Fae were creatures of great beauty, wealth, and power. With power came the power to heal, and the power to let people die. Magic decidedly was the only thing to keep Kol from death. Illyrians did not have special abilities like the High Fae but had unfiltered magic running through their veins from their warrior ancestors that kept them strong and able. Their bodies were resistant but not indestructible.
Kol had already accepted death many months ago, whether it was the fire or the burning cold and hunger that almost killed her in the mountains. If one did not contemplate death they were not living at all.
With her eyes closed her consciousness drifted off she felt the constant patter of summer rain upon her face that washed away the dirt and pain. The short grass of the alpine meadow felt spongey underneath her fingertips.
She could not feel much than the small but noticeable ache of reality. She decidedly though going back to it wasn't worth the pain or effort subjecting herself to the void of flowing darkness.
She faded once again.
She felt cold. In the back of her mind, she knew that was bad, it was too warm to be cold. That was taught earlier on. Illryian's were better with the cold anyway, she hadn't found if she had a high body temperature or it was just stubbornness.
She hoped the others were okay, she saw Richon and Calum as she left. Richon looked like he was in trouble.
She heard the loud flap of wings slicing through the air, it was different from the Ilryians booming wing power, soft and angelic feathers caressed her cheek. Lovely and soft, wet from the rain.
The chinks of armor moving around her and the air shifted magic flowing and poping fae into existence. There was a murmur of voices and shuffling of feet on the sodden grass.
"Bring her here." A commanding but light presence said above her. She could almost touch the light around her that she felt near him kissed by the light. He found the arrow and side wounds examined them with the same care any healer would give, she felt he was gentle with his touches looking for reactions upon her face. She felt her wounds heal and patch themselves her inner unsiphoned magic intertwining with the man's golden caress. He leaned down pulling onto his lap, he checked over her he called for a bandage.
"My lord, the others are waiting we must continue winnowing."
He put her down back in the grass careful not to jostle her like she was a newborn fawn. Checking the wounds once more before deciding that he was satisfied.
"I hope that Morrigan will have an explanation." He grumbled tiredly before rallying his troops for another jump. Leaving Kol to sleep once more.
Kol opened her eyes once again feeling a cold damp towel dabbed at her wounds cleaning them terribly slowly but with expert precision. She glanced over to her shoulder, that while red and an inflamed looked tremendously better in a short time. Courtesy of one of the High Lords, she supposed she wasnt sure which one it had been. She could hear the wind and rain pelting against the medic tent that was strangely empty. It smelt different to those other tents she had lain in before. Normally they were full to the brim and had a bad odor of sweat, this one was finely spun and lush smelling and citrus fruit filled with bright candles.
It wasn't a medic tent. The heavy blankets strewn upon her body were fine furs and pelts keeping her uncomfortably warm. Small tables that held the smell red wine and the healer's box of creams and remedies were carved wood, something she hadn't seen in weeks.
The healer looked up from studying her wound, she was a spritely young girl, her black hair was pulled away from her face making the prominence of her coal-black eyes stand out with her bushy brows with only small spiraling tendrils to show for her curly mass of hair. Kol drew her eyes to the bucket of water the healer used to clean her, she wanted to dunk herself in its blue placid waters, to feel clean again. She bit her lip as she used her arms to weakly pull herself into a sitting position.
She could hear the faint murmur of the camp outside, too quiet for it to be daytime she knew. Prickles went up her spine hearing them. It hadn't been a good battle many men were slain mid-fight. There were too many bodies to bury.
She knew it was selfish to hope her brothers came out unscathed, while she was hurt, they'd trained for this for their whole lives she had felt like an imposter in their midst at first, they were all-powerful. She was at the time very weak, in the arms and in the mind. If Kjell knew she'd been thinking like this she'd be thoroughly wacked.
Kol glanced about anxiously finding the healer's eye on her. The healer mustered a small but genuine smile.
"M'lady." She bowed her head nervously darting her eyes, Kol hadn't ever had another bow to her like she was some royalty. Richon would've laughed that anyone could bow like that at his Soot. She wasn't and knew she'd never been so naive to think she as above another. It seemed cruel that she was just a mere Lady. Not even a soldier, a role she'd fought for.
Her helm sat at her bedside is was completely clean as if the battle it had just fought through had been nothing but a fever dream. She dreamt many times that this world wasn't real, but it seemed to keep proving to her that that notion was wrong facing her with starvation and an almost death by an arrow. The times she'd forged for bugs as food, and the times with her brothers were completely real. She really hoped it was real.
"The Lady asked me to offer you a bath perhaps."
The healer gave her name as Mara, a youthful adolescent girl with rosy cheeks. She quickly moved around the room busying her self by preparing the water for a small wash that Kol was offered. Helping herself up she sat straight in the cot. Mara hauled a big bucket over, small enough to carry but big enough to hold a substantial amount of water. For such a short girl she had strong arms. Mara found a white cloth offering it to Kol to dip it in the water setting a finely spun night court tunic and some trousers. She looked nervous, Kol wondered why asking.
"You look a bit young to work in with the healers." Mara's cheeks burnt red.
"Well I'm not as experienced I am a healer, Lady Morrigan asked me over to tend to your wounds."
"I wouldn't want to take up your time, helping me wash," Kol's chest ached, Mara could be helping someone else instead.
"It's fine. It was getting quite overwhelming anyway, I'm used to tending to small breaks and cuts of servants, Lady Morrigan ask of me to take care of you, it would be rude to leave without being dismissed by her."
Mara had lapsed into silence after Kol failed to respond, doing whatever she could to get Kol comfortable fluffing pillows and busying herself with packing up her medic kit that was strew upon a table. Kol took the time to wash what she could be stopped to try to wash her hair that jostled her wound.
"M'lady let me," Mara said hurrying over finding some scented oils she helped Kol rake it through taking a small comb to it, "Can you please lean over, but, only if you wish M'lady."
Kol closed her eyes and leaned over feeling the water rush over her head, "It's Lottie if you insist on Lady, or Kol if you prefer." It felt strange to tell the girl her nickname, but it was telling that the young girl wished to be home not helping some Illyrian. Kol missed her home too. "Tell me, Mara, where are you from."
Kol watched as the girl reminisced about home, "It is in Dawn court, it is nice there during the summer months I work away from home at a small Lords abbey it's off the main road in a little hollow of its own." She fixed her clothing, "It was ever so nice, I feel so very grateful to be gifted with the power to help others."
"I'd expect so," Kol ran her hand over her arms whispering, "One day I hope to settle in a little far away hollow with blush pink flowers," Kol looked over her shoulder as if such ideas were scandalous, Mara smiled
"Well Lady Lottie if you do, be sure to invite me for tea, even for a bit of healing. I've gotten much better in the last few weeks." Kol looked down at her hands and smiled lightly thinking of such a place.
"I'll be sure to."
Mara's shoulders sagged at the familiarity giving a shy smile, "Alright, Lady Lottie," She helped Kol into a tunic checking and bandaging cuts as she went until she was completely satisfied. Kol felt lethargic from the medicine and completely drained of life and found herself not caring in the least if Mara saw her less than decent if it meant feeling clean. "Would you like something to drink or eat?"
Kol settled and smiled lightly at the girl, "Something to eat would be wonderful thank you, Mara."
Mara set off out of the tent in search of food with a hop-like skip. Kol settled back into the cot, she stared up and the ceiling of the tent fighting for sleep she wondered what Feyre and Rhys were up to now, or Mor. Was it over? Her life before felt nothing more than a dream fading from her consciousness. Mor had saved her, as she left the field Richon took her position. Was Richon okay?
Then Mor strode through the flaps of the tent fists clenched in anger she wore fine fighting leathers new and sleek unlike the army issued hand-me-downs they had procured for Kol that periodically broke needing mending from her or a tailor.
Mor sat down next to Kol she said nothing to breathe the thick layer of tension out of the thin tent walls, Mara shuffled out of the room dismissed by Mor with a flick of a finger when she walked back in with a steaming plate of cooked mutton. Mor let out a shaky breath pinching her brow, to Kol this was the first time she had seen the age and wear in the Lady's eye. Five hundred years would do that, she supposed. She wondered how Feyre and Rhysand had done it, Feyre only in her twenties with little experience of the world just like herself with an older fae who had live lifetimes.
Mor turned "What did I tell you? You then Cass," She pursed her plump blush pink lips.
"What can I say? I'm accident-prone," Kol shrugged side aching.
Mor's face twitched with a smile, "All you Ilryians are you all think you're tougher than you are."
Mor reached over finding Kol's hand, Kol thought it felt unfamiliar but right. Mor stroked her knuckles with her thumb. She looked down as if guilty for something large. Kol caught on quickly to the expression and drew her hand away eyes growing cold and distant.
"What did you do?"
Mor's stood up gracefully offering a hand with haste, "Your friend, Richon he is not doing well-"
Kol shot forward-looking coldly at Mor her voice so dark that it felt like rolling storm waves crashing on a rocky beach.
"WHAT DID YOU DO." Mor stumbled back but was stalk still taking her anger knowing in some form she deserved it.
"I SAVED you. I had a choice," Mor's red hot anger coursed through the room. It had grown very quiet before Kol shot up.
Kol rushed out of the tent the stress that built up turning into tears as she made her way through the medic tents walking briskly. A she made her way through the last tent she stopped hearing a guttural scream that tore through her body as she sprinted to him.
Healers tried to help but look at each other know the hours of work were futile and were merely buying time for goodbyes.
Kol pushed through to the warrior, another male was at his bedside he looked tired and sad. He had Richons sharp nose and mouth he looked like he was quietly talking to an old friend in a whispered voice a conversation for only them to hear. As she arrived the man leaned in one last time and then moved away. Richon's once over-confident eyes looked a lot less so.
She gathered her broken friend up into her arms he hissed. The gaping hole in his chest sight for sore eyes, red an anger gushing bloody gore covered by bloodied bandages. Kol's lower lip trembled.
Richon had been looking up at the sky gaping into the nothingness. Chest heaving sweat ran down his brow making his skin look sickly. Kol sobbed loudly rocking him back and forth eyes closed tightly lips and hands shaking. His eyes came to hers, he shook his head, he was pale and sweaty.
He reached an arm up landing it onto her shoulder he yelped as he leaned towards her she shook her head asking him not to take an effort in getting up for her. Save the time for the healers to fix him, they surely could.
She pressed the wound the seemed to keep bleeding despite the pressure through the bandages.
"No," she shook she shuttered looking around finding Mor's eyes as they avoided Kol's gaze "we can fix this."
Richon swallowed and shuttered, "Glad I know who your mate is finally soot," he squeezed her shoulder lightly with little strength he had his voice was shaky and heartbroken "It really hurts," breathed out but looked strangely calm.
''I'm glad I knew you, Cal and Kjell haven't come by I was scared you were going to leave an old friend to die by himself," he said wobbly, "I didn't- I didn't think I'd be going out like this I was expecting old fat and happy, but either way," He drew a large breath, "I guess . . . I gotta' go sometime"
Kol broke into sobs as his eyes glazed overlooking toward the heavens she spoke quietly in his ear, "No no no. . . Hey come on Richon this isn't funny, please wake up." she scrambled at the ground mud under her hands and in her nails "come on make it up to me, who's going to pull me out of the water."
"RICHON," Kol said shaking him as if he'd only taken a nap, bowing her said entertained her fingers with his calloused and bloodied hand tears fell freely coming in great waves of salt. "Richon. . . Please I don't want to be alone again."
Calum arrived later after seeing the state of Richon's mangled body. He drew Kol into his arms shielding her away from their friend.