A/N: Hey! Look at me! Two chapter in one year! Wow, guys, I'm doing pretty good! Jokes aside, here's the next chapter!
Kendra sat in the kitchen 10 minutes later holding a towel to the cut above her collarbone. It was stinging like a bitch, and she could feel her pulse throbbing in her face and head from where she got hit, but her mind wasn't on the pain. It was on Luca.
Of course, the unsuspecting kid like man was the traitor. Hasn't she learned anything?! How could she write him off in her mind just because he seemed innocent? She should have kept her mind open on him instead of crossing him off in favor of hating Elin because of her annoying personality and rude comments.
Kendra shook her head, which only aggravated it more. How could she be sitting here thinking wrongly about someone who just died? What was wrong with her lately? She heard footsteps approaching, and Tanu and Bracken came into the kitchen holding medical supplies.
"Are you sure I can't just heal this nasty cut, Ken? It won't drain me at all." Bracken asked, giving her his best puppy dog eyes.
"No. Don't lie. You have been exhausted after having to heal yourself. You told me before that it takes twice the amount of energy for a unicorn to heal themselves than others, I know you're tired, you aren't draining any more energy for now." She scolded him.
"You know sometimes it isn't fun having you know me so well." Bracken pouted, having been caught in his white lie.
"Tell me about it," Warren said from his seat next to Kendra, typing away at his phone, probably to her grandfather about what has happened.
"Well, since Bracken can't heal it now we will have to stitch it up and bandage it until he can," Tanu said pulling out different bottles and other medical supplies. "So numbing salve and a needle and thread coming right up."
"Is it that deep it needs stitches?" Warren said looking up from his phone to peer at the wound.
"Unfortunately. And I'll warn you, the numbing salve isn't that great and I'm not the best at stitches."
"Oh! I know how to do stitches well! I used to be a surgical med student." Came a voice from the entryway of the kitchen. Kendra looked and saw it was Melkorka, a quiet girl who wasn't into all the knight business according to Linda.
"Well, if you don't mind I'm sure Kendra would love having a more experienced hand," Tanu said, relief in his voice. Kendra smiled at her thankfully.
"Of course! Let me go look in my old medical bag and see if I have lidocaine, antibacterial or a better needle since that one looks a bit big." She rambled off, genuinely seeming like she knew what she was talking about at least before hurrying off.
"Well, that worked out at least," Warren said, finally putting his phone down. Kendra dropped her head to her chin with a sigh. She was really starting to feel lightheaded. Bracken placed a hand on her head, grumbled and walked away. Kendra then heard the sink turn on, off and then Bracken was back with a cold washcloth for her head.
"It may not be pouring out, but you are losing quite the amount of blood, I hope she can finish quickly." He mumbled. Warren glanced at Bracken.
"You think she'll be okay with this much blood loss?"
"I'm fine just lightheaded." Kendra sighed. Melkorka came back then.
"No lidocaine, but I do have a better stitching kit and antibacterial." She said, apologetically, getting everything ready. Kendra grimaced, this wasn't going to be fun. Bracken sat on the other side of her, holding her hand. "If you feel like you are going to pass out at anytime let me know so I can give you a break okay?"
"Okay."
"Alright. Brace yourself." Kendra took in a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut. She willed herself to exhale slowly as she felt the sharp stinging pain of the needle going through her skin. She felt a hand on her knee, probably Warren's, and Bracken sent waves of comfort to her through their hands.
She was beginning to feel even more light-headed, so she warned Melkorka who stopped, got her a glass of water and made her drink some while Bracken pressed the cold cloth to her head again. Once she was feeling better, Melkorka continued, apologizing at the big stings and stopping when Kendra warned her of feeling faint.
The whole process took 15 to 20 minutes, but it felt like long to Kendra. During the process Melkorka had been giving pointers to Tanu, teaching him how to do it as gentle but efficient as possible.
"See if she had more fat or muscle here it would have stung less but since not much is where it
hurts a bit more." Melkorka explained.
"Looks like I can finally beat her at something." Tanu chuckled. Kendra rolled her eyes but then dropped her head to her chest. She was feeling more than light headed even though all Melkorka was doing now was covering the now stitched up wound with a bandage.
Kendra felt someone pick her up and walk her out of the room, Tanu and Melkorka's voices fading. A minute later she was gently placed on a soft bed, Kendra threw an arm over her head and groaned. Laying down the lightheadedness had significantly reduced, but she still felt pain...everywhere. The fight with Luca had left her feeling worn down and utterly beaten. Even though she had gotten some good hits in he still got away, so it wasn't even worth it. At least it made her feel a little better knowing he had to drive his motorcycle with a broken arm. He deserved it, the little punk.
Kendra felt the bed dip next to her as someone sat down next to her. They removed her arm from her forehead and in place came the welcome feeling of an ice pack, soothing the pain in her head enough for her to find the strength to open her eyes.
"Hey, you."
Bracken, of course.
"Hey yourself," Kendra replied. "Guess today's mission didn't go so well after all."
"I wouldn't say that. At least we know someone in the opposing force, and knowing even just one member could be beneficial. More than you realize," Bracken smiled down at her. "Plus, I heard from Warren that you gave Luca quite the beating."
"Yeah, and he seemed to kick my ass right back." Kendra sighed, not accepting the compliment. "Anyone else would have stopped him."
"Oh please, stop putting yourself down so much. The guy was quick and desperate. You broke his arm, and he still drove off in a motorcycle, he was going to anything to get off this preserve with that artifact, you know this."
Kendra sighed and closed her eyes, finally conceding to him, waving a hand in surrender.
"How is your pain? Will you allow me to help now?"
"Ugh, please, be my guest."
Kendra felt his hand on her cheek and a feeling of warmth and peace along with the relief of most of her pain. The perks of having a unicorn by your side.
"Better?" questioned Bracken.
"Better." She affirmed, opening her eyes once more to smile at him. He beamed at her, looking as handsome as ever. Kendra was a lucky girl to have him. "Long day, huh?"
"Very long day," Bracken affirmed. "But, also a good one in my book."
"Oh yeah? Me being beat up makes it a good day?" Kendra teased. Bracken rolled his eyes at her.
"No, not that part. I meant the part where I finally got to make you officially mine."
"Who said I was yours! I am my own women, sir!" Kendra copied his slightly British sounding accent poorly causing Bracken to drop his head to his chest with a laugh.
"I know you are, my dear. And I do not sound like that!" Kendra laughed at him mimicking her horrible imitation but sobered up after a second.
"But, yeah...me too." She said, and Bracken furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "I mean, that made this day an overall good day. You don't know how relieved I was when I saw you alive and well...I thought I lost you, you know?"
Bracken regarded her sadly, brushing a piece of hair off of her have gently. "I'm sorry, love. I wish I could have reassured you, I tried too through my horn when you took down the Nightmare, but I was too weak at the time, so the message wasn't strong enough for you to notice."
"It's okay, B. I'm just happy you're here," Kendra whispered, reaching up and caressing his cheek. "But you know what you could do to make it up to me?"
"What's that?"
"Kiss me."
And so he did.
A/N: I admit this is more of a short plotless chapter but I promise the next one...whew it's gonna be big and boy oh boy it's gonna be a project for me. But! For now, enjoy this! Also, I love seeing your reactions to my work so please review! It really motivates me! Anyway, see you next time!