Rockslide

Finn had no time to scream. The magnitude of the disaster was impossible to overstate. Half a mountain was falling, and the slide and debris would destroy everything within miles. Even if she turned and ran now, it was unlikely she would escape burial, alive or dead. The entire city would be consumed, and beyond.

It seemed like slow motion at first, so far above them were the pieces of the precipice that descended.

A hand grabbed hers, and her eyes snapped to meet Roland's blue gaze, clouded with worry beneath dripping eyelashes. He pulled her to him and turned her behind a large piece of the still-broken city wall, determined to shelter her there with his body. Even if he could not save her, he would give his life before letting hers be snuffed out.

She closed her eyes and clung to him, when a strange feeling gripped her.

"Gwen." She said softly. "GWEN!" She pushed her bewildered husband away and stood. "Please, Gwen, please!"

She focused on the rockslide which now roared louder than she imagined the sea did in a storm. Suddenly, it parted. Two streams of debris were cast aside, one to the left, one to the right, with only relatively small stones hitting inside the city.

The Rhone and those Klain still on the wall or outside watched in astonishment, completely unaware of what manner of thing had diverted the torrent of debris away from the city. Half crashed into the lake, and the other half tumbled across the river and down into the valleys between the foothills.

"Oh no," Roland gasped. He took Finn's hand again, only this time pulling her towards the city instead of away from it. "Into Klain! Get clear of the river!"

Realizing his fear, she bolted with him towards the breach. The rest of the Rhone followed as the pieces of mountain plunged into the edge of the deep lake, beginning a tidal wave of monstrous proportions. The river which lay just feet from the Rhone army was its primary outlet.

The breach, though wide, was not nearly enough so for the remnants of the Rhone army to squeeze through into the city, especially with the confused Klain forces standing just inside the wall.

The press of bodies was nearly a stampede; enough wounded and dead lay in the way for the rush to be deadly to anyone unfortunate enough to not be on their feet. It was a matter of imminent survival and there was no time to stop and check.

The rumble of the wave met their ears only seconds before it began sweeping away the people. Panic hit Roland as he remembered that villagers from his wife's home did not learn to swim. Reaching the outer corner of the breach, he grabbed hold of it with one hand and pulled Finn toward him with the other just before the water hit them like a battering ram.

It slammed them against the edge of the wall, but Roland would not let go of his wife or his line to safety. It was better that the water pressed them against it than pushed them away from it, but the physical strain of resisting its crush was almost too much. The water was over their heads for an interminable amount of time as Roland held his breath.

The water rushed up into the breach like the tide coming in, pushing into the city's streets and grabbing hold of what it could before pulling back outward into its banks, finally freeing Roland and Finn's heads from its suffocating grip.

The struggle Roland faced became harder. Finn had been knocked out cold by the force of the water, and a trickle of blood streamed from the side of her head. The river was now sucking, pulling, drawing them into the banks of the river so it could carry them away.

To lose his hold on his unconscious wife would be to release her to death. He couldn't let that happen.

"Roland!!" A voice called from above. He struggled to keep his concentration on not being pulled away as a rope fell.

He debated the merits of releasing his grip on the rock for even a second to trade it for grasping the rope, but the sound of another crash behind him decided for him. More pieces of mountain hitting the lake meant more, and perhaps larger, waves were coming.

Shifting slightly to support Finn a little better, he wedged her body between his and the wall before daring to extend one hand to grasp the rope. He was thankful to get hold of it on the first try, and quickly wrapped it twice around his forearm for a tight grip and yanked it twice to signal he had it.

The pressure eased almost immediately as he and Finn were lifted from the current. She was completely still in his arms, and his heart began to panic.

Another wave crashed against them, pulling at their legs and feet. He tried his best to help whoever was pulling at the top of the rope by working his legs against the jagged edges of the broken wall, but that was nearly impossible while he held Finn's limp body.

At long last reaching the top of the wall, he handed Finn to be pulled up first. Once she was up, he finally dragged himself to safety, collapsing and coughing. He tried to sweep the water from his eyes and look at those around him.

He saw his father's true eyes for the first time, almost the same startling blue as his own, and the man pulled him up to clasp him into a tight, manly embrace as father and son knelt together on the ramparts

"You did it, Son. You freed me. You freed our people. You did it." His voice broke with pride and gratitude.

"Serafina... How is she?" Roland broke away.

"She's unconscious," Mayra said, hovering over her friend as Riley stood behind her. "There's a wound here. I'm applying pressure. She's breathing."

Roland struggled quickly to her side, his medical training taking over. He took a closer look at the wound, and the growing bump underneath it. He almost smiled remembering treating her for a headwound in the back of that small cart the night of the storm, but his concern pushed away the memory. He needed to act quickly so they could weather many more storms together.

Without his instruments, there was not much he could do other than stop the bleeding. It was already slowing. He knelt close to her face as she lay flat and still on the stone.

"Serafina, can you hear me? Please, please wake up," He said. Whether she could regain consciousness would be informative of how likely her recovery would be.

She groaned lightly, and his voice rose in excitement, "Please, Darling, open your eyes. Let me see them. You can't hide your beautiful eyes from your adoring husband,"

Her eyebrows drew together slightly, as if in confusion, and her eyelashes fluttered gently.

"I'm here, wake up," He urged again, and her eyes finally, slowly opened, flinching against the fading light of the day. He quickly looked at her pupils, and moved his hand before her face to make sure her eyes tracked equally. His heartbeat calmed somewhat as he checked her other vital signs and was slowly satisfied that she was in no immediate danger.

"A miracle," He sighed. It was unbelievable that he came through the battle unscathed and got to keep his new wife in spite of dragging her with him through all of it. Well, running alongside her into it.

"Gwen?" She asked breathlessly. "Did she bring a miracle?"

"I'm sure she did, but you are your own separate, beautiful miracle," Roland said. He was so focused on his wife that he missed the look that Mayra threw at Riley, or the glance Riley stole to the wealthy part of the city. The water seemed not to have reached that far, and he sighed in relief as he watched it continue receding to its proper place within its banks.

"It's over. It's all over, right?" Finn asked, trying to sit up. Roland gathered her into his arms, and the others suddenly found important tasks that required their immediate attention. Mayra moved among the wounded, triaging the injuries, The General began organizing search and rescue for those pulled away in the flood, and Prince Duncan began moving amongst his battered troops to organize and comfort them.

Riley had something he wanted to do more than anything, but followed the General instead.

The newlyweds were left alone on a broken edge of wall, looking out at the destruction and aftermath of the great battle with bittersweet expressions. The setting sun cast red and orange hues over the scene as a chilly late-autumn breeze stirred Finn's dripping hair.

Roland cuddled her closer against him, shielding her from the wind.

"I love you, my wife. There's no escaping now, you're going to be stuck with me forever," He offered her a half-smile. The happiness he felt and the sorrow around him seemed so at odds as to struggle within his heart for primary status.

"I love you more," She said, pulling his head down for a kiss so sweet that, at least for now, it drove all the heartache away.