Who's Blue?

Chapter 3 - Open Your Eyes

××Diesel××

"Diesel! Where are you going!?" Chrom yelled after my running form. As soon as the feeling encased my chest, the spirit inside pushed me to investigate. I tried to keep my inhumane speed in check as I raced out of the training room and down the hall. My brother tried his hardest to keep up but quickly fell behind.

I pushed past many servants as I made my way outside. I knew the lightning bolt hit outside of the kingdom's walls so I b-lined for the main gate of the inner kingdom. With no one outside due to the rain, I allowed myself to move a little faster than I should have. My clothes quickly became soaked due to the pouring rain and my feet splashing in the puddles, coating my pants with mud.

When I hit the main gate, I slowed and took a good look at the guards by the walls. They'd question me for sure and there's no way they'd allow me to walk out on my own.

"Diesel!" I turned at my name, a growl in my throat from the thought of someone stopping me. I found my two brothers riding towards me, a third horse in tow.

I thanked them quickly and rode directly past the guards, allowing my brothers to deal with the explanation as I followed the feeling into the outskirts of our lands. With all the turns in the castle and running through town, I had no idea which direction the lightning bolt had actually hit. I allowed the deep tug in my chest to lead me there.

I was faintly aware of the sound of my brother's horses behind me but couldn't focus on anything but the feeling as I pushed my horse to move faster. It was in times like this that I wished I lived somewhere that accepted me as a wolf shifter. I could have already been there.

The ride there allowed me a few moments to think about what I was really doing. What was I going towards? Why did I feel like this? Was I going insane, running through a storm just because of a feeling?

The reason was soon realized as I came upon a clearing surrounded by tall, billowing trees. In the center lay a small woman. I was dropping to my knees beside her in seconds.

I finally understood. The feeling in my chest disappeared as I touched her cold skin.

The unconscious woman was my mate, the other part of my soul.

I sat her up as gently as I possibly could, leaning her against my lap as I checked for wounds. Withdrawing my hand from the back of her head revealed dark red blood. I spotted a rock on the ground with the same blood splattered across it. I gritted my teeth, hating that I didn't get here sooner.

I lifted her up in my arms just as my brothers arrived in the clearing, both jumping off their horses when they saw the small woman cradled in my arms. I brought her closer as they stepped up to examine her.

"Who is she?" Malachi asked over the pouring rain. I shook my head, indicating that I had no idea. I chose to keep the fact that she was my mate a secret for now, not sure how to reveal that to my human family. The three of us worked together to find something to wrap around her head to stop the bleeding but everything we had was wet so it made things difficult and ineffective.

Once finished, I made a move towards my horse just as Chrom reached out. A growl escaped my throat, dodging her away from his touch. His confused gaze met mine but he dropped his hand anyways and opened his mouth.

"Her ears..." He trailed off, eyes shifting between us. I glanced down and moved a lock of her hair away, revealing small pointed ears.

She wasn't a human.

"We can't take her back with us," Chrom said, crossing his arms. The statement angered me more than anything else.

"I'm not leaving her out here," I refused, drawing her even closer.

"Diesel's right. We can't leave her. She's hurt and it's storming. She could die," Malachi reasoned. Just the thought of her dying had my heart racing in panic.

"You will be the ones on Father's bad side then. I won't be blamed for bringing a magical creature into the kingdom," Chrom said, sighing angrily and stomping back through the puddles to his horse. Malachi helped me hoist her up onto my horse with me and the three of us started back towards the kingdom.

When we grew closer, I made sure to move the woman's light blue hair in front of her ears to block the points. The guards stopped all of us, knowing that we had left as three people and came back with four. They accepted Chrom and Malachi's messy excuses since they were the princes but it was easy to tell they were a little unsure.

We took a direct path back to the castle, allowing one of the servants to take our horses to the stables. Malachi ordered another servant to fetch the doctor and bring him to my personal chambers on our way to the room. Chrom quickly parted ways with us, surely going to inform father that we had brought a magical being past the gates.

Malachi held the door open for me as we entered my chambers. I took her into the attached bedroom, wanting her to be as comfortable as possible. Malachi opened the curtains and lit some candles as a knock was heard. Almost as if knowing I wouldn't leave her side, Malachi went to let the doctor in. He marched in, a bag of supplies in hand.

I loomed behind the shorter man as he looked over my mate. He checked her eyes and movements quickly first before moving on to her head.

"Mind giving me a hand? I need to turn her over so I can examine the back of her head," He said, glancing over at Malachi who was on the other side of the bed.

"I'll do it," I rushed, quickly stomping over to the other side of the bed and gently shifting her body. The wet cloth I had tied around her head was soaked through with blood and the doctor was quick to remove it. With her face turned towards me, I couldn't see the actual wound but I much preferred to be able to see her delicate features anyways. When the doctor pulled out a needle and thread, I spoke up.

"Is it that bad?" The doctor glanced up to me and then nodded.

"It's a deep gash but she'll survive just fine. She will need to keep it clean and change her bandages once a day until the stitches are ready to come out. I'd like to schedule periodic visits over the next month as well." I listened to his every word, making mental notes as needed. I hoped once she woke up she'd let me help her.

Another knock and a quick sniff at the air alerted me to my father and eldest brother's presence at the door. I couldn't help but sigh. At this point, all I wanted was for her to open her eyes and for everyone to leave us alone.