Archer stumbled back as a wet thunk echoed in his ears.
Pausing midstep, he watched with disbelieving eyes as an arrow sprouted from Mordren's chest, making the dark haired king falter slightly, as though he were confused, a soft gasp escaping his lips.
A moment later, and a second arrow pierced his stomach, sending him sinking to his knees, eyes wide, blood dribbling from his lips as Pip continued to launch arrow after arrow, her face void of emotion all accept for her eyes, which leaked tears that streaked through the dirt on her face.
With no hesitation, she fired arrow after arrow until Mordren fell, his body bristling with feathered shafts.
But when he finally lay still, Pip stopped dead in her tracks and knelt beside his body, whispering two words that Archer strained to hear.
"I'm sorry."
And with that, she slumped to her knees beside him, staring at Mordren's body as though she could not believe what she had done.
Shaking himself from his stupor, Archer suddenly remembered Galen-- and though his instincts told him to comfort Pip, he ran to where the other boy lay instead; his breathing only a quiet whisper, blood pooling beneath his limp body.
He was alive, but only barely.
Crouching down beside him, Archer dared not to move the young king's head, and instead he attempted to staunch the blood freely flowing from the wound in Galen's forhead. With barely stifled sobs, he tried to ignore the light slowly fading from Galen's eyes, tried to ignore the sagging of the king's deathly pale skin.
But it was only when he felt Galen's fingers brush against his knee that he stopped, looking into the boy's dying eyes.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
There was nothing to say, nothing to make this better. No spell to fix what happened.
Then, just as the final spark died in Galen's eyes, Archer heard him breath faintly, "Till death do us part." And as his body went still and crumbled to ash as the magic faded, leaving him the body of the thousand year old being he was, Archer could only nod, whispering back the words that now held the weight of so much love. So much hope that-- on day-- they would see each other again.
"Till death do us part."
.............................................