same no matter who told it. Seth had used his body to protect her. He had used his body as a shield to keep the blade from her sleeping body. Seth had nearly lost his life trying to keep her from harm. The thought alone brought a storm of emotions to her heart. First and foremost she was filled with gratitude and love towards the man who now lay in her lap, but she was also angry. What kind of fool was he to nearly kill himself to protect her? What could possibly make him think that her life was more important than his own? But that aside, Garret had also thanked her for possibly saving his life. Sara barely remembered the events of the morning. It already felt like a lifetime ago, at the time she was barely awake enough to create any conscious memories of the events. All she could vaguely remember is Seth’s agonizing scream, the feel of the crossbow in her hands, and Ashton passing out.
Ashton was awake now. He had regained consciousness sometime early in the afternoon. He was barely able to move, he had weakened himself almost to the point of no return. Garret had dug through their belongings and forced Ashton to eat what few scraps of food they had left, hoping he would regain some strength.
Ashton recovered quickly after eating, and had told them that though he was unable to completely heal Seth’s wound, he had been able to repair his friends’ lung and heart before he had lost consciousness. He had regained enough strength at one point that he half crawled to Seth’s side, and praying to his Goddess, started a low chant, sealing what remained of Seth’s wound. Again he had drained himself, but he was still able to sit without any support, and so he did now.
Garret on the other hand was doing his best to keep himself busy. He had dragged the creature (which Ashton had identified as a goblin) out of their shelter, and claimed from its corpse a few coins and the twisted blade. It was a gruesome looking creature. It had dark green, muddy looking skin streaked with a stripe like patterns of black. It had no hair, not even on its arms. The goblin had an oblong head, split in two by a wide mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. Its eyes, now rolled back into their sockets, were an eerie yellow color. It resembled a human in the fact that it too walked on two legs, had two arms with hands, but that was where the similarities ended. Its appendages were unnaturally long and its torso incredibly small. It was a lanky gangly creature to say the least. After studying the creature, Garret searched around for one of the scraggly trees that grew here in the plains, and removing a large branch from one, sharpened one end with his dagger. He then thrust the other end deep into the earth. Hefting the Goblin’s body high, it was lighter than it looked. He thrust it down upon the sharpened end of the pole, impaling it up through the ribcage, all the way up to the skull, holding the corpse firmly erect. Garret went back into the cavern and went about sorting the groups’ belongings and loading them into the appropriate packs grumbling something about cleaning up the damn goblin’s mess.
It was growing late in the day, and Seth had yet to regain consciousness a second time. They had very little if any food left, Sara had no more water, and they still had at least one more day of travel to reach the nearest town. If that wasn’t enough, Ashton had told them it could be days before Seth regained consciousness. He had lost a tremendous amount of blood, and it would take his body time to replace it. Sara knew that no matter how long it took Seth to recuperate, she wasn’t leaving his side until he did.
The afternoon eventually turned into evening which was followed rapidly by nightfall. Seth had not moved a muscle in hours. Ashton on the other hand was again able to walk, and had laid out his bear hide bed and was resting on it now. Garret too had laid out his blanket and sat on it looking off into nothingness. Amazingly enough, Seth’s blanket had managed to avoid the majority of the bloodshed, and what little blood did stain it had dried during the day. Sara had taken the blanket, as the night turned cold, and placed it over Seth to keep him warm. Garret had stirred from his day dream when Sara had finally stood, and he sat watching her cover his twin.
“That’s gonna piss him off if he wakes up.” Garret stated smiling at Sara.
“What will?” She asked not understanding his humor.
“If Seth wakes up tonight, and your cold and shivering while he is covered with a blanket, he will be furious and you know it.” Garret stated finishing with a throaty laugh.
Sara smiled in response knowing all too well that his words spoke the truth. She hoped though that Seth would forgive her if he did wake. In any case she had decided to stay awake all night just in case he did wake up.
The sky turned black and cold, the previous night’s icy winds returning as well. Ashton hadn’t sat up since lying down in the first place so it was obvious he slept, hopefully regaining some strength. Garret too was sleeping, he had laid down saying he needed to rest his eyes, but had started snoring shortly thereafter. Sara was not worried about intruders. Garret had assured her that his little goblin on a stick decoration outside their shelter should keep anything with half a brain away. She sat quietly in the dark, Seth’s head in her lap, listening to his breathing. She shivered from time to time from the cold, but other than that she was comfortable, leaning up against the stone wall. She watched and listened for hours, trying with all her might to fight falling asleep. It was a losing battle, and eventually she was bested, and sleep took her.
Seth dreamed a dark dream of a beast with razor teeth and a twisted blade. In his dream he was unable to move, so the beast made a game of skewing his ribs over and over again with the blade. There was no escape, and though the torment was excruciating he could not help but be gratified that neither his brother nor Sara was being hurt and his friend Ashton must have gotten away also. The dream seemed to continue for an eternity, thousands of times Seth felt the blade slice through his flesh glancing off of his ribs and cutting deeply into his organs. Eventually, as if the torture wasn't enough, Seth found himself unable to breathe, thus he started to cough. Coughing it seemed would be the release from his torturous nightmare, for as soon as he began coughing, the dream faded, and opening his eyes he was able to see both Sara and Garret. He tried to speak several times but barely managed any words. Before he lost consciousness again however he had seen Sara smile, and he knew everything would be alright.
After losing consciousness the second time Seth found his condition puzzling, for outwardly he could not seem to wake, though he was perfectly capable of conscious thought. He didn't dream so instead he spent the hours thinking about the past few days. He had learned that his family wasn't his family after all at least not by birth. Then if that wasn't enough he and Garret had to leave their home and their father and friends behind, but had made a new friend of Ashton. Whose friendship has already become invaluable. So the three of them had made their way to Stone Haven where they had met Sara. Seth knew he was already madly and irrevocably in love with Sara, and he hoped that his growing relationship with her wouldn't hurt his relationship with his brother, and up to this point Garret seemed very supportive of them both. So Seth thought over and over, I am not who I thought I was just days ago, though James is still my father in my heart, and Garret my brother, I am unsure who exactly I am. I have lost my father now, but gained both Sara and Ashton, but in the days to come I will probably lose them all at the choosing. What am I to do, Seth thought, when the world takes everyone away from me? With that final thought Seth awoke.
Sara woke with a start realizing she had fallen asleep when she had meant to stay awake. She must have gotten cold while sleeping, as she was now curled up in a ball, lying on her side. She reached down to push herself to a sitting position, and big arms wrapped around her, steadying her. She realized immediately her mistake. She wasn’t lying on the ground at all. She spun around in Seth’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck crying. Seth pulled his arms around her, holding her as tight as he was able and kissed her forehead.
Seth had woken up during the night, weak, but considering the day’s events he felt quite well. He found himself lying on the ground, his head cradled in Sara’s lap. She had been shivering uncontrollably, and Seth was a bit upset to find their blanket wrapped around him. Using what little strength he had, he managed to pull himself into a seated position, and inched his way to the wall, pressing his back against it, dragging the blanket with him. He then sat for a few moments beside Sara, regaining his strength before he carefully pulled her into his lap. He hadn’t been able to lift her, so he left her lying in a ball on his legs, and covered her with the blanket. Her shivering had subsided, and she slept for a couple of hours peacefully. As it turned out it was Seth who was the one to stay awake until she regained consciousness.
Sara let her tears of joy fall unchecked onto Seth’s shoulder.
She hugged him tightly around the neck, completely overcome with happiness. Seth just hugged her in his arms and whispered.
“I told you I would never let you go.”
Sara nodded into his shoulder unwilling to release him even for a second. She did not deserve him she knew. He was hers none the less, and she would spend her life trying her best to live up to his expectations. She now owed him her freedom, her now mending heart, her soul, and after yesterday’s events, her life as well. She relaxed her hold on his neck, unwilling to completely release him, and moved her face to his and kissed him more
