Jillian quickly untied Star and helped Guinevere onto the horse.
"Go. I'll catch up with you," he told her.
"Don't tell me you're planning to fight them off alone?!" she exclaimed. "Let me come with you, I can help, I can—"
Jillian squeezed her hand and looked her in the eyes. "I won't forgive myself if anything happens to you."
"But Jillian, I—"
"I'll go help our families, and after we escape, I'll catch up with you. I promise." He kissed her hand. "Now go!"
Guinevere kicked her horse and galloped into the darkness, the distant screams of the banquet hall echoing behind her.
[What am I doing? I can't just leave Jillian. I can't leave my parents. I must help them.]
Her horse skidded to a stop, and she turned back.
[If I lose my family… if I lose Jillian… I lose everything. I have to save them.]
With renewed resolve, she spurred Star and rode back toward the banquet hall.
She leapt off her horse and ran into the hall. The scene was horrific: bodies strewn across the floor, severed limbs, blood pooled in dark puddles. Her mind raced. Her parents, where were they, and most importantly, were they alive?
She forced herself through the rubble to the spot where her parents had been sitting. Her heart clenched.
Mrs. Foreman's once radiant face was bruised and bloodied. Mr. Foreman bore multiple stab wounds.
And then… she saw her own parents. Richard Strongbow lay over Gezelle, a sword plunged through both of them. Both were dead.
"Mother! Father!" Guinevere sank to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. She had promised herself not to grow attached, yet they had been her family, and she loved them fiercely.
"Oh Father," she whispered through her tears. "I always said you were hopelessly in love with Mother… and even in death, you still hold her close."
Her grief was raw, but her mind sharpened. Where was Jillian? Alive? Injured? She scanned the hall, panic clawing at her chest.
Then, the clash of swords outside caught her attention.
She sprinted to the exit. A few yards away, two men were locked in fierce combat. One of them, Jillian.
"Jillian!"
He overpowered a bandit, plunging his sword into the man's torso, then kicked him to the ground. He turned to see Guinevere running toward him.
"Guine?! What are you doing back here?!"
She threw herself into his arms, weeping.
[Thank the gods he's alive.]
"They're dead, Jillian," she sobbed. "My parents… your parents… everyone."
He dropped his sword, holding her tightly. "I know," he said quietly, his own grief shadowed by determination.
Then, like a jinx, the man Jillian had wounded earlier drew a bow and released an arrow toward Guinevere. Instinctively, Jillian twisted her behind him, taking the arrow in his back.
"No!" Guinevere screamed as he collapsed into her arms, blood seeping through his clothes.
"Jillian, nooooo!"
She cradled him, her tears soaking his shirt. "Please Jilian… don't leave me please," she whispered brokenly.
His hand brushed her cheek. "I'm glad I got to spend the rest of my life with you," he murmured, voice fading.
"Don't say thatJillian! Please don't leave me!"
"I love you, Guinevere Strongbow… always," he whispered. His body went limp, eyes closing forever.
"Jillian… Jillian! Please! You can't die please! Jillian I love you!"
Guinevere sat there for a long moment, holding him, drowning in sorrow. Her family was gone, the man she loved was gone. What remained in the world for her?
Then, resolve hardened inside her. She drew Jillian's dagger from his belt and approached the bandit who had shot the arrow. The man tried to flee, but his injuries slowed him.
"Please… spare me!" he begged.
Guinevere crouched, pressing the blade to his throat. Her gaze was icy.
"SLASH!"
The man collapsed, dead. She wiped the blood from the dagger and returned to Jillian.
Kneeling beside him, she brushed his hair from his forehead. He was so handsome… even now. She pressed her lips softly to his. "Goodbye, Jillian."
She lifted the dagger to her own throat. "This life isn't worth living without you. I've lost everything. All is pointless."
"SLASH!"
Her strength failed, and she collapsed onto his chest, darkness swallowing her as her life slipped away. She silently prayed that death would reunite them.
*
A maid hurried through the doors and curtsied before a well-dressed man seated on a chair.
"My lord," she said. "My lady has had a successful delivery… it's a girl."