Bloodborn (sequel to 'Lucky 13')

Chapter 33: Saving the queen

Third person's POV

Catherine's soldiers arrived at the park. They were looking out for soldiers of the CAT. They spotted a bunch of soldiers around 2 women, whom they guessed were the previous potentials.

Catherine's soldiers walked closer and, when they spotted Lily on the ground, went in for the kill.

The fight didn't last long as Catherine's soldiers were fighting gruesomely to retrieve their queen.

And finally, after only a couple of minutes, they got to their queen. When they noticed she was bleeding a lot, they immediately covered her up and started carrying her back to their vehicles.

Upon arriving at Catherine's house, they immediately brought her to the nursery where nurses and doctors were immediately taking care of their queen.

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Marianne knocked on Catherine's office door. When she received no answer, she gently opened the door and peeked inside. "Catherine?"

She spotted Catherine, seated at her desk. She had her face buried in her arms, she was clearly broken.

"Hey," Marianne walked in and started caressing her back. "It's going to be alright."

Catherine pulled back, showing her face to Marianne. Her face was painted with tears and redness, probably due to the fact she was laying down on her arms. "I can't live without her, Marianne."

"I know," Marianne caressed Catherine's face and gently started wiping away the tears. "We've found her."

Right then, Catherine sat up. "Where?"

"At the park, where your dad said she was."

Catherine got up. "I want to see her."

"No," Marianne stopped her. "They're performing surgery on her."

The hope in Catherine's eyes suddenly seemed to fade. "Why?" She then leaned against the wall, as if she needed the support. "What's wrong?"

Marianne sighed as she motioned Catherine to sit down again, which she thankfully did. "She was stabbed a total of 8 times," Marianne gulped, knowing how severe the case was as she was a nurse. "They need to make sure no vital organs were hit."

Catherine looked down. "What's the worst-case scenario?"

Marianne sighed. "I don't think we should think about the worst-case scenario, dear."

"Marianne, answer me."

Marianne sighed. "If her organs are badly hit, she could die," She looked up at Catherine, who seemed to break down even more. "I'm so sorry, dear." She pulled Catherine into her.

And right then, Catherine finally let it all go. She wrapped her arms around Marianne, her mother figure, and cried out, looking for comfort as a child would do with its mother.

And Marianne knew that, at this moment, whatever she did would seal Catherine's and everyone else's fate.

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Esmee was waiting outside of the nursery, where they were performing the surgery on Lily. Marianne had asked her to stand by, in case new information came in. And Esmee, knowing that Catherine wouldn't be able to stay put, did so.

She paced around the hallway but didn't go further away from the door than 5 steps. She wanted to be able to see the door, to hear the noises behind the door, to be the first person the doctors would encounter. But waiting at one spot was so boring, and waiting without knowing how long it'll take was so boring.

Esmee leaned against the wall, right across the door. She folded her arms and waited. Her eyes fixated on the door, as if she would be able to see through the door or magically open the door.

But nothing happened. And nothing would happen for another 3 to 4 hours. But Esmee didn't know that yet at that point, she was hopeful they would save Lily. She was hopeful they would keep the royal family happy. She never could've imagined the opposite.

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"How is she doing?" Esmee asked Marianne as Marianne joined Esmee at the door.

Marianne shrugged.

And Esmee sighed. "That bad?"

Marianne looked at Esmee and nodded before starting to cry as well.

"Hey," Esmee wrapped her arms around her mother, hugging her as best as she could. "Lily will make it through, she has to."

"I know," Marianne sniffled. "But I'm not sure about her condition. I have a bad feeling about this." She hugged Esmee tighter, crying onto her shoulder.

Esmee sighed as she held on to her mother tightly. "If we lose hope, then there's no reason for us to live or love or anything," She caressed her mom's back, trying to calm her down that way. "Lily will come through, for Catherine and for Emily."

Marianne didn't answer to that but she hoped, just like Esmee, that Lily would come through. She wanted Lily to come through, she wanted Lily to live a perfectly healthy life. But, being a nurse, she knew that that wasn't going to happen. Nobody gets stabbed 8 times and go on without a problem, something will change. And Marianne feared for that change.

Suddenly, the door opened. And Marianne and Esmee got out of their hug. They looked at the doctors, who pulled off their masks.

"And?" Esmee asked, she couldn't help but feel nervous. It's as if something inside her already knew what they were going to say. "How is she?"

The doctors looked at each other before looking at them. "She was stabbed 8 times in her back, hitting not only her kidneys but also her liver. Those stabs were pretty deep."

Esmee frowned, this wasn't an answer to her question. But Marianne covered her mouth immediately, she was on the verge of crying yet again. And, seeing that, Esmee knew what that meant... "No..." She shook her head.

"Our queen has suffered too much blood loss, she died during the surgery. We are so sorry."

Marianne sniffled but kept her posture. She patted each doctor on their shoulder, praising them for their hard work, before they left. She then looked at Esmee, who was crying a lot.

"Mom," Esmee shook her head. "She's not gone, that's impossible."

Marianne pulled her daughter into her, hugging her tightly. At times like this, she remembered to hold her child that much closer, to cherish the fact she still had her children.

Esmee pulled back a bit. "What do we tell Catherine?"

It surprised Marianne that, even at times like this, Esmee cared so much about Catherine. More than about herself, as she was supposed to do. "I'll handle that," She pulled Esmee in again. "Don't worry, sweetie. Mom has got you."

Esmee smiled a bit, feeling incredibly safe and almost feeling nostalgic. She felt like a little child again, knowing her mother would be there for her and keep her safe. Then her smile dropped as she remembered that little Emily, just like Catherine, won't have that luxury anymore...