The Broken Flame

Steve spoke to Celina and she felt herself tearing up more.

“Celina,” he started weakly. “I… I know--you… don’t… want to hurt me. But--I don’t… think I can make it. I-- I know you hate… seeing me hurting. But, I… I nee--need you to… use that--that potion. Please, Celina… I don’t… I don’t want to die. Please?”

Celina’s heart shattered and she bit her lip, before sighing and nodding. She popped the cork on her bottle and held it over the miner’s largest injury. “Okay… Steven, forgive me for this.” And with that, she poured the potion into the center of the deep wound on his chest.

“EEEERRAAAAAAHHHHHHAAAAHHHH!” Steve suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs, his cry echoing through the forest and into the night. The moment the potion landed in his wound, he felt a strong, sharp agony that was like the fires of the Nether burning right through him. His body began to convulse as he shouted in pain, his arms flailing and his legs lightly kicking around. He kept screaming, stars danced at the edges of his vision as he cried out. “AHHHHHHH! MAKE IT STOP, PLEASE!” he shouted.

Celina could only watch as Steve flailed around in her lap. He was screaming, wailing out in what she could only describe as pure pain. Tears streamed down his cheeks and she could only sit there and watch the man she called a brother in his suffering. “Oh, Jeb, what have I done?!” she cried.

Steve’s voice was becoming hoarse again, but he couldn’t find himself quieting or being still. He was in so much pain, he felt like he was being ripped in half and his whole body jolted like he was being shocked by lightning. The pain was unbearable and he let out more screams. “AHHHH, PLEASE, HELP ME! EERRAAAHHHHH!”

That last scream was too much for the queen to bear. She quickly wrapped her arms around the miner and held him still. Steve managed to open his eyes and look up at Celina. He whimpered and tried to move in her lap again, but her grip was surprisingly strong. 

Celina could hear Steve letting out a series of whines and she responded, “Steve, you need to calm down! You have to try and stay still until the anesthetic effects kick in!”

“But… it--it hurts!” the miner shouted back.

“Steve, I know it hurts, but you need to stay still. If you move too much, the potion might spill out and you could die from blood loss!”

Those words made Steve go quiet for a moment, his violet orbs gazing into her gray ones with such an innocent and pained expression. He suddenly closed his eyes tightly. The miner let out a loud whine and lightly squirmed, trying to stay still. He managed to reopen his eyes and put a hand on one of Celina’s arms. “Can… can I at least… ho--hold your hand? Until… until the pain numbs down?”

Celina smiled at hearing his request. “Of course,” she answered in a gentle voice. She let Steve intertwine his fingers into her gloved ones and when he cried out again, he squeezed tightly. The queen didn’t mind though, she knew how strong he could be.

Steve winced, then looked up at Celina, his figurative sister, his savior. He managed to smile and whispered, “Thank you… Your Highness.”

Celina gave a little smile of her own, but it fell as did the miner’s when the pain worsened. She saw him taking deep breaths and trying not to cry anymore. Tears still ran down his face, so she could tell he was still hurting. “Poor Steve,” she thought. “He’s hurting so much. I’ve got him back to the castle so we can take care of him.” Celina noticed that the miner was shaking now, and she had a feeling it wasn’t just because of the pain. “Poor guy, he must be cold, he’s shivering like he’s stuck in a snow block.”

Celina carefully used one hand to pull her long pink cloak from her inventory. “Steve, can you sit up?”

Steve looked up at her, before softly replying with, “I--I think… I think so.” Celina helped Steve carefully push up, slowly but surely. He was soon leaning against her, and she wrapped the woolen garment around the miner.

Steve let a small smile grace his lips. “Thank you… thank you, Your Worship. That’s… much warmer.”

*****

Herobrine growled darkly from his spot behind a tall oak tree, looking at the backs of the humans. He pulled himself back into the shadow of the tree and looked down in frustration. His eyes glowed a little brighter in his rage. “That stupid little queen!” he thought to himself. “She’s too resourceful and prepared for her own good. I thought she wouldn’t be able to pull that sword from the tree.” He sighed and pushed his bangs up on his forehead, his other hand on his hip. “Well, that puts a slight stop in my plans…” 

Herobrine put a hand to his chin, tapping a finger against it. He had thought the queen wouldn’t be able to pull the sword out and the miner would die. And he would’ve been able to attack her in her mourning. But it seemed she was stronger than he thought. The Nether Prince had jammed that blade into the tree, but somehow, she saved the miner. 

The Demi-God sat in his thoughts for a few more moments. If he was going to take out both the miner and the queen, he was going to have to get them in a more vulnerable state. His head lifted as he got an idea. A devilish grin crossed his face. “Well then,” he thought. “Let’s see just how strong you are, girl.”

*****

Celina carefully ran her hand up and down the miner’s back, being mindful of his wounds and she did so. The anesthetic effects of her potion had kicked in and now he was much more relaxed. Steve simply leaned against her, his expression soft. Celina looked to his face. “How are you feeling, Stevie,” she asked.

Steve opened his tired violet eyes. “I--I still… feel really weak… but I’m not hurting.”

She nodded. “Good. The anesthetic won’t last forever, so we should get you to the castle. I’ve got more potions and bandages there, and we--”

Grroooooaannnn

Hiss

Clatter

Vluurp

Both Celina and Steve’s blood ran cold at the sudden sounds coming from behind them. Those sounds were all too familiar. They both turned to look over their shoulders. “Oh, no,” Celina muttered. “Please don’t tell me…”

The noises started again, this time, louder and indicating that the mobs were getting closer.

“Shoot,” Celina swore under her breath. “We need to get out of here.” She moved to her feet and looked down at the miner. “Steve, can you stand up?”

“I… I think I can.” The miner was able to make it to his feet, but cried out and fell to his knees as a surge of pain pulsed in his chest. He let out a small groan as he wrapped his arms around his torso.

Celina frowned and furrowed her brows. “Shoot. Think, Celina, think! Steve can’t walk, there’s mobs out there…” A redstone torch seemed to go off in Celina’s head, because her brows rose as she got an idea. “Steve, I’m gonna have to carry you back to my horse, okay?”

Steve looked up at her with slight confusion. “Carry--me? Celina, I don’t think--”

He was cut off by the queen suddenly scooping him up, holding him bridal style. Steve blinked in surprise, his violet eyes moving to her face as she let out a small giggle. “What in the Aether? How strong are you?”

“Stronger than you’d think,” she responded. “How do you think I was able to help Irona learn how to walk again?”

Steve chuckled, remembering the iron golem stumbling around like a toddler. “Well, yeah, I--”

Something moving caught his attention and the miner turned his head to look behind Celina. He gasped and shouted, “Your Highness, behind you!”

Celina turned on her heels with her friend still in her arms. “What--”

A fetid, rotting hand reached for the humans and the queen rushed back with a yelp in surprise. She could see a zombie had tried to reach for them and she shot it a dark glare. “Oh no, don’t you dare--”

Her words were cut off when several creepers, skeletons, zombies, and an Endermen appeared from behind some trees and out of thin air in front of the humans. The queen’s face fell for only a moment, before she turned again and began a sprint with her figurative brother in her arms. “Let’s get out of here!” she shouted, trying to make her footsteps quick with the mobs in tow.

A set of white eyes watched as the girl made her way out of the clearing, back into the trees and towards her steed again.

*****

Maximus’ head lifted as he suddenly heard a noise, his ears flicking from the sound. 

Celina suddenly burst from the trees with Steve in her arms, panting from running the whole way back to her horse. “Maxy!” she managed to say. “Maxy, we’ve gotta get home, boy!” The queen stopped before her steed, pausing to look down at her brother.

Steve’s eyes were half-closed and full of tears as he looked straight ahead of him. The pain had been gone for a bit longer in their run, but now the anesthetic effects had worn off and everything was hurting again. His head was pounding, his chest burning, and every limb felt like he had been slammed into a brick wall over and over. Steve hadn’t said a word since they left the clearing, he was hurting so bad and trying not to cry out anymore.

Celina bit her lip. Steve looked to be so zoned out from his pain, unable to focus on anything. He looked so horrible and the queen silently cursed herself for not finding him sooner. She carefully lifted the miner onto her saddle, before climbing on and pulling him into her lap. “Steve, we’re gonna head back to my castle, okay? The ride’s gonna be a little bumpy, but we’ll be there soon.”

The miner only looked up at her with those tired violet eyes, looking so innocent and pained.

Celina let out a small sigh. “C’mon, Maximus. Back to the castle, boy.” The horse seemed to nod, before taking off, heading back towards the kingdom.

Steve felt himself begin to lightly bounce as the horse moved. He slowly moved his eyes to look at Celina, his sister, his savior. He wanted to say so many things to her, to thank her for finding him and freeing him. But he couldn’t find himself able to talk.

The queen looked down at the miner, seeing him open his mouth to speak. She carefully put a gloved finger to his lips. “Save your strength, Steven,” she told him. “You need to try and stay awake. If you close your eyes now, they might not open back up. Try to stay awake, okay?”

Steve nodded. Celina closed her eyes, only to open them when she felt a small tap on her chest. She could see Steve’s gaze on her, a small smile on his lips. He was looking up at her like she was an angel. He slowly moved his arms to wrap around her waist and hugged her weakly. He then whispered, “Thank you.”

Celina felt herself tearing up. Her emotions overwhelmed her in that moment as she wrapped an arm around her brother, holding him close as Maximus continued onwards.

*****

Herobrine could see the white steed running off with the queen and miner on its back. He raised a brow, moving back behind a large birch. “Hmm… the girl isn’t as foolish as I thought she was,” he spoke to himself. “I thought she would try to fight those mobs, considering her occasional mob hunting nights… I guess I was wrong.” The Nether Prince didn’t like being wrong, but this girl was proving to be quite the surprise to him. She wasn’t as reckless as he had thought with her friend’s life in danger. And it showed.

“Well…” he mused. “I may have to change my plans. She’s certainly smarter than I realized. She knows her limits.” He tapped his chin in thought. “Well, that plan is gone… wait, her castle. She’s taking him to her home… and her citizens are all in their beds at this time in the night. The only other humans up would be her knights. But, they should be no trouble to take care of.”

Another sinister grin crossed Herobrine’s face as he turned to look in the direction of where the horse had gone with its passengers. “You may have made it out alive this time, young queen,” he whispered. “But trust me when I say: you’ll soon be begging for your life to end at my hands. I’m coming for you, little girl.” With that, the King of the Mobs vanished into a puff of purple dust, heading for the stone structure in the plains. 

Little did Herobrine know how this girl would change his life, and Minecraftia’s fate forever...