A Twist In The Beast's Chest

Lyall didn't need a vocal command from Van Merikh to understand his liege's intentions. Without hesitation, he moved forward and grabbed Lady Drosera by her arms, pushing Kairie and Lady Karina out of the way.

The women gasped in fear as he unsheathed a dagger that was lodged at his waist. They watched the marking on his forehead ignite with something dark, allowing energy to run through his veins until it was powered into the dagger blade.

A dark magenta shade of energy circled his blade.

Lyall's intent was obvious; the men of Van Merikh's army did not have the mercy or effort to waste on a grieving woman.

If she so desired, Lady Drosera may very well accompany her husband's body in the bailey.

However, just as Lyall raised his magic-imbued dagger to slit Lady Drosera's throat in a clean, swift motion, another figure was suddenly between his weapon and the lady's neck.

Lady Karina somehow gathered her strength and courage, lunging to her feet and throwing herself between Lady Drosera and the dagger.

Lyall did not have time to redirect his aim, thus his blade slashed down on a portion of Lady Karina's left shoulder blade instead of Lady Drosera's tender flesh.

Startled, he watched as Lady Karina crumbled to the floor in agony while she clutched onto her wounded shoulder.

Lady Drosera found herself back in a hysterical state, now screaming for an entirely different reason than she did before.

Commotion suddenly enveloped the small entry as servants wailed and Van Merikh's knights had been shouting to get them in order.

The energy on Lyall's dagger remained as he watched as Van Merikh himself swept down on Lady Karina and lifted her off the ground.

The man's dual-coloured eyes blazed with something dark and unforgiving as he felt the blood on her shoulder soak into his palm.

Somewhat unbalanced, Lyall raised his dagger again to accomplish his task properly this time but Van Merikh barked orders at him so loudly that they reverberated off the stone.

The order was to cease.

Lyall sheathed his dagger without a word and released Lady Drosera back to the floor in one smooth motion.

The weeping servants rushed forward to drag Lady Drosera away.

Lyall snapped orders to the skinny male servant hovering near the solar to bring water and thread even as Van Merikh carried Lady Karina up the stairs.

He ordered Hendrix to send for the surgeon.

Then he followed his liege to the upper floors.

"I have summoned for the surgeon, my Lord," Lyall informed Van Merikh as they mounted the second flight of stairs to the fourth floor.

Van Merikh did not reply, carrying Lady Karina into her chamber and carefully depositing her onto the bed. Beyond that, he was unsure of what else to do.

He wasn't accustomed to tending to battle wounds.

And when he attempted to gain a better look at Lyall's handy work, the lady turned feral like a wild animal.

"Do not touch me!" Lady half-barked, half-hissed through pain, making her objection clear. "Get out of here and leave me alone."

Van Merikh and Lyall stood beside the bed, their forms towering, emotionlessly observing her.

She was injured, bleeding, and terrified.

Van Merikh had seen his fair share of battle wounds to understand her mental instability.

"My surgeon will treat and sew your wound," Van Merikh stated steadily.

Lady Karina trembled from shock and pain, trying to roll off the bed to scurry away from the two enemy knights.She smeared blood on her coverlet in the process, wanting to be anywhere but close to the two of them.

"I told you to get out!" Lady Karina shouted again, sliding so far to the edge of the bed that she practically fell off. She was on her knees, and her usually lovely eyes were filled with venom.

"Go away from here and don't you dare bring your surgeon. I refuse to let him touch me!"

Van Merikh set his hands on his hips, growing weary by the second with her tantrums.

"Your wound needs to be tended to, Lady."

"Get out!" Lady Karina repeated, tears spilling over the corners of her eyes. She would not back down until Van Merikh and his insufferable knight were gone from her sight. "I do not want to see you!"

The lady was growing hysterical by the second.

Neither Van Merikh nor Lyall were adept at dealing with hysterical women; they had encountered many in their lives but had never shown an ounce of compassion for any of them.

Lyall remained detached while his liege was experiencing a strange occurrence; it was obvious that he wanted nothing more than to tend to the wound but was clueless of any ideas to accomplish that.

It would have been a simple task to force the issue, but Van Merikh strangely didn't wish to do so.

At least, not physically.

"Lady," Van Merikh uttered, trying his hand at the situation one last time. "You are bleeding. The wound must be tended to."

Lady Karina's breathing came out in strange pants and her eyes reflected a wild glint in them.

"Get out, Van Merikh," she snarled, addressing him that way for the first time, which evidently surprised him. "I would rather bleed to death than accept the help from a murdering demon."

Van Merikh's dual-coloured gaze lingered on her for a while longer.

The pure hatred in her voice echoed in his head so loudly that something within his chest began to twist. As if not understanding the feeling, he instinctively banged his fist against his chest in hopes to stop it.

The black frost demon did not understand what it meant to be hurt.

And for a lack of better response, Van Merikh jerked his head at Lyall, signalling the man to leave the room and he did so silently.

Van Merikh followed, his eyes hovering again on the cowering lady on the other side of the bed. Perhaps she would find her peace if he left her to her lonesome.

Van Merikh clearly did not know what else to do.

When he shut the door, Lady Karina managed to force herself to stand on steady legs. Stumbling to the door, she slid the bolt and locked it in place.

And then she promptly fainted.