Manon's Child

Part 65

With Petrah's help, Adarlan's weak human guards manage to round up and successfully imprison the rest of the witches. I stay in the castle with Chaol as we sit in tense silence. No one has heard a word from Yrene or Rowan who's helping her since they took him down to the healing quarter's, but bandages are being called for and bled through at an alarming rate. It can't be a good sign.

I'm interrupted from my silence as Petrah enters, supporting a witch with her arm slung over her shoulder. She's one of the two I sent out with a warning - not that it worked. 

"Here, sit, Minne," Petrah says, and I realise she's injured.

"My Queen." She bows her head, unable to do anything else. "Zalerie and I were delivering the messages, as you said, and on the edge of the Ferian Gap we were ambushed. Zal... they killed her. There were many of them, and I barely got away, but I was injured. I don't - the Queen of Terrasen found me and sent her consort here. She just arrived."

As if on cue, Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen stormed into the room. Pure anger is outlined on her face, and she's stalking right towards me. Petrah stands in her way.

"Move, witch," she growls. Petrah looks to me, and I nod, then Aelin is right in my face.

"You bitch!" she yells. "How could you let this happen?" 

"You think this was my doing?" I demand.

"Not directly, but it's YOUR fault!" Aelin yells. "You're the f*cking Queen of the Witches, get your people under control." (a/n i couldn't remember if i put swearing in lol)

Petrah is standing right by my shoulder, but she won't do anything unless I order it.

"You may as well have ordered this yourself!" Aelin continues. "You should have seen this coming and you should have stopped it! And now my best friend is bleeding out because of you! And why the f*ck would you send a message to me and not Adarlan?!"

"You already know the message was intercepted," I say icily. Minne and Petrah tense behind me. Zalerie was part of their coven, and a loss like that hurts. I know.

"It's still stupid!" Aelin screams. "First you break his heart, now you literally shatter it! If he does, it is YOUR FAULT!!!"

"I KNOW!" I yell. I take a step towards her, forcing her to move back. "I know it's my fault, but that does not give you the right to come here and blame me for this! It was not my order. It was not my will. I would never -" I break off, wincing as my stomach pulls.

"Don't tell me you're in labour," Aelin groans, taking a step back."

"No, just kicks," I say. I sit back down defeated. "I know it was my fault, but this was not my command, and I will kill those who shot him. That I can promise you. These dissenters have taken it three steps to far, and they will not survive it."

Aelin nods, suddenly looking exhausted. She sits down next to me. "There's still hope," she says. "He could - there's still hope." 

I nod, but only for her benefit. 

We sit in silence for what seems like days, but is probably only a few hours. Still, every hour spent is turmoil. Chaol stared solemnly into the distance with us, having said nothing throughout our whole argument. Finally, just before sunrise, Rowan enters. He basically collapses next to Aelin, and we can barely keep silent as we wait for him to give us the verdict.

He takes a deep breath. "He'll survive," Rowan says. "There's a long way to go for his recovery, and it still might... go wrong, but.... Yrene - we think he'll live."

I want to cry again, from relief this time, and I can see that Chaol actually is. He'll survive. He's going to live. But until he's conscious again, I have a lot of witched to deal with - and punish. I meet Aelin's eyes and know she'll want to be part of it.

They tried to kill Dorian. 

They are not going to get away with it.

------------

HI PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOOK ITS GONNA BE OK I PROMISE!!

I KNOW THIS IS ALL IN CAPS BUT I HAVE TO SELF ISOLATE AND I HAVE SO MUCH ENERGY AND I'M SLIGHTLY STIR CRAAAAAZY 

BUT AH WELL

I CAN GO BACK TO SCHOOL NEXT TUESDAY

THATS STILL SO LONG AWAY

BUT ITS OK

ILL SURVIVE

SORRY ITS LATE AND A BIT SHORTER THAN USUAL BUT I'M PRETTY SURE YOU CAN FORGIVE ME THAT

ALSO IM SO CLOSE TO 50K AND I HAVE BEEN FOR AGES AND I AM SO EXCITED AND I SWEAR WHEN I HIT IT I AM GOING TO HAVE A PARTY

I WONYT BECAUSE IM SELF ISOLSTING

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN

anyway stay safe guys :)

Edit: (BACK IN CAPS LOC) I STARTED A WARNETTE FIC LMAO. WHY WORK ON YOUR CURRENT FIC WHEN YOU COULD START WRITING NEWS ONES INSTEAD?