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Her blue blood poured from her wounds, running past banners and statues, a trail forming behind her as she moved. She couldn’t stop moving, not even for a second, the cultists were hot on her trail, the ringing of their bells slamming against her head, making it throb. She could barely breathe, the giant wound in her chest making it difficult to breathe. She needed to find Lace, or get somewhere safe, or find her weapon. Where was her needle? Her throwing knives? Her traps? Where was everything? She felt so powerless, so hopeless, so scared. Where is Lace? The last time she saw her was… it was last night, right? Where had she gone? What had happened?
Her thoughts were destroyed in an instant when an arrow lodged itself into her back shoulder. She let out a scream of pain, she could see the tip of the arrow sticking through her front side, but she had to keep running. She had to live. The cultists behind her were catching up, moving so quickly that she had only a few seconds left before they would catch up to her and snuff her life out.
She rounded the corner, and finally, she felt a brief flash of hope when her eyes landed on Lace. This was her chance! Lace, the one who had asked for her hand in marriage (she had meant to be the one to ask Lace, but she couldn’t gather up the courage, and Lace asked her first), the one who had promised she loved her over and over again, the one who promised to never leave Hornet’s side. “Lace!” Hornet yelled, and she cried out in pain as another arrow pierced back, but thankfully this one didn’t go all the way through her.
Lace turned to face her, her pin held loosely in her pretty hands. Hornet expected to be saved, to be held and protected, to be promised that everything would be okay, as Lace always did. Instead, Lace dove forward, driving her pin deep into Hornet’s chest. Hornet let out a scream of pain, but more in surprise, shock, and once it wore away, betrayal. The bells rang louder and louder as the cultists surrounded her. Lace pulled her pin out of Hornet’s stomach, and Hornet stumbled forward, grabbing onto Lace’s shoulder for support as her legs gave out from under her.
“Why?” Hornet managed to wheeze out. Lace’s sweet smile did the opposite that it usually did. It made her stomach twist. Lace pushed Hornet off of her, holding Hornet up by her horns, baring her throat, and without a word, Lace plunged her pin through Hornet’s neck. Hornet gargled on blood as it filled her throat, gasped as tears filled her eyes, rolled down her face, as her silvery-blue blood formed a puddle beneath her feet. The last thing she saw as she bled to death was Lace’s cruel smile, sickly sweet and full of betrayal.
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A small sound woke Lace up. As her eyes drifted open, she saw darkness for a moment, and when her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she was met with Hornet standing over her, her eyes blown wide and a kitchen knife held tightly in her hands. Lace was about to ask what she was doing when Hornet drove the knife downward, and Lace barely managed to roll out of the way, her pillow getting sliced open, feathers flying everywhere.
Hornet dove at her through the storm of feathers, tackling her off of their bed. Lace slammed her hand against the arm holding Hornet up, causing her to collapse onto Lace, allowing her to kick her wife off of her. Lace pinned Hornet to the ground, knocking the knife out of her hand with a slam of her fist against Hornet’s. She thrashed and squirmed, teeth bared, venom running down her chin.“Hornet?” Lace asked.
Recognition flashed in Hornet’s eyes, and her struggling came to an end. “Lace? What’re you doing? Where am I?” Hornet asked, fear flooding her eyes.
“Hornet? Are you okay?” Lace asked, letting go of Hornet’s wrists to allow her to sit up. Lace grabbed the knife away, quickly putting it away, out of reach from Hornet. Hornet rocked back and forth slightly, rubbing her wrists as she looked around the room in confusion.
“I don’t know. I don’t know. Where am I? Please don’t hurt me.” Hornet said, tears swelling in her eyes. Those words shattered Lace’s heart. She quickly moved forward, wrapping her arms around her wife and hugging her tightly.
“I’m so sorry, love. It’s okay, it’s going to be okay. Just breathe with me, okay? You’re safe, you’re home, I won’t hurt you, I never would. I promise.” Lace cooed, holding Hornet closely. Hornet’s breath catches in her throat, but she hugs Lace back, shaking softly as the tears start running down her face. “Did you have a nightmare?” Lace asked. Hornet nodded.
“I was back in Pharloom, back in the Capital, when the cultists caught me. I was bleeding everywhere, I couldn’t breathe, I tried to run but they moved faster, and then they… and then… you were there. You… I tried to get to you but… you… you killed me. You stabbed me in the throat. I’m so sorry, Lace. I don’t know what happened, I don’t know why I did that. I’m so scared, Lace. I want to move on but I can’t escape Pharloom, I can’t get away no matter how hard I try.” Hornet cried.
Lace shushed her, rubbing small circles in her back. “It’s okay, love. I know how you feel, I try my best to move on but it's hard to forget the cult, hard to move on. But it's okay, we’re together. I love you so much. You’re safe here, and I’ll always be here for you. We will move on, together.” She cooed, and Hornet shook with tears.
It was okay, it would be okay. She was scared, she would be scared, but it would be okay. Lace was here, Lace wouldn’t hurt her, Lace would help her make it through.
Together. They would push through together.