The Light Fury and the Archeologist

Bear attack

Jade held Alisha to her chest tightly, tears running down her cheeks as the teen cried into her shoulder, her body shaking from the vibrations. Shadow flew silently through the sky, a sad look on his face. The Snow Queen gripped the teenager tightly, holding her securely to her front.

How was she going to tell the others Reyes was dead? How was Lara going to react when she tells her best friend that Opal is held captive by Maxwell? All these things swirled around her head, but she shook them off as the mansion came into view, Shadow landed at the front door and Jade slipped off his back, carrying Alisha in her arms as the teen continued to cry.

Shadow pushed open the front door with his head, walking inside with Jade right behind him. The others were sitting in the lounge, awaiting their return, they all rose to their feet, relief on their faces at seeing Jade, Shadow and Alisha alive. But they turned to frowns as they noticed Alisha had her head buried in Jade's chest, looking at the Snow Queen in confusion, only to see her red eyes and tear stains down her cheeks.

Jade walked past them, heading up the stairs to her room, where she laid Alisha down on her bed, grabbing a box of tissues for her and sitting down beside her, letting the teen cry onto her shoulder. Alisha refused to let her go, holding onto the Snow Queen with a vice-like grip. Jade laid down with the teen, letting her rest her head on her shoulder as Shadow gently nuzzled her hand, cooing in sympathy for the young girl before retreating to his stone slab, breathing fire on it and curling up into a ball.

Alisha soon fell into a fitful sleep, curled up next to Jade, gripping her waist tightly as if the Snow Queen was her personal lifeline, though in a situation like this, she was her lifeline, but Jade didn't mind. A gentle knock on the door made the young woman lift her head as the door opened, showing Lara, the wolves, Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion.

Jade held a finger to her lips, signalling them to be quiet, nodding her head to Alisha, who was still asleep. Lara walked over. "What happened?" she asked, worried for Alisha.

Jade heaved a heavy sigh before answering. "Maxwell killed Reyes. Sliced her throat right in front of us." the others gasped in horror.

"Oh, god!" Lara whispered in shock. Her brown eyes looked at Alisha with sympathy in the brown orbs. "She's alone."

"No, she has us. But I think it's best to not mention her mother. When this is all over, we'll have a funeral for her, bury her properly." Jade explained as Soren gently nuzzled Alisha's brown hair.

Everyone agreed and wished her a good night, Lara handed the three dragon's to her and she let them cuddle into her side before the wolves and Lara left the room, shutting the door and bathing the room in darkness.

Drogon cooed, crawling onto her chest and curling up against her neck. "We're sorry that Reyes is dead, Jade. Alisha must feel horrible."

"Losing a loved one is never easy, Dro. It will take her a long time to heal from this. For now, sleep, my brother's." she told them mentally and they curled up on her side, Drogon on her chest as she drifted off to sleep with her brother's and Alisha.

()()()()

The next day, Jade was having a walk in the woods, trying to take her mind off Reyes' death, as she walked down the path, a branch snapped, causing her to grab her bow slung over her shoulder and grip it tightly, nocking an arrow to the string and pulling it back to her cheek, her fingers brushing the burn scars as she held it there. Her eyes were narrowed as she turned in a full circle, every bone in her body on high alert!

Suddenly, the trees to her left shook vigorously before a massive brown bear, twice the size of her siblings, charged out, roaring! Saliva dripped from its fangs as it reared up on its hind legs, it's razor sharp claws gleaming in the sunlight. Jade fired a arrow into its neck, but that only served to piss it off more! It's claws came down and the Snow Queen let out a cry of agony as it swiped at her!

Lara ran through the front doors of the London British hospital, stopping at the front desk. A nurse on duty greeted her. "Hello, Miss. What can I do for you?"

"I'm here because my best friend was brought in a few hours ago." Lara explained as the nurse typed on her computer before she looked at the brunette. "Jade Harmony. Room 214. Turn left down the hall and take a right, the room is to your left." the nurse directed and Lara thanked her before heading down the hall, doing the directions the nurse had given her, stopping at room 214. She pushed open the door and stepped inside, what greeted her made the woman gasp in shock.

Jade lay in the hospital bed, all types of wires attached to her body and an oxygen mask on her scarred face. The heart monitor beside the bed produced a steady, beeping sound as it kept track of her pulse and heartbeat. She turned as a nurse came in. "What happened?" Lara demanded.

"A hiker found her in the woods, she'd been attacked by a massive bear, it sliced her stomach open, five lacerations that we had to stitch up. She lost a lot of blood and we had to give her transfusions to save her life. She went fine as the doctor stitched her up, but the lacerations to her stomach would scar over. She's currently in a coma. We don't know when she'll wake." the nurse explained, checking the IV drop situated beside the bed, making sure the fluid was going into the young woman's body properly. Lara gripped Jade's limp hand in her own tightly, hoping the girl would open her eyes and smile, but she didn't, only remaining still.

Lara turned to the nurse. "Thank you. May I stay with her for a while?"

The nurse smiled. "Of course, but visiting hours end at five. So unfortunately you'll have to leave." she warned, glancing at the clock on the wall, 1:30pm. Lara nodded in understand and the nurse left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Lara took a seat beside the bed, still gripping Jade's hand tightly. "I don't know if you can hear me, baby girl, but I'm here for you. I'm so sorry you were attacked by a bear. If I'd just gone out with you, I could have helped." tears started to fall from her eyes, sliding down her cheeks as the weight of her guilt from not being there for Jade when she needed it settling on her shoulders.

"I'm so sorry, baby girl. Please, wake up soon. Your family needs you." Lara leaned forward, resting her head beside Jade's on the pillow, her breath mingling on the oxygen mask attached to Jade's mouth to help her breath.

Lara stayed with Jade for two whole hours before she left to go back home, her heart aching for her baby girl to open her gorgeous green eyes and smile the way she used too. Her shoulders felt heavy as she drove towards the mansion, wondering how she was going to tell the others that Jade was in the hospital with severe lacerations to her stomach.

Pulling into the driveway, Lara shut the engine off, pulled the keys out of the ignition and opened the door, stepping out, she locked the car with a press of the button on her keychain before heading inside, finding the wolves, dragon's and a red eyed Alisha all waiting in the lounge.

"Lara, what"s going on?" Soren asked, noticing her red eyes from crying at the hospital. She inhaled deeply as she shut the front door, locking it before heading over, stopping in front of them. "Guys, there's something I need to tell you all."

"What's wrong, Lara?" Keena asked her human friend, brown eyes full of concern.

"I got a call from the hospital today while you all were out hunting with Alisha. Jade's in the hospital." gasps of shock and concern echoed around the room at the news.

"What's happened to her?" Hugo asked, hoping his little sister was alright.

"She was attacked by a bear in the woods earlier this morning, it sliced her stomach open, causing severe injuries. She was found by a hiker and taken to the hospital. She's okay, but she is in a coma. None of the doctors know when she'll wake." Lara explained.

"But, she'll be okay, won't she?" Alisha asked, clinging to Soren as the white wolf tried to process what he'd just heard. Lara nodded. "She'll be okay, Alisha. It'll just take time for her to heal, that's all. Without her here, we need to think of a plan." the brunette told them, facing them with a determined look in her eyes.

"She's right." Maya said after a few minutes of silence. "Our sister is strong, she will heal. But it's up to us to free Opal and defeat Maxwell, once and for all." howls and roars of agreement sounded around the room as Lara smiled.

"Yeah, we can do this. We just need to think of a plan."

What will they do to defeat Maxwell and save Opal? What do you think will happen? Wait and see in the next chapter.