Inheritance: Threads of Fate

Chapter Three - Soiled

**Trigger warning. This chapter contains scenes that may be difficult for those with abuse trauma to read.**

You knew what you had to do. You found a stone with a sharp enough edge that you could slice through a bit of your hair. You tied it together and gave it to the falcon. "Bring me to him." You commanded. He took flight. You quickly put on the necklace and remounted Abra, pushing him along as fast as he could after it. If he leads you to the General, he'll lead you out of this desert and one step closer to ending this.

You traveled for a full day, only stopping when the falcon did to drink water. When he took back off, so did you. But by nightfall, you couldn't see him anymore, hard as you tried, in the pitch black it was impossible to track him. You screamed up to the stars in frustration, and slumped over the top of Abra's neck. Caspian was dead. Raxe was dead. Soon you'll be dead, then Sis...at least your parents will never know of your fate. If they are dead too, which they probably are, they died thinking you and Sis were safe at home on the Lone Islands...

You slid off Abra, and began to prepare a small fire for the night. You had given up trying to ration the firewood you gathered. (Since you'd be dead soon anyway.) You looked up towards the horizon and noticed two stars floating very low towards the skyline. That's strange. You've never seen those stars before, and they were moving... getting bigger. "Probably another heat vision." you said out loud and ignored it. But Abra's ears were perked up towards the growing stars. This would be the first time Abra and you shared a hallucination...

The floating stars were close enough, that if it were daylight you would clearly make them out. Abra snorted nervously. "Who's there?" You called out. Only half expecting someone to answer. The lights stopped moving towards you. Then suddenly started coming at you too quickly. You looked around for something you could grab to defend yourself, against...whatever...these were, and decided on a flaming stick from your little fire. You waved it around aggressively, the sound of shuffling sand was getting closer.  The stars clearly became torches, and you could now make out two figures on the backs of... they weren't horses... the General's men had found you. You had a few seconds to decide if you were going to put up a fight or not when suddenly the light from their torches and your fire collided to show their faces.

Your mind was playing tricks on you. It couldn't be Caspian, or Raxe. They were dead. You stood, frozen in place, with your makeshift torch in hand. Abra pawing the ground nervously behind you. Caspian called your name, but you couldn't process anything that was happening in this moment. He slid off the creature he was riding faster than you could react and ran at you, wrapping his arms around you tightly. You could feel tears streaming down his face. His muscular arms contracted around your body. If this was a hallucination, let this be how you die, believing you're in his arms one last time. You heard Raxe say something, but it just sounded muffled to you, a ringing in your ears grew to drown out any other sound. You looked up into Caspians eyes one last time, and the world went black.

* * *

You felt yourself in Caspians strong arms, supporting your body. You could smell his musk, and felt his soft skin against your face. Being dead sure feels a lot like being conscious... You realized you could open your eyes. You weren't dead, you were in Caspians arms, your face was pressed against his bare chest. You tried to move. "Whoa, hold on." He spoke. His voice, deep and commanding. You had almost forgotten the sound of it. "Don't move, you'll fall." He said. You turned your head around and noticed you were high up, and moving, quite a lot. The rocking was unnerving. "Raxe!" Caspian called out in front of him. "She's awake!" The movement stopped and you felt yourself being lowered to the ground.
"I've got her." You heard Raxe say as a pair of arms reached up towards you, and you were passed from one person to another. Your body was being supported, and you heard "Welcome back, Bun" from above you. You mumbled something incoherently and tried to pull away. "Hang on, crazy girl, hang on. Let me get you sitting down." You were laid down on a wicker mat of some sort, your head propped up with something soft. The sun was too bright to open your eyes, and you shut your eyes hard, moaning. "Cas, can we get the tent up?" Raxe said. "Working on it..." You heard a response from down by your feet. Suddenly the sun  disappeared, and you opened your eyes again.