Ivy herself was lying on the floor, still mumbling soft protests.
"No…never…no…noooo…"
Tom went over and picked Ivy up. She lay limp in his arms, and he could hear her still mumbling. Edd and Matt unbound Tord, using some paper clips. Tord was still stunned at what he had seen. Ivy was braver than he was. Tord would have given in to the Messenger right away. The pain at the beginning was excruciating enough. What did it feel like towards the end? He couldn't imagine. He took her from Tom, holding her close to him gently.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Those bruises…what happened to her?!"
"What happened? What was all that?"
"Guys, there's no time to explain. We should probably go. Ivy, it's okay. You can stop now."
"No…I won't…never…"
"Shh...Enough, now, min tapre lille soldat. You've done it. It's broken. You can stop." He cooed to her, before planting a kiss on her head.
She stopped, seemingly only just realizing her surroundings. "Tord?" She squeaked, her thin voice cracked and weary.
"Yes, it's me. Let's get you out of those things. Edd, the paper clip, please!"
"No, no need." Ivy mumbled, slipping her little hands and feet out of the cuffs. They all stared at her in disbelief.
"So…you could have gotten out, any time you wanted?" Asked Tord, dumbstruck. No kid was as brave as this!
"Yeah…it had to be done…it was hard, though…thanks for all your help, guys…bye…" She whispered, smiling wearily. She slowly lifted up her tiny, shaking, hands and placed them on his face. They were colder than the coldest ice, but Tord took no notice.
Tord stared at her in disbelief. "You're not…dying, are you?"
She sighed.
"Yes, Tord, I can't hold on…it hurts so bad…J-just carry on with your life. Be happy. Be with your friends. Fulfill your dreams of world peace. Let me die, I'll be with my mommy. Don't forget about me….you helped me, Tord. You cared about me. If I lived, I'd be nothing but a disappointment. Honest. But thank you. You've all done a lot…" She leaned against Tord's chest, the energy visibly draining from her. Her bloody eyelids had begun to close, but she attempted to keep them open.
Tord took a syringe of blue liquid from his pocket. He held it out of Ivy's sight, and told her:
"No. Thank you! You helped me. You helped everyone! You got rid of both the man and the machine that were destroying my mind and going to take over the world."
He took her arm and slowly began to inject the substance into the vein in her elbow. She didn't react to this, to everyone's amazement. Tord continued,
"I swear, Ivy, I might have killed zombies, I might have joined the army, I even became Red Leader! But you're incredibly brave. Braver than any little kid I've ever known. Braver than any person I've ever known. I like that."
"What's that?" Ivy asked as Tord slid the needle out of her inner elbow.
"Just something I invented. It'll help you get better faster."
"Right…" Ivy told him, sarcasm in her weak voice. She felt like she was going to pass out, but still tried to keep her eyes open, just for a few moments more. She wanted to remember Tord's face before she let go. Tears pricked her eyes as she clung to his neck, struggling to keep her eyes open.
"Don't leave me," She pleaded him, the tears finally spilling over her cheeks. It was the most heartbreaking thing any of them had ever seen.
"I won't leave you. Just go to sleep, everything's gonna be just fine…" He rocked her gently in his arms. He held her closer to him and began to sing softly to her:
"Fate has been cruel and order unkind
How can he have hurt you this way?
The blame was my own; the punishment, yours
The harmony's silent today

But into the stillness I'll bring you a song
And I will your company keep
Till your tired eyes and my lullabies
Have carried you softly to sleep

Carry the peace and the coolness of night
And carry my sorrow in kind
Ivy, you're loved so much more than you know
May troubles be far from your mind
And forgive me for being so blind

May all your dreams be sweet tonight
Safe upon your bed of moonlight
And know not of sadness, pain, or care
And when I dream, I'll fly away and meet you there
Sleep...sleep…sleep….
"
Her eyes began to close, and she became limp in his arms. "Just go to sleep, kid. You'll feel better when you wake up." Tord told her, as her eyes finally closed. Tord handed her gently to Edd. "Hold her a moment. I need to make a call, I think she needs more help."
He phoned Paul, who was not only a bodyguard, but a surgeon too. He and Patryk met them at Tord's house. Paul and Tord took Ivy to the guest room and tended to her, while the other four waited in the library.
Paul poked at all the bruises and cuts, and he frowned. "Bastard…." He whispered.
"What's wrong?" Tord asked nervously.
"He broke her arm and her ankle, along with fracturing two ribs and breaking three of her fingers. Your medicine ought to take care of most of it, leave the rest to me."
Tord felt tears spill over onto his cheeks, but he didn't care. He had more to care about than looking tough. "That poor thing…poor Ivy…but she was so brave, Paul, she was so brave. She stopped it, and it took all her power, but she kept going…"
Tord stayed in the room as Paul tended to her injuries, tears pricking his eyes the entire time as he stroked her forehead. When everything was done, Tord took a square-shaped capsule out of a nearby drawer and threw it. Soon, it morphed into a crib, complete with pillows and blankets.
Tord gently lowered her into the crib, kissing her forehead as he tucked the blankets around her. She looked littler and more vulnerable than ever now, in her crib, sleeping so soundly and so innocently. It made Tord feel a bit sad, knowing the truth about what she had been through.
"Good night…sweet dreams, soldat." He whispered to her softly, his voice laced with sadness as he smoothed back some of her blonde hair
"Just let her sleep, Tord. She'll be fine…" Paul tried to smile, though in reality this was the saddest thing he had ever seen. He had never had to tend to so many injuries on such a little kid.
The guys were still in the library, talking about what had just happened.
"Oh, hey, Tord…is she okay?" Asked Edd.
"She'll be perfectly all right. She's still sleeping," He told them. He noticed the backpack, which had been left on a nearby chair, and unzipped it. "She's got to have some clues about her family in here somewhere."
Matt sighed. "Her Mom's dead. She doesn't know where her dad is, and she thinks that he doesn't want her." He looked sad.
Tord was disturbed by this, but tried to push the though from his mind. They couldn't know yet. "Maybe I know her dad somehow, he could be in the Red Army."
Tord unzipped the biggest pocket. He pulled out a couple of books, an Anna doll and an Elsa doll, a tattered stuffed rabbit, a few notebooks scribbled with poetry and math problems, and….wait. What was that in the zip pocket?
He unzipped it quickly and found a crumpled piece of paper, along with what he'd felt—a small globe shaped pendant with a heart-shaped crystal on it. He knew that pendant. He was the one who made it, and he was the one who had given it to the woman he loved.
Everything made so much sense now. Those big grey eyes. He knew where he had seen them. He couldn't see how he didn't figure it out earlier. His heart pounded inside him as he realized that he saw them in the mirror, every morning when he woke up.
"Tord? You okay?"
"I'm Ivy's father," He whispered.