Garden of the Lion and the Dove

Chapter 12

Gilgamesh awoke to the sound of a thud. He slowly sat up. What in the world was that? It sounded really close like it was in the same room as him, but it was not loud enough that his guards had come running.

He turned over slightly and spotted something hunched on his floor. Something moving.

He lit the lamp next to his bed. "Hakuno?"

She was curled into a ball, her body wrapped around something. Her arms? What was she doing in his room and what in the world was she doing?

"S...stay over there! Do not come over here!" Her voice was pained and full of panic.

What in the name of the underworld was going on? He took a step towards her. "What are you talking about?"

"N...no!" Her body was shaking. "I...I will not do it! You cannot make me! I will not let you make me do it!"

Who in the world was she talking to? He looked around the room but there was no one there. "What is going on here?" He was much closer now and he saw the glint of steel in her hands. A knife?

She looked up at him with red, tear-filled eyes. "Gil...you need to stay away!" she choked. "I...I am trying to hold him off..." She gritted her teeth. Her arms were shaking with much more vigor than before.

Was she possessed or something along with that nature? Well, whatever it was, did not matter. She was in pain right before him. He could not leave her to suffer. Gilgamesh reached over and grabbed the hilt of the knife and tried to pry her fingers off the handle.

"You have a really strong death grip there," he growled. There was no way she had this kind of strength. It was inhuman even. Her arm jerked in his direction and the knife would have plunged into his arm if he had not grabbed her wrist in time.

"Whoever this is...I am going to kill him for this..." growled Gilgamesh.

"Munzur. Baru.," Hakuno choked out. "He..."

The man she was seen in the garden with. Whatever the slaves saw obviously was not the truth. How could he have been such a fool? She was not that kind of person. He should have believed her when she said she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Guards!" he yelled.

His guards stopped at the doorway and seemed shocked by the scene in front of them.

This was no time to indulge them though. "Go find the baru Munzur. Kill him on sight! He is a traitor to my Kingdom. Go. Time is of the essence."

He returned his attention to Hakuno just in time. Curses spewed out of his mouth as she stabbed him. Somehow she managed to divert it and it ended up nicking him in the side instead of through his gut.

"Gil," she whispered. Her hands shook but she tried to stab him again. He grabbed her wrist and attempted to pry her fingers apart again. "Gil. You need to..."

"No. You better not finish that thought." Why were her fingers so strong!? "I did not save you from drowning to let you die here alright?"

"I...I am sorry." Her broken voice hit him hard. So lost and defeated. As she had really given up already? On him? The King?

"Shut up and keep fighting." He managed to pry one of her fingers off the knife. "We are getting there. Just a bit more."

He did not know if his words help motivate her but it seemed like her fingers were much easier to pull away from the knife. "Got it." He grasped the handle and flung it across the room.

As soon as the blade left her hand, she slumped, like all the strength had left her body. He wrapped his arms around her to support her body against his.