Defying Destiny

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝓌𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓎-𝒯𝓌𝑜

⤜✵⤛

I woke up as Lullaby gracefully landed on the ground. It appeared as though she had taken us to Gale and Velut's horses, who were nibbling on grass nearby.

Velut hopped off Lullaby sluggishly before stretching his arms, then leaning against a tree, obviously drained of energy. He closed his eyes, sinking to the ground and falling asleep instantly. He'd been through a lot—that much was certain—with the interrogation and torture.

Gale hopped off the relagudre next, hitting the ground lightly before standing up straight again. I was about to get off, also, when I was reminded of all the blood I'd lost. I was in such a bad state that I began to sway the second I made an attempt to move. Gale was instantly at my side, his hand outstretched to support me.

Usually, I would've denied his hand, too stubborn to take his offer, but now I was so drained and beaten that I didn't care. I gripped his hand tightly as I tried my best to get off the relagudre without tumbling to the ground. Lullaby helped by bowing slightly so I didn't have to jump into the grass, but I still managed to stumble. In this way, I was able to get off of Lullaby, but the moment I tried to stand up straight, I nearly fell over, a stinging feeling shooting up my back and side. I inhaled sharply, squeezing my eyes shut as I limped forward, clutching my wound.

Seeing my pain, Gale let me lean on him for support, and soon enough he sat me down by a tree near where Velut was now sleeping contentedly. I tilted my head back on the trunk of the tree, closing my eyes as black dots blurred my vision.

"Dear God, what happened to you?" Gale asked in a hushed tone, his expression full of concern.

"Guards," I muttered, opening my eyes slowly.

"Did they stab you?" Gale inquired, reaching his hand towards my injured side. Anticipating the feeling his touch would bring, I moved away as best I could. Seeing me try and escape, Gale's expression softened. "Hey, it's alright. I'm not gonna hurt you, I was just looking at how deep the cut was," he spoke gently.

"One of them got my back. I don't know...if it's bleeding anymore, but..." I trailed off, forcing every word out of my mouth, trying my best to stay awake. At my words, Gale's face paled.

"They.....what?" he asked, his voice barely audible. "Here, let me go get something to kill the blood flow, alright? I'll be right back," Gale stood up quickly before disappearing into the woods. Once he had left, I clenched my jaw, closing my eyes, trying to dull the pain.

I must've blacked out, for the next moment, Gale was in front of me, tapping my shoulder and staring at my once sleeping figure.

"Hello..?" I croaked, and he gave a small laugh, visibly relieved that I had spoken.

"I was just making sure you were, well.....alive," Gale spoke. "I managed to get some leaves and I put water on a few of them. They're super fluffy; so it shouldn't hurt that much," he reassured me, taking two handfuls of leaves out of his belt. I blinked, watching him carefully. "First, let's try and clear up some of that blood on your face. That guy must've broken your nose or something," Gale sighed, gently retrieving a leaf and beginning to scrub under my nose.

I found that up close, Gale was even more attractive than far away. I hated to think this way, but it was true. His eyes seemed to sparkle an even brighter shade of chocolate, and his lips pursed as he studied a certain spot of caked blood on my skin. As he scrubbed, his eyes fixed on the spots dotted with red blood, his free hand cupping my chin to keep my head where he wanted it.

I felt vulnerable, but oddly, I didn't care.

He turned to grab another, dry leaf, and then began to scrub my face dry. His eyes lingered on my lips for a moment as he worked, though he averted his gaze once he noticed he'd been staring. Now finished, he recovered his normal expression and he leaned back. "All done with that part, now, can you move so your back is facing me? I know you said that's where you got hurt, so-"

"Yeah," I nodded slowly. "I can try," I inhaled deeply, summoning a great deal of strength before turning slowly so that Gale could examine my back.

"Oh my..." Gale trailed off. "It ripped through your shirt. What was this guy using? It couldn't have been his bare hands."

"A whip," I muttered. I could sense Gale's brows furrowing at what I'd said, even if I couldn't see it.

"What?"

"A spiked whip. They were using it on Velut and I intervened and then-"

"No, I don't think it could've been a whip. A whip doesn't do this," Gale muttered, lifting the back of my shirt slightly so he could look at my bare back. "It looks as if you were struck by lightning in there or something," he frowned.

"What do you mean, he was just using a-" I paused, remembering the man whose blood had been white. At the time I was sure that it could only be internal differences that made myself different from a normal human, but now, as I heard Gale speak, I panicked. I had a mark on my back? What did it look like? Would it give everything away? A small memory jumped through my head, one that flashed white. Chains. A chair. A white room. Lightning. I tensed, staring ahead. 

"What does it look like?" I asked in a hushed tone. Gale took a moment to study my backside, trying to think of how to describe what he saw. As he absentmindedly ran his fingers down my back, tracing the scars, I shivered at the warmth of his touch.

"It appears to be a bunch of bruises planted all over your body in long, slender lines," he described as best he could, his eyes never leaving my back.

"But how could that be?" I asked softly, more to myself than to him. 

"I... don't know," Gale murmured. I could tell he was deep in thought as he continued to look over my back before eventually drawing his fingers away from my skin. Missing the warmth of his touch, I stood up weakly, standing as straight as I could to appear better than I really was, even if it hurt. "What are you doing?" Gale asked, shocked at my movement.

"I feel guilty," I shrugged, wincing slightly at the action. "It's just that you've been so helpful and I've done nothing, and, well, you haven't slept in a while and it's getting late, so-" I rambled before trailing off. Gale only watched me carefully before standing, also. His gaze lingered on mine for a moment before he nodded, respecting the silent plea I'd sent to him to leave me alone for a while.

"Alright," Gale nodded, giving in to my request. "You should try and sleep, too," he remarked, and I gave him a genuine smile.

"I know. Sleep well, Gale," I spoke softly. Gale looked as though he wanted to say something else, but before he could, he turned, making his way over to a tree where he lay down to rest. Turning on my heel and wincing at every step, I hobbled over to Lullaby, who was asleep on the grass.

Yawning, I collapsed beside the relagudre and, leaning against her shoulder, drifted off into a deep sleep.