BlackLynx17: Faster update? Yes? Can I get some reviews saying how much you enjoyed this chapter? Maybe?
Title: Love At First Sight
Secret Title: Pirate Love
Summary: Wendy is a princess forced to be married at the age of 18. It wouldn't be a problem for her if she had fallen in love with her fiance, but alas fate is not too kind. Determined to runaway to chose her own love, she runs into a nice man who rescues her from her guards. Thinking this man is her one true love, she decides to escape with him. She had no idea that her true love was a no good pirate.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cactus Island
Wendy takes a small breath and watches her target. She comes running towards him and meets his strikes with her own. Swords clank together as they swing; she's obviously weaker, but she's smaller and faster. She moves and uses her size to her advantage, dodging, spinning around, getting in low blows. She still doesn't like seeing blood on her friends, but this is a battle, so she swings with all her might and protects herself as best as she can.
It's over in a second. She dodges the lunge, gets in close to her opponent, brings her sword up in the air and stops right at his throat. Wendy smiles thinking she's won, that she's finally won a match! Why is Freed grinning at her like that though? She furrows her eyebrows together and Freed glances down. Wendy follows his glance and frowns, seeing a gun aimed at her stomach. She looks up and glares, the words cheater on her lips. Freed just raises his eyebrows though.
"Pirate," he says like it answers everything.
"That's not an excuse. I could have easily pulled my gun out and shot you in the beginning of the match." Wendy pouts.
"Good, next time do that. If you ever face up against a pirate with a gun that's exactly what they're going to do. Don't try to fight fair, pirates never will." Freed tells her.
Wendy pulls away and frowns still, putting her sword down, "is there really no honor among pirates?"
"No. Don't ever forget that Wendy. You'll lose your life if you do." Mest says coming up to her.
He has a handkerchief in his hand and starts rubbing the sweat and dirt off her face.
"Ow, I can do that myself you know. You rub too hard," Wendy pouts.
"Of course you can." Mest agrees, but doesn't stop until she's all clean. He goes to her arm next and examines the cuts Freed was able to give her, "you should have aimed for his head; Freed needs a haircut."
"Shut up Mest. She did pretty good, I wasn't expecting that move at the end. You improve more and more each day Wendy. Soon I'm sure you'll finally beat one of us," Freed grins.
"I would if you all stopped cheating!" Wendy yells out.
Freed, Laxus, Jellal, and Erza all laugh loudly around her. Wendy puffs her chest out even more and stares at Mest, seeing him chuckle underneath his breath.
"Pirate's life," they all tell her.
Wendy rolls her eyes, "pirate's life," she repeats after them.
"LAND HO!" Bickslow calls from the crow's nest.
Wendy looks up and sees Bickslow waving his hand around. She follows his direction and walks over to the railing, staring at the distance. There is a small island over there, which is probably actually really big and she can't tell it yet. Mest walks up by Erza and stares at it as well, a peculiar expression on his face.
"We aren't at our island yet, are we?" Mest asks her.
"No, we're too far. I don't know what that island is. I didn't see it on the map, or at least I think I didn't. Shall I check?"
Mest hums, "doesn't matter if we don't stop at it."
"Why shouldn't we stop at it? A little break would be nice. We have been at sea for weeks now." Freed asks.
"It's a detour we don't need." Mest tells him.
"It couldn't hurt though, right?" Laxus asks.
"Don't you all think it's a little bit funny how there's an uncharted island in the middle of nowhere? Shouldn't we be careful about these things?" Erza asks.
"You don't remember seeing it on the map, so it's not really uncharted or nowhere." Jellal tells her.
Erza glares at him for not being on her side. Mest rubs his neck and looks down to Wendy staring at the island. She hasn't been on land for weeks now because of the papers. If this island is in the middle of nowhere, maybe they don't know anything going on in Fiore at the moment. She would be able to walk around and stretch her legs without fear of being found out. Making a small detour would be worth it rather than having her wait a few more weeks to finally walk on land again. Just because she hasn't complained about it doesn't mean it doesn't bother her. Maybe this is a good thing.
"Does anyone have a bad feeling about this island?" Mest asks.
Freed, Laxus, Jellal, and Erza all look at each other, not really saying anything. Erza shrugs her shoulders as she scratches the back of her head.
"It's not really a bad feeling for me, I just think it's a bit strange." She says.
"A small detour wouldn't be so bad. We can deal with strange, let's still go over our maps though and try to find this place. Laxus, start making way over there. Jellal, mind telling the crew we might have a small break before finishing our journey? Freed, help Erza and I go through the maps." Mest orders.
"Yes Captain," they all say.
"You sure this is a good idea? Don't let the others bully you into stopping. What happened to not wanting a detour?"
"It'll be good for the crew."
Erza follows his eyes and sees Wendy in his view, leaning up against the railing as she stares out into sea.
"Ah- I see now."
"If it's not mapped then maybe they don't have contact with the outside world."
"No need to explain to me Captain, I understand. Let's see if it's safe for our princess to go to," Erza pats his shoulder before leaving the deck.
"Wendy! We might be landing soon! Make sure Charlie and Happy are locked up so they can't escape!" Mest calls out.
Wendy turns around, her eyes sparkling, a bright smile on her face, "really?! Okay Mest! Aye, aye Captain!" She grins and skips off to find her pets.
That right there is why he changed his mind. Mest smiles to himself and heads over to the chart room. Erza and Freed are already looking over their map, frowns on their faces.
"We're here and that island is no where around us." Erza says pointing on the map.
"Maybe it's a newly discovered island?" Freed asks.
"This map isn't that old; it should be here." Erza answers.
"Well then maybe it's an older island that people have forgotten about? Where are our old maps?" Mest suggests walking over to the buckets filled with maps.
He starts pulling them out and hands them to everyone, rolling them open and scanning his eyes over them. This one doesn't have anything, so he checks another, and then another, until finally one of them is successful.
"Found it. It's a bit old, but if you match it to the other maps we have this island in the same waters. It's called Cactus Island." Freed calls over.
Mest and Erza walk over to his map and look over, seeing a small island with the name written in Latin. There isn't anything out of the ordinary on the map warning travelers to stay away from it.
"Ever heard of it?" Mest asks.
"No, never. Don't you think that's stranger?"
"Just because it doesn't ring any bells doesn't mean it's immediately dangerous." Freed tells Erza.
"Right, but when do things ever go right for us?"
Freed hums, "true. Your call Captain. We know what the island is now, I don't think it's dangerous."
Mest bites the inside of his cheek and looks at Erza, "what do you think? Still no funny feeling?"
Erza presses her lips together, "we... should be fine. Maybe it's inhabited, which is why it isn't on the map. Whatever society lived there must have moved away. That's the only reason I can think on why it wouldn't be on our latest map."
Mest shakes his head, "no... we shouldn't risk it. We all have doubts, and now... I should just listen to my gut. It is strange how it isn't on the map anymore, something must have happened there and we don't know if it's still a problem or not. It's not worth risking the crew."
Erza nods and Freed sighs out.
"Whatever you Captai-"
Freed is interrupted by the sound of bells ringing. The three of them look up and only think for a second before they are racing towards the deck. Bickslow is ringing the warning bells, calling all hands on deck.
"EMENY OFF THE PORT VAUL! EVERYONE TO THEIR STATIONS!" He yells out.
Mest runs over on the deck and spots a pirate ship gaining on them. He curses and looks over at Erza, eyes wide with panic.
"What the hell is that? Where did it come from?!"
"I don't know, but it's gaining on us. We might have a battle." Erza growls grabbing her sword.
Mest eyes harden and he looks over to where he last saw Wendy. She isn't on the railing anymore- that's right. He sent her to get Happy and Charlie. She should be in the infirmary.
"Take control Erza, I need to make sure Wendy is safe." Mest says before running there.
He passes by his crew and heads for the infirmary, slamming the door open when he reaches it. Wendy is there sitting on the bed with Happy and Charlie on her lap. Her sword and gun are next to her, not strapped, but close by.
"We might be under attack." Mest pants out.
"Oh. I know the drill Mest, I'll stay in here," Wendy smiles sadly.
She doesn't want to hide; she wants to be out there and help her friends fight for their lives, but she won't do anyone good, especially Mest, if they're worrying about her. Mest walks over to her and cuffs her cheeks, pressing their lips together for a quick kiss.
"Nothing is going to happen. I'll be sure to send someone when it's over; be ready to help people princess." Mest grins at her.
Wendy smiles back and nods her head, "of course Captain."
He reaches for her belt and hands it to her, eyes focusing again, "put this on. Just in case... be prepared. Protect yourself Wendy, nothing can happen to you. I don't know what I'll do if something does happen."
Wendy takes it from him and stands up, moving Charlie and Happy away. She straps on her belt, her sword resting against her hip, her gun on the other side.
"You too Mest, return to me in one piece, okay?" She grins.
"Yes love," Mest tells her, kissing her one more time, before he heads for the door.
He glances behind him and sees Wendy smiling him off before he closes the door. There, she's safe. He needs to make sure she continues to be safe. Mest heads back on the deck and sees his crew all standing there ready.
"What's the status?" He asks walking towards Erza.
"They're leading us to the island; if we try to change our course they'll catch up and crash into us." Erza tells him.
"And if we don't?"
"They'll still catch up to us, but it'll just be a little slower."
Mest groans as he thinks things over, "if they're leading us there they either have reinforcements waiting or they prefer fighting on land."
"If we stay at sea and this turns really ugly it might be best if we're near land. Inhabited or not, there might be a town that can help us. Wendy is a great doctor, but there are too many of us."
Mest snorts, "just how badly are you expecting us to get beat Erza?"
"You know I'm only thinking of the worse. That ship just keeps getting larger and larger the closer it gets. It must have paddles for it to be catching up to us; I imagine a crew of no less than seventy."
"We've fought worse."
"We've lost too because of that worse."
Mest gulps and looks over at his crew. So many good faces, so many of his friends that he doesn't want to be his last time seeing. He jumps up on the railing and grabs onto the rope to keep him steady.
"I only have one order here for everyone on this ship! Don't die! Even if you die, don't! I want to see everyone here again! We're going to fight for our lives! We're going to fight for our freedom! We're going to fight for each other! Just another day living as Fairy Tail Pirates! We will prevail! We will win! Protect each other and go for the kill! We're going to all live another day!" Mest orders.
The crew cheer out in unison. Mest nods his head, grin on his face, and looks at the ship again. It is more clearer than before, a jolly roger that he doesn't recognize waving on its flag. He's going to do this. They will fight, they will win. That's all there is to it.
"Men! Be prepared!"
Her hands aren't shaking. They usually do whenever a raid happens. She's never been in one, Mest would never allow her so close to danger. Maybe she was just used to these things happening now. Pirates are so strange. They attack other ships to steal treasure, never go to the aid of each other, and fight against their friends. Shouldn't pirates stick together? Like how marines stick together?
The whole ship shakes as a cannon ball hits it.
Wendy doesn't flinch at all. She has her hand on her sword, ready for someone to come. No one ever does. The raids usually end in a couple of minutes; that's how powerful her crew is. She only knows it's all over when Mest or her other friends come dragging in the wounded. She's not allowed on deck anymore until Mest knows it's 100% safe. He hasn't forgotten the first raid that happened when she foolishly ran up on deck and got captured. Wendy will never forget that either. Don't trust pirates... even if she trusted Sherria and they ended up being best friends, not all pirates are like that. She's not supposed to trust pirates-
Wendy screams as a cannon ball flies through the room, bursting open the wood and walls. She ducks down as debris falls, Charlie and Happy hollering at the sudden surprise. That's never happened before, it was so close! Her eyes are wide as she looks back up, seeing a hole in her ship. Charlie is crying like crazy and Happy jumps through the small hole, crawling into the other room.
"Happy! No!" Wendy yells running over there.
She can't fit through the hole though. What if Happy falls off deck? What if he comes across a pirate and they kill him? Charlie is meowing and Wendy quickly picks her up, shoving her into a cage. She should have done this in the beginning. Wendy runs for the door, opening it and heading for the other room. It should be a storage room and as soon as she opens the door Happy is running between her legs and down the hall.
"Happy!" She screams running after him.
More cannons burst through the wood and Wendy falls down, cowering on the ground. The shaking is back, along with the flinching. She's scared. She's scared. How are cannons going through their ship right now? They normally never hit them, or at least, in this area. She's scared... she can't stay scared though. Wendy gulps and gets to her feet, chasing after Happy. She hears him meowing and follows after. Happy hisses loudly and Wendy turns the corner.
"Damn cat!" A strange voice yells.
Wendy gulps as she runs into a man she doesn't recognize. He lifts his leg up and kicks at Happy, trying to get him off of him.
"Leave him alone!" Wendy growls drawing her sword.
The pirate looks up and grins at her, "hello pretty girl."
His teeth are all rotten and crooked and Wendy feels her legs shaking. She isn't going to allow herself to be scared though. She knows how to fight, she's been training for months now, nearly a year. She just has to remember everything Erza, Jellal, Laxus, and Freed taught her. She tries to capture her breath, lowering her legs and taking a stance.
"Don't you dare touch my cat," Wendy tries to sound menacing.
"This is going to be fun," the pirate grins out.
He holds his sword out and starts running towards her. Wendy is ready to meet his attack and focuses her eyes on him. All of a sudden another cannon comes out and hits the man; he goes flying out of the wall and into the ocean. Wendy's eyes widen and she walks over to the huge hole, trying to spot the pirate. She sees nothing but the ocean now. Don't think about what happened. She needs to get back to safety and she needs to get Happy. Wendy turns around, putting her sword away, and bends down to pick up Happy who's curled up against the floor.
"Don't worry Happy, I've got you. I'll take care of you," she says picking him up.
The ship lurches and makes this God awful sound. It starts tilting all the way back and Wendy screams as she's thrown off her feet. She crashes against the wall, hearing the wood break underneath her. She doesn't know what happens next. One minute she is holding onto Happy tightly and then the next she hears a sharp break and is falling. Happy jumps out her arms and she sees the ship above her before she crashes into the ocean. She's not prepared to go under, her mouth swallowing sea water. With strength she struggles to find she swims her way above water and gasps loudly for air.
She's fallen overboard, and now that she has, she sees the damage to the Vermillion. It's covered in so many holes, so many cannon wounds, and more and more seem to appear. It's sad; she doesn't know how long it's going to take Natsu to fix this. A wave crashes against Wendy and she's brought back underwater. She fights and struggles to stay above water, swimming back to her ship. She can't stay in the sea, she's a sitting duck. She needs to get back onboard.
The sea is an unforgiving lady though. One minute she could be still and peaceful, and the next moment a raging storm. Waves after waves crash against Wendy and she's hit beyond control. She feels herself drowning, her strength leaving her as she tries to fight against the current. Finally though she lets go and lets it consume her. It hurts too much. She should have listened to Mest, she should have stayed inside. Happy escaped though and she had to save him. Cat or not, he was still her friend. Mest isn't going to be happy. He's going to be sad. They're going to win and he's going to go to the infirmary to get her only for her to not be there.
Wendy opens her eyes in the water and frowns deeply. She thinks to herself, trying with the last bit of her strength to survive.
Mest... I'm sorry.
Wendy lands on the shores coughing out every bit of sea water she's swallowed. She keeps coughing and coughing, maybe she's throwing up. She can't tell. Her limps feel weak and she just wants to lay on the beach and stay there until someone finds her.
She was drifting for so long, she struggled to stay afloat and keep breathing until she made her way to the island. Swimming sucked. Doesn't matter if she could do it or not, Mest did not prepare her to be able to swim for hours.
She can still hear the fighting. The firing of cannons, the sound of gunshots. Wendy rolls around and looks out at the sea. Her ship is much closer than she remembers; maybe she didn't have to swim that far to land. The enemy ship is still floating, but it's on fire. The pirates are abandoning ship now... and if they're doing that, then they're going to head to land... Wendy is stuck on land with no one here with her.
She's a sitting duck.
Wendy quickly gets to her feet, but falls over and over on the ground. Her limps feel heavy, but she can't stay here. She'll die if she does, she needs to go and hide. She still has her sword and her gun is still in its place when she checks. She can fight. She feels terrible, but she can still protect herself. Maybe her friends will come on land too and finish this fight off. She has to hold onto that hope.
"Well, well, well, look at what I found."
Her blood turns cold. Wendy turns and looks, seeing someone crawl out of the ocean.
"Hello poppet," the man grins.
Her fear is her new strength. Wendy pushes herself to her feet and runs towards the trees. She's surrounded by a forest moments later. Good, this provides cover. The perfect cover. She can hide here, she can use the trees to her advantage and hide.
"You can run, but you can't hide girly! I'm going to get you!" The man laughs.
She can hear his voice right behind her and pushes herself. She can't die here, she can still fight. Mest is waiting for her. Erza is, and Lucy, and Gray, and Laxus, everyone back at Fairy Tail. Everyone is trying their hardest to stay alive and Wendy isn't going to be the only one who isn't-
"AH!" She screams getting yanked back.
She feels a hand in her hair, grabbing her, pulling her hair towards him. Wendy is screaming and grabbing it, trying to pull it out of his grip. She feels her hair strands break, but he has too much balled up into his fist.
"Wow, you're a pretty young thing. I wasn't expecting such a find to be on such a wimpy and ugly ship. My crew is going to love playing around with you," the man grins at her.
"Let me go!" Wendy screams at him.
"Don't think so poppet. Your stupid crew fell right into my trap. This island here, it's ours. We killed everyone who inhabited this place and we've been using it as our own personal treasury if you will. We usually wait for unsuspected folks to come across before we kill the lot and take all their gold, but we know the flag you bare girly all too well. Fairy Tail Pirates, ha!" The man laughs creepily and spits on the floor, "we've heard of your success and now think about it, my crew becoming famous over night for taking down the Fairy Tail pirates. Don't worry, we'll have to keep someone alive from your crew to make sure the story is true. I think it'll be you. Yes, you're a beautiful little thing. I think you'll do just nicely. I'll take you here, and then again when we tie up the rest of your crew and kill them all in front of you. I love it when women scream so much."
"You're sick!" Wendy spits at him.
"It's my sick mind that has kept me Captain for so long." He grins.
She draws her sword. She has the element of surprise. She can do it, she can run it into the man and he won't know what hit him. She hesitates though, never taking a life before. The man's eyes widen and he reaches for his own sword, only to find nothing there. He curses as he finds himself defenseless; must have lost his weapons when he fell into the sea. Wendy has another chance, but she doesn't take it. She doesn't know why. This man wants to hurt her, wants to kill her. She's so petrified though, so scared- she brings her sword and swings it down.
Tears fall out of her eyes as she watches her hair fall on the ground, her captor falling down with it as his grip is suddenly broken. Wendy runs back into the forest, biting her bottom lip to keep her tears at bay. She didn't need to do that. She could have just stabbed him, cut his arm off, just given him a small wound. She cut her hair off instead though, the hair Mest loved so much, the hair she's been growing since childhood.
"Dammit! You get back here or you're going to regret it!"
She's not going to be able to escape. He owns this island, that's how he caught up with her last time. He knows every piece of it. What Wendy did was just delay the inevitable. She needs to think and think fast. Her body feels limp, she has a sword in hand and a gun, she's being chased after, she can't hurt him... she needs to lead him off her trail. Wendy stops running and hides behind a tree, breathing heavily. With shaky hands she reaches up and feels her hair. The left side of it is still long and running down her back, but the right... its gone. Wendy sniffs and bites her bottom lip hard. She raises her sword in the air and holds onto her hair tightly, cutting the rest of it off.
"Mest, I'm sorry," she cries.
He saw her cut her hair, so she'll use that to her advantage. Wendy throws it everywhere as she walks forward, making a trail of some sort for him to follow. She keeps going until she gets rid of it all, and then backtracks, getting rid of her prints. She quickly climbs up a tree as best as she can and keeps her sword in hand, hiding in the branches as she sits and waits.
This is the perfect element of surprise. She can attack him just like this. The moment he comes she can jump out of the tree and stab him. The moment he passes by she can reach for her gun and shoot him. Wendy reaches for her gun and pulls it out, her hands shaking as she holds it. She can do it. She won't have to look at him in the eye. She can just aim, close her eyes, and shoot. It'll be easy, so easy- footsteps are coming closer and Wendy holds her breath.
"Stupid, dumb bitch. Cutting her hair off like this, does she even know she's leading me right towards her? Hahahahaha! I can't wait to find you girly! I'm going to take you nice and slow! Watch the life die in your eyes! Should have killed me when you had the chance!"
She sees him walking by her tree. She can do it, she can shoot him. Close her eyes, close them and shoot. Close and shoot. Wendy closes her eyes... but she can't pull the trigger. She hears the footsteps walking away and brings her hand to her mouth, trying to hold back the sobs. What was the point of learning how to fight if she wasn't going to do it when it really mattered? She's let everybody down. She can't stay hiding up in this tree forever, he's going to find her sooner or later, and if not him, then someone else from his crew.
He said they owned the island, so Wendy can only imagine how many pirates are here right now. They might be killing her friends at this moment, they might all be dead right now. Mest... it hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. Why should she value his life when he doesn't value theirs? Her friends could be dying. They could have hurt them, he could have hurt them. He was trying to hurt her, attack her, use her body. Wendy shivers and hugs herself.
She is not going to survive this. She can't stay up here waiting, she has to fight. Mest is screaming at her in her head, begging her to keep going, begging her to not give up. If she stays here... she might not be found... but she knows she will. She has to fight. She has to find the strength. Wendy takes a small breath and closes her eyes tightly.
He is really starting to hate this girl right now. She isn't worth all of this trouble. He should have stayed at sea and attacked her helpless crew as they tried to swim ashore. He wanted to finish watching his crew burn down her ship and laugh as they slaughter the rest of her crew. She wasn't worth all this trouble, but he was going to make damn sure that he would use her until he was satisfied.
"Girly! Aren't you tried of running by now?! You know I'll find you!" He laughs.
Let her run, let her get scared, let her tire herself out. He's going to be there the moment she gives in and then he'll win. He keeps walking forward, his grin turning wider and more sadistic with every step until he hears it-... her screams. He turns back around, grin still in place, as he starts running towards where he hears it. He backtracks and curses, thinking she must have been hiding and outwitted him for a second. She was pretty stupid to let herself be found out again though. He breaks through the clearing and sees her on her knees, clutching one of her legs with her hand as she glares over at him. Her sword is far away from her and from the way she's sitting... she must have fallen out of the tree she was hiding in and broke her leg. Stupid bitch, she's just made it all the more easier for him. He takes a step forward.
"I'm only going to warn you once, don't do this. Walk away. I don't want to hurt anyone!" Wendy cries out.
The man laughs, "you aren't going to hurt anyone. Look at you, all useless like that. You caused me a lot of trouble girly, so I'm only going to return the favor. Tell me, are you a virgin? You look like one, all innocent and pure. What's a girl like you living a life of a pirate?"
Wendy squeezes her leg harder, not yet.
"I'm sick and tired of just anyone thinking that they can be a pirate simply by picking up a flag and taking to sea, especially your damn crew. You've been around for generations, my old captain had a few run ins with yours. Family, he laughed at them. Pirate crews aren't supposed to be family, but enemies, common men with common goals ready to backstab their so called friends at any moment to gain what they want."
"Please, don't do this." Wendy pleads one last time.
The man only keeps getting closer and closer to her though. He reaches out and grabs her shirt, pulling her towards him. She cries out and he just laughs at her tears, sticking his tongue out to lick them off her cheek.
"Don't worry. We're going to have fun, you're going to live, then I'm going to drag you back to the sea and make you watch as everyone you care about is killed right in front of your-"
Wendy pulls the trigger. She hyperventilates as she sees the man cough up blood, it splattering on her face as his body crumbles to the ground. He's reaching out at nothing on the floor, clutching his stomach bleeding out. She tries her best to look forward, to not watch as the life disappears from his eyes. The gun in her hand falls out onto the ground as she cries.
"Yo-you-yo-y-yo-you-" he struggles to speak, fingers curling into the ground before... he's gone.
Wendy pulls her legs up to her chest and starts crying out loudly. She can't believe she did that, she didn't mean to do that! She just wanted to hurt him! To shoot him in the leg, the arm, make him stop coming after her! Make him stop chasing her! He was going to attack her though, he was licking her cheek- he was going to hurt her and-
"AHHHHHHHH!" Wendy screams.
Her voice disappears in an instance and she's left there, breathing slowly, hands curling over and over again. She has to get up. She's given away her position, she has to keep moving or else someone might come around. Wendy's cold hand curls around the gun again. She pushes herself off of the tree and stands to her feet, staggering for her sword.
Her plan worked. She made him think she was defenseless by planting her sword away from her. She made him think she couldn't move by clutching her leg and screaming out in pain. She made him think she wasn't hiding anything behind her back by begging for her life... what he didn't know was that she was begging for his. She can do this. She feels numb right now, she's not allowing herself to think. She can do this. Mest will make her feel better, Mest will make everything go away. She can do this.
Wendy staggers into the forest, eyes lifeless as she clutches both her weapons. She fears for the next person who stumbles across her that wishes her harm.
