(A/N: Checkitout, guys, two updates in ONE WEEK! I'm so proud of myself. Probably because it's spring break, but still. Go me!
You guys are so cruel about the Kel's-not-awake-yet business. I'm trying, here! Give me a break! ::glare::
::over it:: But seriously, isn't it better this way then for it to go like "Hi, I'm Neal." "Hi, I'm Kel." "Wanna make out?" "Sure!" kind of thing?
Okay, maybe I'm wrong, and you guys are right. Hope you enjoy this chapter. YOU HAD BETTER ENJOY THIS CHAPTER, KNAVES!
::ahem:: Sorry. Little too much caffeine. Frappuccinos will be my undoing someday…but not today. Bwahaha.
By the way—woah, we're back to Kel's perspective after what, three? Four chapters? I think I like Neal's perspective better. Hmmph. Gods know I adore omniscient third person…allowing me to get into everyone's heads…::evil grin::
Also, in the beginning, Kel's just gotten sent back up the little Well of Death…yes, I'm screwing with time again…
Uh-oh, MAJOR fluff alert in this chapter! I love fluff. Teehee.
--LQ)
When the darkness cleared from around her, Kel was back on the rocky path, away from the terror-ridden well and away from the heart-wrenching sounds of screams. Although she didn't feel her knees buckle in a combination of fear and relief, she did find her nose quite a bit closer to the ground than it had been a few seconds before. She shifted, the rocks biting into her knees—she stopped. Picking up a stone experimentally, she drove it into her smooth wrist. It stung, and she yelped in pain and exasperation. Staring at the offending stone, she rubbed the spot on her now-scraped wrist, lost in thought.
Hadn't she been walking on this path before without any pain at all? Kel stood up shakily, feeling her ribs and shoulder burn as she moved. She put a hand to them and saw no blood, but felt the gentle weight of her palm sent stabs of pain into her middle. Wincing, she moved her hand away.
Looking around, she found the scene no different than it had been before she had fallen into Death. The Black God had agreed to let her live, hadn't he? If she was alive, then where was this? Her dreams? Was this all just some fabrication of her imagination?
No—it couldn't be. For Neal had been there as well; he wasn't part of a dream, she was sure of it…Kel took a quick intake of breath. Neal—no. She suddenly remembered his deal with the Black God—his life in exchange for hers. Feeling her eyes suddenly flood with tears, she dropped back down onto her knees, scrabbling. She had to get back there, had to tell that reaper of souls not to take her best friend away from her…she couldn't live a life knowing that Neal had sacrificed his own in exchange for it…gods, she couldn't live a life without Neal, period…
She continued searching for the entryway into Death, to no avail. Frustrated, she slammed her fists into the gravel, feeling the sharp rocks cut into her hands. She felt the emotions of the past few—hours? days?—build up inside of her—all the fear, the pain, the anger, the worry—and boil over. "Can you hear me?!" she yelled to the ground. In the farthest corner of her mind, the part of her that still retained its rationality, she knew there was no point in screaming, but the rest of her ignored it. "Can you hear me, you—you—beast? Filthy, loathsome creature, who takes pleasure in ruining—people's—lives—" With each of these last words, she hit her fists on the ground again, her tears falling freely to make dark spots next to the spatters of blood beginning to leak from her palms. Finally, she collapsed, exhausted. Laying her cheek on the rough dirt, she sobbed for Neal and for the life she faced without him.
She didn't know how long she lay there, her tears finally drying on her cheeks—what was time in this place, anyway? Nothing ever changed here…it was quite peaceful, really…of course, there could be no happiness here, but there would be no sadness, either…no men that tore your heart out as they lusted after blonde bimbos, no friends to get worried sick over, no responsibilities…
She lay there, breathing shallowly, feeling numbness wash over her. What was the point of getting up again? She had nothing to look forward to, not with her best friend gone, and the responsibility for his death resting on her shoulders. She inhaled the smell of the dirt and the stones, trying to forget the last time she'd seen his pleading emerald eyes.
Purple fire suddenly flashed out of the corner of her eye, and she rolled over onto her back. Frowning, she sat up slowly, noticing considerably less pain in her side. She looked down and gaped. Violet flames gathered around her ribs and shoulder, easing the pain. Kel touched her ribs gingerly; the pain was still present, but it no longer burned its way through her senses. Instead, it was a dull ache.
"Alanna…" Kel said aloud, recognizing the color of the fire. "But…"
Suddenly, her world rocked. Kel gasped and put one hand to her head. It throbbed, making her dizzy. She grasped the dirt behind her, trying to anchor herself to something solid, but her vision still grew dark at the edges. The trees, grass, and blue sky surrounding her began to grow fuzzy. Just before she blacked out, she thought she heard thunder.
--
Kel ached.
Her ribs, her shoulder, even her muscles pounded fiercely. It hurt to move. Gods, it even hurt to breathe…she moaned and moved her head slightly, expecting to feel sharp rocks jutting into her spine. Instead, she discovered that she lay on a soft, comfortable surface. "What…?" she mumbled, opening one eye.
Dim light streamed through a slatted window, illuminating a desk piled high with papers and doodles of what looked vaguely like shields and horses. Quills and half-finished scrolls lined the floor surrounding the desk; a lone inkbottle tipped its contents over an important-looking document with the King's seal marking it. Looking around, Kel recognized the office of the infirmary. The small room was crammed with chairs, but only the one closest to her cot was occupied: a long, lanky young man dozed, his chin resting on his hand.
In the poor light, it was hard to see his features. Kel craned her neck, trying to guess his identity, but the movement sent stabs of pain up and down her back. She inhaled sharply, trying not to cry out.
The figure stirred at the slight noise and opened his eyes. From what Kel could see of him, his gaze looked bemused as he looked around him. His eyes settled on her, and he grinned, albeit shakily. "Kel! You're awake!" He moved into the light, and she recognized—Neal?
A flurry of emotions passed through her: shock, knee-trembling relief, worry, anger…"Neal!" she croaked out. "Gods, Neal…" She struggled to sit up, ignoring the fierce pain the action caused. Finally, she forced herself to lean against the headboard, biting her tongue with the effort it took not to yelp in pain.
A cool hand brushed her forehead, sending chills of relief down her spine. She had been so worried that she would never look into his green eyes again, never again hear his witty banter, never again listen to his vocal daydreams…she was so lost in thought, she didn't hear his question. "Sorry?"
"Where does it hurt?" She looked up, startled, to see Neal's eyes frank with worry. She shifted and winced.
"My ribs, mostly, and my shoulder…but it's not that bad, you don't have to—"
Neal cut her off. "My dear Kel, haven't you learned that you needn't be perfect?" His voice was soft and teasing. "All this charging off to protect people, and this stoic warrior business…" As he spoke, he laid a long-fingered hand as gently as possible on her side. Green fire shimmered, and Kel felt coolness replace the ache. She sighed contentedly. Now that the nerve-wracking pain that had gripped her mind was gone, she felt a million questions resurface.
"Neal—how did you get in Death? And how did I?"
Neal's grin faded, leaving behind a somber look in its place. "You had just ridden off into battle," he said. His expression looked…faded, somehow, to Kel, as if he had just aged twenty years in the last few minutes. "I was sitting there, fuming, when Tobe ran up and said you needed help. So I went out to go get you."
Kel barely managed to keep from berating him about disobeying his orders. After all, he had saved her life…better broken orders than her own broken body, if worst came to worst…
He continued. "You were just about to pass out when I got out there, so I brought you back to the infirmary and started to heal you. It went all right at first, but you had cuts in your ribs and shoulder, and they were deep. I got distracted,"—his cheeks went slightly red, for some reason—"And they got infected. And then you—you—died." His voice cracked very slightly on the last syllable, and he rested his forehead in his fingertips.
She gulped—it wasn't every day that one heard the story of her own death, after all—and prodded him to continue. "And how did you get into Death?"
His voice was muffled from within his hands. "I dove in after you."
Kel's mouth fell open. "You. Dove. In. After me." He nodded. "Why in the GODS' NAMES—"
He looked up at her, revealing wide eyes that were made greener by their slightly bloodshot quality. "I was scared, all right?!" he half-confessed, half-yelled. "I was scared that you'd be gone forever, and I couldn't risk losing you. The thought of Death wasn't half as frightening as the thought of living without you." As he spoke, his voice grew in volume. "I'm SICK of people yelling at me for this! You're my best friend, Kel, and I'm never going to let you die without me, no matter what you or anyone else says to try and stop me!" He stopped, then added, "Understand?!"
She was at a loss for words. The silence in the room grew thicker as she grew lost in her own thoughts. Neal had basically made the ultimate sacrifice for her, and she had repaid him by losing her temper. He had put his own life at risk in order to rescue hers, not knowing whether he would live to see the next day. She had never known anyone before that was, quite literally, willing to die for her.
Finally, she reached out a trembling hand to put it on Neal's shoulder gently. He looked up at the touch. "Sorry, Neal," she apologized softly. "I do appreciate it…you have no idea how much this means…to have someone die for me…"
He watched her for a second, and she sighed in relief as the ice in his eyes melted as he looked at her own wide hazel ones. He smiled crookedly and ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stand at odd angles. "It's all right," he admitted softly. "I guess the stress finally spilled over." Seeing Kel continue to look at him, worried he might still be vexed with her, he continued, "I wasn't thinking much when I went after you. The thought that you might not be alive to see morning—well, it kind of drove me crazy for a while."
"I know what you mean," Kel agreed. "When I saw you in Death, I thought you had died, too…I didn't want to come back to a world you weren't in."
Neal raised an eyebrow and smiled in a way that made her stomach lurch. She frowned as she felt her heart skip a beat, and thought, ::What on earth? Must be some remnant of that trip into Death…:: She realized he was speaking, and tore her mind off of her suddenly rebellious internal organs.
"Don't worry, Kel," he said, smiling. "I'll always be here for you, no matter if I have to go through Death and back to get to you."
She smiled back, feeling warmth wash over her. They locked eyes, and Kel found her face moving closer to his. She dimly wondered how that had happened. "Thanks, Neal," she said softly.
"Think nothing of it," he said teasingly, and leaned in slightly…
Suddenly, the door slammed open. Kel and Neal, realizing that their noses were only scant inches apart, jerked away from each other. "Kel!" Dom said, delighted. "You're awake!" Half turning, he yelled through the open door, "She's awake!" Seeing that Neal and Kel were both eye-smarting shades of crimson, he asked, perplexed, "What's wrong with you two?"
"Nothing…" Neal muttered, and scooted away from the edge of the cot. "I should go get you some painkillers, Kel…" he mumbled, and got up to leave.
Kel watched him go, barely noticing that Dom had sat down in Neal's place. What had just happened between them? And was it a bad thing that she wished it would happen again, soon?
(A/N: I just have one thing to say to you all:
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Sorry. Had to get the evil laugh out of my system. Too much fluff makes Kathleen go crazy.
If this fic had a soundtrack, a sappy Michelle Branch song would be playing right now. Think "Find my way back to you", "All You Wanted," or "Everywhere". Yeah.
Go review now.)