Ashen Reign

Chapter 12

"You're sure you're okay?" Luke repeated for what must have been the fifth time as he paced across the small space in between her bed and those across from her. Gretta had helped lead her back to the barracks after her previous world had stopped orbiting around her like a meteor threatening to destroy the little bit of self she'd managed to cling to. She was fine. Sure she had a nasty bruise already painting the better half of her rib cage an interesting shade of violet, but nothing was cracked or broken. Grayson wasn't that much of an asshole. She crossed a line and he had made that clear. Fair enough. She just wished she had gotten a hit in herself. Unfortunately for her, her physical and mental health weren't quite on the same page. Up to this point, she'd managed to suppress most of her feelings after having sobbed in Luke's arms the first night, but she should have known that wasn't going to last. After all, she still couldn't get a full night's rest and there was only so much of that she could put on Gretta's rabbits. They may have kept her up, but they weren't what woke her up.

"I'm fine, Luke." Hailey groaned at the same time Gretta rolled her eyes and snapped 'She's fine, Luke.' Luke stopped his pacing long enough to give Gretta an irritated side eye. She wasn't sure why he was so concerned. She'd been in worse shape. Hell, he'd seen her in worse shape and she reminded him of that as he continued his pacing.

"What was he thinking? What were you thinking? Joining the guard?" He raked a hand across his face. "We get your strong, but this is different than-" Luke winced as he stopped himself short of mentioning her guard back home.

"Would you like to finish that sentence Luke?" Hailey shot making a move to stand, but Gretta placed a firm hand on her shoulder to gently push her back into a sitting position. Throwing Hailey a knowing look, Gretta pushed herself off of the bed and gestured for Luke to stop pacing. Once Gretta held Luke's attention, she motioned with her hand to Hailey still sitting on the bed.

"What would you rather her do Luke? You and Grayson brought her here. You can say you saved her all you want, but if you expect her to sit in this room and rot, then you didn't save shit." Hailey chest tightened at her words. So far, Gretta was one of the few people who not only acknowledged her existence, but was kind to her. They'd only spoken on several occasions, but based on the lack of formality she had with Luke and the way she and Luke had been analyzing papers together when they'd found her, she was clearly high enough in the ranks to have a decent idea of what had actually happened. She hadn't actually expected Gretta to stand up for her though. She supposed she couldn't hate all of the Guardians. "She looks like shit." Gretta continued bluntly and Hailey winced mouthing 'Ouch' and she carried on. "The bruise on her side is pretty dark, but the circles under her eyes are giving it some serious competition. She's lost her family, her home, her friends, and as far as she's concerned, she's in enemy territory. Let her have this. She's a badass. She doesn't need a prince charming to protect her and you sure as hell aren't looking for a princess." Gretta chuckled as the word escaped her lips. A dark look passed across Luke's face, but it was gone so quickly Hailey wasn't sure if she'd actually seen it. A long moment passed before anyone spoke again.

"Gregory is going to freak." Luke finally sighed as he rubbed his temple in defeat.

"He's the one who agreed to it." Hailey retorted. Luke went ashen at her words, his eyes boring into the hardwood beneath them.

"Guardians, help us all." He muttered underneath his breath as he added even more quietly. "Damnit Ammarie.." Hailey raised an eyebrow towards Gretta who merely replied.

"Remind me to take you shopping. It looks like you're going to be in need of rainboots before this pissing competition is over." Hailey groaned and threw herself back against her mattress.