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Pain and Fear
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Though it seemed tangible, the darkness did nothing to cushion Katherine's fall. Her body bounced off the narrowing walls once, then twice, rendering her red and blue even before she hit the ground with a dull thud and lost consciousness.
The dark world was illuminated by a slight glow when an agonizing pain shook her awake again seconds later. She squirmed. While her whole body pulsed numbly and her head swam, her stomach seemed to burn with white-hot flames. A gasp escaped her throat. She tried to clutch her belly, only for more pain to shoot up her left arm. It was buried under her hip at a strange angle, vastly unresponsive but agonizingly present. Though the right arm moved naturally, the pain and helplessness brought tears to Katherine's eyes. "Not again, please not again..."The darkness above her suddenly seemed to grow wolf maws, feral growls sounding over the tearing of flesh. The memories which she thought she'd locked away, resurfaced together with the pain. HeRelated chapters
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Even with careful and slow movements, simply sitting up cost Katherine several minutes and she almost passed out more than once. Finally, with sweat on her forehead and gritted teeth, her back reached a vertical position. For a short moment, she halted and only gasped for breath. Was it her imagination or did breathing turn more torturous by the second? The white sparks in her vision multiplied as well, but neither was her biggest worry.Anxiously, her hand wandered down her belly and when she reached the wet blood between her thighs, she pressed her eyes close and swallowed against the lump forming in her throat. Her baby... her little baby... if only she could save it by remaining still, she would.Instead, she forcefully subdued her emotions and turned sideways onto all fours. Without sight, she deduced that crawling was better than walking. The new position strained her belly which was pulled on by gravity, yet she could still handle the pain. Much better at least than
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Five years later"Your Holiness - Uh, ah, Majesty, I mean!"Leaning on the newly-built rails atop the dome of the palace, with the view of the Capital in the background, Katherine scolded lightly: "Shht, Hazel, she just fell asleep."In her arms rested a baby, maybe a few months old, with a tuft of black hair and fair white skin. If she opened her lids, angelic blue eyes would blink up innocently at the viewer.Hazel's head appeared at the end of the staircase leading to the roof. Apologetically, she bit her lip and whispered. "I'm sorry, your Majesty. A letter arrived from Dragsa, and Prince Patrick hurt his knee while playing. He's on his way here.""Dragsa...," Katherine muttered and stretched out a hand to take it. "I wonder what they want. They were very quiet in the latter years."Lowering her head, she took a glance at the paper. Instantly, her brows furrowed, later followed by a deep sigh. "I almost expected it. What a shame."Her gaze wandered to the west, in the direction of
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