Unsaid Promises
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 9
The sky was clear with the stars still visible against the lightening dawn as the sun rose. Sunlight bounced and reflected off the buildings and battlements of Fort Steadfast, shadows melting away with the uneasy night. The air was cool with little hope of warming up and the leaves skipped and cart-wheeled across the crowded courtyard as orders were shouted and supplies loaded under the watchful gazes of commanders.
Dom ran his fingers through his hair and sighed as he surveyed the scene before him. Rubbing eyes that felt gritty with lack of sleep, he kept his place against the doorway of the stables as he directed supplies towards designated wagons. He could hear Wolset and Finn Smythesson calling for soldiers to mount up while Laurent led Dom's horse to the front of the forming column.
When Raoul had come to him last night and explained the need to take Kel early, Dom had outright refused an order for the first time. It had been irrational and insubordinate, but Raoul had let him throw a wine goblet and storm out of the office before returning a few minutes later with an apology. His commander never said anything about it, simply reminding him that they would have to limit the number of wagons, but Dom's blood still simmered with anger at the situation.
He didn't want to be the one causing her pain.
And this trip was going to do exactly that.
The Sergeant turned at someone's hand touching his shoulder. Neal, his eyes hooded with weeks of exhaustion and the stress of preparing Kel for a journey he knew shouldn't be happening, beckoned Dom to follow without a word. Pushing away from the door post, Dom followed Neal across the courtyard to the infirmary.
Inside the infirmary, the sounds of the courtyard were muffled so that one could only hear the murmur of voices. The sun had yet to reach the high set windows and only muted light filtered across the cots of the main room. Thalia was at the worktable, filling the saddle bags at her feet with the things her and Neal had decided Dom would need. She paused in her work for a moment to watch Dom and Neal enter Kel's room.
For what seemed like the millionth time since dinner last evening, Dom was reminded how fragile she was. Neal and Thalia had helped her dress for the trip in riding breeches, boots and her quilted jacket. While the Own would be riding in full armor, it wasn't an option for her. Dom assumed that Thalia had been the one to coil and pin her hair up and out of the way. Her injuries were hidden under the layers, with the exception of the broken hand which rested on her hip as she dozed on her side. Dom's eyes met Neal's.
"You'll be careful?" Neal asked in a voice laced with anguish, "you'll stop for help if you need it?" His fingers itched with restrained magic. He had orders.
"Of course" Dom told him, irritated that his cousin even had to ask.
Neal sighed and shrugged in apology, glancing towards the door when Thalia entered with the bags she had prepared. Neal took them with a slight nod and thanks.
"Everything we talked about is in these. You remember what I told you?" Neal waited for Dom to nod before continuing, "I drugged her earlier. It should get you as far as Mastiff before it wears off, then you're on your own."
"We'll send word from each stop" Dom assured him, taking a step toward the bed.
Neal backed away and let Dom lean down carefully ease Kel into his grip. Her eyes fluttered for a moment, flicking open to reveal blurry, unfocused pupils. She stared into Dom's dark blue eyes for a moment before letting her lids slide shut again.
Dom looked at Neal who shrugged and shook his head, letting him know it wasn't a problem. Lifting her gently off the bed, Dom nodded his head at Neal to lead the way to the waiting company of King's Own. Reaching the courtyard, Neal secured the saddlebags full of medical supplies to Dom's horse before taking Kel and letting Dom swing into the saddle. Leaning down, Dom accepted his burden from Neal.
The yard was silent as everyone watched the sergeant settle the Lady Knight in front of him, wrapping a strong arm around her waist and pulling the hood of her jacket up against the autumn morning air. Looking down, Dom saw Neal step back to allow Raoul close enough that only Dom could hear him.
"She's your responsibility, Sergeant" Raoul said gruffly.
"Good luck on the border, My Lord" Dom told him in return.
Raoul gave him a grin and patted the foot in the stirrup. Stepping back, he saluted his sergeant. Returning the gesture, Dom raised a hand and gave the call to move out. Horn blasts from the rear sounded on the clear, crisp air. Tightening his grip on Kel, Dom waited until the gates of the fort were behind them before resting his forehead on the top of her head that was nestled into his chest.
Gods above, help me do this.
They met no trouble on the road to Mastiff. The weather stayed fair and they kept up a good speed. The men eased the tension by making jokes and quiet chitchat. Dom participated, his mind taking him away from the flow of conversation from time to time only to be brought back by a quick quip from Wolset or Laurent or Finn. He had sent scouts ahead to make sure the road was secure and had let the others drift out of position into a loose cluster with he and Kel at the center.
It was just after noon and the men had insisted they didn't need to stop, that it would be better to clear the battle roads before setting up camp, when Dom heard hoof beats in the distance. Calling a halt to the line, Dom sent a man to scout the road behind them, hoping it was Tortallan soldiers riding for the fort and not the remnants of a Scanran raiding party.
A few minutes later, horses flying Tortallan flags and standards appeared in Dom's line of vision, riding for the smaller group. Practiced eyes noted standards bearing the flags of Kennan, Mindelan and Conte along with looked to be Eighth Company. Even at a distance, Dom recognized the Crown Prince.
War spared no one.
It certainly hadn't spared them.
Dom's men spread out and reformed, leaving Dom in front to greet the arrivals. Prince Roald pulled his mount up short, causing the rest in his party to halt behind him. Cool, blue eyes swept past Dom to calculate the size of the party and the small number of wagons, trailing back to the sergeant in the lead and the Lady Knight he supported in his arms.
Roald knew she was injured or ill. That much was obvious by the fact she was asleep and riding with someone else. The paleness of her face and the protective arm around her waist confirmed his suspicions but the Prince decided that those questions were better spoken of in privacy and not on the open road.
"You're headed for Mastiff?" Roald asked, his voice even and restrained.
"Only to deliver messages to its commander, Highness. We hope to be on Naxen lands by nightfall" Dom replied, noting that a man bearing the Mindelan Owl had maneuvered his horse to a position beside Roald, opposite the position Cleon of Kennan had already taken.
"Lord Raoul has ordered you to Corus?" Roald asked, sounding curious yet hesitant to know the answer.
"Along with my Lord Wyldon. They plan to seal the roads once the troops from Frasurlund and Blue Harbor arrive. They felt it necessary to send her home before the next attack came." Dom watched as Roald's eyes flicked from Kel's pale face, half hidden by the hood, to Dom's set jaw.
"We'll ride with you. We have orders to report to Mastiff before heading to Fort Steadfast" he rushed when Dom opened his mouth to argue that he knew what their orders were. "First Company is meeting us there and accompanying us back to Steadfast. We will ride with you that far and," with this he leaned in so only Dom could hear, "you can tell me why Keladry looks like death rejected her."
Because it did reject her, thank the gods, Dom thought to himself but simply offered Roald a terse nod before signaling the men under his command to fall into place.
Letting Roald and Cleon take the lead, Dom slid his horse into place between Wolset and the Mindelan knight who waited only mere moments before introducing himself as Inness of Mindelan, Kel's older brother. Dom waited for the onslaught of questions he expected, but they never came. Roald stayed silent up front, only speaking minimally to Cleon when the latter knight continued to shoot hostile and worried looks behind him.
Gently shifting Kel in the saddle, Dom adjusted his grip on the reins. A question from Wolset directed his attention away from his own discomfort.
"How much longer is she going to stay that compliant?" Wolset repeated quietly, looking up front when he noticed that the Prince had heard him.
"Until we reach Mastiff, by Neal's estimation" Dom answered softly, brushing a hand against her forehead.
Roald looked as if he was going to break the silence but he closed his mouth instead, and turned his attention back to Cleon and the road.
The first thing Kel was aware of was the metallic taste of Neal's potion in her mouth.
Her scattered and flighty thoughts swirled around her brain like the rocking motion she had repeatedly experienced on the ships around the Yamanis Islands. Somewhere in the back of her mind, instinct kicked in and she fought the rising nausea in her stomach. Forcing fragments of thought to bind together into a coherent, conscious will to think, she became aware that the rocking motion affected more than her head.
Keeping her eyes closed until even the blackened patterns behind her eyelids stopped dancing, Kel felt herself shift in a vague attempt to find comfort. Something that felt like steel constricted around her middle and a voice sounded in her ear. She struggled to focus on the voice but the web of sleep spun and continued to pull her under as the drugs fought to maintain control.
For a few minutes, Kel was suspended between consciousness and numbed comfort.
Then the last of the drug was stripped from her veins.
The pain was whitehot as it ripped through her chest. In the previous days, she had learned to ignore the throbbing in her hand as the bones knit themselves together without magic, but the pain in her shoulder and chest remained a steady companion in consciousness. Gasping, she felt the wound at her back pull and she bit back a cry as the rocking motion stopped.
Voices rang out around her as the line halted. Cool hands pushed back her hood and were held against her forehead, rubbing circles along her temple to calm her as another set of hands fumbled with the buttons on her jacket. Calloused hands ran along the edges of her bandages and Kel flinched as she forced her eyes open.
She looked into the worried eyes of Prince Roald of Conte.
Confusion overwhelmed her.
Roald turned back to his inspection, feeling with trained hands along her injuries. When Dom mentioned her back, Roald frowned and gently shifted her so he could see. He hissed as he processed each wound and felt her tense under his touch.
"Gods Kel, what did they do to you?" Roald whispered as he withdrew his hands and rebuttoned her jacket.
"To be fair" Kel replied in a hoarse voice, "I was blocking their way."
A laugh behind her made her look up, grimacing as she did so. Dom met her gaze and shook his head with amusement laced with concern. She noted the flash of apology that shot across his face and was confused for a moment before his arms around her waist tightened and lifted her so she was properly astride the saddle.
She almost screamed in pain and regret darkened Dom's features before he hid it behind a mask. When the pain had returned to its normal burning, Kel took a slow breath and let it out.
"Where are we? Why is Roald here?" She tried to sit up to see her surroundings but found her muscles liquefied and unresponsive.
"We're a few miles from Mastiff. We met his Highness on the road with the knights and Own heading to Steadfast." Dom saw her process his answer and then saw the question in her eyes as she remembered Raoul's mention of knights being called in. "Inness is here, with Kennan. They're riding as far as Mastiff with us."
"Where?" she croaked, once again trying to lean away from Dom's protective chest.
"Right here, little sister" her brother said lightly, entering her line of vision. He flashed her a smile when she simply acknowledged his presence with a nod, not trusting her voice.
"Do you want me to give you something for the pain?" Dom asked gently in her ear.
"No" she answered through gritted teeth. "Do you have water?"
A flask was touched to her lips and Kel felt her cheeks burn pink as Dom held it for her. She noted how her brother turned away and Roald's eyes flashed with anger. She tried to assure him with a smile but ended up coughing. Dom replaced the flask and pressed her head to his chest as the coughs gave way to shallow heaves and breaths.
"I can give you something" he insisted but she shook her head and let her eyes close.
Pulling her hood back up, Dom reached for the reins of his mount and called the order down the line. Feeling Kel's breath brush against his throat, Dom let her slip back into semi consciousness.
In the distance, he could see the flags of Fort Mastiff.
The stop at Mastiff was brief. As the men of the Own dismounted and scattered around the courtyard in order to stretch cramped muscles, Dom handed Kel down to her brother's waiting arms. Sliding from the saddle, Dom waited for Roald and Inness to leave the busy yard before searching out the Fort's commander. After giving the messages he had been charged with, he asked a stable boy to show him where the Lady Knight rested.
Inness had placed her on the bed in Roald's prepared rooms and had left in search of food. Dom met him exiting the mess on his way to the Prince's rooms. The older knight carried a tray of thick stew and a kettle that was still sending steam into the cool air. He frowned when Dom shook his head at the food.
"She won't be able to eat that" Dom told him gently, pausing for a moment to send a soldier in search of his saddle bags.
"By the looks of things she hasn't eaten in days" Inness answered rudely.
"She tried yesterday but it was unsuccessful. The drugs the healers are pumping her full of have killed her appetite and she's nauseated. That's why they're sending her to Corus. She's drained Neal to exhaustion." Dom lowered his voice as they reached the door and softly swung it open.
Kel turned her head toward the door as they entered, struggling to sit up until Roald pushed her back down. She scowled at him but Dom noticed the darkness of her eyes and how she didn't flinch with the burst of sunlight from the door. He cast a glance at Roald and raised an eyebrow.
"What did you give her?" he asked, eyeing the open saddle bags at the foot of the bed.
"I found the vervain and poppy pouches in your bags. I was waiting for you to return before I sent her back to sleep" Roald answered calmly from the chair beside the bed.
"You can do that?"
"It's one of the first healing spells Alanna taught me as a boy. If I had more training I would attempt to heal some of her wounds, but they're more complex than what I know." Roald met Dom's eyes and saw the truth there. That when he had joked about death rejecting her, he had touched live embers. "She's been run through, that much I can tell, but the wound at her backā¦."
"A mace" Dom replied flatly and the Prince's face paled. "It didn't pierce the armor but Neal spent hours digging links of mail out of her back."
"He was blonde." Everyone looked at Kel who looked as if she was trying to remember something important. Dom grinned and sat on the edge of the bed. He was used to her childlike obsevations when she was drugged.
"Protector, they were all blonde" he joked softly as her drug clouded mind tried to determine if he was teasing or criticizing.
"I told you not to call me that" she said tightly.
"Yes, you did. But after you wake up you won't remember so there's no harm." Dom winked at her before Roald's sapphire magic sparkled around the hand that held hers and her eyes slid shut.
Scooping her up off the bed, Dom made his way to the waiting men in the courtyard. Once settled in the saddle with Kel in front of him, he bade goodbye to the Prince and Inness. He momentarily wondered where Cleon had disappeared to but something close to petty satisfaction was glad he had stayed away.
Leaving Mastiff behind them, the men turned their horses towards the main road south and followed it until just before the sun sunk below the trees. Turning off the main road, Dom halted the group just outside the gates of Windsgrace.
They had crossed the boundaries into Naxen.
For the moment, they could ignore the war.
A/N: It has been awhile since I updated, which is sad because most of the chapter has been written for weeks, but there will be another one up by the end of the day. Keep up your amazing reviews and support and hopefully I can have it finished within the next couple of weeks. School be damned!
-Jez
