"Lady, how many men have you seen in the borders?" Leon's Vice captain, Alfonso, came right beside me as we run under the sun. There isn't any shade for at least a kilometer, so sweat continued to drip down the sides of my face without mercy.
"More or less the same as the knights under your Captain." I responded in a hoarse voice as I glanced at him. His copper mid length hair swayed with the motion as he nodded.
"I suspect they're not ordinary bandits... Some of them look like they're wearing sturdy armors. They looked to be more like mercenaries." I added some more information. "They're residing at the edges of the land of the faeries... It'll probably take half an hour to reach the exact location." There was a crack in my voice when I realized how long I've left Azrael alone. An hour... Will he able to last that long..?
As soon as we reached the top of the hill, the trees came into view and I squinted my eyes to look far into the trees. Then I saw something. A familiar figure wearing a hood tumbling out of the forest.
"Azrael...?" Am I seeing clearly?
"Is that your companion, Lady?" Vice Captain Alfonso asked, which was enough confirmation on my end.
"Azrael!" I shouted worriedly. Once I was near enough, I urged the horse to stop, and quickly unmounted, looking like a worm sliding off the saddle. Then I slipped and fell on my butt at the alarm of the knights.
"Lady! Be careful!" Vice Captain Alfonso also unmounted his horse as he came to assist me, but I had already stood up and went straight to Azrael, who looked half dead with all the blood on his clothes.
"Azrael! I'm here! I'm back! I brought some knights...! You're okay now... You're-" I bit my lips as I held onto his face. What am I saying..? He's not okay. Tears welled from my eyes again. I couldn't even hug him for fear of hurting him further. "I'm sorry..."
"There's nothing for you to apologize." He responded in a tone that seemed to be an attempt to comfort me, however, I don't feel comforted, knowing it was me who caused him harm.
"Two shall stay with the Vice Captain to ensure the civilians' safety. The rest, follow me." Leon instructed as he passed by to inspect the site ahead, following the trail of blood that Azrael left behind.
"My god... How are you even alive?" Alfonso asked Azrael as he tried to help him, but his hand was ignored.
"There are no serious injuries." I thought he'd ignore me, too, since I was the one who was stupid to lead us into this situation, but he easily accepted my offer to assist him in walking to a nearby shade. Guilt ate my heart as I continued to sob.
"A-Are you sure? What about all this blood?" I tried to examine his body from the gaps of the clothes that were tattered from the aftermath of the fierce battle, but he held my hands and stopped me from touching him further. "I'm an herbalist, Azrael. Trust me to do this task." I stared at him in determination, despite the tears welling my eyes.
He exhaled a sigh as if in exasperation before nodding.
"Then lie down." I instructed him and he obediently followed.
"The lady is an herbalist?" Alfonso seemed intrigued as he watched me take the bag that was being carried by our horse.
"I'm not just an herbalist." I uttered as I ran back to Azrael while pulling the box of herbs I managed to collect, as well as my first aid kit. "I'm the second best herbalist and the closest best to a Physicker in Brenia, so do not doubt me, Azrael." I uttered confidently before taking a second to reign my tears. I exhaled a breath and quickly resumed my work. I took the machete from Azrael's waist and proceeded to cut his shirt whilst ignoring the blood on it. Once that was done, I examined the wounds that needed attention, but I didn't expect to see something so shocking. It wasn't just the wounds... His body held a lot of scars that looked even worse than the injuries he has now.
There was a moment of silence before I closed my mouth that had fallen in shock. This isn't the time to ponder about what those scars are.
"I will start the treatment."
I didn't know how long I took patching up Azrael, but when I finished, and was finally out of focus, I noticed the sun was starting to touch the horizon in the west. The orange light hit my eyes and I winced as I tried to ward the rays of the sun with my hands.
"I'm finished... You'll get better after resting..." I muttered then proceeded to clean up my things, but felt my vision spin.
"Lady..? Lady, are you feeling alright?" It was the Vice Captain's voice. I tried to look at him, but my eyes couldn't focus. And when I looked around, I realized the men have come back from the inspection and were looking at me like I was a rare specie.
"Sierra... It's okay... I'll protect you." It was Azrael's voice. His arms supported me and I managed to look at him in disapproval before fainting. He shouldn't be moving around too much with all the injuries he has.
***
