Out of the Ashes Ch. 09

"It is no use, my princess" Cassandra said and looked at the devastated heir's fruitless endeavours.

Cassandra gritted her teeth and started to look for her sword while the princess kept on sobbing and trying to help.

She couldn't tell what she hated more: Seeing Margaret's suffering or that she was unable to relish the victory she was so desperately craving for.

Her gaze rested for quite some time on Beth, pale and with an expression of utter desperation on her lifeless face and her dead fingers still trying to shield her bloody throat. Cassandra was a veteran of many battles and a witness of countless death, many by her own hand, but seeing her own kind kill each other never failed to leave a mark on her.

The crying princess didn't care what Cassandra was saying or even if she was telling the truth. She simply had to try to save Alexia. Even when Lexi herself looked like she already knew that her time might come to an end soon.

Once more armed with her trusted sword and standing before the heavily breathing former commander, Cassandra prodded her blade on Alexia's neck.

"Any last words?"

Margaret pushed the blade away, cutting herself in the process and laid her arms around her girlfriend to protect her.

"Fuck off!" she grunted.

The puddle of blood was already spilling down to the floor and had already ruined the carpet.

"Maggie..." Lexi weakly muttered and looked over her shoulder at Margaret.

Her face was already pale, the expression in her eyes weak.

"It's ... fine...Let me go. I... love ... you," Alexia said and with her last bit of strength pushed Margaret back with one hand.

"No don't do that, nonononono," the rightful heir kept on repeating and heard Cassandra step even closer.

"I will finish this now. Think of it as mercy. I will make it quick," Cassandra said, surprisingly calmly.

"Thank you," the heavily bleeding hermaphrodite replied and looked up to her former comrade.

Alexia smiled for a moment and was happily surprised to see that there was still an ounce of honour left in her former teacher and nodded.

Cassandra took a deep breath while guiding the blade above her defeated foe and to stab from above into her heart. A soldier's death. Quick and precise.

"NO!"

The scarred veteran was about to thrust and finish Alexia off when a loud shot erupted from behind Margaret. It was close ... and coming from behind the counter.

Cassandra's body went numb and she crashed to the ground moments after the echo of the booming gunshot subsided.

The blonde waitress hastily turned around and saw Manuel standing at exactly in the same spot as before, but this time holding a make-shift gun. Pointing at where Cassandra just stood.

He already looked scared out of his mind earlier and he in fact still looked terrified, but there was a bright fire burning in his eyes. While his body was still overcome by shock, there was no denying he took great satisfaction from taking his revenge on Cassandra.

"I... did it..." he muttered. He staggered backwards and let the primitive firearm slip from his fingers. It looked like he was barely able to stay on his feet. But Margaret couldn't worry too much about him now, not when her girlfriend needed her much more urgently.

"Was that... Manuel?" Alexia asked.

"Stop talking! You have to save your strength! We will think of something," Margaret hastily replied and ripped parts from Alexia's shirt and inspected the wound.

The warmth of Alexia's blood on her shaking fingers was more horrific to her than any injuries she could imagine being inflicted upon herself.

The blonde couldn't see past the steady flow of blood emerging from it though. From both sides of Lexi.

The shot went through her left side, around the height of her belly button and left an even bigger, horrible hole on her back.

"Just a scratch. Nothing, really. You will walk this off in no time!" Margaret lied and pushed the pieces of cloth in the wound.

"You were always... a bad liar," Alexia said. Her voice was sounding weaker by the second.

Agatha and the two twins came closer and looked over the two hermaphrodites on the ground, in the ever-growing red puddle.

"Lexi," Agatha muttered, but couldn't bring herself to offer some words of solace before she started to cry. Same went for Ricky next to her.

Even Remy looked genuinely moved by seeing a person he despised in such a state. Because of him.

They stood there, already silently mourning the loss of one of their self-proclaimed family, one of their own.

An uneasy silence loomed over them as Alexia grew weaker in Margaret's arms.

"Silence? Why was it this silent all of the sudden? Wasn't there battle supposed to be going on just outside?" Alexia thought and barely could muster the strength to speak.

"It's... quiet," she muttered and pointed at the door.

Footsteps were closing in again as they all listened.

Margaret reacted first and grabbed the sword from Cassandra and awaited the next intruders.

"Don't you dare-," she screamed, but as she soon as she saw who entered, she left out sigh of relief.

Humans. Two men she wasn't familiar with. Both were already covered in blood. Not their own.

Surely, they took part in the fight outside, atleast by the looks of the stronger one, but the other one looked like he was just carrying a lot of equipment. Medical one.

"Here! She is badly wounded! Come here, help us!" the princess begged, tears and sweat already dripping from her red cheeks and one bloody hand reaching out to Alexia's last hope.

Both were just observing the scene for a moment, looked at Cassandra's body and inspected the shot in between her eyes.

"Are you alright?" the older one asked and pointed at Remy's shoulder.

"Uhm...yeah...I'm fine," he replied with a confused undertone. "I think...she..."

"No," the younger one interrupted and walked past them and towards Manuel behind the counter.

"What do you mean 'no'?! She needs medical attention! NOW!", Margaret screamed from the top of her lungs.

They didn't respond though.

The younger, stronger man, probably in his late-twenties, prodded Beth's lifeless body with his foot and let out a complacent sigh.

"Not bad," he said with a smug grin and joined his older comrade who was looking after Manuel.

"What did we tell ya, old friend? Their kind only means trouble," the older stranger said to the still overwhelmed, but shocked innkeeper. He started to check the innkeeper's pupils.

"I did it..." Manuel still muttered and didn't react to external stimuli at all.

"Is he injured?" the younger one asked and grabbed a seat for Manuel.

"No. He is fine. Just in a state of shock. Let's give him a few minutes."

Angered by being ignored so blatantly, Margaret got up after gently putting Alexia down. She wanted to stop Margaret from doing so, but couldn't put up any resistance at that point.

"You two! I don't care who you both are! But I need your help! SHE needs your help!" Margaret hissed and pointed at her fading friend while getting up to her full height - an intimidating sight.

"Why should we care?" the older human replied as calmly as before, while the other one chuckled.

He took a short look at Alexia and the others and returned his attention back to Margaret, not interested in further explaining his reluctance.

Margaret eyed him, top to bottom and tried to think of anything to convince him.

The younger one looked like a typical meathead, broad shoulders, strong ...for a man, geared up in cheap but for human standards probably already expensive leather armour and armed with a mace.

But the older one. He didn't look like a fighter at all. No armour or weapon, just ordinary street clothes and a big bag with all sorts of rags and books.

"You... look like a doctor, am I right?" Margaret asked, in a much less demanding, almost even obliging tone.

At least as accommodating as anyone who stood over 2 feet taller than them could try to appear.

"Correct", he said.

"Then, please. You have sworn to serve the people... to help them when they need you the most! She NEEDS your help! I beg you!"

"My oath doesn't include your kind," the doctor sharply replied. Again, his friend was cackling at Margaret's desperate negotiating.

"Please...I can give ya any-," Margaret begged.

"No means no," he said and gave his younger companion the sign to draw his weapon. "Accept it".

Margaret's sobbing intensified and looked over to her colleagues, who remained silent throughout the exchange.

Neither Agatha, Ricky or Remy spoke out to the "doctor", almost like they didn't dare to speak to him. Was he maybe more than just a doctor? Did they know him?

"Help her."

The duo looked confused for a moment before turning around to face the one who spoke to them. No, demanded them to help Alexia.

"So... you can speak again?" the younger one said and nodded at Manuel who breathed heavily as he got up.

"Hey, hold your horses Manuel. Take your time ... you really shouldn't d-", the older man said.

"I said you should help them," Manuel insisted.

"Are you sure about that?" the younger man replied.

He was clearly not amused by Manuel's demand, but strangely didn't object at all.

"Yes," Manuel said.

"Will you vouch for them?" the older one sternly asked.

"Yes."

The doctor let out a grunt and got up while his younger friend shook his head in disbelief.

Margaret didn't know what was happening, nor why the duo felt obliged to Manuel: an innkeeper.

Sure, he was a respected man because of his sons, but it almost looked like he was in a position to give them, probably members of the militia, orders.

The blonde heir didn't care 'why' or 'how', but quickly ran back to Alexia.

"See, they are going to help you. Everything will be alright. Just hold on," she muttered, mostly to herself, because Alexia was silently gazing off into the distance. Her face was horrifically pale already.

The doctor put down his bag and rolled out a few bandages and pulled out his medical forceps.

"Hold her in place," he calmly ordered at Margaret without even looking at her.

The blonde did as she was told and wrapped her arms around her shivering and cold girlfriend.

"Now, this is ... going to hurt," he said and entered the wound with his grasping forceps.

Alexia grunted when he observed and spread the wound to see if the bullet went right through her.

Margaret was quite delighted to see that Lexi was still atleast reacting to pain. Even if it was just in form of a weak grunt.

"Good news for you, the bullet didn't splinter or hit any vital organs," he said and turned around to Agatha and the others.

"Now we need to disinfect the wound. You guys got a kitchen, right? Who's the chef?"

"M-m-me," Agatha said.

"Do you know if you guys got any 'Oleum sambuci'?"

"Ol-... uhm... what?", the stocky chef asked and looked puzzled.

"Elderflower. Elderflower-oil," the doctor clarified.

"I... uhm. I don't know... maybe..." Agatha muttered nervously.

"We do!" Ricky chirped.

"Are you sure, boy?"

"I am. I bought some a few weeks ago. I also know exactly where it is!" the blonde twin shouted and was already about to rush into the kitchen.

"Wait a second. Now, listen to me. You will grab a pot and pull all the oil you got into it and heat it until it's boiling. And then you will grab a broad knife and heat it until the blade is literally red. Understood?"

"Yes...sir!" Ricky said and sprinted through the revolving door of the kitchen.

Pots were jingling and falling to the ground as Ricky hastily looked through the cabinets and seemingly found what he was looking for.

"Just a bit longer, Lexi. Ricky's already on the way," Margaret said and grabbed Alexia's cold hands.

The former commander's hands barely tightened their grip around Margaret's fingers, but she was still hanging on.

Margaret leaned forward, her forehead pushing into Alexia's and tears once more emerged from her blue eyes as she mumbled something directly to her loved one.

"Just stay alive... stay alive. Stay with me... please."

Manuel eventually joined them and stood next to the two strangers and nodded as they gave him a stern look.

"Thank you," he said and both of them silently, but reluctantly accepted it.

It didn't take long for Ricky to emerge back from the kitchen. He was holding a small pot filled the required oil and put it down next to Alexia.

"That's all I could find," he said.

"Good job, now go bring me the knife," the medic said and pointed at Margaret.

"Yes?"

"Lay your friend down and put some bandages under her".

Margaret did as she was told and barely saw any movement on Alexia's belly while she was still breathing.

"Now undress her, the top atleast."

"What?!" Margaret gasped.

"Listen, there is no time to be embarrassed or for morality right now. The oil needs to enter her properly. I only ask you to do it, because she is your partner, otherwise I would do it myself."

"Fine. Whatever... it takes."

She pulled the bloody shirt over Alexia's head and exposed the muscular and curvaceous stature of her lover.

"Well... look at that. No wonder they are such tough bitches to kill. Nice tits though," the younger member of the militia mused.

"Quit that!" Manuel hissed himself and the armed soldier shut up immediately.

Alexia's bare ample chest raised and lowered with every breath ... as her respiration was slowly accelerating.

"It's alright, Lexi. The doctor just needs to do that to treat you," Margaret clarified and whispered into Alexia's ears as she tightened her grip around her partner's hand to calm her.

"Good, distract her," the doctor replied and lifted the pot over Alexia.

He took aim and poured the boiling liquid into Alexia's wound. It looked like he had practise doing so, because he barely missed the spot.

The oil was hot enough to hiss as soon as it made contact with Alexia's blood and body. This time the wounded veteran reacted.

All her muscles retracted at once. That was especially noticeable with her abs, which only further enhanced the pain.

Alexia let out a muffled scream and looked right at Margaret kneeling next to her.

"It's almost over... I swear," Margaret apologized and held Alexia down with both hands.

"Not yet," the doctor remarked and got the heated knife handed by Ricky.

Margaret sat Alexia up like the doctor's gesture demanded.

"Perfect, it went right through. Now, hold her tightly, this will be much more painful than the oil."

Alexia trembled even harder when she heard the human's warning and was locked into place by her now taller girlfriend.

"I am so sorry..." Margaret muttered and saw fear in her girlfriend's eyes. If she could have taken the pain from her and upon herself, she would have done it without a second thought.

The knife cauterized the entry point of the wound within seconds, but it felt like hours for Alexia and Margaret.

Weakened by her blood loss, Alexia couldn't free herself from Margaret's tight embrace, but even in that semi-conscious state she put up a decent fight.

She groaned and flexed all her muscles while pulling at Margaret's arms, until her body eventually gave up any resistance at all.

"Lexi? LEXI?!" Margaret panicked as soon as she noticed Alexia's lifeless body.

Her arms tightened around the muscular frame of her girlfriend and got more and more desperate the longer it took to feel any reaction at all.

"It's alright. She just blacked out. That's probably best for her," the doctor remarked. "Because we need to do it one more time. Hold still."

He expertly cauterized the exit point on Alexia's back and professionally avoided gazing at or touching Alexia's immense bosom next to him. Unlike the younger stranger.

"That's pretty much all we are able to do. Now you'll have to wait and see", the doctor said and looked up to Manuel. He looked easily as worried as Agatha or the twins.

"She is tough. I mean look at her. She is going to make it for sure!" Remy eventually cheered when an awkward silence was looming over the group.

He only attempted to raise the their spirits, but a wiser man would have remained silent and pretended that he didn't exist.

"You! You better shut up! That's ALL your fault!"

The group of humans looked at Margaret jumping up and rushing to Remy who barely recognised the furious hermaphrodite in that moment.

The 8'7" futa pinned the below 6ft man on the wall and gripped him tightly around his throat as all of her anger eventually surfaced, now that Alexia was taking care of.

Remy choked when Maggie effortlessly lifted him a few feet from the ground and didn't know what she might do next. Never would he have thought to see such a gentle person get so consumed by rage.

"Why?! Why did you do this?! Tell me!" Margaret demanded.

"I...can't breathe... "

The princess noticed cold metal prodding her chin and heard the younger militiaman's breath directly behind her.

"Let him go..." he groaned.

"Only after he explains himself!" Margaret hissed and looked back at Remy, but slightly loosened her grip.

"STOP IT! ALL OF YOU!" Manuel shouted.

The innkeeper was usually a man of few words, but even those were usually delivered in a calm, almost monotone tone. Now, he was speaking with a voice of authority.

"He did ju-..." Margaret said before getting cut off by him again.

"I know what he did. But he doesn't only have to explain himself to you, but also his people. So, please, let him go, Maggie."

Margaret begrudgingly obliged, so did the militiaman and the blonde man crushed to the ground, gasping for air.

Manuel walked forwards and stopped right before the intimidated boy. It was obvious that he took the role as a judge first and his role as a "father" to the boy second at that moment.

"What were you trying to achieve, Remy?" Manuel asked calmly.

"I... didn't know it was 'them', Manuel. I swear!" Remy muttered.

The boy took a deep breath and struggled to find the right words, especially in front of the militia and Manuel. He was walking a fine line between being just a young, dumb man or a traitor, depending on his explanation.

"There... was this guy. Just a few streets from the market place in the 2nd district. He got a reputation. Some say, he could get rid of people for the right price. That ... was just a ploy."

"So, you wanted to get someone killed?" Manuel calmly said. The doctor and his comrade looked much less composed.

"No! I just... wanted him to blackmail someone," Remy lowered his head out of shame, "he should just make Alexia leave. Not kill her, but ... I don't know... just do something. I thought she was a deserter or something like that, so I thought he cou-."

"What did you expect?! Do you know what my people do to deserters?! They hang them ... or worse!" Margaret interjected.

Remy looked at his crush and didn't bare to look at Alexia laying on the floor behind her.

"I... am sorry. I just wanted to... be... with you," he whimpered.

Most, including his brother looked shocked, some borderline disgusted. Still, no one said anything as a response.

Even Margaret, who felt nothing but apathy for him, was stunned by this ... confession.

"I see..." Manuel whispered and looked down to the blonde boy he took in all these years ago. With disappointment and disgust in his eyes.

The innkeeper turned around and faced the two members of the militia, which looked more than ready to take Remy with them already.

"Get him out of my sight... and then ... interrogate him. We have to make sure he is saying the truth," Manuel coldly said.

"NO! Manuel, please! I swear, I didn't tell them anything else. You have to believe me!" Remy begged and crawled towards Manuel's feet.