Bound in Spirals

Chapter 15 - Lived

——Dettella——

Dettella was jostled roughly by the stampede of elven nobles. The wave of panicked people shoved her as she attempted to get back to the rail. She stumbled under the pressing crowd and fell to her knees. Booted feet kicked her and high heeled shoes trampled uncaringly in their frantic search for escape. Forced flat under foot, she did not scream, not even when a particularly sharp heel stabbed through her hand. She forced herself to keep calm as she pulled forth her power in a burst of silver.

A new flurry of sudden yelps and screams echoed around her as she found herself suddenly able to stand again. A break in the crowd had formed around her, like a river flowing around a large stone. She looked around, feeling disoriented. The pains all over her body were steadily vanishing, but she imagined it wouldn't remain that way if she stood there any longer.

"Giela!" She shouted, searching for her handmaiden. "Giela!"

'There!' Dettella thought, seeing the elf standing safely behind the queen. She tried to make her way toward the pair, but already the nobles were growing bolder. They brushed past her more and more closely. The princess managed to make it to the rail of the balcony and searched again for her handmaiden. 'Too far...' She realized, seeing the pair now more than 20 yards upstream.

She glanced at the two for a brief moment. Knowing it would be almost impossible to reach them at this point, she turned her attention to the middle of the grand stadium. Sam stood alone against the transformed mountain elf as it turned from its meal of the forest elf. Her man stood there without a trace of the earlier fear or confusion left in his expression. A manic smile split his face in a way that would've sent a chill up most spines.

Dettella made a decision and nimbly leapt over the railing. She used her magic to bind her feet to the ledge as she landed, preventing an unfortunate slip. Then she slid her hands down the bars of the rail, releasing the binds on her feet to let them hang as her hands came to replace them on the edge. Her arms strained to hold up her weight, so she let herself drop the last six feet to the ground.

She yelped as her right ankle twisted awkwardly, rolling over an abandoned ale bottle. Her power still right at hand, it immediately started mending itself and after only a few seconds she was up once again. She gripped her dress tightly in both hands and began running through the emptying lower seats, uncaring of her torn skirt and the small trickle of menstrual blood running down the inside of her legs. In the brief moment she'd been unable to see him Sam had found a thin sword somewhere and had made his way to the other side of the enormous scaranlos.

Then suddenly he was moving with inhuman agility. Her eyes widened as she followed the barely trackable movements. She heard first a loud cracking, then a crunch and tearing sound as he struck twice at the beast's leg. Then the insect spun so fast Sam didn't have time to get out of the way, cleaving his arm straight through his elbow. Sam's magic was out in a blink. But just before his arm could move to reattach, the scaranlos flicked a leg out, and his arm was gone before she could process what had happened.

A blinding light burst from Sam, igniting the entire arena in a swirl of gold and silver. Dettella stumbled and fell as the light rendered her eyes temporarily sightless. She landed on a stone step roughly, feeling a flutter in her stomach as her right hand met empty air. Sam shouted something indistinctly at the elf as she began to tumble down the stairs. After coming to a stop, she waited for the afterimages to fade from her vision. Then, realizing she was at the top of the final set of stairs, she jumped to her feet and started down.

She smothered the fear and worry that threatened to take over. 'Not too fast, falling will only waste time. He needs me!' She told herself as she proceeded to go faster. Mad laughter reverberated unnaturally through the stadium, sending a cold shiver down her back. She was forced to look down to keep her footing as she hurried down the remaining stairs. She heard another crunch, then a shrieking from the great insect. A skittering sound rang out as the scaranlos spun rapidly and caught Sam's side just as Dettella glanced up. It tore its head back viciously, ripping out a chunk of his flesh.