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It wasn't that I didn't want to help her. I had even assisted her in landing safely on the ground, albeit just a little bit. But it was the fact that she had put herself in danger that irritated me. Why couldn't she just be more careful? Why did she have to be so careless and reckless?
Despite my initial urge to save her, Ihadheld back, knowing that it was not my place to interfere in her journey. But even as I watched her from afar I couldn't shake off the feeling that I needed her to stay alive. If she kept getting herself into life-threatening situations it would be a long and arduous journey, one that I doubted I could keep up with at this rate. She already looked battered and bruised, her clothes torn and her skin covered in scrapes and bruises. And she had barely started her journey.
Watching her as she walked through the dead trees, a shiver ran through me, sending another ripple through my feathers. I promised myself that I would not intervene again unless it was absolutely necessary. I would watch over her from a distance, keeping a close eye on her every move, but I would not interfere unless her life was in danger.
It was a difficult decision to make, but I knew that it was for the best. Even so, I couldn't leave her entirely on her own. I would have to keep a closer watch on her. Even if it meant sacrificing my own rest and comfort. The past few days had drained me, both physically and emotionally, and I worried about the amount of magic I had expended and the cost of using it. But I knew that I could not falter, not when there was more at stake.
Maybe I could send Hendrix.
Hendrix could watch over her. If she got herself in any other life-threatening situations at least he would be there. While I questioned his loyalty, and I did not wholly trust Hendrix- he would have to do. But it was my nature not to trust many beings to begin with.
However. . . it would give me the time I needed to rest and recharge. Time was not on our side, though. I’d been patient, or at least patient enough.
The well where the power I was blessed with rippled, as if to say it too would like to rest and recharge. That it needed time to regain some strength as well. The shadows curling and twirling around the source as if protecting it. We were not one without the other. I needed it as much as it relied on me to breathe life into it. So being this drained of energy was extremely dangerous. If it went out completely, I could not fathom the outcome.
Her yell reached my ears, a chuckle lodged in my chest as her words settled in around me.
“Oh if you only knew Princess. Little do you know how merciful I’d truly been in my drop-off location. You’re lucky I had not left you where I had originally planned.”
I’d had every intention of dropping her off farther away, but at the last moment though something had prevented me from doing so, a change of heart. I certainly would not be falling for that again though. If she was going to be this ungrateful then I would not be so courteous in the future.
But, something made me hesitate. Something told me that it was cruel to say such a thing. Maybe one more time, for her sake. She certainly could not continue in that awful dress, in the scraps that remained on her.
They offered little coverage and while it had been stunning on her back in the Mortal Lands, now it just looked. . . degrading. The thoughts were intrusive as I’d watched her dance with those mortal men. How radiant she looked, it was then that her wish reached me. Her call to save her.
For years I’d heard them, for years I’d responded- granting them to her. But last night. . . last night was different. She’d been scared, terrified. I don’t know what compelled me, what pushed me toward her. I could not stop myself not as I danced with her around the room. I wanted her then.
I shook my head, ridding myself of the thoughts. One should not think such things. Now was not the time. I would do her this one favor, even if she was angry at me. It did not bother me in the slightest.
She had four days, and time was of the essence. She needed to do this. Her encounter earlier in the Ebony Woods had proven every suspicion I had correct. The faun had offered a minimal distraction, a test to see if she could accept guidance from others when faced with the will to give up. A chance to see how well she could perceive the things around her and judging by the outcome, she would be able to succeed in this task. If she didn’t let her stubbornness get in the way first that is.
And she certainly was stubborn.
The persistence she had, the fight and will she carried; a trait I found thoroughly amusing. Her frustrations with me would only fuel my own in return though. I’d been told I was stubborn and strong willed. A mind of my own even since I was young. And I could be headstrong too. An eye for an eye. If she could hold onto it, it would be useful.
For all of us.
This game with her would be rewarding. If she could manage the trek to the castle without actually dying or any more run-ins with death itself, then there was some kind of hope. I scoffed to myself.
Hope.
Not something I wanted to have, not something I’d carried with me, not for a very long time. To have hope was to have false ideals of one’s reality in my not so humble opinion. Hope was the reason I was in this mess in the first place. Hope was a curse, and I’d abandoned all hope long before now.
In the earlier days before the curse, it had taught me that having hope for things was only going to lead to disillusionment. Hope was a myth, a dream. At least to me. I didn’t have dreams, not in the ones that would have made me happy. Or brought joy, or even. . . love.
I was more a cynical being, it was part of my nature, who I was. I learned a long time ago to never get attached to someone, because attachments lead to expectations and expectations lead to disappointment. But this pull- like my heart, my soul, was saying something. This pull I had toward her, the need to save her, to help her through this and to get her to the castle. To protect her, it certainly wasn’t something I’d foreseen either.
This was a dangerous game we were playing. This did not bode well with me. This did not bode well with me at all.
ChapterThirteen
SERRA
As I made contact with the ground, my body absorbed the full brunt of the fall. My bones rattled and my muscles tensed, screaming in agony. My head throbbed as it hit the hard ground, causing my vision to blur and spin. I couldn't believe I had survived that fall. The journey down was rough, the branches and rocks I hit on the way down only made things worse. Letting go and free-falling was the hardest part. Despite the fall not being too far, the pain was excruciating.
I took a moment to assess myself, relieved to find that nothing seemed to be broken. I was grateful to be in one piece, but I was definitely scraped up. The exposed flesh on my arms and legs bled, and small bits of rock had embedded themselves in my skin. The scrapes were painful, but they would hopefully heal without leaving scars. As I gingerly rose to my feet, my body ached all over.
A sharp intake of breath escaped my lips as I brushed off the dirt and rocks that had embedded themselves into my skin. I knew it could have been worse, but the discomfort was still unbearable. My feet and fingers had taken the worst of the fall, the dried blood and dirt caked onto my skin and nails would need to be washed off, but the cuts on the bottoms of my feet and toes would make this journey a difficult one.
