"No!" Thea screamed, her heart feeling as if it was being ripped out. She ran over to Nikandros, not even feeling the pain of her foot or hands.

She quickly knelt down beside him and cupped his face in her bloody hands. "Nik...I-I am so sorry." She whispered, tears streaking down her face.

Nikandros smiled through the pain, "It's okay, Thea. Not...." He took a shaky breath, "Not your fault."

Ulric watched the two assassins with sadness, before he remembered the master. He started walking over to the master.

Alicia handed the master her sword and pulled out a dagger. She quickly ran around Ulric towards the Master's sword. She jumped for it, barely missing Ulric's sword above her. She ran towards where Thea was trying to help Nikandros. She saw that the Master's sword was behind Nikandros. She jumped over both Nikandros and Thea, and picked up the Master's sword, tucking her dagger away.

The Master clutched his stomach with his left hand, and stood up, holding Alicia's sword in his right hand. Ulric glanced between the master and Alicia, sword held in a guard position.

"Thea. Go...help Ulric." Nikandros said weakly, "Please don't argue, just go help him. He...can't fight two at once...I'll be okay." He forced a small smile.

Alicia walked around Ulric toward the Master. When she got to his side, they traded swords, and Alicia started back around Ulric to face him from behind.

Ulric frowned slightly in concentration, glancing between Alicia and the master out of the corner of his eye. He stepped backwards a few steps, so Alicia and the master were in plainer sight.

"Thea, go." Nikandros pleaded, "Take this sword." He gestured weakly at the sword he had dropped. Thea bent down and kissed him once on the lips before grasping the sword and standing up. She turned to face the group, ready to fight.

Ulric felt a surge of relief that Thea had come to join the fight, before realizing that this might mean Nikandros was dead. His eyes narrowed and he decided to go on with the attack as long as he could. He leapt at the master, reigning hard blows down, trying to keep the master from touching the gem.

Alicia jumped behind Ulric, and advanced on him, faster than the master was losing ground.

The Master saw this and smiled cruelly at Ulric. He then grabbed his sword with two hands, touching the jewel with his pinky, and blocked Ulric's sword, not moving backwards anymore.

Thea gripped the sword tighter, it sliding a bit from her blood soaked hands, and ran into the battle. She swung her sword around towards The Master, trying to push him away from Ulric.

After stepping between them so Ulric could take out Alicia, Thea advanced on the Master. She no longer felt any pain, all the rage she felt towards the Master gave her strength as she pushed on, reigning blow after blow down upon his sword.

The Master swung an especially hard block at Thea, making sure that he touched his jewel before having their swords clash. Once their swords had hit, the Master locked their swords together. "You are a fool." He then kicked Thea in the stomach, sending her sliding for a few feet. "You couldn't do a simple task that I sent you out to do. I should have known that you were too weak to actually kill someone," the Master raged. "Now, you will have to die as well!" The Master continued to advance on Thea.

Meanwhile, Alicia was fighting Ulric. "You shouldn't be king. You can't even defend yourself from me." She pulled out her dagger, putting it in her left hand, and twirled her sword around in her right hand. Alicia then stopped twirling her sword and hurled herself at Ulric. Ulric blocked the assassin's blade, and struck back at the assassin. Alicia blocked his sword with hers, and was about to cut at Ulric's arm, when she heard something shatter. She changed her mind and kicked Ulric back, then turned to stare at the broken jewel.

Nikandros watched weakly as the group fought. His face hardened with anger as he saw the master use the jewel to aid him in fighting Thea. Clenching his teeth, he slid the dagger out of his stomach. Blood gushed out, and Nikandros applied as much pressure as he could with his left hand. Holding the dagger in his right hand, he hurled it at the master with as much force as he could muster. The master didn't see it coming, and lifted his sword to finish Thea off. As the sword came down, Nikandros's dagger came out of nowhere, shattering his gem, then falling to the floor. The Master's eyes widened with unbelief, and he forgot about Thea for a few seconds, then his face clouded in anger, and he again raised his sword to kill Thea.

Thea almost froze when she saw the shattered pieces of gem. Then, finding her strength, she thrust her sword into his exposed stomach, disregarding the Master's own blade that came down and sliced into her shoulder. Using Alicia's distraction, Ulric thrust at her unprotected back, killing her. He sank into the floor, exhausted physically and mentally.

The Master sank to his knees, and clutched his wound. He glared at Thea, and reached down to pick up his sword, but couldn't lift it. His world then went black, and he toppled over.

Thea also fell to her knees as she dropped her sword and clutched her shoulder.

The doors to the room burst open and many guards ran in, brandishing their weapons. The captain, Fendrel, surveyed the room in astonishment and ran over to Ulric when he found him.

He bent down before him, "My lord? What has happened? Are you well?" He asked.

Ulric gave a tired grin, and started laughing, his shoulders shaking, "I'm fine. Wonderful timing though." He joked. Then he became serious again, remembering Thea and Nikandros, "I need healers here, now." He ordered Fendrel.

Fendrel nodded, "Yes, sir. Right away." He turned back to his soldiers, "Go get some healers! Now!" He yelled. Instantly, two soldiers left to fetch them.

Thea glanced over at the master and let out a breath when she realized he was dead. She grit her teeth and half crawled, half walked over to where Nikandros lay. She gasped for breath as she checked to make sure he was breathing. With great relief, she saw that he was breathing, but shallowly.

Ulric walked quickly over to the two assassins, ripping part of his tunic and binding it tightly around Nikandros' wound. He ripped another piece off, and turned to Thea, "Here, let me help you until healers arrive." He offered. Thea nodded numbly, still staring at Nikandros. She glanced down at her hands, noticing they were still covered in blood as she wiped them on her ripped dress.

Using the piece of cloth, Ulric pressed it against Thea's shoulder, staunching the flow of blood.

Not long after, the two guards came back with four healers. Also, Xene ran into the room with them, looking extremely vexed.

Ulric smile broadened as he saw Xene, "Xene!" He exclaimed, delightedly. He stood up and went over to her.

"Ulric!" she cried and rushed over to him. Xene held onto him tightly. "I was so worried about you." The tears started streaming down her face, and she started sobbing.

"Shh, it's okay." Ulric soothed, "Everything's alright now."

Xene took a few deep breaths, then stepped back. "Are you all right? Did you get injured? The healers are here if you need them for anything, even little scratches," she fussed over him. For the first time, she noticed Nikandros and Thea. "What are they doing here? Why aren't they in the dungeons for attempting to kill you?" she asked Ulric in rapid fire.

"I'm fine. And about the assassins, well, I've pardoned them." Ulric responded, trying to remember the questions, "Anything else?" He teased.

Xene frowned and turned back toward Ulric. "Yes. Why did you pardon them?" she asked, totally missing his teasing.

"Because they've changed." He let out a grin, "And if I'm mistaken, it's my own neck I'm risking."

Xene frowned again, but tried to keep it straight. "I think you are," she said, then her own smile radiated from her face. She hugged him again. "I'm so glad that you're safe. Are you sure that you're not hurt?"

Ulric smiled, hugging her back, "Only a few injuries. But they're not major." He added quickly.

"You should get them checked out by the healers anyway. Otherwise I'll force you to have them checked out."

Ulric nodded meekly, "All right." He agreed, knowing that it was useless to argue.

Nearby, Thea leaned over Nikandros, watching him as the healers cleaned his wound and tried to make him comfortable. She watched with concern and asked, "Will he be...um..."

One of the healers glanced up at her while he worked. "Don't worry, we are doing everything we can for him." He reassured.

Nikandros groaned as the healers worked, and tried to push them away, while barely being conscious.

Thea gently grabbed his hands, pinning them above his head as she looked down at him. "Shh, let them help, Nik."

Nikandros muttered some incoherent words, but stopped thrashing.

Thea smiled, satisfied, and watched the healers expertly do their work.

Another healer entered the room and approached Thea, kneeling down beside her. "May I tend to your wounds, Miss?" He asked.

Thea felt a bit dazed but nodded her consent. The healer had her readjust and right away noticed her bandaged foot. He carefully peeled away the bandages and was mildly startled at the sight. The wound was still crusted with blood, stitches, and bruises all over it, causing quite a grotesque sight.

Ulric glanced over at the assassins, gaping when he saw Thea's foot, "What happened?" He asked, concerned.

"Just...a friendly horse." Thea responded sarcastically.

Ulric smiled slightly, deciding to drop the matter, "Is Nikandros okay?"

Thea's gaze lowered, "I hope so."

"I'm sure he'll be alright." Ulric said softly.

"Me too." She whispered.

The healer gently re-cleaned her foot and wrapped it up again. When he finished, he said, "You should not have been walking on your foot, or fighting." He added quietly, "I have to specifically direct you not to walk on it anymore. If you do, it may not heal properly."

Thea sighed, "Okay. Thank you." She tried to smile, but instead just leaned back onto the marble floor.

A young guard stepped forward, "May I help you to your room?" He offered.

Thea glanced up at him, "No, but thank you. I would rather stay with my husband."

The guard nodded, "Of course. If you change your mind just tell me."

"I will." She answered and bent over Nikandros once again. Gently, she brushed a strand of his hair away from his face. Then, she leaned down and kissed him on his grungy forehead.

Nikandros' eyes flickered open and seeing Thea, he gave a small smile, "You okay?"

Her eyes lit up and she smiled, "I am now that I know you are." She said as she rubbed his forehead. Nikandros sighed, and closed his eyes, resting.

"Can he be moved to his room now?" Thea asked one of the healers.

"I don't know, I don't believe it would be wise to move him, Miss." He answered.

"Very well." She answered, hoisting herself off the floor slowly. Her eyes searched for the guard that had offered his help and she called him over when she found him.

"Could you help me to my room?" Thea asked him.

The guard nodded, "Of course." He picked her up, "Where is your room?"

She guided him along the corridors and instructed him to stop at the door. "If you could wait here, I just need to go and grab something inside." Thea asked.

"Didn't the healer say not to walk?" The guard asked, uncertainly, "I can take you into the room." He offered.

"I'm sure it will be fine." She assured him, trying to get out of his arms.

The guard frowned, "I'll bring you in there." He opened the door and walked in, setting her down on the bed.

Thea sighed, "Okay then..." She muttered. She pulled the blanket off the bed and grabbed the pillow. "Can you bring me back now?" She asked.

"Alright." The guard picked her up and brought her back to the citadel.

Nikandros had been propped up into a sitting position. His eyes were closed though, and his head was resting on his knees.

The guard put her down beside him and she quickly thanked him before turning to Nikandros. "Nik? Why don't you lay back down? I brought some things to make you more comfortable." She said, eyeing him worriedly.

Nikandros lifted his head up and smiled as he saw Thea, "Thanks," he said gratefully. Thea gently helped him lay back down onto a pillow with a smile. She spread the large blanket over him, tucking it in around the sides.

"Rest." She whispered, kissing him on the cheek.

"I love you." He said, smiling, before he slipped into sleep. Thea smiled sadly at him, wishing she could take away his pain.

She looked around the room at the mess of blood and people loitering throughout the large area until her eyes fell upon the Master's body. A feeling of hatred shot through her, but it dissipated quickly as relief replaced it. He was dead. They were safe.

Ulric surveyed the battle scene, before he took action and assigned jobs for the citadel to be cleaned. Everyone took action, and soon the citadel was cleansed from all the blood, gore, and muck.

And here it is! Another chapter right after just as promised!!!! And now the master is dead, wow. So much for Aris' characters. Pretty much all of them have died. Except for Xene. She's still alive and we might still see her soon! (Hint hint)

But, the book is nearing the end with a mere, two chapter more I believe and the. A wonderful, magical epilogue that might just make you explode from feels like it did me. But don't fear, it was worth it!

Ithildae, Evara, and Aris

Writers:
Nikandros--Evara
Thea--Ithildae
Ulric--Evara
The Master--Aris
Alicia--Aris, Ithildae, and Evara
Eric--Aris and Evara