Chapter two

“I told you NOT to leave them there, all alone!” He exploded.

 

“Wha-wha-what happened? Did anyone get hurt??”

 

“No, no one got hurt, but we have a MAJOR PROBLEM!!! The west wall just collapsed because of carelessness! The King is going to cut my head off, then feed me to the alligators!” The general shivered as he said this.

 

“I am terribly sorry for what happened, General Krandoris, but I assure you it was not my fault! I left one of the soldiers in charge, because I had to deliver an urgent message to the King.” Luke started to explain the message.

 

Lucas put the cat into a workers arms, and told him to take care of it for a moment. They started walking in the direction of the collapsed wall. As they got closer, they observed hundreds of soldiers running frantically in circles, not sure what to do. A couple had bloodied hands and heads. Some were unconscious on the ground, half buried in rubble.

 

“General Krandoris, I thought you said no one was hurt. There are numerous soldiers here that are wounded. How many are completely buried??!” Luke screamed.

 

“I did not say that no one was hurt, and I believe that there are about half the number of soldiers buried” he replied half-assed.

 

“WHAT? And you did nothing to help? You didn’t round up the able people to search for more wounded? You didn’t get the doctors out here?”

 

“No I certainly did not!”

 

“General, I am taking command of this operation! Report to the court for your sentencing. You have violated your duties!”

 

“Yes Sir!”

 

The general jogged off towards the castle as Luke dashed for the medical office. When he got there, he almost ran over the princess. Frozen in spot, he wasn’t sure what to do. He had forgotten that she was the princess. She stared at him expectantly, waiting for something. It suddenly struck him what he had to do. He lowered to one knee in front of her as a smug smile appeared on her face.

 

“My apologies princess. I did not bow to your royal heiress quickly enough. I am currently adapting to your new title” Luke said as his face heated with embarrassment.

 

“That is quite all right, Lucas. After all, you cannot be blamed for your lower class insolence. By the way, I heard that the west wall collapsing was your doing” she answered with a hint of arrogance in her tone.

 

What was wrong with her, Luke thought. She was never like this to him. She always spoke to him with respect and kindness. Has her new title changed her for the worst? Luke gaped at her with his mouth wide open.

 

“Close your mouth this instant, Lucas or I will have it sewed shut. You do not gape at royalty! It is improper!” she said as she walked away towards the other ladies of the court.

 

Suddenly remembering his task, he shoved the door open on the medical building and started ordering the doctors inside to gather their tools and to follow him. They quickly obeyed, grabbed their affects, then followed him across town. They arrived at the site just as the tower that the soldiers were building, collapsed. Soldiers were running around, screaming as the grand structure fell on dozens. Luke had no doubt that there would be casualties.

 

He withdrew his sword as he spotted something past the wall in the distance. A brilliant green flash spread across the forest. He was now sure that the wall collapsing was no accident. It was sabotage.

 

A terrifying shriek burst from under the rubble of the tower. He spun around, searching for the sound. It had sounded like a woman was being crushed to death by the gigantic stones. He spotted a fragile hand, covered in dark blood, protruding from the rocks. Shoving his sword back into its holster, he made a mad dash for the pile, scared that the woman underneath would soon die.

 

Luke started frantically calling to able soldiers to assist him in moving the boulders. Many rushed towards him, hoping to save the damsel in distress. They started shifting the boulders ever so carefully, trying not to cause the woman’s death. They released one boulder from her face, then her torso, then her legs. After ten minutes of backbreaking work, they freed the poor woman.

 

Luke scooped her up, then carried her to an awaiting stretcher. A doctor swiftly took her from his arms, and placed her gently on the stretcher. He shifted her hair so he could see the damage done to her face. Luke saw how beautiful she really was. Her clothes were ragged, as though she was a peasant, but she was even more radiant than Princess Madeline!

 

“Lucas, please go retrieve bandages and a bucket of water for me please! Quickly!” the doctor asked urgently. Luke dashed away, in search of the items that the doctor asked for. He quickly retrieved them, then rushed back to the doctor, sloshing water everywhere. The doctor seized the bandages and bucket and started his gruesome work.

 

While the doctor repaired her injuries, Luke could not stop staring at her beauty. He kept on wondering who she was. He certainly had never seen her before. As the medicine man cleaned the blood away, he noticed that her skin had an abnormal hue. Like a mix between beige, purple and green. Her hair was not a normal color, because it was a blinding white.

 

Her eyelids started twitching insanely, and he realized she was waking up. She let out a small wail of pain as the doctor placed herbs on her wounds. Luke knew from personal experience that that was very painful. He had received numerous injuries before, and those herbs stung like a million ants were biting at his wound.

 

Her eyes were now fully open, staring at him in disbelief. Luke knew she would be surprised at his looks. Everyone who first laid eyes on him is scared and strangely intimidated by him, and not because of his enchanted sword on his hip. It was because of his skin, and his hair. He stood out in a crowd, and usually not in a good way. But the look she was giving him was kind of something like relief. But what was she relieved about?

 

Her mouth opened slightly, and a crackle sounded from her mouth.

 

“Doctor, go help another patient. I will be out to help soon.” Luke said to the doctor that was working away at her scarred knees.

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

The doctor scurried over to the other patients that were groaning on their stretchers. The others clearly had more severe injuries than this young lady did. They would need all the help they could get, because the other doctors and nurses were already stretched too thin.

 

“What are you trying to say, ma’am?”

 

Her lips were barely able to move, but she managed to say one word: Magic. She then fell into unconsciousness, leaving Luke speechless. Magic? What did she mean by that? Does she know of his father’s race? Of their practice, where they come from, and where they are? How could she know any of this?

 

Puzzled and disappointed at the lack of information, he returned to the site to help find more survivors.