They were at dinner when they heard a commotion outside. The army had arrived. Led by Kotaku, the soldiers of Simone attacked the camp.
Natalie let out a whoop of excitement and disappeared into the mass of fighting soldiers. Most of her guards had disappeared as well, probably grabbing their weapons and joining in the battle.
Allen lost sight of Ben as he ran after Natalie.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw Kotaku battling two men at once and rushed to his side. He finished one man off for the king quickly.
"Kotaku! Did you see where Natalie went?" Ben yelled above the noise of the battle.
"What?" Kotaku yelled back. "I can't hear you!"
"I said, where did Natalie go?" Ben returned, raising his voice even louder. "She disappeared!"
"I don't know!" Kotaku plunged his sword into the belly of the soldier he had been fighting, then ordered Ben, "Go find her!"
Ben nodded quickly then fought his way toward the stable, thinking he might find her there. A sword crossed in front of his path.
"Stop right there," said a voice from Ben's right.
Ben turned to see Darion standing there with his sword extended.
"You're a spy," he said. "I don't like spies."
Then he and Ben entered into a complicated series of steps, reminding one onlooker of a pair who executed an impossibly difficult dance down to the letter. The two could read each other's body language perfectly, always knowing what the other would do. Ben managed to swat Darion's sword arm with the flat of his blade and was rewarded when Darion dropped his sword. Darion reached down and retrieved his sword quickly, but when he looked up again, Ben was gone.
Ben could see almost nothing through the haze of dirt being kicked up by soldiers all around him. He could hear almost nothing over the metal on metal sound of swords clashing. He looked around frantically, but could see no sign of Natalie.
Then from behind him came a voice that sent relief flooding through his body.
"Take my hand!" Natalie yelled to Ben from atop Basche. He reached up to her and she grabbed his hand, slinging him behind her onto the big stallion. As soon as his arms closed around her waist, Natalie kicked the horse into a flat out gallop.
"Where are we going?" Ben yelled over the wind rushing in his ears and the sounds of the battle all around them.
He opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment, something struck his right shoulder blade. The ground rushed up to meet him and Ben hit with a scream. As he lay there gasping he reached back and felt the shaft of an arrow protruding from his shoulder. He quickly broke the shaft and struggled to his feet.
"Just hold still now while I kill you," said Darion's voice, approaching quickly on horseback.
Ben attempted to draw his sword, but he clenched his teeth and bit back a cry of pain from the movement. Instead, he turned tail and ran, weaving though the trees to avoid making himself a target for another arrow. He hoped to get close enough to the road to alarm Darion. There were no hoof beats behind him to warn him of Darion's approach. Suddenly there was a dagger lodged in a tree just inches from his head.
Ben turned his head to see Darion following him on foot now. Ben reached down to grab the knife that he kept in his boot and continued to run. Another arrow hit a tree nearby him. The trees rushed past him in slow motion.
With perfect clarity, Ben felt the wind of the arrow just before it lodged into his shoulder not far from its fellow. He screamed again and fell to the ground. He tried to break his fall with just his left arm, but landed wrong. He heard the sharp crack and felt the pain that shot through his arm as bone broke through the skin.
Darion appeared in Ben's view. Panicking, Ben threw the dagger he still held in his hand at Darion. The motion set him gasping with pain. The dagger missed its mark by a long shot and fell harmlessly to the ground.
Darion laughed, causing the hair on the back of Ben's neck to stand on end. His hollow laughter revealed the emotionless void that took the place of a heart in Darion's chest.
"My my, you are in a pitiful state, aren't you?" Darion laughed again and took a step toward Ben. "Here I come to kill you and you lie there with two arrow wounds, a broken arm, and with no weapon, even if you were in any condition to use it. How sad. I must say that I'm rather disappointed. Where's the sport in this? I had expected to spend weeks planning your death, but it was not to be so. Ah, well. I shall lose no sleep over you."
Darion continued to take slow steps toward the place where Ben lay. Ben closed his eyes and focused on taking steady breaths. He ignored the pain completely, giving his mind over to other, more pleasant thoughts. He thought of Natalie. He spent the most time on her, then moved on to Gabriel and Mara. Lastly, he thought of Brendan. Shoving the image of the dying prince from his mind, Ben thought of him as he had been when he was alive. Once again, Ben wished desperately that he could change their last encounter.
Thud! A short pause. Kluthunk!
Ben opened his eyes and saw a sight that made his mouth drop open in amazement. Natalie was standing over Darion's collapsed body holding the handlebars of his bike as she would hold a baseball bat.
Natalie raised the handlebars to strike the unconscious man once again, but Ben stopped her.
"No!"
Natalie looked at Ben like he was crazy but hesitated, waiting for him to explain himself.
"We should bring him to Simone," he told her.
"Ben, I swore to kill this man," Natalie reminded him. "He murdered Brendan. I am going to make good on my promise." Holding her necklace out for Ben to see, she demanded, "Do you see this? This symbol means forever. Forever. That's what this man took from me. I intend to make him pay for that."
"I know. I swore to kill him too, but wait first. I need a doctor very very badly."
Natalie seemed to really look at him for the first time since she had come to his rescue. She noticed the blood that stained his shirt from his arrow wounds. She saw the bloody mess that was his left arm and gasped.
"What happened!" she asked.
"My arm is broken." He glanced down at his arm, then away, clenching his teeth and trying not to vomit. "The bone went through the skin, apparently."
She watched as Ben struggled to his feet, gritting his teeth against the pain as he pulled himself up using a tree trunk for support. She winced as she saw the sweat that dripped from his face with the effort of biting back the cries that tried to rip out from his chest.
Natalie grabbed a vine from the nearest tree and pulled Darion into a sitting position. Then she tied the vine around his body tightly.
"Watch him," she told Ben. "I'll be right back." Then she left, walking into the trees through which she had just appeared. Ben stood leaning against a tree for support.
It wasn't long before Natalie returned, Basche in tow. She shoved Darion roughly onto the horse's back before turning to Ben.
"Do you need help getting up?" she asked.
"Yeah," Ben admitted. He was eyeing Basche's tall back warily. "I'd never be able to get up there by myself in this condition."
He walked slowly to the stallion's side. Every step he took jarred his broken arm painfully. Natalie knelt beside him and held out her cupped palms. Brian stepped into her hands, and then into the stirrup. From there, he was able to drag himself into the saddle.
Ben waited for Natalie to climb up in front of him, but she did not. Instead, she grabbed Basche's reins and walked in front. Ben was intensely grateful for the liquid smooth gait of the fiery bay.
They did not go back to the camp. Instead, they went straight past it and on to the palace, cutting several hours off of their journey. It would take them only three hours to get to the palace. For Ben, it seemed like an eternity.
Blood was still flowing steadily down his arms and back and Ben was starting to get light headed from blood loss. The thought occurred to Ben that his shirt was ruined.
The castle appeared in Ben's view as the scene around him began to grow dark. He had enough time to wonder why the castle was sideways before his vision went black.
Natalie heard something heavy hit the ground behind her and turned to see Ben lying on the ground passed out cold.
"Ben!" she cried, running to his side.
Someone at the gate heard her and a guard appeared on the wall.
"Who goes there?" he called.
"It's Natalie! And Ben!" she called to the guard frantically. "Open the gate! He's lost a ton of blood!"
The guard recognized her voice and opened the gate quickly, coming out to meet her.
"Help me get him inside!" The guard picked Ben up easily, lifting him with one arm under his shoulders and the other under his knees. Ben's head lolled and his eyes fluttered open briefly.
Too weak to even lift his head, he asked Natalie faintly, "Where are we?"
Natalie rushed to him. "We're at the palace, Ben. You're going to be okay." She sounded as though she were trying to convince herself as much as Ben. "Just try to stay with us." Her words came too late, however, for his eyes had already closed again.
Natalie looked the guard in the eye. "Get him to the doctor as quickly as you possibly can." The man nodded and set off jogging toward the castle.
Natalie grabbed Basche's reins and led the horse to the stable. The gate creaked shut behind her. Two guards rushed forward, asking for news. She ignored their questions and ordered one to take care of Basche and the other to take the still unconscious Darion down to the dungeons and toss him into the darkest cell. Then she left them and made her way to the infirmary.
She was met as soon as she walked into the door by Mara and her mother.
"Natalie!" Mara cried. "Oh, I'm so glad you're alright! Is the army back?"
Natalie shook her head and kept walking forward. Mara and the queen went with her.
"No, the army isn't back. I brought Ben back. He tangled with Captain Darion, and for it was rewarded with two arrow wounds and a nasty broken arm. The bone's through the skin. He passed out in front of the gate from blood loss."
Mara put her head in her hands and groaned softly. "Oh, no." she whispered between her fingers, "Please let him be alright. I couldn't handle it if something happened to Ben as well."
When they arrived in the infirmary, the doctor was working frantically to stop the bleeding, yelling out orders to the nurses. As soon as he noticed that there were visitors, he ordered them out, telling them that he would send for them when they could return.
"Just one question," Natalie said quickly. "Is he going to be alright?"
The doctor spared her a stern look. "To be quite honest, no. I don't think so."
Her world fell apart.
As Natalie left, Ben woke up. The doctor was in the middle of pushing the bone back into his arm and Ben began to scream and struggle. The nurses hushed him and one woman brought a steaming cup of a nasty looking green concoction. Ben drank it obediently in the hopes that it would take away the pain. His arm felt as though it were on fire.
He was asleep almost instantly.
Natalie returned to her rooms and curled up in a ball in the middle of her bed. Her slight frame was rocked by the sobs that ripped from her stomach. Her heart couldn't take much more of this before it was torn into a million little pieces.
Exhausted, she soon fell deeply asleep.
She was in a clearing. As she looked around, she realized that it was the clearing where Brendan had proposed to her. Sadness welled up within her heart suddenly. She wanted to be anywhere but here. Just please not here. She turned to go. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement in the trees.
She waited as the figure moved closer through the trees. A cry of joy sprang from her lips and she threw herself at the man who emerged from the forest. He caught her and held her tightly in his arms. She buried her head in his chest and breathed in the scent of his clothes.
"Natalie," he breathed as he stroked her hair.
"Oh, Brendan!" she cried. "I thought you were dead!" He did not reply, and she looked up at his face. He smiled down at her grimly. "No," she whispered.
"Natalie, I did die. However, I was able to come to you in this dream. This is the only time I'll be able to see you. I wanted to tell you some things before I have to leave again."
He took a deep breath, taking in the smell of her hair. "I love you, Natalie, and I want you to be happy. Even though I'm not with you, you still need to have a good life. Go with Ben. He loves you. I've seen it in his eyes. He'll take care of you. In time I know you will grow to love him as you loved me."
"Never," she swore. "I will never love anyone as I love you." She paused. "And it's too late now anyway. He's dying.
"No, he's not," Brennan said.
"Yes, he is. He's going to die. The doctor said he is. He lost too much blood."
"Natalie, we know some things up where I am now, and I can assure you that Ben is going to be fine."
Natalie couldn't help but to breathe a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness."
"Now back to what I was saying,"
Natalie interrupted him. "Brendan, it was my fault." Her voice cracked. "That arrow was meant for me. If I had just,"
Brendan cut her off. "No, love. You must never think that. It was not your fault. It was no one's fault. Please try to be happy without me. I'll miss you." He started to pull away.
"No!" Brendan stopped and returned his eyes to her face. "Please don't go," she pleaded. "Don't leave me." Tears streamed steadily down her cheeks.
Taking her face in his hands, Brendan leaned down and kissed her gently. Then he whispered in her ear, "I will always be with you."
He pulled away once more. She whimpered softly, but otherwise did not protest. Brendan walked to the edge of the clearing then turned back to smile at her. "I love you," he called back to her.
Her lips trembled as she whispered, "I love you, too."
There was a knock at Natalie's door. She sat up and looked around confusedly. It took her a moment to get her bearings.
She walked quickly to the door and opened it. A nurse stood in the doorway.
"The doctor sent me to fetch you. He said that you may visit Ben now."
Natalie followed the nurse quickly back to the infirmary. There was much less activity now. The doctor sat in a chair not far from the doorway. He looked exhausted.
"How is he?" Natalie asked him.
"I don't know," the doctor answered. "I finally managed to stop the bleeding and get his arm sewed up, but not before he lost an enormous amount of blood. I don't think he'll be able to heal. For now it's a waiting game. He'll be on round the clock watch until we're sure that he's going to recover. Or that he's not."
Natalie tried to swallow the lump that had risen in her throat, but it refused to go down. She tried to keep Brennan's words in mind, that Ben was going to be okay, but they refused to stay in their place in her mind. They insisted on surfacing as doubts.
"Can I see him?" she asked softly.
"He's not awake yet," the doctor told her. Then, seeing the distress that was plain on her face, he continued, "If it would make you feel better, though, you're welcome to sit with him until he wakes up."
Natalie nodded and the doctor led her to a bed that was pushed into a corner and curtained off from the rest of the room. Natalie pushed past the curtain and the doctor left her alone with him.
Ben was lying on the bed with a blanket pulled up to his waist. His chest was bare except for the bandage that was wrapped around his shoulder. His left arm was encased by two wooden boards to keep it straight. Natalie noticed with relief that they had washed the blood from his skin.
Natalie sat in the chair that rested next to the bed. She thought of what Brendan had told her in her dream. He had told her that he wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to be with Ben. He said that Ben loved her.
She made the decision to try. She would try to be happy because Brendan had asked it of her.
Natalie reached out slowly to Ben. She hesitated just before her fingers touched his skin, still thinking of Brendan. She felt like such a traitor. But he had told her to be happy.
She stroked Ben's face gently. His skin was soft, and Natalie soon found herself enjoying the warmth of his face beneath her fingers. As she traced his jaw line, it occurred to her that perhaps his skin should not be quite this warm.
She called for the doctor and he confirmed her fear. Ben had a fever. Natalie stood back and watched while the nurses bustled around her. When they had done all that they could, Natalie was ushered back into the hallway. The doctor told her that she would be notified of any changes in Ben's condition.
Natalie returned to the infirmary door many times during the day. Every time, she was turned away. Every time, she scowled at the nurse, turned on her heel, and strode quickly away to pace somewhere else. This usually led her to Queen Lastelle and Mara. They were equally restless to Natalie, but for a different reason. They were waiting for the army to return.
The fifth time that Natalie returned to them, the queen agreed to do something.
"Alright, I'll go talk to them," she said. Natalie followed close behind as Lastelle led the way to the infirmary. When the door was opened and the same nurse appeared, looking thoroughly exasperated, Lastelle asked her, "How is Ben doing?"
The nurse answered stiffly, "Ben is doing the same as he was doing ten minutes ago."
"Georgiana," the queen asked the nurse, calling her by name, "would it really hurt him that much to have Natalie sitting by him? I would think that it might actually help him. He loves her, you see, and having her there with him might make him more inclined to want to pull through, wouldn't you think?"
The woman had nothing to say to that, and so Natalie was permitted to sit by Ben and hold his hand while he burned up with fever and yet still managed to shiver.