Excalibur's Seven - Chapter 18: Chapter 18

THE PRINCE KNEW IT was risky to walk through a guarded town like this, but he was desperate enough for answers, he needed to try. He had no idea if Léona would turn him in, if she was still there at least. But if she sent Lionel to him, she wouldn't want him to get in trouble, right?
They kept to the back alleys, away from the heavily guarded areas. He hadn't seen Léona in a long time, but he was sure he still knew where she lived. Lionel was quiet the whole time, more interested in asking Kit for candy a man sold at a stand. He didn't have time for it, but Eurion was happy to do what she did best.
"Everything's free if you're fast enough," she whispered to Lionel as she handed him the treat.
They neared the opposite edge of town, where the houses got bigger and richer and quieter. Léona married rich, so he knew she lived here somewhere. He kept his eye out, trying to remember what house it was.
And then he found it. It was a stone house, crawling with vines and surrounded with flowers. Léona always did love a good garden, it was her favorite part of the castle to visit when she was with Kit.
He paused in his tracks in front the door, wondering if it was really a good idea. He was going to psych himself out. He couldn't do this. This was stupid and probably dangerous, and--
Eurion pounded her fist against the door. "You were taking too long," she said when he looked at her.
His heart was in his throat, hands shaking in anticipation. He stared at the door, praying it wouldn't open, that he had any reason at all to abandon the endeavor he'd gotten himself into.
But then it did open, and there Léona stood.
"Kristofer, what the hell are you doing here? You're a wanted man. I can't be seen with you." She was already getting antsy, looking back and forth down the street. "Make it quick."
Kit took a deep breath, then moved Lionel to stand in front of him.
"Why did you send him to me? You know I'm not--"
"Who's kid is that?" she asked.
He froze, cheeks heating up. "I'm sorry, what?"
She shook her head. "What, did you think he was mine?"
"Well apparently he's mine and we--well. You made the most sense."
"Kit, it's simple math. We only ended it two years ago, if he was mine he'd still be falling over when he walked." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Good Lord, Kit, did you really have a child all this time and have no idea?"
He looked bashfully down at his son, who was paying absolutely no attention. He had the candy in one hand, crouched down and playing with a bug on the ground with the other.
"I guess I did." He took a breath, raking his hand through his hair. "Well, I'm sorry for wasting your time. I guess I have to look for a maid I don't remember."
"I might be able to find her name, if that helps," Léona offered.
He clutched his hair. "Really? You're a lifesaver, Lé--"
"Save it, Kristofer. I'm doing it for the kid." She disappeared into her house again, leaving him on the porch in anticipation.
They were out there for a good minute before she finally returned, holding a folded piece of paper. "Here it is. Don't lose it because this is the last favor I do for you."
He was about to thank her, but was cut off when she slammed the door.
"Yikes," Eurion muttered. "What the hell did you do to her?"
Kit rolled his eyes, shuffling Lionel's hair to tell him to come along. "The same thing I do to everyone, apparently. Was just a massive dickhead with no sense of anyone else's needs, I guess."
Lionel kept pace at Kit's side as he walked, and he put out a hand for the boy to hold. The last thing he needed was for him to walk away and get lost.
"You don't seem like that now," Eurion told him.
He looked up at her. "You think?"
She raised a shoulder. "I mean you did at first, for sure, but... I think you got the reality check you needed. You haven't made a single decision for yourself since we saw... you know. I think it was in you the whole time but you just... needed a slap in the face. Sometimes that's what it takes."
Kit thought about that, chest warming at the idea that maybe he wasn't so intolerable anymore. He remembered his mother telling him long ago that only a good person worries about being good. Maybe he was turning into a good person for once.
He hadn't let himself think of what he saw at the cemetery since he left the church, but he knew it did something. It shook him up, more than he wanted to believe. He hated to admit that it took seeing his mother's dead corpse to believe in the darkness threatening his people, to care about that more.
It was only a matter of time before that darkness starting killing.
They were approaching the end of the village, nearing where Giselle and Selene were watching the horses, when he was forced to a halt by a guard standing before him.
"Prince Kristofer," he bellowed. "You need to come with me."
Shit.
"Run!" he shouted, tossing Lionel over his shoulder and running to the side.
Eurion and Chalice went the other way, but Morgana came with Kit. He'd been so quiet the whole way there, he almost forgot about him.
He didn't have time to focus on him, though. He had to get Lionel to safety before he did anything else.
They managed to lose the guards by twisting and turning through alleys and crowds, long enough for Kit to set Lionel behind a barrel.
"Morgana, watch him. Escape out the back, don't let anyone find you."
Morgana was pale as ever, lips purple and the cracks in his skin deeper than they'd been. He noticed it earlier, but didn't think much on it until now. Morgana was not in the condition to fight, but he didn't seem pleased at Kit's demand.
"Just trust me," he said. He turned away from them then, back out into the town square and attracting the guards back to him. He led them away from where Lionel and Morgana were hiding, drawing his sword.
He managed to get the high ground, securing a better angle to fight the onslaught of city guards coming his way. He was doing alright, until one of them slashed at his leg and slowed him down.
The fight moved around the town square, migrating until he bumped into Eurion and Chalice. Eurion was clumsy with a sword, but she was sneaky and quick, dodging just as many attacks as she missed. Chalice was trying to fight them off with magic, but it was clear they worked best from behind the scenes rather than right in the thick of the battle.
They were clearly overpowered, and Kit didn't even have his armor. It was almost hopeless, until he watched several guards drop in rapid succession before him.
"Don't just stand there, dumbass!"
It was Selene, thank God, fighting off twice as many men as he could take. He was starting to think that maybe, they could make a successful escape.
But then he heard it.
From behind him, dozens of men came in on horseback. These were castle guards. He had no idea how they got here so fast, unless they knew he was coming. But how?
They distracted him long enough for a sword to jab into his side, pulling a cry from his lips. He stumbled back against a cart, knocking over a box of apples. He placed a hand over his side, swinging his sword as quick as he could, but he knew there was no way he could take them all.
Selene came in to help, and it slowed the attacks, but there were so many guards, and the world around him was spinning.
A guard before him dropped without him even touching him, and more stopped, as though they realized something horrifying.
"Morgana," he whispered when he saw the man approaching. "Morgana, what are you doing? Get out!"
The faerie fought the few guards coming for him, but with every swing of his cane, he stumbled further. He was going to drop if he kept going.
Kit knocked down the guards before him, cutting through them until he reached the other, situating himself before him like a shield.
"You're hurt," Morgana said.
"And you're going to kill yourself if you keep going." He slashed his sword, a strange power surging through him with every strike. He'd forgotten that Morgana had his name again, but this time he was giving him power.
"Stop doing that," he ordered.
"Doing what?"
"Wasting your energy on me. You look like you're made of paper."
"I have enough."
"You and Lionel were supposed to leave. Where is he?"
"Giselle found him. She's better with him than I am."
A sword cut his cheek. "But she's not sick, Morgana, you needed to get out of here but you're a stubborn, suicidal idiot."
He had to stop bickering when more guards came and focus on fighting, but he didn't have much left in him, even with Morgana's magic and the shard across his chest.
It was hopeless. He was stumbling back, just trying to protect Morgana at this point.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lionel, walking straight up to the guards. Giselle was nowhere to be seen.
"Lionel!" he screamed as a couple guards went at the boy. He didn't move a muscle, even when they reached for him, moving to pick him up.
He cried his name again, but as he did, the world went quiet. The guards next to him were first, dropping their swords and falling to the ground. When Kit could see Lionel's face again, he noticed that he was speaking, but he had no idea what he was saying.
More guards fell, unable to even reach the boy as he approached. Kit couldn't hear anything, but Lionel was knocking down the guards in front of him now with whatever it was he was saying.
Morgana fell too, and he caught him in his arms. Luckily he was breathing, but he was sound asleep.
Lionel was putting them to sleep.
It was only when the guards all fell that Kit could hear again. He set Morgana on the ground, holding his side and limping towards the boy. Selene, Chalice and Eurion were all still standing, and he saw Giselle emerging from the trees with a grin he could see all the way from where he was standing.
"How did you do that?" Kit asked.
"Mom used to sing that to me. It made me sleep when I had nightmares, so I thought maybe I could put them to sleep, too."
"I couldn't hear you," he breathed, still in awe.
"I didn't want you to, cuz then you'd sleep, too."
Giselle approached the group. "We should probably leave before they wake up."
Selene was the only one who could pick Morgana up, and they made their way back to the horses once again. This time, he had to put the Unseelie before him as he rode. They didn't go far, finding refuge in a cave beside a river.
Kit's side was getting worse now, blood soaking through the front of his shirt and down his leg. He nearly fell off his horse after lifting Morgana into Selene's arms, but he caught himself on the wall of the cave when his feet hit the ground.
"Shit, Kristofer, sit down right now," Selene ordered. He didn't have the energy to argue with her. He slid down against the edge of the cave, resting on the cold, uncomfortable ground, and ripped off his shirt to examine his wound. It didn't go all the way through, and it was too low to hit anything vital, but it still hurt like a bitch.
Giselle crouched beside him, hair glowing brighter than normal, casting a pale blue light against his golden skin.
"What about Morgana?" he asked, turning his head to look at the unconscious faerie.
"He's just sleeping. We won't be able to help him until we get back to Faerie and get him medicine," Giselle explained, placing a hand above his wound. "You're the one I can help."
"How are you gonna--" He was cut off by the loud cry that shoved his way out of his throat. A pain far greater than the original stab shot through his side, hot as a furnace. It lasted for several agonizing seconds before it subsided and he could breathe again.
"There," she said sweetly, using the fabric of her skirt to wipe away the blood on his stomach.
When he looked down, the hole was closed, replaced by an angry red scar.
"You--you can--"
"Yes, I can speed up the healing process. It'll still hurt for awhile, though, so be gentle on yourself."
He nodded slowly, pushing himself up further and looking back to Morgana.
"So I guess we're going to Faerie," he observed.
Giselle was checking on the other man now, hand pressed against his forehead. "He's never been this bad. I don't think we have a choice."