She couldn't feel anything but agonizing pain that was lessened as something was wrapped around her waist. She passed out and woke up, each at different times until she couldn't tell how many days had passed. She sighed and let herself drift off into the darkness again, letting it envelop her in its warmth.
When she woke, she had no clue where she was. At first, she thought that she was dead, and she had finally gone to the afterlife, but it felt weird. She felt warm, yet cold at the same time. She groaned as she shifted, only to wince as pain shot through her from her side. She glanced down to see her waist wrapped in bandages, leaking with something that smelled herbal. She took a deep breath, sitting up and taking in her surroundings. She was in a room that held only a bed and a table with a bowl filled with some sort of powder, as well as a red potion next to it. She was on the bed, which had pelts and fur blankets surrounding her which explained why she felt so warm.
"Where am I?" she wondered. She didn't really know if she could move, but she didn't want to stay here in case the person decided to keep her prisoner. She slowly grabbed the bed frame and pulled herself up...only to fall back with a wince as a bolt of pain shot through her hip again. "I have to get out of here, I can't let them know that I'm awake." She struggled to sit up again, this time managing to throw the covers off of her. But when she tried to stand she let out a yell of pain and fell back onto the bed much to her frustration. The door opened and she glanced up to see a man, wearing something akin to what a doctor would wear, only the coat itself seemed to be made out of something like cloth or silk.
"You're awake!" he said. She stared at him, taken back by his soft tone.
"Uhm, yes...I"m awake…" she trailed off not really knowing what to say. "That's good, you were out for so long that some of us thought you were dead." She blinked. Dead? That couldn't be, she had only been out for a few days, right? "Where am I, if I may ask?" she said. He smiled.
"You're in Rakelstake, the main home of the Averosans." "Oh, well that's surprising…" she said. He nodded. "You were in a critical state when we found you. The wound in your side would have bled out if we hadn't come seconds later and treated you." She shivered at his words, wondering just how close she was to death. "Uhm, if this is the Avarosan home, then is Ashe your-"
"Yes, she is our Warmother, the descendant of Averosa herself." Selina nodded and he went on proudly. "She's going to unite the Freijlord and all of the tribes." Selina inwardly winced, she understood that they all had hope in Ashe, but she also knew that one person could only do so much. "Uhm...doctor."
"Ah, my name is Jarled." Her ear twitched. "Jarled, when is your leader coming back?" He frowned. "Warmother Ashe has gone on a routine hunt and won't be back until later, until then she has requested that you stay and rest until she returns." Selina sighed.
"Can't I at least look around?"
"You're in no condition to walk around, stay in bed and rest, I will send our Warmother to you when she returns, until then rest," he said simply, turning and walking out the door, closing it behind him. She hissed silently and went back under the covers sulking. Of course, I'm injured and can't run, a huge win for them. She sighed and curled up into the fur shaking. Even though she should've felt safe, she didn't. She was in a stranger's village, at the mercy of their leader. What would Ashe do to her? Would she cast her out into the wilderness? She was injured so Ashe would have almost no reason to keep her if it meant weakness to her tribe- "Stop, stop it!" she shook her head. "You're thinking like father and mother. They saw nothing in you and you didn't prove yourself. She took a deep breath and lifted her chin narrowing her eyes. "So I shall prove myself to her."
She was woken by a voice coming from outside her now dark room. She slowly sat up to listen better and heard a familiar voice speaking in a hushed tone to the doctor. As it stopped she heard a gentle knock on her door before it opened, allowing light to come in, illuminating the room. She saw Ashe standing there in the doorway, her cloak trailing down her back, the bow shining in the dark. When she saw her Selina noticed that her posture seemed to turn more professional, and her eyes seemed to snap back into focus. "She's tired." Selina realized. She understood how hard hunting was, especially in the tundra.
"Hi." Selina said hesitantly. Ashe blinked. "Hi." Selina sat there, as an awkward silence hung in the air between them. How could she even start talking to her? Ashe nodded towards her. "I see that they rebandaged your wound." Selina glanced down and saw that she was right, it was no longer soaked in blood and the dressing was fresh. "Yeah, can you tell them thanks for me?" she asked. Ashe smiled and nodded.
"Of course." Selina sighed in relief then paused. "And I guess that I should thank you as well." Ashe glanced at her in surprise. "For what?" she asked. Selina took a deep breath. "For saving me. I should've listened to you when I had the chance." she bowed her head. "I'm sorry." She didn't hear Ashe respond for a moment and she shifted, wondering if she had said the wrong thing when she felt a gentle hand on her chin.
"Selina, look at me," Ashe said firmly, but kindly. Selina looked at her, only to find a soft gaze. "You were doing what you thought was right and no one could ask for anything else, and besides I think that I should be thanking you," Ashe said. Selina gazed at her in surprise.
"Without you, we might've never seen the frostguard, if you hadn't yelled, we might've been taken by surprise and even worse casualties would have taken place." Selina looked away. "Yeah, but you guys saw me-"
"Only because one of the guards on patrol heard you." Ashe interrupted. Selina didn't say anything and Ashe sighed. "It's fine if you don't want to take credit, but try not to lie, I know that it's your nature, but here, secrets are not the way to earn trust," she said firmly. Selina flinched. How had the archer read her so quickly? She was usually good at hiding her true intentions, using her own problems to blend in, not caring what she had to do to hide. But to be so casually sitting with a stranger, who had read her so fast and so well unnerved her to the end.
"Ok, I promise not to sneak around and lie, in return for you saving me. Ashe stared at her for a moment before nodding, standing up. "Thank you Selina." she said with a small smile. Selina nodded as Ashe turned towards the door. "Wait!" Selina called. Ashe paused and turned to face her, Selina didn't say anything wondering why she felt the need to call out. "Can I walk around a little? Ashe shook her head.
"Not now, you're still weak, I'll send some food to you in a little while, but for now just rest." She turned to walk out before Selina sighed loudly. "Please...I've been sleeping all day. Can I at least have a book or something?" Ashe flashed me a look of sympathy.
"Sorry, Jerleds orders," she whispered before walking out, closing the door behind her. Selina stared at them for a moment before sighing and laying down again, glaring at her wound. Why did everyone look at her as if she was helpless? Why were humans so helpless when they were injured? She should be fighting and protecting the village, not laying in bed. "Fine, if Ashe thinks that I should rest then I will. She did save me, so I should probably take her advice." Selina thought sadly. So she closed her eyes and once again fell asleep. Her nightmares were worse. Each time they were. And it was always her, standing in the middle of a strange icy room as people called out to her for help, but this time one voice rose against the rest. It was a woman's, her eyes pleading as she was struck in the heart by an icy spear. Selina watched in horror as her lifeless body fell to the ground, blood pooling around her. Selina went towards her, her eyes lifeless staring up at the ceiling. As she knelt beside her she suddenly heard someone shouting her name, one of anger and desperation.
SELINA!
She woke with a jolt and saw that she was back in her room. She slowly sat up, checking the wound. It wasn't bleeding anymore which was a good sign, but she knew that it was far from being healed. She looked around the dark room feeling strangely lonely in the dark confines. "Screw it, I'm bored and I don't want to stay in bed for another whole day." Selina thought with irritation. She took a deep breath and gently stood, feeling the wound seem to stretch causing her to flinch, but no pain came after it which gave her hope that it was healing much faster than she had anticipated. "Ok, let's try this." Selina gulped and slowly began walking towards the door, opening it into what looked like to be the foyer. A chandelier hung above everything in the ceiling, a few couches were spread out across the middle of the room, with a table in the middle of them. It looked comfortable, and she could see why people were happy, this place was one of those places where everything was for you to chill. Selina slowly walked towards the front door, opening it out into the sunlight. Ah...she closed her eyes and let the warmth cascade over her before it was followed by the winter winds causing her to shiver. Finally. She took a deep breath inhaling the fresh air before stepping out into the snow, and even that felt welcoming. She started to walk around marveling at the village and the structure it was built as the buildings themselves were built so well and the lake made it even more spectacular. As she walked towards the edge of the village she saw a group of horses galloping towards her, each of them with a rider atop of the saddles. The lead horse was a white that rivaled the snow, and riding her was Ashe, her bow in hand, the other controlling the reins. As they slowed down to a halt the riders dismounted including Ashe, and Selina saw that on the side of each horse were the carcasses of animals, ranging from rabbits to birds and even fish. As the hunters began grabbing their catches Ashe grabbed her horse and gently led it to the stables near one of the larger houses. Selina followed her, sneaking in the shadows, watching as she undid the saddle and grabbing an apple from her coat, fed the mare. As Selina watched she felt a strange feeling, like a sense of peace that she couldn't describe. She was about to turn and go back to bed when Ashe suddenly spoke. "I thought we agreed "no more sneaking." Selina jumped as Ashe turned to face her, her eyes cold, but not with any anger that Selina originally thought she would have. "How in the world-" It's easy when you need to be on guard every moment of the day." she said calmly.
"I didn't want to disturb you," Selina said quietly. Ashe narrowed her eyes. "Well you have now, and you shouldn't be out of bed." She glanced at the bandage. "The wound could open again." Selina chuckled.
"How nice of you to care." "I care about everyone, not just my people." She responded coldly. " It seems as if you don't even care about your own life." Selina narrowed her eyes. "I don't need to, my life's not important," she said turning to walk back to the healer's hut before she felt a cool hand grab her wrist.
"You can't possibly think like that," Ashe said. Selina shook her off and sighed. "Why not? It's my life, my worthless-" "Stop!" Ashe snapped. Selina paused looking at her in shock. "What are you-" Ashe shot her a look of ice that silenced her immediately. "I'm not going to let you walk around here thinking that your life is worthless and not even try to live." Selina glared at her. "What if I don't want to! Not everyone's life is perfect you know!" she snapped, ripping her wrist out of the other woman's hand. "But everyone has a chance to live it," Ashe said following her as she walked. Selina tried to ignore her, but her words echoed in her mind. "You have a choice, you're not worthless, live your life. But then the words of her parents came back. "You disappoint me, an heir that doesn't even have the potential to fight." Her father said. Then her mother came a look of disappointment on her face. "Born with nothing, why would anyone want you? You can barely take care of yourself," she said. Selina suddenly stopped as she said that, her shoulders shaking as she heard it echo through her mind. "Why would anyone want you?" "Why would they? I don't do anything, I'm basically dead to them. She's right I do not have powers or even that much skill to fight, I can barely fight off one frostguard without someone coming in to save me." Selina closed her eyes and choked back a sob. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped. "Selina, I didn't mean-" Ashe said. Selina shook her head. "No Ashe, I can't. I'm no one, I can't even fight properly and leave unscathed, I'm a failure," she whispered.
"You're not a failure," Ashe murmured. Selina shook her head. "No you're not, you have a good life ahead of you," Ashe said softly. Selina shook her head again. "I couldn't even fight the raiding party-
"One person can't fight an army," Ashe said firmly. Selina sighed and straightened herself regaining her composure. "I should head back to bed." She turned to go when suddenly felt a hand wrap her wrist, and a voice said "come with me."
Ashe led her over to a house that was bigger than most of the other ones, but not big enough where it stood out that much. As she opened the door and stepped inside, Selina saw a highly decorated foyer, with couches and chairs, but the main part was the huge table in the middle that had a map of Freijlord, markings on it that she couldn't read as they walked past. Ashe led her upstairs where there were three rooms that Selina presumed led to other bedrooms. Ashe pushed open the doors to the one at the far end of the hall revealing a room with a huge bed in the middle, a small table beside it, and a rack hanging above it with hooks as if to hold something. A vanity was sheltered to the right side of the room with a wardrobe next to it. A chest was at the end of the bed and Selina's hands itched to open it and see what was inside, but she ignored it knowing full well that it wasn't worth getting caught. She also noticed that there was a chair in the corner that looked hardly used.
"So why are we here?" Selina asked. Ashe didn't answer, instead of going over to the chest and opening it, digging inside. Selina tried to look over her shoulder to see what she was looking for, but couldn't see anything. "What's going on?" she wondered. Ashe finally let out a soft ah-hah!; and pulled out something that Selina could only describe as a potion, only it was filled with a purple liquid. "I'm not really into witchcraft," Selina said, stepping away. Ashe brow furrowed and Selina detected a slight twinge of impatience in the corner of her mouth.
"It's not witchcraft, it's a potion to help with your mood swings," Ashe said. Selina eyed her warily. "Still it's witchcraft, and it does weird things to your body," she said. Ashe sighed and gently walked towards her holding the bottle out. "It should help you ignore the depressing feelings." Selina glanced at it, then at Ashe who nodded. Slowly she reached out and took it inspecting it with a frown. "So I'm just supposed to drink it?" "Yes, and it should work almost immediately." Selina narrowed her eyes. "Interesting, where did you get this if I may ask?" she said. Ashe looked away. "Someone gave it to me." Selina tilted her head and studied her. Strange, She didn't look like someone who would take something unless it was useful, so why in the world would she need something like this? Selina shrugged and gently undid the lid and drank it. As she did she felt a strange sense of calm wash over her and she shivered. "How do you feel?" Ashe asked. Selina glanced around and gently felt her legs and arms to make sure that they didn't lose any feeling. "Fine I guess, to be honest, I expected it to have more of an effect." Ashe smiled and gently walked overstudying her. "You look fine, so I presume it worked," she said in satisfaction. Selina closed her eyes and tried to think of something that made her sad only to find that she couldn't. "It worked!" she said smiling. She glanced at Ashe. "Thank you." Ashe nodded then a more serious look returned.
"Now that we have that sorted, Jerled must be worried sick that you went missing, time to go back to bed," she said sternly. Selina paused, looking at her with a pitiful expression.
"Please no, I just got out! I don't want to go back!" she whined. Ashe shook her head. "If you don't rest then the wound won't heal, and then you'll have to stay in bed longer." Selina sighed in frustration. "I guess you have a point," she muttered. Ashe turned going towards the door and beckoning to follow her.
"Come on, I'll take you back." Selina reluctantly followed her wishing for once that she wasn't as weak as she was. She could fare on her own in the world! She didn't need this. She followed the archer back to the healer's hut sulking as Ashe went up to the door and knocked. As it opened she saw that Jerled had a panicked expression on his face. "Warmother! I'm so sorry the patient left and I don't know-"
"It's ok." Ashe interrupted. She gestured to Selina. "I found her. Jerled gave her a look of relief. "Thank goodness!" Then he turned to her and his expression hardened. "As for you, why are you out of bed, you are supposed to be resting!" Selina stiffened, but Ashe quickly stepped in.
"It's ok, she should know now and won't cause you any more trouble, besides-" suddenly she was cut off as a guard quickly came up to them. "Warmother! A raiding party is approaching!" Ashe quickly turned and Selina saw her expression turn into one of a leader, focused and calm.
"Which tribe?" she asked. "Winter's Claw." she nodded. "Assemble a similar party, we need to make sure that they do not get too far." The guard bowed and ran off and she once again turned to them. "I have to go, stay here until I get back, that's an order. She glanced at Jerled. "Make sure she stays." Then she quickly ran off leaving us standing outside the house. Selina's legs twitched. She wanted to run with her, out into the world, into danger. She didn't want to be stuck in a house while others were fighting a battle that she should. It frustrated her, but she knew that it was sadly the right thing to do. She sighed and heard movement behind her. She heard him clear his throat and she groaned. "I know bed," she grumbled, turning and going inside the house for the thousandth time.
