Chapter 4
As Sam and Dean headed to the town of Madden, Nebraska, Sam looked over at the passenger seat where Dean was sitting staring blankly out the windshield. "The case I found involves people getting killed by methods used in medieval times. I figured that we might find someone with info at the local RPG event being held at a park." said Sam. "Okay." said Dean quietly and Sam sighed. "Plus, there's someone there that we know and will be able to help us." said Sam "Who?" asked Dean. "You'll see." said Sam as they pulled into the parking lot at the park.
When the brothers got to the area where the event was, Sam was amazed at all the people in costume. "This way." Said Sam and Dean followed him in the direction the sign labeled 'Queen's Tent' pointed. "Why are we here?" asked Dean as they walked into the tent. "Sam. Dean." said a feminine voice. "Hey, Charlie." said Sam. "How are you?" asked Charlie. "We're good. Actually, we're here about the recent string of murders. I am going to ask around if anyone knows anything. Be back in a while." said Sam and quickly left before Dean could say anything. "Charlie." said Dean. "I know what happened. I'm sorry." said Charlie and gently embraced Dean.
Now that Sam wasn't around, Dean let his guard drop and tears streamed down his face as she held him. "Cas is gone." Dean whispered. "I know." said Charlie and Dean hugged her back as she rubbed his back in a calming manner. "Have you been taking care of yourself?" asked Charlie. "Of course." said Dean. "Don't lie to me! Are you still not sleeping?" asked Charlie. "Yes." said Dean and she sighed. "Come on, let's go for a walk. But first, you have to ditch your clothes when you are walking with the Queen." said Charlie.
After Dean had changed into a more appropriate outfit, he turned to Charlie. "You sent a fake text to Sam from his ex?" asked Charlie. "Because of that he's more committed. Besides, in our lives we can't afford to make attachments." said Dean. When they left the tent, Dean grabbed a wooden sword. "Milady." people greeted to her as they walked through the campground. "I have never seen a mark like this Milady." said a girl dressed as an elf. "Thank you." replied Charlie. Suddenly, a guy dressed as a knight approached them and bowed. "Milady. Another excellent fight. Who is he?" asked the man. "Mark, this is Dean, my new guard. If you'll excuse us." said Charlie and Mark moved aside. As they walked away, Mark stared hatefully at their retreating forms. "I take the reason that you and Sam are here about the deaths of the people in my company." said Charlie and Dean nodded. "Sam said the victims had a bare tree tattoo on their arms. Does that sound familiar?" asked Dean. "No. But I know someone who may be able to help us." said Charlie and they walked over to the stocks where another guy in costume was locked up. "As a prisoner, you must answer my questions." commanded Charlie and the man looked up at them. "Does the mark of a bare tree mean anything to you?" asked Charlie. "No." replied the man stubbornly and Dean drew his sword and smacked the guy on the head. "Ow! Okay, I'll tell you, just don't hit me!" cried the man and Charlie looked at Dean, relived that he was starting to act like himself. "The mark is the Dark King's family sigil." said the man. "Thank you." said Charlie and she walked away with Dean following. "Where are we going?" asked Dean. "The woods behind the playground." replied Charlie.
When they got to the woods, they took their time looking for the rival players. Unable to deal with silence, Charlie began talking at her normal rapid-fire speed. After a few minutes, Dean stopped and held up his hand, silencing her. "What?" asked Charlie as Dean, ignoring the wooden blade drew his gun and looked at her. He signaled that there were people following them. Suddenly, two men came running at them and Dean pushed Charlie behind him and shot at the ground at the men's feet. "The hell man!" cried one of the men. "Pardon my guard, he's new." Said Charlie. "What do you know of the murders?" asked Dean. "N-nothing. But, there is a strange tent that doesn't belong with our group." said the second man. "Where?" asked Dean. "Through the trees by the river. It's white." replied the first man. "Thank you." said Charlie and she and Dean walked through the woods towards the tent's location. "Stay close. We don't know what may be in that tent." Said Dean. As they walked, they heard someone following them and before Dean could see who it was, he was hit in the back of the head, losing consciousness. "Dean!" cried Charlie and then she was also knocked out. A man picked her up and walked to the white tent, leaving Dean on the ground.
When Dean came to, he saw that the sun had set and Charlie was nowhere to be found. "Charlie!" called Dean and then saw the white tent. He ran to the tent and quickly entered to see Charlie and a strange woman making out and he cleared his throat. "Dean! You're okay!" cried Charlie and hugged him. "Who is she?" asked Dean. "My name is Gilda and I have been bound by my master to kill people." Said Gilda. "What's his name?" asked Charlie. "I do not know his name. but the two of you must leave quickly, he will be back at any moment." pleaded Gilda. As soon as she said that, the three of them heard someone enter the tent "Run!" cried Gilda and the man pushed his hood back. Dean quickly pulled his gun out and aimed at Mark.
"No guns allowed in Moondoor." said Mark as Gilda shielded Charlie. "Gilda." said Mark and the fairy flicked her hand and the gun turned to feathers. "Now what, Mark?" asked Dean. "My name is BOLTAR THE FURIOUS! My plan was…after getting rid of all my competition…to win the battle tomorrow, convincing the Queen that I should be her King. But then the two of you showed up and I was forced to improvise. Rescue the damsel in distress from Orcs, become King and kill the two of you." he said. "So you used magic to cheat your way to the top?" asked Dean. "Magic is a part of Moondoor." said Mark. "What is your problem? Why would you hurt people? This is just a game!" exclaimed Charlie. "THERE IS NO GAME! THERE IS ONLY MOONDOOR! I came here to be different! To get away from my crappy life! To be a hero and guess what?" asked Mark. "What? You're a loser in the real world and a loser here also?' asked Dean. "Would a loser track down a real book of spells and compel the fairy to do his bidding?" asked Mark and Gilda looked down as Charlie put a hand on her shoulder. "This will all go according to my plan once I get rid of you and erase her memory. Gilda." said Mark, holding up a fake sword. The fairy closed her eyes and it was transformed into a real sword. Mark then held the sword against Dean's chest and pressed the tip in the gap of his shirt, causing him to wince in pain. "Dean!" cried Charlie and took a step forward. "If you take another step, he dies." said Mark. "Big words for a loser." said Dean and Mark sighed. "Don't believe me?" asked Mark and removed the sword.
Before Dean could relax, Mark turned around and slashed Dean's face, but not deep enough that he would lose it, causing Dean to collapse in pain. As Mark continued to slash and stab Dean, Charlie grabbed the spell book. "Hey, Mark!" called Charlie and he turned around and saw that she had a dagger aimed at the book. "No!" cried and she stabbed the book and a bright light came from the stab mark. "Dean!" cried Charlie and fell on her knees beside him. "Charlie." he whispered. "Shh! I'm going to call Sam." She said and got up and quickly called Sam. "Dean's been hurt and is bleeding heavily. We're in the white tent in the woods behind the playground, hurry!" she cried and hung up. "Can't you do something?" asked Charlie. "I'm sorry, but he's almost gone. I don't have the power to save him." said Gilda and she and Mark slowly faded away. Charlie collapsed at Dean's side again and pulled him up and held him. "Stay with me, Sam's on his way." cried Charlie. Dean looked past her with glazed eyes and raised his hand in the air that only he could see. "Cas…I'm sorry." whispered Dean and his hand fell to the ground. "NO!" cried Charlie when Sam burst in. "Charlie!" exclaimed Sam. "His breathing is shallow. We have to get to a hospital now!" cried Charlie. "Where is it?" asked Sam. "A mile down the road." said Charlie. Sam gathered Dean in his arms and the two raced out of the tent and got into the impala as soon as they left the woods. Sam laid Dean in the back seat and they quickly got in and sped to the hospital.
As they drove, Dean's breathing became more labored and he started to cough up blood. Charlie climbed in the back and sat on the floor of the car and held Dean's hand. "Stay with us, damnit!" she cried and Dean slowly opened his eyes. "Charlie…I'm so tired." said Dean and the car sped up. "I know. But you have to stay awake for me, okay?" asked Charlie. "Okay." Whispered Dean and his eyes began to droop. "Hey, eyes on me!" stated Charlie and Dean focused on her again. "Are we there?" asked Charlie. "Yeah." Said Sam turned sharply into the hospital entrance and sped to the the emergency bay. Sam quickly got out and ran inside. "Where'd Sammy go?" asked Dean. "To get help." Said Charlie. Soon, Sam and a guy in scrubs pushing a gurney ran out and Charlie opened the door. Sam and the guy got Dean on the gurney and Charlie got out of the car and once again held Dean's hand as they ran inside.
Once inside, several people surrounded them and began to stabilize them. "Get him into the OR, now!" cried an orderly. "I need you two wait in the waiting room." Said a woman. "I'm his brother!" stated Sam. "I don't care! Stay in the waiting room." Said the woman and left them ash she ran to the back. "Come on, Sam." Said Charlie and guided him to a seat. When they were seated, Charlie saw that he was shaking and grabbed his hands with her blood-stained ones. "He's going to be okay." she reassured him. "I can't lose him." Said Sam. "You won't." said Charlie.
As the hours passed, Charlie fell asleep against Sam as he watched the doors waiting for news on his brother. As it neared two in the morning, the doctor came out and approached Sam, who shook Charlie awake. "Are you the brother and sister?" asked the doctor. "Yes." said Sam. "How is he?" asked Charlie. "We managed to get him stabilized and out of danger. He's been given a number of blood transfusions and is sleeping." answered the doctor. "Can we see him?" asked Sam. "Yes. Follow me." said the doctor and turned around.
When Charlie and Sam entered Dean's room, they saw that he was staring at them. "Dean…" began Sam. "Sam, Charlie." he said simply and Charlie went to him, tears streaming down her face and Dean raised his arm and wiped away the tears. "Sorry for scaring you." he said. "Idiot. I'm just glad you're okay." she said. "What happened to Mark?" asked Dean. "After I destroyed the book of spells, he and Gilda disappeared." she answered. "He didn't hurt you, right?" asked Dean. "No. I'm fine." answered Charlie. "Get some sleep, Dean." Said Sam "Okay." said Dean and closed his eyes when the doctor came in. "What's going to happen with the wounds?" asked Sam. "The one on his face is never going to go away because of the depth of it. The others will fade away with time. What caused these injuries?" asked the doctor. "No idea." said Charlie. "Thank you so much for saving him, doctor." said Sam. "I am just glad you came to the hospital when you did, any longer and he may have died." replied the doctor. "When can he be discharged?" asked Sam. "I would like to keep him over night for observation. But, he must take it careful until he's fully recovered." answered the doctor and Sam nodded. "When you leave, think you could drop me off back at the campground? I am going to have to damage control because of what happened." said Charlie. "Of course." said Sam.
The next day, Dean was discharged and was told to take it slow for a while, causing to look unhappy at that prospect and the three of them left the hospital. When they got to the impala, Sam helped Dean into the passenger seat and they headed back to the campground. When they got to the grounds, Charlie leaned in through the passenger side. "Sure you'll be okay?" asked Dean. "Yep. Just make sure that you be careful until you've recovered." said Charlie. "Yes, mom." said Dean and gave her a smile. "Bye guys." she said and headed to the entrance of the event. As Sam started up the car, Dean yawned and closed his eyes. "Do you want to go in the back?" asked Sam. "No. I'm fine," said Dean and fell asleep. "Okay." said Sam and they drove away from the campground.
