32 It's not over yet

We prepared with each passing day expecting Qarinah and Liah. King Luther has disappeared to wherever he appeared from. We made sure to secure the kingdom. We didn't know how Liah would strike again or what she would strike with. "My lady I can assure you that every citizen of Darca is safe" sir Magnus reassured me.

"What about the wounded knights. Are they recovering fine?" I asked while walking through the castle to be sure things are going on safely. "Yes my lady. In a few minutes I can assure you that Queen Qarinah and her cohorts stand no chance of penetrating Darca again" he said as I stopped to face him. "Magnus do you realize what we are facing? Who we are up against is not just any mere mortal. It's an evil. An evil we may not be able to conquer. You do not realize how powerful Qarinah can be do you?". Sir Magnus knew what we were facing but then he only wanted to make me hopeful.

In a few minutes, sir Leone came to us in a hurry "my lady, sir Magnus I'm afraid empress Liah has come in a more dangerous manner" he said. "Speak sir Leone" I ordered. "Some creatures have been spotted at the boundaries of Darca. They spit dangerous and poisonous substances my lady" he explained. "Has anyone been hurt?" I asked "just a few" he replied.

"What creatures are those?" I asked. "Hydra. They are called hydra. I don't know much about them but I can assure you even their breath could kill. They are mythological creatures with many heads" Aurora responded as she approached us slowly. "Hydra" I muttered and thought of it's many heads "gather your men sir Magnus, I'll address them. We have to hold off these creatures before they get to the heart of the city and sound the warning bells, no citizen of Darca is permitted to leave their residence. Do that now". "Yes my lady" he responded and left with sir Leone.

"We?" Aurora said looking at me inquisitively. "Yes, we. I can't let my people die Aurora. I'll do whatever it takes to protect them" I said and quickly left before Aurora followed me. "I don't think people can bear this" I said without stopping. "You must trust in yourself Diana" Aurora replied. "I do. I'm just scared or maybe nervous, I don't know how this is going to end" I said and stopped to face Aurora "if anything happens. Take care of my kingdom till Torren is back". "Shut up and move. If you want your kingdom taken care of, you better survive this" she said meanly. I smiled.

Soon all the knights gathered and I began to address them. "Today we'll fight to prove our love for Darca. We have faced a lot of challenges but none as tough as this. We're facing a dangerous monster, a magical creature from the most magical sorceress of our time. Our chances of returning alive are almost impossible and so if anyone wishes to back out of this fight, please feel free to take a step out" I looked for a while but nobody left "good. We'll leave right away to halt these creatures from creeping throughout Darca" after I addressed them, I went on to have a conversation with sir Magnus while Kahlan had a conversation with Aurora.

"Why won't she let me go with her?" Kahlan asked. "You're a maid not a knight" Aurora replied her. "Diana is not a knight either. I promised lord Torren to look after her" Kahlan continued "I just don't want to sit back and watch them die while I do nothing. Owen still isn't in a good health to face a beast" just then Aurora cut her short "you really do care about Owen don't you?". "That's not the point now" Kahlan replied. "I know you love him, and he loves you as much but please stop acting on your emotions. You might put other people at risk" Aurora said while she stared at Kahlan for a response but Kahlan didn't respond. Her eyes were filled with tears that she could tear up any moment. "Okay. Don't worry, I'll make sure they return safely. Even if it means giving up my life for them since you don't care if I live or not" Aurora teased Kahlan who finally smiled "I care, I just don't like your guts". Both ladies laughed out loud. That was the first time Aurora ever laughed for a very long time while I was discussing with Magnus.

"My lady we must keep you safe. You can't go on to fight with us. We can handle this, we are willing to give up our lives for you" sir Magnus tried to persuade me. "And what kind of leader will I be? You know lord Torren hated the title king for a reason. They sit back and watch their men do everything for them. They are nothing without their men. Magnus trust me I can't sit back and do nothing. We lost some of our knights but then we have some other knights from Draven and with their help, we will conquer" o replied. He smiled weakly "I'm sure lord Torren will be proud of the kind of woman he married my lady". "I hope so. We've not got time to waste, we must leave immediately".

We all galloped in our horses to the borders of Darca. When we initially got there, we didn't see anything. The hydras were probably gone but we knew they would return so we his behind trees and awaited their return. After some time, the hydras started to craw out one after the other. "Hold!" Sir Magnus gave orders. "Charge!!!". Then we swung in to attack the hydras as we tried so hard to avoid it's acidic spit. They were quite many but we weren't outnumbered. Each one of us fought so hard including Aurora. Some were affected by the acidic spit of the hydras while others dodged it safely. I finally got to cut off a head of one of the hydras I was fighting with while targeting another of it's head. Before I could get the chance to cut off the second head, the one I already cut of grew again but this time two heads grew on that spot. This happened with everything hydra we fought and stabbing them wasn't even an option because they weren't affected by the sword. Being helpless and most of our men cut down, sir Magnus gave a command for us all to retreat and we all did and fell back to the palace.