting under his breath.  A warm, yellow glow spread over her stomach, and a dull pain made itself more prominent.  She whimpered lightly, but Gregor continued to chant, letting the magic flow through his fingers and into Elzabet.  Right before she fell back into that welcoming darkness, she heard him mutter, "Don't worry Elzabet, I am here for you."

Elzabet woke, unsure as to what might have interrupted her sleep.  She heard a light rustle to her left.  She let her eyes wander, and a surprising sight woke her even more.  Gregor had his back, his bare, muscled back, to her.  He pulled his tunic on and searched the floor for something, his eyes coming to a halt on black boots.  He pulled them on and laced them up before he turned around.  His blue eyes met her green ones, and she felt utterly uncomfortable, and yet unable to pull her gaze away. 

"How long have you been up?" Gregor asked quietly.

"I just woke," she replied, finally tearing her eyes away from him and onto her pale, elegant hands.

Silence settled over the room like a blanket until a door to the right squeaked open and a woman, who appeared to be in her thirties, stuck her head in.  Her curly brown hair fell into her face as her chocolate eyes floated between Gregor and Elzabet. 

"I have prepared breakfast if you two are hungry," the woman said.

"Thanks, Aunt Elvia," Gregor said before he looked down at Elzabet. 

"Oh, my dear, I do not mean to be rude.  I am Elvia, Gregor's aunt," she walked fully into the room and walked to Elzabet's side.  "Would you like me to get you some more...appropriate attire?"

Elzabet looked down at herself and took in the once elegant dress, which was now caked in mud and stained with blood.

"Yes, please," Elzabet replied.

Elvia nodded and walked over to a trunk.  "I have a pair of trousers and tunic you could wear."  She looked back at Elzabet, and Elzabet nodded with a slight smile.  Elvia walked over and handed the clothing to Elzabet.  Both Gregor and Elvia left the room and Elvia called back to tell her to join them when she was dressed.

Elzabet thanked her and, once the door was shut, she started to unlace the back of her dress.  She slipped on the tunic and trousers and both fit unbelievably well.  She brushed off imaginary dust and she nervously clasped her hands in front of her.  She walked to the door and nudged it open to find herself outside.  In front of her was a wooden table and at this table sat Gregor and Elvia.  Another chair was placed in front of a plate with some eggs and fruit on it.  She gracefully sat down between Gregor and Elvia and started to eat. 

Breakfast passed in silence, the only noises were a forks scraping across plates and the quiet noises of nature.  Elzabet glanced at Gregor out of the corner of her eye, to find him staring at the treetops.  She quietly watched him for a little while, curious as to where he had come from and how far or long he was willing to help her.  He suddenly looked over at her and she quickly looked away and her hand hit her fork which sent it clattering to the ground.  She bent down to pick it up and she felt her face redden.  When she sat back up, Gregor was looking down, his hand pressed lightly against his mouth and tried to cover a smile.  Elvia remained quiet and shot Gregor a harsh glare before continuing to eat. 

Gregor stood, stretched, and glanced up to the sky again.  Elvia followed his lead and collected both hers and his plates.  Elzabet stood and went to pick up her own plate, but Elvia snatched it before she could pick it up.  Elvia shot her a smile and walked over to a small stream to give them a quick wash. 

"So, what's it like being a Princess?" Gregor asked from his position at the foot of a tree.

"There isn't a whole lot to say... I mean, sure, it can be great!  I get nice clothes, a great education, and I get to go to so many places, but people always expect so much out of me.  I cannot do anything without a guard of some sort..." she paused.  "But, I guess that's all over now, isn't it?  All of Arengull thinks I'm dead...my family's dead...the country is probably in the hands of...oh no..."she looked worriedly down at Gregor.  "Shadeten will be King now..." Elzabet fell into silence and sank to the ground.  She stared blankly at the ground as her mind wandered and possibilites ran through her head.  'What would happen to Arengull now that Shadeten had rule over it?  Would the country fall apart under him and his minions?'  A tear ran down her cheek as she thought of her father, her beautiful, caring mother, and her adorable little sister, all dead now.  Her hands clutched into fists as she tried to fight back more tears.  She felt more than heard someone approach and sit next to her.  An arm snaked over her shoulders and pulled her into a warm, strong chest.  Finally, the tears spilled.  She felt the soft tunic in front of her become damp with her tears, but the person did not move.  She cried for awhile before she calmed herself and looked up through slightly blurred eyes.  She saw Gregor looking down at her, and her cheeks reddened lightly.

"You okay?" he asked softly, and she nodded.  Elzabet leaned back, afraid of her feelings towards him.  She took a deep breath and stood shakily.  She laughed lightly,

"What am I doing?  The country...MY country, is being taken over by an evil monster and here I am, bawling like a baby...some Princess...well I guess Queen....I make.  You must think I am weak.."

"Elzabet, you have been through a lot, crying is completely understandable," Elvia said from behind her.  Gregor nodded in agreement, his eyes never leaving hers.  Elzabet sighed and paced.

"I just don't know what I could possibly do.  I cannot just march right up to the castle and demand it back, we all know what Shadeten is capable of doing and he would not be bothered by having to kill me.  This is, ugh, frustrating," Elzabet ran a hand over her face.  "I feel so incredibly...helpless...useless even."  She glanced at Elvia and Gregor and both had thoughtful looks on their faces.  Elzabet sighed, not sure of what else to say.  She crossed her arms and kicked a rock with her toe.  "I just don't think there is a way to get the kingdom back...but I can't just sit here like a weakling and watch it fall apart."

"And we don't expect you to,"  Gregor said as he looked up at her.  "We can help you win it back," he looked at Elvia who nodded.

"We need people on the inside though, if we want to pull this off," Elvia said and looked at Elzabet.  "I am assuming you know people who would be willing to assist?"

"Of course, I just...don't know how to reach them... I can't just...sneak in and find them, I would be bound to be found, even in disguise." Elzabet admitted as she looked down at her feet. 

"We could have...someone who...doesn't go into Alleya very often approach one of your friends," Elvia suggested and glanced at Gregor.

"And how, exactly, do you propose we get someone in, have them hunt down a person they have NEVER met, convince this person that I am indeed alive, and then, on top of everything else, have them help us overthrow the current, corrupt ruler?" Elzabet said and her face flushed. 

"Well...I have a cloak you could borrow, and some other...less elegant clothing.  Gregor and I could accompany you, make you less conspicuous..." Elvia said, looking Elzabet in the eye.  "We can do this, Princess, I know we can."

Elzabet looked briefly at Gregor who kept his head down before nodding.