Life For A Life

Jordan looked out the window to see the standoff. "Oh no."

"What is it?" Alexandra asked.

"We need to get you and the baby to safety."

"Where's Krea?"

"She's with Walter, she'll be here soon."

"Emory!" Krea shouted with so much hate and anger in her voice. She gently pushed Walter out of the way to face the man.

"Krea! So nice to see you again. Let's get right to it. All we want is Alexandra, once she's dead, we will leave you alone."

"You destroyed my home, my life, killed my brother, my best friend, and everyone I loved. I will NOT let you take Alexandra."

"There's nothing you or your men can do against me and my brother."

"You mean Arcadious?"

"How do you know his name?"

Krea ripped off the necklace that she had taken from the man's corpse and threw it at Emory. "We had a little chat."

"You swine! Kill them! Kill them all!" He shouted as his men started charging, Krea's followed suit. Krea ran as fast as she could towards Emory and they both jumped in the air, grappling onto each other's clothes before Krea angled Emory to make his back hit the concrete. She used extra force, using the wind to her advantage as the ground cracked on impact. Blood came from his mouth instantly.

She gave him a hard right hook before being kicked off. She did a back shoulder roll and pushed up from the ground from the handstand to land on her feet. "You've grown weak brother, too much sitting around watching mommy do all the hard work." She said mockingly.

The man got up, with fiery red-colored eyes. "I am going to take everything from you and make you watch. Then let you suffer for the rest of your miserable life. Unlike Kevin, I will destroy you!" He shot a large fireball at the girl, but she circled her hands around to create a barrier of water.

Before they could do anything more, everyone was sent to the ground when a loud roaring shook the floor beneath them. "What the hell?" Krea said out loud. That's when she saw it. The girth of it could match the size of three kingdoms and beyond. It could devour four armies and still not be satisfied.

It circled around, engulfing the Kingdom in flames, and landed right between the two siblings. Its back legs crush the only wall left standing to make more room for itself. Krea was face to face before backing up and running to Walter's side. The man looked paralyzed. "Walter. Walter!" The man snapped out of his daze and looked at the girl. "What's the plan?"

"You're asking me?"

They both had to duck as the monstrous tail swung around and took some of the castles down. "Alex!" Krea shouted. She couldn't focus on Emory anymore. "We need to kill this thing. We can do it together. Defend yourself until the moment comes then we'll strike."

"Defend myself against a dragon?"

"We can do this Walter! We're knights! Now man up and grow a pair! You have to protect your Kingdom, the Queen. You have to protect Jordan!"

"How did you-"

"I'm a girl Walter, girls talk." She said before they dodged yet another attack from the beast's tail. "She likes you and I know you like her. As much as I want to talk about this, now is NOT the time!"

Walter nodded his head and wrapped his arm around Krea's shoulder to crouch her down while a line of fire traveled over them as it escaped the large beast's mouth. He looked around and saw that the majority of the fields were lit up with flames as tall as the dragon. "We can't just wait for our moment. We make it!" He shouted.

Krea thought of any opening to destroy the dragon, she knew she had to go for the limbs and eyes, but she had no one besides herself that could do damage from afar.

"I have to go out there and help them, they need an advantage," Jordan said while getting her weapon ready.

"You can't go out there! What if something happens? I'm in no shape to protect this baby."

"The enemies are all outside, you can barricade the door once I leave."

"But-"

"Do you want to see Krea again or not!" Jordan snapped. "Because they will die without my support!"

Alexandra looked at her baby and nodded. "Bring Krea back to us. Alive."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Krea sent yet another small army of shards at the dragon's eye sockets as Walter and his men were under the beast, taking out the limbs while dodging the hard slams of its large legs.

Krea saw Roux out of the corner of her eye running up to her, using a small incline to jump in the air and shoot multiple arrows at the eyes of the beast. She landed with a shoulder roll and stopped at Krea's side. "Glad you're still with us Sis."

"Yeah Krea, you scared the heavens out of me," Jordan said on her other side.

"Is Alex okay?"

"She's safe, but I don't know for how long. We need to kill this thing, and quick." Jordan said while readying her arrows.

The beast snarled down at them flames and embers escaping its large fangs, it reared back its massive neck and gave out a roar that shook the ground below them as well as the heavens above demanding the gods pay it to mind as it devoured their creations. Walter's men focused on the creature's talons as Roux and Jordan attempted to blind the monster from afar with an assault of arrows. Krea stood beside the archers watching for an opening she could exploit.

The dragon twisted its body violently. Its tail collided with the foot soldiers sending them yards away, its enormous feet crushing to death whatever soul was unlucky enough to not move out of the beast's path in time. Krea's jaw tightened, and her eyes couldn't map out a path through the animal's defenses fast enough before it spits more fire and moved its position, taking another handful of men to the grave with the motion. Then when things looked more than hopeless the beast screeched in pain, below it Walter could be seen driving his blade deep into one of its massive back legs.

A short-lived victory to be sure as the dragon looked down on him, its jaws filled with flame. Time seemed to come to crawl as it released its fire, but Krea wouldn't let that happen twice in one lifetime to a friend. Before the flames had a chance to burn the man alive, the mage used an ice wall to block the blazing inferno. She groaned under the extreme heat and pressure, Walter looked up at her as he sat there revealed and a bit in shock at his close call with death. They didn't have the luxury of time however Krea's ice wall was evaporating fast.

The old warrior stood noticing the young mage's strain. He ran to his blade still sticking out of the creature's hind leg with all his might he grabbed hold of the hilt, hacking it down and out of the beast. It screeched out in pain and in that pain, his firing spitting halted long enough for Krea to roll out of its way. The soldiers followed Walter's lead running past Krea right for the dragons already broken skin and driving their blades as deep as possible into its hind leg.

The massive lizard bellowed in pain, roaring, spitting fire into the sky in pure agony and as it began to look back down to deal with the many pests still under it, Roux and Jordan at that very moment had a clear shot. Releasing their arrows at the same time they made contact with the demonic creature's right eye. If it was not enraged before, its fury was about to be known tenfold now. It bucked, sending the soldiers and Walter flying. Krea jumped up acting as a cushion for her old friend, using a mild air spell to soften everyone's fall. The dragon's head whipped in the direction Roux and Jordan had fired from and without warning took flight their way. Krea without a second thought dropped Walter and ran in her sister's direction, there was no way she'd reach them before the monster roasted them to ash.

Jordan and the other woman's shoulders slumped, "oh s**t." Roux breathed out, turning away from the upcoming beast. The medic grabbed the only thing that might save their hide. She turned to Roux who at the sight of the weapon Jordan pulled out smiled wide she snatched it from her hands.

Sidestepping as Jordan covered her. Roux ran to her younger sister, but before she got too far, the beast's massive tail blocked their path to each other. That didn't stop her as the archer jumped on the creature's tail, continuing to run atop of it. The dragon felt the small feet and lifted his tail only to slam it down as soon it left the ground. Roux was launched off, but unwilling to be undone she twisted her body mid-air, Roux held the weapon over her head throwing with all the force she could possibly muster.

"Krea! Heads up!" She yelled as she landed somewhere on the creature's back. The weapon she had thrown was a blur of color before it finally landed at Krea's feet with an echoing cling embedded in the ground. The mage hadn't seen it since she was captured but wasted no time in getting into a fighting stance. The feel of The Dragon Tails back in her hands felt like home, it was time to end this battle. Putting her hands together she began to chant a spell after each word the ground around her cratered, this would end it her body began to glow 'almost there'. Krea looked behind her, making eye contact with Walter.

"Walter! When it falls gut it like a damn fish!" She shouted, the man nodded firmly calling his men to stand at the ready. Looking forward Krea saw Jordan dodge yet another one of the dragon's massive limbs. "Jordan! Roux is on that things back when she takes out its other eye aim for its vital!" Jordan rolled out of reach and screamed back

"You got it!"

Krea snared at the dragon as its attention was finally on her. She stood in a crater created by the pressure of her magic. If she was good at anything it was uncontrolled magical bursts, the mage grinned as the creature's fang enveloped her whole body.

As it made to devour Krea whole, she separated her palms and was shot high in the air by the released energy before the beast slammed its massive mouth shut. From high above she could see Roux climbing up the creature's back and making her way to head, Krea's flying was over as she tucked in her arms and legs, weapon firmly in hand as she plummeted down the dragon redirected its focus as it looks up ready to shoot fire at Krea. That's when Roux dug her daggers deep into the beast's flesh as she neared the nape of its neck. The enormous lizard threw its head back.

"Jordan fire! Now!" Krea yelled. The medic pulled several arrows back releasing them five after five, the fire-breathing beast lurched forward this time the movement making it more than easy enough for Roux to slide her way to the top of its head on the edge of its eye socket. Grabbing the daggers at her sides she dug them deep into the creature's only functioning eye, in a jerking frenzy the dragon slammed its face into the ground Roux clung for dear life.

"Hurry up Krea!" Roux yelled as she swung about, refusing to release her hold on the monster's eye. Krea opened her arms and legs wide, twisting her body. Using the force of her fall, she magically infused the Dragon Tails as she hurled it down from each point on the weapon the blades ejected revealing chains. The spears landed on both sides of the dragon and slammed down on its body, pinning it to the ground with an earth-shattering slam. Krea pulled out her own daggers as she continued her dissent towards the Dragons tail bone, Jordan readied her last arrow laced with explosive liquid aimed at the creature's head. Walter's men charged ready to ram their weapons into the creature's underbelly.

Roux fell from the dragon's eye socket and landed on its snout. Readying her own inflamed arrow to meet Jordan's. The damned beast was not done yet, however, as its massive wings remained unbound. It moved then with vigor as its death was close at hand. The force of it drew all of them closer to its body in a vortex of harsh winds, Krea was at the center of it but even so still felt the pull, she was going to land hard.

Jordan's arrow flew straight and true through the harsh wind and landed its mark as she was pulled in. Roux saw it land a few feet above her near the dragon's brow, protecting the flame around her arrow from the fierce winds she pulled her hand back and hit the explosive liquid.

It exploded making the dragon's wing flapping end as a crater formed at the center of its forehead blood and flesh flailing. The beast still fought as it blindly bit at the air trying to defend itself. Walter and his men used the pull from earlier to their advantage, puncturing the enormous lizard's stomach.

"Men start hacking through this vial b*****d!" He bellowed as they began to slice up its body with a hardy war cry from all the men. Then intestines of the foil creature streamed out bit by bit as it lay fighting still and finally Krea put it out of its pathetic misery as she landed her danger between its eyes where the crater Jordan and Roux had created. The mage stayed there, implied in the dragon as it let out one final roar and lay there dead.

Everyone caught their breath as Krea jumped off of the dead beast. She looked everywhere for Emory, but he was nowhere in sight. "Has anyone seen Emory!" She shouted.

"Not since the dragon," Walter said, still checking on his men.

Then out of nowhere, Krea heard a deep voice in her head. "Looking for me Krea?"

"What the hell?" Krea grabbed her head and went to her knees in pain. "Get out of my head Emory!"

"But don't you want to see your Princess?"

"What are you talking about?"

Roux walked up to her younger sister and touched her shoulder. "Who are you talking to?"

Krea got an image in her head of Emory holding Alexandra with a knife to her throat. "Let her go you son of a b***h!"

"You have a choice Krea. Save Alexandra or your baby." That's when Krea got an image of her screaming baby somewhere else in the castle, only hanging by its blanket over a pit of flames. "The choice is yours. Which will it be Commander."

"I'm going to find you Emory, and I'm going to kill you."

"You can't save everyone Krea, something you have to learn the hard way. An eye for an eye little sister. Times ticking."

Then he was out of her head. Krea knew they were in the castle, but she didn't know where. All she knew is that Emory was watching. "Roux I have to save Alex."

"What do you mean? She's in the castle."

"I need your help."

"Anything."

"My baby's in the castle, in danger, I need you to find her."

"Of course."

Krea grabbed her dragon's tail and they both ran into the building. "Separate, you take the bottom and middle floors, I'm going to the top."

"Got it."

Krea knew she couldn't save both, but she had to try. If anyone could find the baby it would be Roux. Her hunting skills are tripled from Krea's. She ran up the stairs until she reached the top floor where the Queen's corridors were and started turning the knob, that's when she heard screaming coming from the hallway to her left. She ran towards the noise and saw a baby.

Her baby... She didn't even think, she ran towards it, jumped from the edge, and cradled the baby to protect it from the harsh landing that she took by landing on her back. She sat up and looked at the baby. She was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Natural red hair, one hazel brown, and one lightening blue eye both seemed to shine at the sight of her mother. A small smile formed on the infant's lips as she tried to reach for Krea's much larger hand. "You are my everything sweet girl. Nothing bad will ever happen to you. I promise." The former knight said softly as she let the little hands wrap around her index finger and thumb.

She looked around as she noticed flames engulfing the area around them, and her other princess came to mind again. "Alex." She said under her breath. She couldn't leave the baby, but she couldn't put the baby in danger with Emory. That's when she saw images in her head, it was like she was in the room.

"It looks like you made your choice Krea." Emory said. It looked like they were face-to-face. When he turned a bit, Krea could see Alexandra on her knees, her face had multiple cut wounds and a black eye. Her clothes were ripped and it was like she looked right into Krea's eyes.

"Alexandra!" At her mother's distress, the baby began its cry again.

Roux heard this and made her way to the shouting and screaming of what she assumed was the baby and Krea.

"I'm sorry that you have to witness this sis, but it has to happen. Justice has to be served after my two brothers."

"Alexandra!"

Amory looked at the Queen with a huge smile on his face. "She chose the baby over you, Alexandra. And you thought she loved you. That she would do anything to keep you safe. It was her duty after all."

A small smile played on the brunette's face as she looked at the mage her last look of defiance, hazel eyes shimmering in the fire around them. "Good."

The man held the knife to her throat. "Any last words? She's watching this right now."

Alexandra looked right at Krea, even though she wasn't there. Krea tried to move but was in a trance. The Queen put as much love as possible behind these last words, even as tears fell from her eyes, bittersweet knowing the happy family she and her love had desired would exist... But Alex wouldn't see it. "I love you Krea. So much. I'll see you later."

She made it sound as if they would see each other again and like a hopeful fool, Krea allowed herself to believe it if only for that last second. Krea tried reaching out for her, for her princess logic was gone as she failed to remember the brunette wasn't right in front of her.

Right when Emory was about to slit her throat, a piece of the building came falling down and sent him back a bit.

Krea was brought out of her trance when a hard right hook landed on her jaw. "What the hell!"

It was Roux. "You found the baby! Where's Alexandra?"

"Get her out of here, make sure she's safe," Krea said while jumping the gap once again and disappearing into the dark smoke.

She got to the door and rammed it open with her shoulder, just to see the dagger being rammed into Alexandra's midsection slowly. "Alex!" Time seemed to stop as Alexandra's body fell forward, body stiff no sign of steady breathing. Krea saw when they slept together, her tan and warm skin was now pale and growing cold. No more sneaking off together, no more laughing throughout the night because of small nothings, no more being an 'us', just an empty spot were her princesses were supposed to be. Krea felt her blood boil as blue flame engulfed her hands all the way up to her forearms, low dragon-like growl left her lips as she ran towards Alex's murder animalistic fury at its highest.

Tackling him down hard, to the point the ground around them shattered, fists engulfed in flame she landed right hook after left hook until he was barely conscious the skin on her knuckles broke and the magical flame died down after a while put she didn't notice or care. "You are not getting off that easy a*****e. I'm going to make you suffer." Krea said in a feral voice. She picked him up by his light armor and threw him out of the glass window, she used a small spell to lessen his fall so as to not kill him. He landed right at Walter's feet.

"Well hello there." The old warrior smiled while bringing his boot to the man's face and knocking him out cold.

Krea dropped to her knees beside Alexandra. She was losing consciousness, her usual warm body, now turning cold. "Hey, Princess." The knight said as she held her lover close trying to share her own warmth in an effort to fool herself into thinking Alex is alright, but it wasn't working. Alexandra's eyes were half open as she looked up at Krea with a small smile, the brunette placed a shaking hand on her forearm and the mage felt a weak squeeze.

"Hey... Krea. Is our baby okay?" She asked managing a meek frantic tone.

"She's fine, she's with Roux." Alex notably relaxed and returned to looking up at Krea, smiling back in place as the Queen tried to carve every detail of Krea's face into her memory. She didn't want to forget her no matter where she was ending up. She chuckled bitterly at the fact that the one-time Krea wanted to stay she herself had to leave, and the brunette swallowed. She had always wondered what dying would feel like, she realized it's not the physical pain that hurts. It's the fact she wouldn't see Krea and their baby anymore and that hurt the most. She felt tears fall on her face, Krea crying. Or maybe she herself was, Alex couldn't tell. With the little strength she had left Alex wipes Krea's tears away, and as she can no longer bare the weight of her own limp her hand falls from the mage's face, but Krea refuses for the touch to stop so she just holds the Queen's hand in hers.

"You need you to take care of her."

"She's the reason I couldn't save you. How do you expect me to do that? Anytime I look at her I'll remember this."

"I know you love her Krea. She's our baby. She's our little Kiara."

"Kiara?"

"It fits. Promise me you'll take care of her." Krea stayed silent as Alexandra doubled over in a fit of coughs. She couldn't do anything but comfort the love of her life by rubbing her back trying to not let her cough rattle her body too much. Krea was never one to deny the Queen a promise, but this, she doesn't think she can keep. "I know you love me with all of your heart, but even so I know you have plenty of room for Kiara still. Protect her for both of us." Alex took Krea's hand and gave it one last squeeze as she smiled. "One more thing."

"Anything," Krea said too quickly.

"Take me to the waterfall as you promised me. I don't want to be underground. God that place was so beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you," Krea said, revisiting the last time she said that the night they first made love.

"Promise?" Was the last thing she asked before she took her final breath.

Krea couldn't cry, not a single tear shed, Alexandra would never let her. "I promise Princess." Was all she said as she sat in the burning castle next to her love clutching her tight so not even the gods dared separate them.

Author's Note

Well, we are coming kind of close to the end.