" He's sick." Dain says as he brushes his thumb over my face softly, he got ice for my new cut and here for moral support as we wait for a mender Dain knows named Nolan. He comes in, an older man with kind green eyes. " Good Morning." He greets.
I wince out a small smile, " Hello."
" Is this the Sorrengail?" Nolan asks.
" Yes, she's the youngest one." Dain says. Nolan nods, " I see, I think I've needed to mend your whole family..looks like you got in quite a scuffle dear.."
" She won a spar then Xaden Riorson decided to get at her." Dain answers again. Nolan's face falls but is replaced with another small smile, " I'd say you held your ground quite well if your not dead."
I manage somewhat of a proud smile, " If he wasn't so damned fast he'd be dead."
Nolan still smiles, but doesn't say anything about the matter. " Have you ever been mended before?" I shake my head no, He hands me a piece of leather, " You'll want to bite this." I no more put it into my mouth when searing pain comes again and I scream.
It hurt so much I passed out.
By the time I woke again, I was back in... someone's room.. Dain's room. He was on the other side of me lightly brushing over my leg with his hand reading when I stirred. His gaze goes to mine and a small smile forms. " Finally you wake up."
" Why..why am I here?"
" I wasn't going to let Hetta look after you, no way in hell. So I brought you here to spend the night. Just until your recovered to walk tomorrow. I rewrapped our knee to keep in in place, I also managed to get some pain killers if you need them.. cadets aren't supposed to have them, but I suppose I could break a rule for you one time." He smiles softly talking a mile a minute.
I return the smile, " Thank you. Where is she?"
" I'm assuming back in your room." He sighs brushing my cheek, he stares.. I can't describe the expression, but I know he wants to talk, to ask a million questions... " Freya... what was that... back there..with Gates.."
" I lost control." I admit in a hushed tone, " That thing happened again. I didn't want to kill him Dain.. I really didn't.. but he was going to kill me."
" I know." Dain whispers. " I know... this place isn't kind..and sometimes you need to do drastic things like that."
" Have you ever..."
He nods, " Yes, a gut tried killing me during Threshing..he wanted Cath. And.. he almost got me until I drove my knife in his ribs letting him bleed out right then and there." He shakes his head lightly, " I'm not blaming or judging you.."
I shift slightly.. going closer to him. " I know."
We sat in silence for awhile, it was peaceful and most definitely comfortable. " How does your knee feel?" He asks.
" Hurts."
" Here." He reaches over grabbing two painkillers that looked like two grains of rice, " They're tiny but potent. Take them." He hands them to me and I easily swallow, Dain pulls me a little closer to him so my head lays on his chest, he pulls up my covers a little higher and a sigh in contempt. " You know... I think you impressed him." Dain whispers.
" What?"
" Riorson. I think you surprised him. I just walked in when you stabbed Gates, I saw him I saw how he was looking at you, I saw shock cross his face when you picked him up and snapped his neck. That was the first time I saw shock on his face."
" Well he didn't look to shocked when he was cutting me up.." I mutter.
" No... But you held your own.. and made him work for some of it..that double knife thing was genius, and that kick.. you were only centimeters away from his face Freya. He pulled away just in time otherwise you would've hit him. he would've went down if you got him and you could've won."
" I think beating him would've killed me."
Dain was quiet for a moment..." Yea, his little tribe of traitors probably would've done something for sure."
" Hetta is not a traitor Dain."
" She's marked Freya."
" She's nice."
" Doesn't matter." He says a little louder, I could feel him tense as the conversation advanced. " You need to rest.. Ok?" Dain says quickly.. not wanting to upset or fight me. Considering I'm in his room and he's caring for me I decide not to fight either, instead I take a deep breath. " Ok, thank you... for this."
He kisses my head lightly, " Ofcourse."
The next couple of days were bland... at least the same... train, eat, sleep and try not to get killed. I guess Kristof was part of Jack Barlowe's group... and he watched me kill him, supposedly he had a knife in his hand ready to interfere but Lark and a couple other held him back.
So I'm higher on his death list. How do I know? There was a dead white dove sitting on my bed when I returned.. well..Hetta and the others saw it and got rid of it..but she told me.
I walked in the combat room with Dain at my side like he had been almost connstantly since I've gotten hurt, now my knee is back and better then ever since the mending. I liked Nolan but hopefully I won't see him again for awhile.
I'm guessing Hetta was needed in Xaden's bed again because she left later last night and wasn't back this morning, I assumed correct as I see those two along with Imogen all standing in a semi circle.
He was close to her face when she said something to him then walking away making him look irate as sh ewalked in my direction. " Good Morning." She sighs.
I smile at her before looking over her shoulder at all of them glaring at us. " Trouble with the Wingleader?"
" Yea- well..no...No." She says slightly blushing.
" He has no reason to treat you like shit you know...Even if you owe him some debt.." I assure her giving a slight smile, " I think your way better then him anyways."
Her expression seems to lighten as I speak, " Thank you."
Dain as usual stays pretty silent, even after the month and a half I've been here talking to Hetta he still doesn't like her, only stand her for me. And frankly these two are the only ones I like. So here we are..
" I'll let you warm up." Dain smiles warmly at me. " Then I guess We'll see who Riorson decides to put you with.."
I'm guessing Jack Barlowe.. since his last cadet didn't work in his favor..
Hetta and I both help each other stretch, soon nimble enough to head to the mat so we could start our sparring. Xaden toys with his little paper he always has, glaring at everyone he goes in the middle like he always does clearing his throat before he speaks.
" ... And..Canavero with Sorrengail... For these fights.. your not done until your either dead or bleeding to death..understood?" Xaden snaps, his eyes wandering over Hetta and me. " If you refuse, I'll get on the mat.. I assure you don't want that."
Hetta scowls at him as he.. I know purposely stands by us watching the spars with now a bothered look in his eye. I shake my head ever so slightly at the pettiness this boy had.. and treating Hetta so poorly..
As I watch Swayer and I think his name is.. Garrick fight I can feel the heated gaze of Riorson looking over Hetta to me. I move my head looking back at him with a hard glare " What?"
" Just admiring my work." He grins, " Really adds to..that." He mentions to all of me with his hands.
I bite back my comments, knowing it would probably result in another spar with him and seeing the training for the Gauntlet is next week... I need all my limbs working.
One by one more blood is spilled, luckily no one dies yet, though maybe some will in the infirmary.. with each one that passes my stomach tightens.. One spar didn't ' hurt' eachother enough so Xaden went on the mat cutting both of them in the calf. Both are going to be screwed for Gauntlet.
" Lastly.. Canavero and Sorrengail." Xaden calls, " Make it quick." He almost mocks. My heart was now beating rampid in my chest.. He actually went on the mat pureposely doing damage... I know we're both on his shit list at the moment so if he needs to get on this mat..
I glance at Hetta who looked to be going pale, maybe about to throw up. The mat was slick with the metallic smell of blood, our boots now lined with it. It almost made me sick. Almost. " Get me in the shoulder." I whisper to her.
Her eyes widen just for a second, her mouth open to debate but she closes it quickly.. I know cadets need to heal the natural way, Dain got me a mender and pain pills I can handle it if she doesn't drive it in as deep.
Hopefully. Or I'm going to die technically a martyr. I'm not going to seriously hurt Hetta, but I need to make this believable. As best as I can.
" What are you waiting for? FIGHT." Xaden demands, I get to Hetta swinging, not as hard as I'd do with anyone else, but enough to hit her and stumble back. She snaps her head toward me and I give a discreet look.
I see her clench her jaw as she now comes at me, we both know we need to do this, under this asshat's command. Our fight was probably the most boring you could watch, all we did was punch, fall, get on top punch some more.
" GET FIGHTING!" Xaden yells, obviously enraged.
" Do it." I say quickly before she punches me in the face, all I smell is blood, blood was everywhere, on me, my own, Hetta's and my squads. It was disgusting. " Stab me."
She pulls out her knife but she holds.
I push her off, slipping on the mat from the red matter. " Come on! Come at me!"
She..lowers it. " I can't.. I can't.." She breathes heavily, " I can't do it... I won't!"
She drops her knife, " I'm not hurting her."
Xaden's face reddens, " Sorrengail..you have 5 seconds to drive your knife somewhere in her body before I do it for the two of you.."
I palm my daggers, the feeling seeming to squeeze at my lungs as I look from Xaden to Hetta. "No."
" You will." Xaden says, " 3 more seconds.."
" I said.. NO!"
Maybe we're putting the biggest targets on our backs by publicly saying we don't want to hurt eachother... but there's just a part of me that won't allow me to..not after Hetta has been so kind to be regardless.
Our 3 seconds were up.
Xaden looks at me, " Fine.. you made your choice." He steps on the mat pulling out one of his daggers eyeing me with malice. " Xaden..no!" Hetta says coming between us holding out her hands like that was going to stop him from getting through.
But he does stop, " Hetta I swear to Malek-"
" Please, don't... Please.." She begs, I can hear the waver in her voice almost like she was about to cry. " Please... I'll do anything, I'll take anything you give me... Just don't.."
Xaden pauses looking at her his expression souring, " Your really wanting to protect her? After all that's been done?"
" It was her mother! Not her! You say we are not our parents and you want everyone else to see that..but yet you blame how they blame us!" She grits looking up at him. " Be better then them Xaden.."
He stares at her then at me, then back at her taking a labored deep breath. " Get the hell out of my sight. And Hetta... I see your finally picked your side. Don't expect any more from me or the others." He almost looks hurt as he speaks to her but conceals it with anger.
She looks taken back but nods, " I should've stopped getting help from you a long time ago... it only caused me to be indebted to you for damn years." She looks at me, mentioning this would probably be a very good time to go.
I look at Xaden one more time, who no had no emotion in his face as he was just looking at Hetta, when his eyes go to me they look for just a few seconds before looking away, walking away.
" Come on." Dain says ushering us out the door..