~ GREGOR

He was completely and utterly stupid! There were probably loads of rebels who dispersed themselves into the crowd! Any one of them could have killed Luxa while she was distracted. Gregor got another bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Someone was dead or dying. Where was Luxa?

"Luxa?" He asked, running towards the crowd of onlookers. "Luxa!"

"I'm here, Gregor," she answered in a distraught tone. Her voice sounded tight, like she was trying hard not to cry.

"Are you ok? What... happened...?" The crowd let Gregor go past them, and he stopped as soon as he saw Pandora on a stretcher. The shaft of a spear was unmistakable. Gregor's stomach dropped. It jutted out of the side of her ribs, but Gregor didn't know much about anatomy. Did it miss her heart? What about her lungs?

Gregor glanced at her hand, weakly clasped onto Howard's. Her skin was almost as pale as his. Medics moved her onto the back of a flyer, and a spinner gently secured her in place. It was the quickest way to the hospital, Gregor knew. Judging by the look on Howard's face, he figured her diagnosis wasn't good.

"Oh geez," Gregor said. "Howard..."

"Pandora?" Howard let go of her hand and placed both arms on her shoulders. It seemed she slipped in unconsciousness... Gregor hoped. "Pandora! Can you hear me!"

"Boy, let them go," came a loud, low voice. York had stepped between them and put his hands on Howard's chest. He blocked Pandora from view, making Howard give the bat some room so she could take off.

"Father, move!" Howard yelled at him. He tried to push his dad away, pressing all his body weight into his shove, but York didn't budge, not even a millimeter.

"Your mother will do all she can," York said, maintaining a clear tone. Gregor noticed how hard he was trying to keep calm and patient. He was still just as loud as ever, but at least he was trying.

"I need to go with her," Howard rasped, tears streaming down his face. Ripred, Mareth, and several others urged the crowd to leave. "She's going to die! I know she is going to die!" Howard gave up trying to get away from his father and collapsed into his arms.

"Howard," Luxa said gently. "Aurora and I will take you to the hospital. I will do all I can to make them allow you to enter. I cannot promise anything, but we can try."

Howard was so distraught and out of sorts that he was shaking like a leaf. He had blood splattered on him in a spray that swooped from his shoulder to his opposite temple, and his knees were soaked. If Gregor had to guess, the blood was from two different people, and neither of them were Howard. He looked like a completely different person.

York looked on as his niece-in-law took his son's hand and helped him onto Aurora's back. He appeared almost as heartbroken as his son.

Gregor took a step towards the tall man as they both solemnly watched a broken Howard ride up to the High Hall. "Are you ready to believe him yet?"

York, for once, was silent. Gregor stayed down behind the palace for a few minutes, talking with Mareth. What were they going to do about the rebels? They weren't quite sure, and Mareth suggested they both go and seek council with Vikus. For now, Luxa was safe inside the palace and the rebels in charge of carrying out the plan were dead.

Using the lift to enter the palace, Gregor let go of the rope that he gripped tightly and stepped inside the lowest window the lift stopped at. It took him a minute to remember how to get to the hospital from the floor he was on, but he eventually made his way down.

A nurse directed Gregor to the room in which Pandora was having surgery to find Howard and Luxa sitting on a stone outcropping carved into the wall that resembled a bench. Luxa was leaning on Howard's shoulder, rubbing a hand on his upper arm in a comforting fashion. Her solemn eyes met Gregor's as she saw him approaching.

Howard was sitting up straight, his back as stiff as a soldier's. His eyes were locked on something in front of him. Gregor didn't know if he even saw him walk up. He looked terrible; still covered in blood and dirt, Howard's dried tears had made streaks down his face. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was a greasy mess, and his hands shook although he tried to pin them to the sides of his legs.

"Even for the queen, they will not let him enter," Luxa said to Gregor. "Susannah is in there now. She most likely told the other doctors to hold firm. Howard is in no condition to help."

Howard took a shaky breath, his chest rattling the way it did after a long, hard cry. He didn't argue with his cousin.

"That's probably for the best," Gregor said, glancing at the two guards standing not too far away. He remembered hearing Mareth asking to have them stay with Luxa, just in case anyone tried something else. The palace was still full to the brim with people, and rebels could be hiding among them. "Now you have some time to wash up," he said to Howard.

"I'm not moving," Howard said tightly.

"Howard," Luxa said gently. "It is important. For your health, please."

"I'm not moving!" He repeated more forcefully. "I must stay here."

Gregor didn't want to argue and upset Howard more, so he looked at Luxa and gave her a defeated shrug.

"You go bathe," she said to him. "I'll stay here until you return."

Gregor nodded. "We'll take turns. Someone should stay here with him."

Luxa agreed, and Gregor left to find the nearest washroom. Knowing Luxa must have been at least just as tired and hungry as he was, he tried to be quick. He put on some fresh pants and a tunic and thought he had better grab a pair for Howard as well. Gregor also grabbed a towel, smeared some cleanser on it and dunked it in the water. A dry towel and the clean clothes folded neatly in one hand, Gregor trudged out of the washroom and headed back towards the surgical suite.

His insides felt as if they were twisting when he thought about Pandora. He hoped everything was going well in there. How were they going to remove the metal spearhead jammed inside her ribcage? Gregor hadn't the slightest idea. Hopefully, the doctors did. Of course, they did!

Luxa had fallen asleep, using Howard's shoulder as a pillow. He, however, looked exactly the same as Gregor had seen him the first time, still staring at something on the opposite wall. Gregor stood directly in front of Howard and presented him with the clothes and the wet towel bundled up in his other hand.

"Here," he said. Luxa jumped at the sound of his voice, sitting up and blinking hard before focusing on Gregor. "So you don't have to leave. You could go behind that curtain there and tidy yourself up."

Howard's eyes broke from its forward stare and quickly moved between the wet towel in Gregor's right hand and the clean towel and clothes in his left. His eyes brimmed with fresh tears. "Thank you," he whispered.

Taking what Gregor offered, Howard stood and disappeared behind the curtain that hid the next room from view. It must've been another surgical suite, but it wasn't being used.

"Your turn," he said to Luxa.

"Afterwards, we can both get something to eat. Nike should be back by then," she responded as she stood. The fliers still had work to do, apparently, and after dropping them off at the High Hall, Aurora went to join Nike as she flew off to be with Queen Athena. Nike must've been out of her mind with worry, both for Pandora and Howard.

"Sounds good."

As Luxa walked away, Gregor stretched out on the bench. He was exhausted, but he didn't know if he would be able to fall asleep. He needed to hear some news about Pandora. Any news. Not knowing anything that was going on just a few yards away was maddening. No wonder Howard was so out of sorts.

Moving aside the curtain, Howard walked back to the bench. He had placed the wet towel and his dirty clothes inside the dry towel, using it as a small bag. Certainly an improvement, Gregor's cleanser-filled towel had taken off most of the blood and dirt on Howard's face and hands. His hair looked better-kept as well. He dropped the dirty laundry next to the bench and sat back down, taking the same position he had before – straight as a soldier.

Gregor looked up at him from where he was laying. His head was close to Howard, so he rolled his eyes up to glimpse his face. "You should get comfortable," he advised. "We might be here for a while."

Howard didn't make a move. Was he even listening?

"My family is getting used to hospitals," Gregor droned on, hoping some small talk would do Howard some good, even if he didn't contribute. "What with my grandma and my dad. The fevers are way fewer and farther between, at least. He went back to teaching. But every now and again, he'd catch something and wouldn't be able to shake it.

"His immune system is pretty shot," he continued. He rubbed an itch off his nose and placed both hands underneath his head. "My mom's tried everything to help. Special diets that claimed to help the creation of white blood cells and whatnot." His mouth opened wide for a yawn, and he continued to talk. "All those natural remedies. Nothing seems to help it improve, at least from what I can tell." Gregor closed his eyes. "He gets pneumonia every year. It's like clockwork. Once it starts getting cold outside, he gets it. It's practically... predictable..."

"Gregor?" he heard someone whisper.

Opening his eyes, Gregor turned to find Luxa gently shaking him awake. "Huh?" he said groggily.

Gregor sat up and rubbed his eyes. From the way Howard sobbed into Nike's fur, Gregor guessed she had just arrived. Tears leaked from the corners of the bat's eyes.

"We should get something to eat," Luxa said softly.

"Good idea," Gregor answered. "Do you think they'll be okay here by themselves?"

Luxa nodded. "I warned her of Howard's condition when I met her in the High Hall." Luxa helped Gregor stand and the two of them walked to the nearest stairwell. "She was expecting it. The poor thing... she hated to leave Howard alone, but she needed to go with her mother. It is tough to leave your bond when you know they are suffering. Yet, sometimes, it is necessary. I know Howard understands."

Gregor nodded, and the two of them climbed all the way up to the High Hall. They entered one of the dining rooms to find Aurora seated with Vikus and Hazard. A family dinner, Gregor thought. At first, he was disappointed. He wanted to eat alone, but by the time he sat down in a chair, he warmed up to the thought of company. What a good thing to have – people gathered around to support each other. Gregor wished Howard could leave the hospital, even if it were just for a few minutes so he could sit and dine with them as well. It might have made him feel better.

Luxa took a seat in between Hazard and Aurora, seated opposite of Gregor.

"Any news on the rebels?" Gregor asked the old man.

"They blend in with the citizens. It will be a difficult task to find any," Vikus said. "Any events Luxa attends must be carefully planned and guarded." Luxa gave him a hard look. "At least for now," he added with emphasis.

"I wish Howard could join us," Hazard said, twiddling his thumbs on the table. "He does not seem well."

"I'll make a plate for him and bring it down," Gregor said. "Just because he won't leave that hospital bench doesn't mean he won't eat."

Hazard hummed and nodded his head. "Do you think he feels as helpless now as he did when Pandora was eaten by the mites?"

Gregor stared at the younger boy. It took a full minute for him to compute what the boy had asked. By the way Vikus, Luxa, and Aurora looked at him in pure silence, he could tell no one was expecting him to ask such a question. It made sense, though... Hazard was a very smart kid and wasn't one to hold his tongue.

Luxa looked down at the table in thought. "I think so."

A few servants entered the dining room and placed full plates down on the table. "Uh," Gregor looked up at the woman who served his food. "Do you think you could get us another plate? We planned on bringing it down to Howard when we meet up with him again."

The woman bowed her head and gave him a small smile. "Yes, warrior. I will bring another plate in a few moments. To be sure it is hot when delivered."

Gregor found it hard to smile, but he did his best to give her one filled with warmth. "Thanks."

Everyone started to eat except for Luxa. Instead, she preferred to stare down into her food. She didn't even pick up her fork.

"Hey," Gregor slowed down enough to lower his fork for more than a second. Luxa seemed to snap out of her daydream and looked at him. "You should eat."

"Do you think Pandora will have more time?" She asked him.

"Of course, she will! You shouldn't think like that, Luxa."

"And why not? It is unreasonable to ponder death? What if she dies by a spear that was meant for me?"

"Pandora knows what she's doing!"

"Hardly," Luxa said with a snide tone. "Do you really believe she knows everything that will happen? She has a gift, Gregor, she's not omniscient!"

"And do you really think when she saw that guy coming, that she gave putting her life before yours a second thought?"

Luxa stood from the table, her chair clattering behind her. The sound made Aurora wince. "I should have seen him coming!"

"Luxa," Vikus said softly. "Our vision is always better in hindsight. Do not linger on such thoughts. It is not your fault."

"I should have seen him coming earlier as well," Aurora lamented. "But we cannot change the past. You are here now. Safe. And I am forever grateful for Pandora's actions."

Luxa collected her chair and sat back down at the table. Aurora offered her a claw, and Luxa clasped it.

"Please eat," Gregor said again. "You'd be yelling at me right now if it were me refusing to take a bite."

Luxa forcefully jabbed her fork at her steak and lifted the entire thing off the plate. She ripped off a bite-size piece with her teeth and chewed unceremoniously. It wasn't very graceful, it wasn't very royal, but at least she was eating.

After a few minutes, the woman who served Gregor returned with two fresh plates of food, still steaming as she placed them beside Gregor.

"I thought perhaps Her Majesty would be hungry as well," she referred to Nike as she stepped away from the table.

"Oh yeah," Gregor said, turning to face the servant as she left. "Thanks!"

Gregor carried both plates out of the room. Luxa carried forks in one hand and held back the curtain that covered the doorway so Gregor could walk through without spilling any gravy. They wordlessly made their way back down to the hospital. Luxa frowned as she noticed two new guards following them. They must have replaced the others to give them some time to rest. The palace was silent.

As they rounded the corner towards the surgical suite, Gregor could see Howard and Nike laying on the floor beside the bench. Gregor placed both plates down on the stone slab and looked at the pair. Howard was asleep, wrapped in Nike's wings.

The black and white bat looked up at them. She nodded in thanks when she saw the food.

Gregor went to the washroom to find some towels to cover up the plates. Hopefully they would still be warm when Howard and Nike wanted to eat. When he got back, Luxa was kneeling on the floor next to Nike's head. They were whispering back and forth.

As Gregor covered the food, Luxa filled him in. "There has been no news yet."

"How long has it been?"

"A few hours, at least," Luxa answered.

"Well... no news is good news, I guess," Gregor said quietly with a sigh.

They both sat on the bench next to the plates of food. He didn't know how long they sat there. The minutes seemed to fly by, although no words were spoken. Gregor's eyes started to get heavy. Aside from the small nap he took earlier, he couldn't remember the last time he slept.

Nike had her eyes closed, her wings visibly relaxing. Howard's and Nike's chests seemed to rise and fall at the same time.

Luxa must've been just as wiped out as he was. She slumped down and rested her head on his shoulder. Gregor put his arm behind her back. Her slow, rhythmic breathing indicated she had fallen asleep, too.

Gregor closed his eyes and willed himself to get some rest. What else were they supposed to do as they waited for any news on the fate of their friend?

***

"Gregor," Luxa hissed. She shook his shoulder roughly.

"What?" Gregor asked as he bolted upright. How long had they been sleeping?

"Susannah's here. She brings us news."

Howard's mother knelt next to Howard, gently coaxing him to wake. Nike moved her wing off him and stood up.

"Mother," he said as he sat up. "How is she?"

Susannah's mouth was a tight line. "She lives, but she is very weak."

"Oh," Gregor let slip from his mouth. Sighs of relief could be heard from each one of them. Knowing Pandora survived the surgery seemed to reinvigorate everyone.

"And removing the spear. Was the surgery successful?"

"We had to stop halfway through to make sure she was stabilized," Susannah explained. She remained by her son's side, a hand in his. "She lost a lot of blood. We almost ran out of time. But we waited and watched. She is a fighter," Susannah said with a small smile. "I can say that without a doubt."

"Yeah she is!" Gregor said with enthusiasm. Howard turned to look at him. It was the first time Gregor saw his eyes focus. He smiled, but somehow it didn't quite go past his ears.

"We were able to finish the surgery. The spear was removed, and her chest has been sutured."

"What was damaged?" Howard asked. "Her lung at the very least."

Susannah nodded. "Her lung had collapsed. Arteries were torn. We repaired the holes and cleared out her lung."

"I need to keep an eye on her," Howard said. "The risk of internal bleeding is very great."

"What you need," Susannah said in a motherly tone, strict but sweet. "Is a meal. You have eaten nothing, or so I've heard."

"Yeah," Gregor said. "You were asleep when we brought you some food."

Howard looked over at the plates that were still sitting underneath the towels on the bench.

"I will eat," Howard said, standing up from the floor. "I will eat as you show me where Pandora is currently resting."

"No, Howard," Susannah said. "Pandora is safe. I have many watching over her as she rests. You need some rest, too."

"I just slept," Howard said. He scooped up the plate from the bench, removed the towel, and picked up a fork. The food was probably cold, Gregor thought. They must have been sleeping for a few hours.

"On a stone floor," Susannah maintained. Howard held the fork like a shovel and heaped a large helping onto it. He shoved the entire thing in his mouth and practically swallowed without chewing. "What good does it do Pandora to have you weak, sore, and manic?"

Howard swallowed the food and took a few steps to be closer to his mother. Susannah must have recognized the look of anger on Howard's face. She held her ground and adopted a steely expression. "I will find where she is being kept," Howard warned. "With or without your help. I will walk this entire floor. I know it better than you! You will show me where she is, or you will stay out of my way!"

"Howard!" Came a booming voice. Gregor, Luxa, and Nike all jumped. Howard and his mother continued to stare daggers at each other. "In no way is that how you talk to your mother." York rounded the corner, his face beet red. He stopped a few yards away, keeping a distance between him and his son. Howard snapped his head in his father's direction. "Remember, you, that your mother has spent hours working diligently to keep that girl alive! She is more tired, more hungry, and more emotionally tolled than any one of us." York lowered his voice by quite a few decibels. "We both know how much you love her, but please understand that we stand between you only because we care about you. About all of you!" York looked around at the group of others. "Now go. Take care of yourselves. Be productive with your time. Pandora may have been through much, but she is fine and resting. Let her get some decent sleep, one that is not disturbed by the pokes of needles."

"You're right," Gregor nodded. He turned to look at Luxa; she had the same deer-in-headlights expression that Gregor had when York came in. He took her hand and she seemed to snap back to reality. "If she's fine, I'm alright with leaving. We should talk to Vikus and Mareth anyway. They probably need our help with something."

"Yes, I think it wise for the queen to drop in and engage in some post-war problem solving," Luxa agreed while giving Gregor's hand a squeeze. He though back to how he felt when she rested her head on his shoulder. The stone bench wasn't comfortable in the slightest, but she had been.

"I apologize, mother," Howard said quietly. "I should not have been so disrespectful."

"Come here, boy," York said, closing the distance between him and his son with just a few strides. "Let us take care of you. Once you get some decent sleep, I promise you will be with Pandora."

Leaving the rest of the group behind, Gregor noticed how quiet the rest of the palace was as Luxa and Gregor made their way up from the hospital floor.

"Everything has been so tumultuous," Luxa commented. "I was not even aware what time of day it was."

"Me, too," Gregor nodded.

"Perhaps we should have a quick meal and rest," Luxa said. "I doubt Vikus is up at this hour."

Luxa and Gregor walked into one of the kitchens and got a small snack, then Luxa led them back to her royal chamber.

"Just be quiet," she whispered. "The others have given up their own chambers for the citizens."

Gregor tiptoed past Mareth asleep on a cot near the door. Hazard and Vikus slept in one of the bedrooms off to the side. Relieved Luxa's guards stopped at the main door to her suite, Gregor walked to the far side of the living room and sat on a couch in front of the fireplace. Luxa sat next to him and they ate their food in silence.

Gregor had a weird feeling in his chest. Here they both were, Gregor sitting next to his boyhood love, right after another huge war. Gregor could tell Luxa wasn't as on-edge as she had been, and her shoulders seemed more relaxed. But they weren't out of the woods yet.

Gregor didn't want to think about anything they still had to do. It wouldn't help to talk it over without Mareth and Vikus anyway. He and Luxa would have just continued to talk in circles all night.

Instead Gregor wrapped an arm around Luxa, sat closer to her, and enjoyed her company as they watched the fire dance in front of them. Not a word was said.

After a few minutes, Gregor dared to take his eyes off the flames and look at the most beautiful girl he had ever met. She was looking right at him, and he could see the firelight making her eyes an even brighter shade of violet. She gave him a half smile before cuddling in closer and laying her head on his shoulder. He was a thousand times more comfortable than he was on the stone bench.

It was the happiest sleep Gregor had in quite a while. Warm from the fire and snuggled up on the couch next to Luxa, it was almost incredibly perfect.

***

It had been about a week since the utter chaos that was the end of the war with the cutters. Gregor had kept himself as busy as Vikus and Mareth permitted. He aided the citizens in getting the city clean, working in the sections Mareth directed in order to get each building up and running. He also witnessed the burning of the cutter bodies in the Arena. The hundreds of red bodies burned blue with the amount of fuel the Underlanders had used. He didn't stay at that event long.

Gregor and Luxa attended every single soldier's funeral. Each one was given a chance to be honored in larger ceremonies. The first to happen paid tribute to those who paid the ultimate price at the battle at the Reaper's Gate. Gregor's stomach had churned when he saw the number of humans and fliers. It made him physically ill, and he did not look forward to the ones held after: the phalanx at the arena, the siege at the wall, and the final stand at the water. He felt like he had to be there, for every single life lost. When he talked to Luxa about it, she shared that she, too, felt the same way.

At times, Regalians asked him to say a few words about certain subjects. Mostly, they asked him about the fallen soldiers. He couldn't help but feel more like a political figurehead than a warrior, and he didn't know where he stood on the matter. Sure, he spoke politically at an event while the war was still going on, when he announced his return. But now that the war was over...

No. He wasn't going to think like that. He liked being helpful and he liked that the Underlanders sought him out for advice and words of encouragement. He was still needed. It wasn't exactly what he had envisioned, but he was still needed. He was still relevant. Barend was wrong. He had a place in the world, and that place didn't include fighting one hundred percent of the time.

Gregor visited Pandora every day after his work was done. The doctors gave her medicine that kept her asleep, but Gregor didn't care. If it was anything like an induced coma in the Overland, he was pretty sure she could still hear sometimes.

It became such a habit for him and the others that their visits often overlapped. Gregor found himself many times in the room with Pan, Luxa, Vikus, or even Mareth and Andromeda. Howard was always in her room, which meant Nike was also in her room quite often. They all spoke to each other about what they did that day, what they thought the cutters might do next, even what they wanted to eat for dinner.

When Nerissa was in the room, though, the conversation was all about prophecies. She kept Pandora's journals with her and would often share one of her poems with the group.

"This one," she would say, "seems to me as if our alliance with the other warm-blooded creatures will grow stronger as the others grow weaker. Or it could possibly be about a young girl from the Fount mastering the language of the gnawers at the expense of her progress on the crawlers' dialect. Allow me to read it for you. I would love from fresh perspectives."

Gregor knocked on the stone wall next to the curtain as he always did out of politeness before pulling the heavy fabric aside.

"Gregor. We believe you're just in time," Luxa said in greeting. She sat on Pandora's right whilst Howard sat on her left.

"Just in time for what?" He asked.

"They stopped administering the medicine that keeps Pandora asleep a few hours ago," Howard said. He couldn't tell if Howard had an eager tone or a nervous one. Perhaps it was a little of both.

"So, she...?" Gregor fished for an explanation.

"She's been stirring, Gregor," Luxa answered. "She might wake up."