Return of the Queen

Chapter 8

~Felix's POV~

---Flashback---

"Stay still, would you."

A searing pain coursed through my head as Hailee dabbed at the wound on the side of my face with a wet cloth.

I tried to steer my thinking away from the ache, glancing instead towards her face, scrunched up in concentration, a slight glow from the sun illuminating her features.

"This is getting out of control Felix. You can't just come to me every time something happens at your campsite."

I grunted, shaking my head to bring me back to reality. "Those damned pirat-aagh"

"I can't help you if you don't stay still." She scolded.

I relaxed back into her hold and sighed, "Rufio's dead, Hailee."

There was a small pause as she continued to attend my wound.

I felt her sigh against my temple, and a small whisper escaped her, "So is Mavis..."

I shifted slightly in her hold to face her.

"You think this was right? That Thorn had every right to manipulate those pirates into storming our campsite and attacking us?"

"It doesn't matter whether it was right or not. There is no moral ground on this island, Felix. No right or wrong." She paused. "There is only one rule. Blood calls for blood. You can't blame Thorn for doing what she's supposed to do."

I got up, enraged, and turned around to face her.

"What about the other countless boys who got injured? What did they have to do with any of this?"

She averted her eyes and shuffled her feet on the forest ground. "They were probably just in the way."

I laughed mirthlessly, my hand reaching up to run through my blood soaked hair.

"You're all the same, aren't you?"

Hailee's eyes lifted towards mine, her gaze filled with surprise.

"Is that what you think?"

I stared her down, determined not to back down. "Do you lot really care about anything other than your own survival?"

She got up, crossed her arms, and looked up at me like I was something indecent. For someone who does not believe in a moral high ground she sure knew how to deliver a judgmental stare.

"That's rich coming from someone who spends his entire days running after Pan like some lost little puppy. I bet you wouldn't last a moment on your own." She spat, her gaze still aiming to kill and bury me.

"That may be the case, but at least I would not shy away from a fight. I would not be that selfish."

"If that includes jumping in front of slashing swords to save your friends and then running to the nearest person who gives a damn about you, only so you can ratify your actions, then you can do that alone, Felix!"

"To save my friends? No. To save my family, Hailee."

A moment passed in complete silence, neither of us moving, both of us staring at each other.

"You could've gotten hurt," she said quietly. She lifted her hand to graze the slash on my face. "You're going to live with that scar for the rest of your life."