In the kingdom of Mombana, Vetta could no longer hold it in. She fell into Danika's arms.
Queen Danika saw the fall coming, and she caught Vetta in her arms and lowered both of them to the floor. In that moment, her pain was forgotten as her eyes darted all over the mistress's body down to the long sword embedded deep into her belly. The blood.
"No...no... P-please!" Danika cried, her hands shook badly. Tears ran down her face.
Vetta stared at the ceiling, tears in her own eyes. Her breathing was shallow, short. "So this day...came eventually."
"Why!?" Danika sobbed. "Why did y-you do it! Why?"
A small, pained smile crossed Vetta's features. "I told him that...I would...kill him. Monster didn't...believe me."
Frantically, Danika covered the wound with her hands, trying to stop the blood from coming out of her. There was just too much blood! "Oh, Vetta. Why? Why did you save me? Why did you throw yourself...in front of me!?" Danika's voice repeatedly broke, her words jumbled up.
"He was going to stab...you. I had to...stop him." More tears left her eyes. "I-ironic, isn't it? I am about to...die for Cone's d-daughter. Who knows? Maybe now...I can find peace. This world has been...so cruel to me."
Vetta's head was cushioned on her breasts, and Danika hugged the older woman tighter. "I'm so sorry. So sorry for everything."
"It was your f-father's sins, not yours. It took me...a long time to...realize that. I was...hurting too much...to allow myself to think of that." She made a sound of pain. "I was so afraid...the hate I had for you was...an anchor. It was not...your fault."
"I'm so sorry." Danika shook her head, unable to stop apologizing. "I'm sorry for what my father did...to you. I'm sorry that the king fell in...love with me."
Vetta blinked slowly. Tears poured like rain. "Your father killed him...Lucien. I watched him...die over and over...again over the years. Like he watched me. The t-torture was too...much for us, Danika."
"I'm sorry. So sorry!" Queen Danika cried, gritting her teeth as she felt another contraction coming up.
"We were more...like dead people when we got...free again. But you...made him alive again." It was becoming really painful to talk, but Vetta pushed on. "You came into his life...and a new light entered his...eyes. It was hate...before, but even then, I knew...that something was wrong. I did...everything I could...to stop it." She began coughing.
"No. Pleeeease!" Danika sobbed, panting harshly as waves of pain washed through her body. It was excruciating, this pain.
Swiveling her head slowly, Vetta glanced at her sweaty face. "Poor woman. You must be hurting like...hell. Your baby...wants out."
"Don't die, please. I am hurting...but it will hurt more if you die!" she cried.
Vetta was bewildered at the tears that wouldn't stop pouring from Danika's eyes. "You are c-crying for me. Why? Why do...you care if I live or...die?"
"I care." Danika's voice broke.
"I am the woman...that tried to kill you...to ruin your life. Repeatedly."
"I forgave you a long time ago for that." She couldn't stop patting the dying woman's hair. "Please, d-don't die. You cannot die..."
Vetta winced in pain, her corset stained with her own blood. "You have...any idea...how long I have cheated...death?" A smile feathered her swollen face. "I'm an expert...in cheating that idiot. You can...ask the king. But today..." She cried out.
"No, no, no..." Danika held her closer to her heart, above her aching belly—above her child. "No, there are no buts. Please—you have...to cheat that...idiot again. You cannot die."
"Why?"
"It will hurt Lucien so badly. It will hurt Baski. Chad. It will hurt me so much." Her voice broke at the extent of her pain.
Frowning softly, Vetta bit her cold lips. "So many people. I did not realize that there...were so m-many people who cared."
"Yes, so many!" Danika's heart ached. Her body aching. "It will be too bad...for my child. He was not able...to meet the strongest woman I know."
"I'm not strong, Danika." Vetta let out pain-filled body-shaking coughs that made Danika cry harder, holding her closer. "He broke me. King Cone, he broke me." Few words that hurt more than thousands of words would have. "Pull the s-sword out," Vetta panted, her blurry eyes began looking dull.
"No!" Danika shook her head vigorously. "No, I'll never. If I...pull it out you will bleed to d-d-death!"
"I'm dying already," she whispered, breathing heavily. "It hurts m-more like this. Pull it out and p-put me...out of my misery. Please."
Sally was crying—hard, broken sobs that did nothing to alleviate the pain in her heart, that did nothing to solve the problem she was facing.
"Please stop crying, Sally. Tears are not solving our problem. We must find a way to get out of here; that's what we must do instead of crying!" Baski repeated again, trying to reach the sobbing girl. She, herself, was close to breaking down. So close.
They were trapped there, down in the tunnels so far away from the royal quarters.
"How can I s-stop!? My p-p-princess.” Sobs racked her throat. It was so hard to talk, but she did her best to get the words out. "How can I stop when s-she is in l-labor...and in danger!? She is all alone! All alone!"
"I know, Sally. Do you think I don't know?" Baski reached for the woman and hugged her tightly to her. The two of them were shaking. "That is why we have to keep trying to break free from these walls. We must get to her on time!"
After Queen Danika went to court that morning, Baski took the opportunity to try and gather new herbs. She'd asked Sally to help her out, which the young woman agreed on wholeheartedly. They were picking herbs when they heard stomps of horses and war cries from invaders. They'd recognized trouble. So they ran away from the field to the nearest tunnel to hide.
Then the war started, and King Lucien gave orders for all the tunnels to be sealed so that the invaders would not see anywhere to escape from and that more would not enter. They had been trying to break the tunnel for a way out but it had proved impossible. They were trapped.
"You're right, you're right." Sally hiccupped, pulling away from the older woman to wipe her tears. "You're right. We have to keep t-trying to get out."
"Yes. The earlier we're out, the better it will be for all of us. For the queen, for the unborn prince." Baski framed her face, speaking passionately. "We are both born slaves! Once upon a time, we dug tunnels for a living! We can do this!"
Sally nodded vigorously, her strength renewed. "You're right! We can do this!"
Together, they walked deeper into the tunnel in search of harder rocks they could use to break the tunnel door.
Hang in there, my princess, Sally cried in her aching heart. Please, hang in there!