...in the form of the Matron

Teysa's body was much heavier than Aliara had thought, and the weight of her pinned the half-elf on her knees. She couldn't let go, though. The idea was unthinkable. She rocked back and forth with Teysa's head cradled against her chest. The paladin had gone limp in her arms. Her pulse was weak and thready, and with each beat of her heart, blood oozed from her wounds. It had crusted around her nostrils and dried on her chin. Her thigh looked as though it had been mauled; Aliara could see bone, wet and shiny, through the terrible cut. Worst of all, though, were her ribs. They shifted against each other in a way that made Aliara's skin crawl.

"Help!" she screamed again. Her voice sounded hoarse and weak even to her own ears. All around her, the cave had fallen into chaos. Drow streamed towards the exit, pursued by vengeful driders. There were a few running skirmishes where small knots of drow had managed to rally, but the driders herded them relentlessly. As they fell back, they left behind a floor scattered with corpses and awash in blood. The room stank like a slaughterhouse. There were fallen driders, too, standing out like islands in the flood. Aliara sat at the center of the carnage, curled up on herself with Teysa clutched in her arms. That was how the Matron found her.

"Aliara!" The drider's voice shocked her out of her fugue. Aliara looked up into a pair of glossy black eyes. "How issss Teysssssa? Issssss she hurt?"

Aliara simply wailed in response. The Matron laid one hand on her shoulder and she flinched away, hissing between her teeth. All she could think about was the unfairness of it all. She should have known. She'd never allowed herself to become too close to anyone during her years of servitude; one of the first things you learned was the people could be ripped away from you at any time. That habit had served her well on the road. The adventurer's life was a dangerous one, and the loss of every companion was a foregone conclusion. She'd mourned them in her own way, but she had always had her eyes set on the horizon. Teysa had been different. She'd foolishly opened her heart again, and this was the inevitable result.

She'd forgotten the lessons of her youth. And now she was paying for it.

"She livesssssss, Aliara," the Matron said. Her tone was low and urgent. "Come away. We can make her comfortable, at leassssssst."

Aliara glared up, her eyes bright with tears. "Comfortable?" she snapped. "She's dying, Matron! She's dying for you! Because of you!"

The Matron looked away. "I am... sssssssorry, Aliara. She fought bravely. She sssssssaved ussss all."

"And that's it?" Aliara squeezed Teysa tighter. "She fought bravely, the end? She gave up everything for you! We could have left, you know! When you sent us to the City, we could have run! She didn't want to! I told her she was a fool, and I was right! Look at her now!"

"I am sssssssorry," the Matron repeated. "It wasssssss her choice. I honor her for it." She looked away. Her hand reached out again, but Aliara swatted it away. Red rage blossomed inside her. She wiped her face and stared up at the Matron with narrowed eyes.

"Not good enough. Can't you do anything to save her? You and your magic and your Goddess! You both owe her! Save her! Save her life!" Aliara's voice cracked. She was trembling with fury. Her head was spinning. She felt dizzy and sick and exhausted, all at once.

The Matron recoiled. She towered over Aliara and had easily overpowered her on their first meeting. But she recoiled now, her perfect features creased in fear and shame. She fidgeted indecisively for a moment, then seemed to come to a conclusion.

"There isssssss... one way," she said. "Perhapsssss. If she hasssss the sssssstrength of will."

"She's strong!" Aliara cried. "She's stronger than... than... than anyone! Save her, Matron! You owe her! You owe us!" She gasped for breath. "Please!"

The Matron nodded. "I will. Give her to me." She held out her arms.

Aliara looked down. Teysa's hair was matted with blood and had fallen over her eyes. The half-elf tenderly brushed it out of the way, heedless of the blood smearing on her fingertips. She planted a kiss on Teysa's pale forehead. Tears dripped off her cheeks and splattered onto the paladin's face. "You're going to live, Tey," she whispered. "You have to. You have to."

Only then did she raised her head. She shifted her grip and held Teysa's body out as best she could. The Matron stooped and scooped it up, cradling Teysa in her arms. Aliara was once again forcibly reminded of their first meeting. The Matron had carried them effortless then, too, though their bellies had been weighed down with her spawn. Then, her expression had been pitiless. Now it was full of concern.

Aliara tried to climb to her feet, but her legs wouldn't obey her. The Matron called out in her own language, and one of her guards scurried up. She pulled Aliara upright, but the half-elf waved her off when she tried to lift her off the ground. She would walk on her own two legs. She could do that much, at least. She stumbled along in a daze, trying to keep pace with the Matron. At first, the spider-woman matched her slow pace, but she soon turned. "Aliara, I mussssssst hurry," she said. "I promisssssssse, I will do all I can for her."

"Go, then," Aliara replied. "Go. Save her life."

The Matron scuttled off, leaving Aliara alone.