CHAPTER: The First Cut
" Love... I love... "
"I love you Sarah, I always have and I always will, you are my queen and my all, forever..."
Darkness swallowed his world as his mind screamed the words he wanted Sarah to hear. But it was too late as he was pulled from his body and into a numb darkness.
The starless sky surrounded him, cradling him safely like a mother's arms, time had no meaning here as he drifted gently towards a subtle golden glow. The light was warm and soft like the light of a summer's day, and it called him to it with a sirens soft voice as Jareth allowed his mind to follow that call.
His mind drifted along long twisting paths as he neared the light. Snippets of thoughts and dreams flickering through his mind, mingling with his memories until he could no longer distinguish between them .
Light flared and he found himself a child once more, sitting curled up in Morgaine's lap her silken fingers idly carting through his long hair as she read the tale of the world's creation from the great tome, held up by the two winged hag's kneeling before them. Relaxing into her warm frame, he let the soothingly familiar words wrap themselves around his bruised and broken mind. Time flowed endlessly, as Jareth dosed contently .
The soft hand had stopped it's slow caress, as Morgaine gently gripped his chin and tipped his face upwards, to meet her black within black eye's, his breath hitching in his throat as he realized with a start that it was no memory, and nor was it a dream.
" Mother? "
"Yes child..."
Wetting his lips nervously, Jareth meet her serene gaze:" Have I passed on?"
"No child, you have not, not yet. You teeter on the cusp of life, Sarah would not let you pass on. She has called in your debt of three hours once stolen."
Nodding, Jareth let her words sink in before he whispered timidly:" Why did you attack me? Why did you send Gafael to kill Sarah?"
Sadness and truth filled her pitch black eyes:" I did not my son, and Gafael passed some three years past... or so I believed ... I do not know how he managed to stave of his final end ... but he did and I shudder to think what might have happened to us all had Sarah not been strong enough to call the Labyrinth for help ..."
His eyes glittered with lethal rage as he growled:" Titania that serpentine whore !..."
" Yes I fear so..."
" Does Sarah suspect?"
Smiling a proud knowing smile, Morgaine nodded:" I believe so, she is truly a very observant young woman ..."
Nodding sadly Jareth leaned his child's body against Morgaine's warm shoulder silently enjoying the feeling of safety that her arms instilled. Silence wrapped around them cocooning them in this private world, as time stretched once more, until Jareth shifted again, looking up into Morgaine's sorrow filled eye's :" Are we truly here ? Or is this my mind trying to ease my passing?"
" Once more the answer is both yes and no, We are both here, and yes you are dying, yet this is a dream and you are not yet dead. "
Nodding Jareth took in the truth of her words, before sighing: "I will have to return won't I?"
" Only if they should chance upon a way to cleanse your body of the poison that is killing you . . ..."
It was as if Morgaine's words had been heard through the veil, as a soft voice called desperately:" Jareth no! Please stay with me... please Jareth come back to me... please... you have to fight... you can't just give up !"
The warm scene melted away, leaving the pair to float in the numb body less void.
" She calls me once more after all I said and did, still she calls to me... she fights for me.."
" She loves you true Jareth... Do you love her?"
He didn't answer, there was no need to as he let his soul be pulled back, away from the beckoning golden light and back towards the crushing weight of his broken body.
. . . . .
It hurt, fiery pain filled him, covering his entire body in a fine mesh of pure agony. Gasping for air Jareth fought desperately to inflate lungs that felt like they had been flooded with boiling oil and molten metal.
The void had been black and devoid of all feelings, but this new world was a bright agonising cacophony of light and sound and pain. Pain was everywhere and everything, his skin burned as if he had been buried in red-hot iron, the heat unbearable, against the acidic ice that was his bones. It hurt, it hurt so fiercely that he could do nothing but howl in anguish as the scorching hands holding his limbs down send searing bursts of power through his body, pushing waves of caustic iron through his flesh to condense inside his left hand. Everything boiled down to the flaring agonising pulse from the hands up through his body to the void of pure undiluted pain that was his arm and hand.
Coughing he thrashed, he couldn't help it, but it made no difference as more power was pushed through him causing him to arch off the hard cold surface he was lying on and screech once more until he ran out of breath.
The cadence of the pulses seemed to rise, giving him less and less time to ride the mounting waves of burning agony, pushing him to his limit. And just as he became convinced that the pain would send him reeling back into the darkness that waited at the edge of his brutalized consciousness, an angel appeared to chase the darkness back with her cool fingers as she bathed his searing body in her icy tears of mercy.
Forcing his eyes to look at her, through the veil of tears pouring down his face, his first thought was :" Sarah..."
But it couldn't, be, the female was wrong, her face too triangular, and her colours were too grey and dull. But that instantly lost all importance as she ran a cloth over his chest wiping the blistering ichor away before it could eat more of his skin away.
Fresh cool cloths were lain on his forehead, pressed against his frantically pulse points or used to bathe his skin when the iron in his body ate through it. The cycle repeating itself again and again, and all the while the pain in his left hand grew until it felt like the ball of agony that had once been his hand, would devour him.
It was too much for him to endure, and yet he had no choice as the hands holding him down pulsed once more, bathing him in fresh waves of agony stronger than before.
The world went still, complete and utterly still, as the hands left him. Blinking slowly it took him a few minutes to realize that someone was lifting his left arm, slipping what felt like soft leather around it, tightening it just above his elbow.
" Wha. what...": Sweet goddess but his throat hurt as he croaked out the barely audible words.
"Ssch don't worry yourself, here, drink. "
The voice, he knew it, just as he knew the touch of her soft familiar hand as she lifted his head, allowing her to pour a sweet tasting liquid into his mouth, rinsing the metallic tang of his own blood away.
The pain lessened slightly as Sarah gently caressed his cold skin, letting him focus on her tired face. Dark circles peaked out through the four coloured markings of, sorrow and fear filled grey, yellow, purple and black.
Four colours, no one had four coloured markings.
Yet all that filled Jareth's mind as he floated slowly back into unconsciousness was just how beautiful it made her.
Images of Sarah smiling and laughing floated around him in the darkness, comforting him and chasing the throbbing unbearable agony back until it became a slow insistent ache at the back of his mind. His mind that felt stretched and brittle as he dimly realized that his body was being moved. His left arm extended fully, and the leather strapped around his elbow tightened again, until it bit into his flesh.
His elbow, chuckling softly to himself Jareth wondered why they would bother with strapping something around his elbow when there was no arm below it. Slowly he floated back into a drugged and distant consciousness, forms moved around him, their movements quick and precise as they followed Sarah's quiet but assertive directions.
"Knife..."
"Light a fire in the hearth"
"Hold him..."
" We need to tie it off..."
"Lilly heat the flat iron for cauterization ..."
"Forgive me Jareth..."
Forgive her ? Why would he forgive her, she had done nothing to hurt him, she had saved his life and it had been painful yes. But it was a price, that he was still willing to pay for being alive. Why would she...?
Strong hands grabbed him, and dark shapes vaguely recognisable as Shiver and Didymus leaned in to hold him down as something slimy and cool was rubbed on the arm that was no longer there. Blinking lazily Jareth turned his head, towards the strange movement at his left arm, his brow furrowed in confusion, as he watched Sarah fuss over what looked like a burned branch.
Only the flaking blackened sticks twitched fascinating him with their jerky movements. Why was she making rotting sticks move? And why was she staring at it as if it were alive and ...
Leaning further over the sticks, Sarah blocked of Jareth's view, making it impossible for him to see what she was doing as agony flared up his arm. Arching his back as a sobbing broken cry slipped from his raw lips, Jareth felt his world shattered into a million blackened and bloody pieces. Again.. and again...
Gasping for air that would not come he whimpered and gagged on the stench of iron burned skin and rotting flesh that assaulted him, and a horrid realization dawned on him.
It was his hand, his fingers that looked like burnt rotting sticks as the dead flesh flaked off, like oily black snow.
The cold gleam of steel flashed like lightning from the naked curved blade in her hand. Dread filled him as the cold realization struck, and he screamed in panic:" Oh goddess no... please... no... Sarah not you... Please... not ...you"
Words tumbled from his lips, in a jumbled disconnected mess, as he fought futilely against the much greater strength of Shiver and Didymus and their harsh hands. He fought yet gained nothing but more pain, until soft hands cradled his face keeping him still as the beautiful not goblin girl, forced him to look at her through the heavy veil of pain and scalding tears pouring from his eyes.
Her voice cutting through the thunderous sound of his own frantic panting and the pounding roar of his blood:" Jareth ...Look at me, we have to do this..."
"Do what!": His mind screamed, but he was too terrified to form the words.
" Your hand is dead, and we have to take it, before the poison spreads again. Now drink this ... That's good, when you wake up it will be all over I promise. .. It will be okay...Sssssch just rest, just... rest."
Another warm cup was held against his lips, and its sweet content quickly poured into his mouth, forcing him to swallow or drown. He had barely swallowed the liquid before the world became a distant disjointed place, as he floated in and out of consciousness.
The fear bled away as dreams and reality mingled, as he watched Sarah work with impressively precise movements, as she placed the first cut just three inches below his swollen elbow. Fresh pain lanced up his arm, but it somehow drowned in the ocean of agony that he was already floating through, and it turned into pale white flutter wings as he exhaled, blinding him as they scattered and illuminated everything in harsh blue light.
Flowers, great many hued flowers erupted all around them as Sarah hit a vein and crimson blood covered her in a thick spray. Thick viscous blood that dripped off her chin as she looked up at him through a mask of red, that was slowly morphing to become the face of a bugbear.
Smiling slightly Jareth coughed and closed his eyes as visions of the bugbears at Morgaine's court played through his mind. Most had been tall and fearsome looking but sweet and playful, and most still remained good friends.
The distant pain in his arm changed, pulling him back and into his body with a choked gasp, as he realized that the new sensation was the result of Sarah using a bone saw to sever the twin bones. The slow rasp of metal teeth biting into his bones, had Jareth weeping like a child as they sent wave upon wave of agitated sharp pain up through him.
Time slowed as each stroke of the saw bit deeper drawing more and more desperate cries from his raw throat. Then finally after an eternity of ignored screams and garbled pleas, his world collapsed into a new eruption of colours and liquid shapes as he finally, mercifully drifted into oblivion.
. . . . .
Closing the door behind her, Lilly ran a cold hand over her burning eyes, and sighed. She was exhausted after two and a half days, of desperately fighting to cleanse Jareth's tortured flesh, of the virulent iron poison before the damage done to him became too extensive for them to heal.
Entering the great room, Lilly sighed as she deposited the newest pile of soiled rags and towels on the floor beside the huge stone hearth. These too would be burnt no matter what the others said. She had been the one who had raced back and forth to the linen cupboard, and they had more than enough to spare. And so these would be given to the hungry fires.
Grabbing a fresh towel, Lilly briskly wiped the last black stains from her hands as she turned to the large rustic and very well stocked kitchen. They needed food, and since she was the only one without magic she would at least contribute with this much.
Kneeling down in front of a cupboard Lilly quickly pulled out a series of large stoneware pots as she planned the meal. Cooking had always been a favourite activity of hers and she couldn't help but feel excited by the prospect of cooking in a kitchen this nice.
"This meat, it will not sustain us."
The sound of Shivers hoarse nasal voice, cut though Lilly's quiet musings, startling her and causing her to jump and crack her forehead against the edge of the cold marble tabletop.
" Ooww God fucking damn it, don't sneak up on people like that ! You scared the crap out of me!
Giving her a wide roguish grin as he bowed to help her up, Shiver said:" My sincerest apologies , my lady I shall try not to do so again..."
There was a near electric jolt, as Lilly let Shiver take her hand and pull her to her feet, his hand swallowing hers in its overly hot and heavily calloused palm, and for some reason the feeling of the rough skin against her own silken hand made her blush furiously. Staring down at their joined hand's, she licked her suddenly dry lips and spoke in a hushed whisper that only made her already impressive blush, deepen into an almost maroon colour:" Ahrm you said something ... something about the... Ahm meat ...? "
Nodding as he slowly, almost reluctantly, released her hand Shiver sighed deeply and leaned back against the opposite counter top:" Yes the meat is conjured, it has never lived thus, there is no goodness in it. No nutrition. It will fill but not feed us."
" What like rabbit? "
The smile lit his tired face:" Yes like rabbit."
Gods he looked ready to drop as he ran his fingers through his dreads, his green skin taking on a faint greyish tint before her very eyes, as he continued:" I will go out and hunt some meat for us whilst you prepare some bread."
" Alone? ": Disbelief pulsed off her in waves:" You look ready to drop, and your limp hasn't improved, can you even walk that far? "
Shrugging Shiver didn't bother to put on a display. Lilly had already seen him limping, she had helped him as his leg gave out on their short journey to the lodge. She might not realize the true extent of his injuries, but she did obviously suspect that they were worse than he was letting them see. And rightly so . ...
He was still running on the adrenaline of the last few frantic days of fighting to save first his own and then Jareth's life. And it would not be long before even his goblin strength gave in, rendering him useless. Holding her gaze, Shiver felt his smile widen, as he spoke with a confidence that he really didn't feel": I don't have to, I can see my prey from here, I just need to keep down wind of them and get within range of this ..."
Shiver knew that he shouldn't do it, even before he did it but, he just couldn't help but want to impress her as he drew his gnome made crossbow and quiver of black steel bolt from the thin air.
Surprise widened her already large eyes as she reached out to caress the intricate carvings gracing its elegant but powerful curves.
" But if you like you are more than welcome to accompany me. It won't be a long hunt, and I may need aide in bringing the meat home..."
Letting the crossbow fall to hang by his side, before the trembling could be seen, Shiver reached out offering her his other hand:" Will you join me my lady?"
Nodding, Lilly smiled:" Yeah all right, I can't have you falling over out there, I mean who knows what kind of bogeymen Sarah has dreamed up to haunt these woods ... She really scares me ."
Cocking his head Shiver looked at her curiously:" Has she not always been as she is? Strong willed, focused and willing to sacrifice her all for what she believes in? A fierce enemy to those who transgress against those she protects?"
"Well yes and no, she has always been a hell of a loyal friend, and in the year that I have known her, I've never seen her back down from a fight. But now, she's just so much more, so much more powerful and the way she carries herself now... She is really a Queen , a goblin queen ..."
" I know ... They can be frightening, but you must always remember, that though they may seem not to care, it is not because they are uncaring. It is because they bear the weight of rulership upon their shoulders."
"Yeah I guess, doesn't make it any easier though ..."
"Nay my lady it does not."
"Okay enough with the wimpy girl act if we are going hunting we better get going while Didymus and Sarah are still busy wrapping Jareth up. Besides it's almost dusk and we don't want to miss that... So you got another one of those crossbows? Oh Stop looking so surprised, I may not look like it but I do know how to hunt."
Gaping like a newly landed fish Shiver stared at the slender girl in the thin stained linen shirt and tight leather pants, who looked so painfully awkward, and tried to imagine her gliding through the dusk shrouded under brush as she read the tracks left by her unsuspecting prey. And strangely he had no problem seeing it.
" I did not know that women of your realm were taught to hunt."
Something that Shiver couldn't decipher passed through Lilly eyes like a shadow through water. Whatever it was, it was complicated as both remembered happiness and heart wrenching sorrow, played over her face.
"Yeah well not many of us do, but.. some..."
"Do": Shiver finished for her as her voice faltered. So little had been said, and yet he suddenly understood something about her that he doubted anyone but Sarah even suspected. But sadly, much as he wanted to show her that he cared, now was not the time. With every passing second he felt how his blood leaked from the wounds on his battered body. It would not be long before he would lose the battle against the mounting fatigue, and he was determined to have provided for those he had sworn to protect before he became complete useless.
"Yeah": Came the quiet reply : "Some do ... and speaking of that we need to get going before it's too late."
"As you wish my lady": Bringing his hand up with a quick graceful flourish Shiver let her see the two green crystals resting in his palm, as his long and strong fingers closed over them, crushing them like one would crush a dry husk.
Blinding light flared engulfing them both, and when it dissipated it left the pair dressed in warm comfortable clothing made from a mottled fur that would offer them camouflage in the ice covered forest.
Hefting the heavy crossbow with a strength that surprised Shiver, Lilly nodded her approval as she examined the weapon, he had conjured for her. Quietly noting that her weapon was a smaller and lighter but perfect replica of his.
"Nice! "
Smiling as he quickly wiped the cold sweat that beaded his forehead away, Shiver inquired:" Does it please you? "
Looking up from her meticulous examination of her new weapon, with eyes that gleamed like captured stars, Lilly beamed:" Please me! I fucking love it, now let's go kill something! "
Nodding silently Shiver pushed away from the counter he leaned against and gestured towards the snowshoes already waiting beside the door.
. . .
Holding her breath Lilly followed the large chunky looking herbivore over the line of her razor tipped bolt. Her prey was big nearly the size of full grown wild boar, come to think of it the creature actually looked a lot like a boar with its broad oversized head and wide tusk adorned snout. But that was where the resemblance stopped. Boars were not covered in what looked like thick mottled gator skin, nor did they have a ridge of golden horns running down their backs to the tips of their dragging meaty tails. And they did not have sharp looking claws at the end of legs, that reminded Lilly more of the gila lizard than a pig.
Glancing over at Shiver hiding in the bushes to her right, Lilly shuddered, like her, he was kneeling in the crisp pristine snow, crossbow raised and level with his unsuspecting prey. And at first glance he looked as strong as ever, but only if you disregarded the paleness of his skin, and the sheen of sweat on his forehead. Lilly hadn't known Shiver for more than a few frantic days, and she had no clue as to his reason for hiding how hurt he was. Nor did she actually care, no all she needed to know was that he was doing it, and that it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to keep up this stupid charade. By now it had simply become a matter of maybe an hour or two before he would have to give in, or his body would do it for him. And all Lilly could hope for, was that they would be back in the warm lodge when that happened.
The change in his stance was barely perceivable, but to Lilly it was like watching her once foster father George right before he would take his chosen prey down. And fueled by that memory, she didn't even stop to consider her own actions as her finger tightened on the trigger and her arrow flew no more than a split second after Shiver's.
It was a thing of beauty as she watched the herd of unnamed beasts fly into the expected panic as the two large (presumably) males dropped without the slightest sound, obviously dead before they even hit the ground. Grinning broadly, Lilly was on her feet and moving through the brush even before the last animal had left the clearing. Her long bladed dagger held ready, in case one of the beasts were still alive.
The sound of snow crunching softly in the bushes on her left side, and the frozen branches creaking was the only warning Lilly got before a hulking figure burst out at her from across the narrow clearing. Stopping dead in her tracks Lilly didn't even have time to scream as the knife like claws flashed out aimed at her ill protected torso. Freezing in place Lilly did even get a chance to react as a strong armour clad hand gripped her shoulder, hurling her backwards, to reel against the sudden loss of balance as she struggled to regain her footing on the crisp snow.
But her gallant effort was in vain, as a treacherous branch snapped beneath her foot, and sharp pain exploded behind her eyes following her down into a dazed stupor.
. . .
Light flashed in the arrow as it cleaved through the air on its way to its resting place in the grove between two scale plates on the unnamed creatures chest. It was dead before it hit the ground. Rising slowly Shiver stubbornly ignored the screams of his abused body as he watched Lilly leap to her feet, and enter the clearing with a wide grin on her face and a ready dagger in her hand. Dark purple shadows played along her cold paled ivory skin, as she closed on the nearest of the two dead creatures, and the beauty of her liquid grace nearly stole his breath away.
His body moved before he even realized what it was, he was seeing, as he reacted on pure instinct. It was huge nearly three feet taller than him, with an apelike stoop as it ambled out of the surrounding trees with surprising speed. And it was advancing straight towards Lilly with its five inch claws raised in a silent threat.
There was no choice, and no time to hesitate.
Adrenalin flooded Shiver fueling his muscles, and colouring his world in shades of red as it made his dark flame flare. His leg was a spike of agony as he raced through the shin deep snow, but that barely registered as the all consuming need to get her out of harm's way blinded him to all else. Grabbing Lilly by her shoulder, Shiver used his own forward momentum to throw her backwards and out of reach for the towering predator as he hurled himself in between them and both his jet blades materialized in his hands.
Centuries of harsh battle training and combat experience gripped him, allowing him to move with blurring liquid speed as he hacked into the creature with relentless fury. Fury not truly directed at the creature, but fury at the situation, and at himself for not seeing what could have happened.
He was the one who had asked her to join him, without knowing what dangers they might encounter. Lilly could have been hurt or even killed, all because he had been inattentive.
A crushing blow to his shoulder ripped him from his own mind, and back to the reality of what was happening. Huge claws forced themselves in under his left shoulder guard, digging deep gouges in his flesh. Kicking the beast squarely in it's wide chest, Shiver wrenched away with a pained cry. Blinking through the excruciating throb of his thigh, Shiver dodged and weaved below the deadly accurate swipes, as he sought an opening that wouldn't result in him getting ripped apart. But in vain, the creature was too big, and too fast for Shiver to even dream of getting away unharmed. Well then so be it...
Vanishing his left hand sword, Shiver grasped his remaining weapon in both hands with grim determination, as the blade grew wider and longer, turning his longsword into a true broadsword. Raising the much heavier blade made his arms and shoulders howl in agony, but he stubbornly held it level with what he hoped was the creatures heart and...
The bright flash of a crossbow bolt short past his right ear, to bury itself in the beasts forehead, with a dull thump.
Time froze as the large mammal stiffened, and then fell in on itself, nearly bringing Shiver down with it, as it crashed to the snow covered ground. Falling back, he landed heavily on his back, expelling the air in his lungs with a loud gasp. The impact of the hard frozen ground on his already bruised back, had stars exploding in front of his eyes, as he lay paralysed and gasping, trying to refill his burning chest.
Small cold hands cradled his face, as the world bled slowly into focus, bringing Lilly's worried face with it.
"Jesus fucking christ! Shiver don't fucking scare me like that! and..."
The slap sent his world spinning of kilter once more as it rocketed his head violently to the left.
"DON'T EVER PUSH ME AROUND LIKE THAT AGAIN!"
Blinking Shiver brought his trembling hand up to rub at the quickly bruising area as he nodded, and swallowed back the nausea that had bile pushing up his throat.
"Okay, now answer me truthfully, are you hurt?"
Was he hurt? A thousand thoughts raced through Shivers still dazed mind, yes he was hurt, and badly so, yet those were old wounds, and he had no idea how bad the injuries he had sustained now were. And more so would it even matter what he said? Nothing could be done while they were still out here, and there was no way that petite Lilly would be able to support him all the way to the lodge, without leaving their much needed prey. No he...
"Wait scratch that": Levelling a flat and obviously displeased look at him, as she disrupted his line of thought :" I wouldn't believe you no matter what you told me on that account. So just tell me can you walk if I help you?"
The dark look she shot him left no doubt in his mind that she would see straight through any lie, leaving him with no choice but to tell her the truth, though maybe not the entire truth :" Yes my lady I can walk though I do not know whether I will be much use in bringing the meat home, and I won't be able to walk fast."
Her smile was big enough to see even through the thickening darkness as she chuckled:" Nah don't worry about that, I have dragged home bigger animals than these, and once we get them up on a few branches it won't be too hard to get them back..."
. ... .
The walk was not long, but the throbbing in his thigh, was slowing them down, and Lilly kept insisting on staying beside him, as she pulled the quickly constructed sled carrying the two carcasses and their bounty of other tasty morsels. Shiver had to admit that her strength was rather impressive. Not many human females would have been able to drag two 140 pound animals and about 20 pounds of fungi and winter ripening fruits and berries, through the snow while keeping a conversation going.
"So this George guy, comes up to me, and I'm like yeah we both know what you want from a
fourteen year old like me, so I pull down my shirt a little, trying to be ... sexy you know. And that must have looked real nice, you know. Fourteen stick thin, no boobs, yeah real sexy... any who's, George comes up to me, looks down at me with this uber disappointed look in his eyes, and then he pulls off his coat, and wrap it around me, and tells me:" You are coming home with me, and I will smack you silly if I ever see you dressed like a whore again, do you hear me child! "
Nearly stumbling, Shiver stared at her moonlit profile once more feeling bad at the sight of the dry blood matting her hair down, in a coin sized spot just over her left ear. Just an inch forward, and it would have been her temple. Wrestling the poignant guilt back, Shiver exclaimed:" He what! But you were nothing but a child! "
Grinning in the darkness, her eyes sparkled brightly, as they reflected the silver moonlight, nearly imitating the darkflame lighting his own she said:" Yeah well hear me out. So there I was, a complete innocent staring at my first trick and praying that I hadn't just gotten myself raped or killed. So he grabs me by the arm and hauls me out of the truck stop. And before I could spit, he has me thrown into his pickup, and we are driving down this pitch black road. And I am fucking terrified!"
"Well of course you are, but I do not understand, what does this have to do with you being able to hunt?"
Confusion, pushed any pain he felt to the back at his mind as he watched Lilly's nonsensical grin widen.
" I getting to that. Okay where was I... Oh yeah, So he drives me up to this creepy ass cabin in the forest and there he stops and gets out of the car. Mind you he hasn't spoken a word to me since dragging me out. Well I stay in the car for about a hour, before I figure that I might as well just go inside."
"And I will never forget the feeling when I stepped inside that first time. George was sitting at this rickety table with this black steaming pot in front of him, and then he tells me to come sit and eat: Cause yer look like a stick figure: he says. .. "
And it smells soooooo good and I haven't eaten in three days at this point. So I figure, that I might as well eat, and face whatever is going to happen on a full stomach. So while I'm stuffing my face, George starts talking. He tells me how he has been keeping an eye on me for the week or so that I had been hiding at the truck stop. And that he knows that I ran away from a home in Alabama. He even knows my real name. And he gives me a choice. Either I stay there with him, or he gives me a thousand bucks and drives me to some warmer state than Alaska and drops me off. But if I stay I would have to go to school and behave myself. But in return he would take care of me."
Stumbling to a halt as Lilly stopped, Shiver stared at her in shock:" So he did not want anything in return?"
Shaking her head Lilly smiled:" Nope, nothing, he even supplied me with papers stating that I was his dead sisters daughter, and that he was my legal guardian. That's when I got to become Lilly Grant. But before I distract you with anymore of my absolutely thrilling life I think we need to get you inside and lying down, before your leg decides to crap out on you again okay."
"What are you speaking of Lilly, we are still...": Trailing off Shiver couldn't keep from grinning as he watched laughter sparkle in her eyes. That sneaky little wench, so that was the reason for her incessant chattering on their return walk.
She had much to his surprise managed to distract him enough, that he had walked the entire way without realizing it. And now they were standing just outside the golden glow that shone out of the large living room windows, creating rectangular pools of bright orange light.
" Well done my lady, had it not been for your tales I would still be in the forest, if I had not already fallen prey to monsters spawned by our Sarah's mind, but": Groaning as he leaned heavily on the sturdy staff that she had cut for him, Shiver sighed:" I may need your help once more."
Gesturing to the four steps leading up to wraparound porch, Shiver continued:" I fear that I am unable to scale those steps unaided."
The joy in her eyes bled away, as concern and caring replaced it:" Of course, and then you are going straight to your room and getting out of that armour okay..."
A wicked smile played along his thin lips as he asked innocently:" Are you sending me a knight and far older man to bed without supper like a naughty child?"
The look he received in answer was one that he had not seen on anyone's face but Jareth's, for centuries. Lilly was looking at him like you would a disobedient child:" Enough with the hero act Shiver, you are dead on your feet, and there is nothing you can say that will convince me that you are not hurt... Badly ... So just go and get out off that armour, while I put a quick stew over the fire. "
Gone was the smiling, and easy going girl, and in her stead stood a stern but caring woman. A woman who without knowing him, had seen straight through his attempts at appearing stronger than he was, and she was having none of it.
And Shiver did in all honesty find her just a little frightening, as she simple stood there and unflinchingly held his gaze.
" Or if you prefer I can call Sir Didymus and Sarah and let them strip you, but I have a sneaky feeling that you would rather avoid that, am I right? Huh"
Nodding silently Shiver felt his smile wilt under the strength of her eyes, and he found himself rather thankful that the petite woman didn't have her own magic, because he felt certain that she would have rivaled the strength of Sarah:" No my lady you are right, I would prefer it if we did not involve Sir Didymus or queen Sarah, they are troubled enough as it is..."
Her fingers nimbly made short work of the improvised rope harness that allowed her to drag the swiftly constructed sled laden with their prey and harvest of late maturing berries. And once freed, she quickly moved to Shivers side, wrapping her deceptively slender arms around, his waist, and pulling his left arm over her own shoulders.
"Okay let's get you inside, and if we see, Didymus, don't argue with me okay? "
Nodding curtly, Shiver leaned on the staff once more as he took the first step.
The trek up the four steps proved almost too much for Shiver, as the movements put all his weight on his wounded thigh, and all that kept him from falling flat on his face, was the strong arm around his waist.
The door creaked ever so slightly as Lilly put her shoulder and put her weight against it. Peaking into the empty room, she let out a sigh of relief, and quickly signalled Shiver, letting him know that the coast was clear.
. . . . .
Darkness covered the snow covered landscape beyond the large windows, in deep purple and indigo hues. Running hands that shook with fatigue through his tight dreads Shiver gagged as the stench of iron and blood washed over him, drowning him in the pungent sickly sweet smell.
Goddess above how he needed a bath, but the act of removing his armour, now that he had returned it to its normal form, was utterly beyond him. His numb fingers simply refused to grasp the clasps and bindings.
Letting his throbbing hand fall into his lap, Shiver let out a soft defeated laugh, as he dropped the glamour that hid the state of his battle marked hands. Dark bruising covered the backs of his hands and his fingers, the skin swollen and split over his knuckles, and Shiver felt reasonable sure that he had at least three broken knuckles, and four broken fingers. Smiling wickedly at his own mirror image Shiver remembered the look on the face of the orc, he had punched clean off its draegor. And flexing his hands now, Shiver couldn't help but think that the pain was still worth it.
But it still didn't help him out of the damned armour.
A soft knocking at the door whipped his head up, sending the world into a headlong spin with him as the linchpin. Grabbing his head in both hands Shiver groaned as he slid off the bed, to kneel on the floor, as the door opened and closed. Delicate feet moved quickly into his swimming vision, and slim arms wrapped themselves around his chest, straining as they manhandled him back onto the edge of his bed. Pushing weakly at the lithe body, Shiver mumbled:" No, I can get up... On my own... Just ..."
"Sure you can get up on your own, I see that, and you are doing just perfect...come on big guy, just lean a little on me, and we'll get you up on the bed in a second.. see there we are, doesn't that feel better than lounging on the hard floor?"
The feeling of the firm mattress beneath him, grounded him enough that the world finally stopped revolving and allowed him to open eyes he honestly didn't remember closing. Lilly stood in front of him, a look of genuine concern in her blue and grey eyes, as the back of her slender hand pressed against his feverish forehead obviously feeling the heat he was giving out.
Pulling back Shiver ended up as slumped back as his cuirass would allow.
"Christ all mighty you are burning up, come on let me help you out of that armor ..."
Shaking his head, Shiver mumbled:" No...I ...I Can"
Smiling indulgently at the obviously hurt male Lilly replied: Yeah sure... just like you could get up on your own, tell you what, if you let me help you. Then I won't call Sir Didymus in here and make him strip you ... hmm ?"
He was caught and he knew it, cursing vehemently Shiver let her take his left arm and begin to unlace his metal brace. Careful as she was it still hurt enough for him to let out a pained hiss as she peeled the braces back revealing a deep cut where a dagger had caught him where the bracer linked up with his elbow protector.
"Oh shit this is deep, okay hold still this might hurt..."
Speaking through gritted teeth Shiver ground out:" Fear not I shall... persevere. "
"Sure now tell me how to get this off ..."
Getting Shiver out of the battle marked armour proved more challenging than Lilly would have thought, and despite her very best efforts it ended up taking a little over an hour or so, if the succulent aroma emitted by the now almost ready stew was to be any indication. And what she found was not exactly uplifting.
Resting her cool hand on Shiver's scalding forehead, Lilly sighed in apprehension as she watched his markings bleed into a sickly pale grey, making him appeared even paler than he already was. With the stiff cuirass, leathers and chain mail that he had worn underneath removed, Lilly were finally able to see the full extent of Shiver's injuries. And they were as she had already suspected extensive.
Apart from the deep laceration just below his elbow, the five fresh and now bleeding ragged tears down his lefts shoulder, he had deep bruising which coloured the left side of his chest in dark purplish grey and bled into a sickly yellowish green. Pressing down gently Lilly winced in sympathy as Shiver hissed and recoiled with a pained expression.
" Okay so I'm guessing that you have a few bruised or bent ribs..."
Nodding Shiver coughed softly only to end op hunched over his arm as he was rewarded with a brutal stab of pain.
"Okay so more broken than bruised..."
"Yes I fear so, but do not worry yourself they will be mended in a few days time."
Glancing up with an incredulous expression Lilly said :" Sure it will cause you have ..."
Raising an amused eyebrow Shiver just held up a trembling hand as he finished her sentence with a snarky:" Magic?"
A clear pale green crystal orb flickered into existence to rest in his palm, as he steadily met her wide eyed gaze.
"Crap, that shit just keeps freaking me out ! Seriously do all of you have magic?"
" Yes and no, we all have the dark flame, but only the strongest of us can manipulate it...but...it...hnmm"
Colour drained from his face as he hunched over clutching his right thigh, growling with the sudden pain, as the expenditure of magic made his exhausted muscles spasm. Cool hands grasped his shoulders forcing him to straighten and rest his scalding forehead against the smooth fabric covering her shoulder, as a soft hand cradled the smooth skin at the back of his neck, gently massaging until the pain eased and he sagged against her in relief.
"So it comes with a price hmm?... Wow you really are burning up, come on let's get you laying down so I can get at that leg of yours. Okay?"
"Hmm yes ..."
The world spun as Lilly lifted his legs onto the bed and began undoing the laces of his leather pants. Before she eased them carefully off him, leaving him naked except for a tight pair of black jockey briefs, with a bright orange cartoon jack o lantern pattern.
A deep scarlet blush flared instantly to life, covering Lilly from hairline and all the way into her open neckline, as she stared at his limber toned body, he might be a wounded, green skinned goblin, but he was also one of the first nearly naked man she had ever seen, away from the beach. And there was no denying that he was very well built ...Centuries of battle training had sculpted a body that consisted of nothing but planes of taut smooth skin covering hard, lean muscles that seemed to have been dreamed up by a master sculptor, and carved in a silky warm stone. Wetting her suddenly dry lips, Lilly couldn't tear her eyes from his slender chest as the chiselled muscles moved and expanded with each breath. By the gods it shouldn't be allowed to look like that. ...
A softly amused yet gravely voice ripped her back to the reality of the situation:" You stare as if you have never seen a naked man before..."
Embarrassment deepened her blush, as she quickly averted her eyes, to stare at the floor, as she stuttered:" No...I have..., seen . I mean I ... "
Glancing up at him, Lilly sighed in defeat as she saw the quiet knowing smile tweak at Shiver's pale lips:" Fine yes, it's not like I roll around in men... And none of them ever looked like you... ": Trailing off Lilly frowned as she noticed the sheen of cold sweat that were forming on Shiver's ashen skin:" Christ you are soaked in sweat ... Okay no more stalling"
Dropping the still warm leather pants, on the floor with the rest of his clothes and armour, Lilly sat on the edge of the bed, and shook her head. There was a soaked and stinking bandage, wrapped tightly around Shiver's right thigh. And that was obviously her first priority, though the gashes left by the beasts claws and the deep laceration just under his right elbow also begged for attention.
"Okay this won't be pleasant, so you can curse if you need to."
Nodding Shiver averted his face, and squeezing his eyes shut with the pain, he flinched and strangled a pained moan as Lilly sliced the knot away and peeled the stiff material back. The gash she revealed were a deep one, that began at the middle of the front of his thigh, and curved round the outside to end just above the back of his knee. It was of course utterly encrusted in dried scabs of dry blood and sticky white and yellow pus. Also it reeked.
Dropping the pungent bandage onto the floor, Lilly pressed both hands against her mouth in shock:" Jesus holy fucking christ! How the ever loving fuck have you been able to walk on that? "
Letting out a deep shuddering breath, he seemed to have to fight to regain enough control to form a coherent sentence:" There was no choice... and too little time for me to stop ... and truly feel the pain... I... was fighting for... my world. .. How could I stop and think of myself? "
Letting his eyes fall shut, as his brow furrowed with the pain, of the newly aggregated wound, Shiver shuddered, before continuing:" Besides ... my armour took much of the weight and strain..."
"Yeah, I could imagine, right let's get this done" : Rising from the bed, Lilly quickly moved to retrieve the supplies she had deposited on the dresser just inside the door. Setting the heavy basket on the floor beside the bed Lilly smiled down reassuringly as Shivers eyes widened in apprehension.
"Okay let's get to work."
. . .
Letting out a tired sigh, Shiver sagged back into the plump pillows stacked up against the patted head board of his king sized bed. Exhaustion pulled at his heavy eyelids as Lilly's delicate fingers rubbed cooling ointment into his skinned knuckles. And yet tired as he was he couldn't keep from laughing along with her as she very animatedly relayed the tale of how, she and Sarah had come to know one another.
" And then she chugged the entire bottle of this disgusting white wine, and she seemed just fine... until she hurled all over the smug bastards boots. I mean it was pure puke fest ...So I pick her up and schlep her hysterically laughing ass back to my dorm room": Gesturing towards her feet, with a wicked grin Lilly continued:" And we only just reach the door, before she paint's the carpet again and fills my doc Martens to the brim. And then she breaks down screaming with laughter ... And god she looked so ridiculous , sitting on the hallway floor, covered in puke with tears streaming down her cheeks. And then the dumb bitch say's " I think someone's puked on your boots" and that it! I start laughing so hard that I get the hiccups and that makes me puke all-over her boots ... And yeah I guess that I should shut up now, cause this story is pretty gross and she's your Queen now and stuff... anyway we're done now, and I'll shut up."
Gasping for air between peals of genuine laughter Shiver shook his head as he pressed a hand against his aching ribs:" Please... don't ... you have a great talent for telling stories..."
Chuckling Shiver wiped the joyful tears away :" And with regard to her being my queen, then please believe me when I tell you that the tales I can tell you of my king are far, far worse."
"Oh really" : A gleaming mischievous light flared to life in her bright eyes at that little titbit, and she was nearly salivating with wicked glee as she cooed :" Well Sir Shiver in the spirit of chivalric fairness, I do believe that you are required to share any such tales with me now that I have shared mine with you. "
Howling with laughter at her gall Shiver barely managed to choke out:" Thy wish is my command my most fair lady, how could I ever refuse a beauty such as you? "
The mood changed like the flip of a switch as the laughter and joy abruptly vanished from Lilly's eyes, leaving them hard and cold as flint. The words she snarled made Shiver genuinely convinced that human males were born both dumb and blind.
"Don't lie to me Shiver, I like you and I want us to be friends, so don't blow smoke up my ass okay, I know what I look like, so just don't ."
Staring at her with a look of utter dumbfound confusion plastered on his face, Shiver found himself complete speechless, as he met her eyes and found them brimming with deep pain and stubbornly unshed tears.
To think that she could believe herself ugly perplexed him, and her tears filled him with an intense sad fury, and need to wash the deeply rooted hurt away. Reaching out he laid a gentle hand over hers swallowing her cold pale skinned hand with his own ash green one. And when their eyes met, he held nothing back as he let her see the complete honesty in his bright green orb's:" Lilly on my word as a knight and the Captain of the Labyrinthian army and the Bloodthorn guard, I Would Never Lie! Not to you, nor any other, be they man, woman or child. My honour would never allow it, so you Must believe me when I tell you that you are indeed beautiful."
Lilly's eyes grew big, as the sheen of unshed tears made it look like she was seeing the world through a veil of water. Words stuck in her throat as she stared at his utterly honest eyes. There were no guile, no falsehood, only pure honesty, fatigue and pain. Tears spilled down her face, and dripped from her pointed chin.
A large calloused hand cupped her chin gently and forced her to meet his warm gaze when she tried to hide her tears.
"Lady Lilly have I thanked you yet?"
"No and I'm not a Lady, I'm just Lilly..."
Shaking his head Shiver said:" No you are not "just" Lilly, you are Lilly student of the herb arts and healing, as well as anatomy, bioengineering and sculpting, all to give back limbs to those who have lost them. You Lilly are a beautiful woman, both inside and out. And on top of it all you are a hunter as well, as from what I can smell an excellent cook. Nay, You Lady Lilly are most assuredly a lady. And as a lady would you be adverted to helping a wounded knight into the kitchen to sample your cooking ?
A soft satisfied grin spread on Shivers pale face as he watched the light return tentatively to her eyes, making those amazing blue star burst's twinkle and shine like aquamarines set in polished silver. This was how he wanted to see this beautiful girl, happy and smiling. Not with tears streaming down her cheeks as she heard the voices of all those who had put her down and made her life a nightmare.
He might only have glimpsed who she truly was, but that glimpse had convinced him that Lilly had a strong bright soul, how else could she have survived the ordeals that she had told him of in the last two hours, as she had selflessly bared her soul to distract him from the pain of having his wounds cleaned.
There was a furious blush spreading from her cheeks and all the way down her neck to her small but very shapely chest barely visible beneath her thin cream coloured shirt. The pretty rose colour deepening everytime her fingers grazed Shivers skin as she helped him dress in loose grey pants and a loose white shirt.
Leaving the shirt mostly open, Shiver couldn't help but notice how Lilly's eyes seemed to be constantly attracted to the movements of his lean torso, while she helped him up, without putting weight on the gash in his thigh. And the sudden realization that she had basically just seen him naked, except for a pair tight jockey tights with a ridiculous pattern, made his own face darken in the goblin version of a deep blush.
Their eyes meet, and the utter awkwardness of the situation, made laughter pull at the corners of their lips, and it took no more than a few seconds before that laughter bubbled from them both banishing the strained silence in one glorious instance.
"So my lady, may I have the honour of dining with you?"
"Yes my lord, you may, ... You have after all supplied half the meat ..."