Dust entered my eyes and I rubbed them in displeasure as I came back to the present. After blinking repeatedly, I sighed as I leaned back and looked outside the carriage listlessly. I don't want another repeat of that incident...
The horse's hooves became a white noise in the background, and I soon grew tired of looking at Azrael riding his horse through the window. Maybe, I should have hopped on the horse with him for a moment just to get myself to stay awake for a little while more.
I was increasingly feeling the drowsiness overpower my consciousness again, and with nothing to distract me in the carriage, I soon found myself falling asleep.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in a desolate battle ground where death walked the plains. Confusion hit me, until I realized it was a dream. The same dream I had when the innkeeper in Helium left a mark on my wrists. I stared, frozen in terror at the knight approaching me with a decapitated head in his left hand and a sword in the other. Blood drained my face at the unmistakable direction his feet is pointed to.
Soon, his bloody armor cluttered as he walked towards me languidly like a graceful predator stalking its prey.
I shut my eyes, feeling helpless in my body that refused to move no matter how much I screamed for it to run. It's a continuation of that wretched dream. I thought if the bruise vanishes, the nightmares go away?
I flinched as soon as I heard him stop just a short breadth away. When I opened my eyes, his feet was right in front of mine.
"It's not enough..." His crazed voice was muffled in the helmet, but it didn't diminish the threatening tone in his words. "I need to take more..."
"Sierra." I stared into the darkness behind the helmet, quaking in fear. "Dear, Sierra... Your blood still tastes the best."
There was a horrifying thud on the ground as he raised his hand that was covered with blood to pat my face. "I miss you so... So much... I'll have to tie you up when I find you. Little Sierra is so scared you'll probably run away at every chance you'll get."
"Ughh... No... No!-" I gasped in fright as I finally woke up. My vision gradually focused on a hooded figure that looked a little ominous until I realized it was Azrael. He leaned back, and I felt his hand withdraw from my forehead.
"You were having a nightmare."
I couldn't respond immediately as I tried not to be pulled back into sleep. My heart was pounding in my chest and sweat beaded my face. When I looked towards the window, it was already night time. What the heck... I squeezed my eyes shut in frustration, trying to forget the horrible smell and feel of the blood soaked hands that touched me in my dream. "You... Azrael's injuries... It's time to change the bandages."
"...Okay." He crouched to retrieve my first aid kit from under the carriage's chair before removing his upper garment.
"Why didn't you wake me up at lunch?" I asked as I stared at the sweaty bandages with a sigh, trying to focus my attention on the current situation. The dream, though it felt real, is not so. That battle ground... The man in that god forsaken place, too, is just a figment of my subconscious fear. I shouldn't let it affect me.
I blinked three more times to compose myself, before looking at the condition of Azrael's bandages. Although most of the cuts are fully closed from the potions Lord William had prescribed, we can't risk infection. I immediately started to undo the dirty bandages after making him sit on the chair.
"You wouldn't wake up no matter what I did. It seemed as if you were in a coma more than just simply being in a state of sleep."
I paused for a bit, before quickly resuming, ignoring his comment.
"That's why I moved to the carriage to check on you."
"I see..." That dream is definitely weird. More than the others, it has a tangible feeling to it, as if it's really happening in real time. Except it's most definitely a dream...
"You've been sleeping a lot since our stay in the Captain's villa... Is something bothering you?"
I glanced at the gap in his hood before returning my focus on cleaning his wounds while shaking my head. "It was the first time in a while that I didn't have to worry about getting attacked in my sleep... Maybe I got too relaxed."
For the rest of the journey after that incident, Azrael stayed with me in the carriage all the way to Ma-i, and I never had any nightmares again.
"Your horse will feel lonely." I jokingly uttered one time to which he responded with a pat on my head, while saying, "Sierra worries about useless things."
"I also worry about you. Does that mean you're useless?" I cackled at my own witty reply.
"I don't know. Do you cry for someone who's useless?"
My cheeks flushed in embarrassment, recalling how I cried my eyes out in relief to see that he was alive in the borders of Banaha. "That's cheating! How could you bring up someone's sincere feelings to a friendly banter?"
He chuckled. "I didn't know there were such rules. I apologize."
The light conversations we had definitely improved my mood, and I was thankful for his thoughtfulness.
On the day we arrived in Ma-i, the coachman gave me a ring telling me to wait for the Captain's message. It was a magical ring for a messenger bird to help locate the recipient of its letter. It was used a lot during the war when envoys were always almost being targeted, so the empire decided to use birds instead.
I glady accepted it in excitement at the thought of having a bird pass me a message. I wonder if it's going to land on my shoulder, too?
But the excitement over the bird quickly dissipated on the first week, as I busied myself with job hunting. It wasn't as easy as I thought. Most apothecary shops didn't want to hire me when they found out I was from another country. From the stories I heard circling in town, It seems like there were a lot of immigrants who thieved a lot and weren't punished by the court, because they weren't a citizen of Ma-i.
Meanwhile, Azrael hung around me silently, despite my wasted efforts of convincing him to take breaks from guarding me. Afterall, Ma-i is safe. One time, I grew tired of his hovering presence and ventured alone in the city, blissfully unaware that the peace in Ma-i isn't at all what it seems.
***
A/N: Oh my, is the two faced man genuinely worried about Sierra?
A) More than likely.
B) Doubtful ⊂ •͡˘∠•͡˘ ⊃
C) It's complicated, isn't it?
