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Shit, shit, shit, not again…
Frey urged her body to move faster as she leaped through portal after portal in a desperate attempt to reach Cipal in time. She’d been off collecting more Ballow Tree sap when she’d suddenly gotten an awful feeling of dread. Fearing the worst, she’d immediately hurried back to her home, hoping whatever was happening wasn’t as bad as the worst case scenarios her mind was currently conjuring.
Shaking her head clear of the dizziness as she flew through yet another portal, she landed in the lower square and immediately dodged the claws of a giant Altered Mylodon as it attacked at its newfound target.
“Frey! Tanta’s mercy, you’re here!”
Frey turned her head fast enough to get whiplash, eyes wide and panicked as she caught sight of Auden in the middle of the fray with a crying child in her arms.
“What are you still doing here? Go!” Frey yelled before she backflipped over yet another charge from the crazed bear.
“I-I know, I just need to get a few more kids,” Auden said, and Frey couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Are you crazy? Get to safety!” Frey ordered, but Auden had already passed on the child to another woman and was running back into danger.
Hurling a fire spear at the creature to stun it, Frey allowed herself a moment to follow Auden with her eyes as the girl ran toward a pair of children hiding behind some boxes.
It only took a moment, just one small lapse in focus for everything to go to ruin as Frey blinked, and suddenly the Mylodon was past her,, heading toward its new, easier prey at an alarming speed.
She wouldn’t make it in time, she knew this, but she had to make it. Their deaths were not an option. Auden’s death wasn’t an option.
“No!” Frey heard herself scream, and in the next second, she felt searing pain as claws ripped through her skin from her shoulder all the way down her back, and then she had Auden and the two children safely in the upper city.
“Frey, you-” Auden said, her voice shaking as she recognized the feeling of wet blood spattered on her face.
“Stay here,” was the only phrase she could force through her lips before she disappeared once more into a portal.
Auden turned her head slowly in the direction of the lower city, her hands trembling as anxiety filled her chest and the sound of fiery explosions echoed in her ears.
One minute…two minutes… and finally silence.
Then a bloodied body tumbled out of a portal and collapsed to their knees on the hard stone. Audible gasps could be heard as people froze momentarily, shocked as their Tanta, their savior, kneeled bleeding at their feet.
“Frey!” Auden was the first to move as she scrambled toward the ailing girl and caught her just in time as she fell forward, her breathing erratic and strained as she vomited.
All Frey could feel was pain, unbearable and agonizing, as the adrenaline that had carried her through the end of the fight wore off. She could no longer move her limbs, they'd long since gone numb, and her vision was a blurred, foggy mess with unknown moving objects before her. A moment later, nausea hit her without warning and she keeled over at the force of her own vomiting. However, instead of meeting the cold ground, she was vaguely aware she was in someone’s arms…and were they speaking? She couldn’t be bothered to notice as the pain was quickly becoming too much to handle and with Cuff’s voice ringing in her head, she lost consciousness.
Auden’s stomach dropped as Frey’s eyes fluttered shut and she suddenly realized how much blood was seeping out of the woman. Auden was covered in it. It had soaked through her clothes, and coated her chest, arms, and legs. And, as Auden realized how pale Frey looked, she knew she had to act fast, and quickly tore off Frey’s clothing from her back to expose the wound. It was as deadly as she had feared.
“Bandages, I need bandages now!” At the sharp order, people seemed to snap out of whatever daze they had been in and they moved faster than Auden had ever seen them move before.
Boys and men alike were ripping off their shirts in an instant and Auden was pressing them against the gaping wound on Frey’s back with as much pressure as she could manage. Just as urgently, women came quickly with buckets and bowls of water, and Auden began cleaning the blood away so she could see the full extent of the injury, and, when she did, Auden didn’t know what to think.
Before her, graphically etched into Frey's skin, were three marred, jagged claw marks that had cut their way through Frey’s thick cloak and shirt, and had gotten a good inch into the flesh of her back before they had finally stopped. The problem was the sheer size of the wound, as it ran down the whole of Frey’s back.
And, as she surveyed the damage, Auden quickly realized that she’d have to stitch Frey up right here in the square. There was simply no time to move her, and, even if they could, the risk that came with sudden movement was too great.
“Quick, bring me the strongest pure alcohol you have!” Auden ordered the bartender who ran off without another word.
“And I need a needle and thread!” Auden demanded, already thinking of how she was going to stitch the injury. It wouldn’t be pretty, but as the supplies soon arrived, Auden realized that didn’t matter.
As long as Frey survived. She just needed to survive.
—
It was hot. She was burning and all she could feel was pain as the air around her scorched her lungs.
There was no one around to help her, and her magic was useless here. Not that she could even feel her magic, it was so weak.
And where was Cuff while she was stuck in the hellscape?
“Cuff?” She called out blindly, unseeing, consumed in nothing but pain. “Help me, please!”
“I’m here,” his voice came at last and Frey wanted to cry. “And I am helping.”
“Where am I? What’s wrong with me?” She called out helplessly, weakness already weighing her down with the few words she’d spoken.
“You’re unconscious,” he said, calm as ever, but Frey thought she could hear something else in his voice. Worry, or was it concern? No, that wasn’t right, it almost felt like…fear.
“It hurts,” she whimpered.
“I know, but it will be over soon,” he soothed, his tone unlike anything she'd ever heard from him. “This sickness will pass. Your body is already healing itself.”
“But I can’t feel my magic,” she said, slightly panicked before she paused, and when she spoke again, her voice wavered. “Am I…am I dying?”
Cuff hesitated for a beat too long. “No, of course not. You will be fine, Frey.”
“Cuff, I don’t want to die.” She felt heavy, filled too full with pain and fire.
“You won’t, it will be alright. I’m here,” he said softly as her hearing faded. “I’m right here.”
—
“Her fever’s too high, even for a Tanta,” Auden muttered to herself, pressing yet another cold towel to Frey’s sweaty brow. Her face was pale, so pale it made Auden wonder if they had managed to keep any blood at all in her body.
Frey’s current condition almost made her original injury seem minor compared to the illness that currently had her in its unforgiving grasp. Auden had managed to sew up the wound and the bleeding had stopped afterward, but it seemed the shock to Frey’s system had been too great, and an infection had set in only hours after they had gotten her into a bed.
For two days now a ravaging fever had gripped her, and it seemed no closer to abating, much to everyone’s fear. What would the people of Cipal do without their last Tanta? Who would save them from the Break?
Auden too, didn’t know what she would do without Frey. But it wasn’t because Frey was their savior, or their Tanta, or even because she was the only one that could stop the Break. No, Auden had a very different reason, and it was a reason she had never allowed herself to say to anyone, had hardly even allowed herself to think it…and it was that she loved Frey.
There was no denying it any longer as she tended to Frey tirelessly. She loved her, and at the same time hated her for nearly killing herself in order to save the worthless nobody that Auden was.
Reckless, so very reckless. Sometimes, Auden wished Frey was still as selfish as she had been upon first arriving in Cipal, because then… maybe then Frey wouldn’t be laying on this bed, fever-ridden, trembling, and weak.
Pausing a moment, Auden realized she had started to cry as tears slipped down her cheeks and onto her skirt, seeping into the soft fabric. Shakily, Auden wiped her tears away with one hand, while the other went and clasped Frey’s tightly.
“Please, Frey,” Auden said, her voice breaking as she closed her eyes in a silent prayer. “Please live.”
—
Please live…
“I’m trying!” Frey yelled back at the voice echoing through her subconscious. “I’m trying…”
Though, even as she spoke, it was all becoming too much for her. The pain, the agonizing fire and bitter cold, and the darkness she was enveloped in.
She just wanted it all to stop.
“Frey, you can’t give up. You have to keep fighting," Cuff said, his tone urgent as his voice reached her.
She was tired. She was so very tired.
“I know, I know,” he replied, and Frey thought his words seemed so distant as if he was far away. “But you’ve faced worse before.”
No, she hadn’t. Even in the aftermath of her final fight with Cuff, she’d been bed-bound for only a day before her magic had healed her wounds enough for her to walk around.
This was nothing like she’d ever faced before. And it hurt. It hurt so badly.
“Your magic is healing you, Frey. Just hang in there a bit longer.”
“Okay,” she whispered, strength waning from her once again. “Just...a little bit longer.”
—
Auden forced yet another healing draught down Frey’s throat, and thought she could see the slightest bit of color return to the girl’s cheeks.
It was now the fourth day, and, while the fever was still present, it had lessened some to where Auden thought Frey would soon be over the worst of her illness. It seemed that Frey’s magic, too, had finally begun to heal her wound, as the angry red skin and puss had cleared away.
It was only a matter of time before the fever passed, the wound healed, and the stitches were burned away by the fire magic within her.
Auden placed a chaste kiss on her lover’s upturned cheek from where she lay on her stomach.
“Keep fighting, Frey,” Auden pleaded. “We all need you. I need you.”
—
Frey felt…better. Not completely, but the pain wasn’t as present and the heat was becoming a bit more bearable, and the cold in her bones had receded some.
“You’re healing,” Cuff said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Just as I said you would.”
Frey hummed in response from where she lay, or maybe floated, in the dark abyss she’d been trapped in since her injury and illness. Her subconscious, as Cuff had put it.
“I just want to feel okay again,” she said, utterly exhausted. “And maybe have someone other than you as company.”
“Well now, I’d say things are only looking up from here given that you’re joking already.”
Frey sighed and grimaced as another wave of pain passed through her. “I hope so.”
—
“Auden, you need to rest! Or at least eat something,” Pilo insisted, clearly worried about the girl currently tending to the bed-ridden Tanta.
“I’m fine, Pilo, really," Auden replied as she continued to clean and re-bandage Frey’s wound. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
Pilo crossed his arms, not convinced. “I just saw you nearly collapse when you got up a moment ago. I had to catch you, for Tanta’s sake!”
Auden turned around from where she sat, her gaze determined, but it wasn't enough to hide her exhaustion. “Enough, Pilo. I am fine.”
The boy narrowed his eyes. “Frey wouldn’t want you making yourself sick over her, and you know it.”
Auden opened her mouth to retort but finally sighed. He was right, of course. She hadn’t slept more than a few hours over the last five days, and she would be lying if she said it wasn’t taking its toll.
“Just two hours,” she finally said, getting up slowly to avoid the dizziness. “I’ll rest for two hours, but you have to swear to get me if something happens.”
“You have my word,” Pilo said, serious for probably the first time in his life. “And please eat something too.”
“I will,” Auden said as she retired to her room before she paused and turned around. “Oh, and Pilo?”
“Yes?” He asked as he took a seat next to Frey’s bedside.
“Thank you.”
—
Frey’s eyes opened slowly as she became accustomed to the light glow of a bedside candle. She was lying on her stomach and, with quite a bit of effort, managed to turn her head around to face the other way, having seen nothing but a shelf of books upon her awakening.
And then she saw Auden, asleep in a rather uncomfortable position in an old thatch chair by her bedside. Looking around, Frey saw piles of bloody bandages, buckets full of water, and empty bottles of healing draught scattered about the room.
How long had it been? How long had Auden been caring for her? And judging by the dark bags under the redhead’s eyes, she must’ve not slept much at all. Although, that could be inferred simply because she was here with Frey in the middle of the night instead of asleep in her own bed.
Frey suddenly felt guilty. It had been a reckless move what she’d done, and now Auden was left sleepless because of it…but the alternative would have been much worse. Sleeplessness could be fixed, but death was something no one could come back from.
Distracted by her musing, Frey almost didn’t notice as Auden’s eyes fluttered open and she rolled out her neck with a groan.
And, wow, she looked beautiful as the moonlight came through the open window and seemed to dance upon her soft features.
“Did you really just think that?” Cuff asked, and Frey could almost see him smirking.
Shut up, she thought quickly, hoping to stop his teasing before it got worse. Realistically, however, this wasn’t the first time she’d had similar thoughts, and damn, if it took nearly dying to see this sight, Frey might just be okay with going back to the abyss if only to see Auden like this again.
And, like a breath of fresh air, Auden’s voice followed a second later.
“Frey?” Auden said quietly as if she couldn’t believe her eyes. “You’re awake.”
“And glad to be awake,” Frey said with a soft smile. “Trust me, being locked in your own subconscious is no fun, let me tell you.”
Without warning, Auden leaned forward and hugged Frey as tightly, and gently, as she could, while all Frey could do was watch on in surprise.
“I thought I’d lost you!” Auden said, and Frey heard her voice crack. “You were so sick, and your fever was so high, and nothing I seemed to do was working–”
“Hey, it’s okay now, I’m okay,” Frey said quickly, trying to reassure the other girl.
“No, don’t you get it, Frey?” Auden said frantically, sitting up and looking the Tanta dead in the eyes. “I was so scared! I thought you were going to die, and leave me like everyone else in my life has!”
She continued on without stopping for breath as Frey’s eyes widened. “You are just so reckless and what you did was absolutely absurd! You had no concern for your own life, and I refuse to let you die for– for someone as useless as me!”
“D-Don’t say that, you’re not useless,” Frey stammered, ripped from her stupor as her heart shattered into pieces. Frey didn’t know what to do in this kind of situation. How could she? No one had ever cared about her before, not her foster families, not her friends, no one. She’d only ever had herself to rely on. Broken bones? Patched up herself. Fever or illnesses? Managed with stolen bottles of fever reducers and pain-killers.
But this? To have someone watch over her for days, without sleep, and change her bandages and check her temperature was unheard of for Frey.
“And I would rather myself die than you because you’re much too important compared to me,” Auden said, the words coming out in a rush, and by now Frey had heard enough.
“Stop, okay, just stop saying these things about yourself, because they’re not true,” Frey said, using what little strength she had to shove herself up onto her elbows. “I chose to risk my life to save you, and that was my choice, and I won’t listen to you talk shit about yourself for one more second.”
“But-”
“No, no more, because no one who’s useless would stay by my bedside for however many days I’ve been unconscious and nurse me like you have. Hell, anyone could just look around this room and see how hard you’ve worked to save me.”
“Save you, I didn’t–” Auden started again, but Frey interrupted her again.
“You saved me. It’s as simple as that,” Frey said, already out of breath, but she wasn’t done yet. “And yes, I know what I did was stupid, but Auden, I would rather die a hundred times over than see you die once because I care about you too much to ever let that happen. You weren’t the only one who was scared.”
Her chest was heaving now and her muscles trembled with exertion as they kept her upright. “That day, when I thought I wouldn’t make it, that I wouldn’t get to you in time, I was almost paralyzed with fear, and my body just acted. And I saved you and those two kids which I don’t regret for one second. I would go through all of that pain again for this city, but I would go through all the pain in the world for you.”
Auden was stuck speechless at what she was hearing, and there was only one thing she could think to say at this moment, damned be the consequences.
“I love you.”
“You…what?” Frey said quietly, unsure if she’d heard that right.
“I love you, Frey, and I have for a while,” Auden said, tears already filling her eyes at the thought of rejection.
But then lips crashed against hers and suddenly all the worries and fears melted away, and for the first time in days, Auden allowed herself to relax and feel just a moment of peace and happiness.
“I love you too,” Frey said breathlessly before she grimaced. “But this position hurts a lot, so I’m sorry if I have to cut this short and lay back down.”
“Oh, please do,” Auden said immediately and helped Frey back down to a more comfortable position. It was only as Frey let out a sigh of relief that Auden cracked a smile.
“What?” Frey asked, confused.
“It’s nothing, except that you can be so stupid sometimes,” she said with a laugh.
“Haha,” Frey said, less than amused. “If this is the thanks I get for saving you, I retract my previous statement.”
“Oh, don’t be like that,” Auden said, still smiling, before she suddenly yawned.
Frey noticed and scooched over before patting the open spot next to her.
“Frey, I can’t, you’re still injured,” Auden said, a slight blush on her face.
“Come on, I’ll probably be healed by tomorrow, and besides, the bed’s sort of big enough for the both of us,” Frey insisted, motioning Auden over again with her hand.
“Sort of?” Auden said with a raised eyebrow, but got up anyway and climbed under the covers.
“So, the great Tanta Frey is in love with the peasant girl. How amusing,” Cuff said, though he didn’t sound particularly amused.
Oh, shut it already, or I’ll make you, Frey threatened.
“As if you could do anything to me,” he said, and Frey brushed him off, deciding to focus her attention on the beautiful girl already sleeping peacefully next to her.
“Sleep well, Auden,” Frey said, and with one more look at her partner’s calm expression, she, too, fell asleep.
And as Frey drifted off, she realized just how lucky she was to have landed in Athia. She’d come from a place where she could only ever trust herself, and now, surrounded by people who respected her, cared for her, and most importantly, loved her, Frey knew she’d made the right decision to stay.
And stay she would. Until her very last breath.