Author's Note: Three in a roll :) I feel proud, but it means I might not update for a while... Hmm... Well, enjoy!
Murtagh found himself staring intently at the beauty regaining consciousness in his muscular arms, a strange feeling of pride warming him as he gingerly lowered her to the ground feet first. She drew herself to her full height then shook out her reddish-brown curls so they tumbled over her shoulders casually. His chocolate eyes marvelled at her fair skin, her athletic figure and striking features yet he pondered as to why she kept her eyes shut; perhaps she had been awake all this time after all.
"You should have left me like the others did." She mumbled her voice harsher and wispier than the elves Murtagh had encountered during his existence. She turned away from him and hugged herself for warmth, "But you didn't so I thank you..." She smiled at the soil under her petite feet then shivered.
Murtagh stepped forward and pulled her into his chest for warmth and comfort, "I wouldn't have left anyone in that hell-hole." He murmured softly into her silky tresses. She shivered in his thin shirt despite the fact she was pressed into his warm torso. "We should leave here," He advised quietly, wary of the eerie cottage he had just scampered from like a startled puppy.
She nodded, "Didn't you like what I did for you?" She whispered with a trace of hurt slipping between her silky words. He frowned, clearly not understanding what she meant, "The Inn... I created it for you to rest safely in... I directed your dragon here..." She twisted in his grasp to face the ruined torture house, "Was something wrong?"
Murtagh gulped, he didn't quite know how to answer. One moment he had been enjoying a slightly exotic-tasting whiskey and the next he had drained a decomposing brain of blood. He gagged then forced a smile on his face, "It was a nice gesture." He assured her, squeezing her shoulder gently.
Thorn stumbled from the stables with a wild gleam in his eyes, Next time Murtagh, I shall choose where we stay! I fell asleep in hay and woke up in a pile of corpses! Thorn boomed, then let smoke rise from his flared nostrils to show how livid he was. Murtagh cleared his throat as though to make Thorn acknowledge the newly-awoken woman in his hold but that merely infuriated Thorn further, What? Just because you can walk on two legs and talk to others of your kind does not mean you can drag me to my doom! You could have become the next body on the pile and I would be buried beneath you in a pile of muck and slime! What have you got to say for yourself?
Thorn! Murtagh shouted mentally at his dragon, Look who just woke up... Murtagh grinned and Thorn glanced down at the elf. He blinked then his eyes narrowed.
You. He hissed, much to Murtagh's annoyance. Who are you?
"Jinxx." She answered simply, her chin cocked in the direction of Thorn. "Please, I prefer Jinxx, it suits me better than any other name known to man."
Hmph. I suppose it'll do. You should stop hiding your eyes, they're probably really pretty.
"I..." She trailed off then slowly, her eyelids fluttered open however it was too dark to see what colour they were so Murtagh decided to check in the morning. "You're Murtagh and Thorn are you not?" She asked timidly.
"Yes." Murtagh replied.
It's nice to meet the woman who invaded my dreams... Thorn rumbled cheerfully. Now let us get moving before it becomes too light to rest. Murtagh was in no state to refuse; the foul smell of rotting flesh was starting to nauseate him and his head was spinning due to the horror that someone could have lived all those dead carcasses stashed in every nook and cranny. He almost felt sorry for the murderer until he remembered the decapitated 'bartender' and the fleshy skull he had just drunk from; that made him feel disgusted beyond belief.
He helped Jinxx up onto Thorn's back, chuckling as she gripped onto his spikes for dear life. He buckled them both into the saddle, flabbergasted when her thin legs were only just safe on the tightest loop of the arm braces. He held onto her to reassure her that she wouldn't fall from Thorn's back upon liftoff or anytime really. She squeezed her eyes shut as Thorn leapt into the air, beating his wings leisurely towards a forest a few hundred miles away.
...
"Murtagh?" Jinxx called out softly from under her blanket, "Are you awake?" He grunted in reply; yes, he was awake but only because he dreaded to see Nasuada in his dreams tonight. He heard crackling then felt two clammy palms press against his cheeks. At first he panicked, thinking she was casting a spell on him then her fingertips slid over the rest of his handsome features.
Don't startle her. Thorn muttered, eyeing them lazily, She's only seeing who you are.
What is that supposed to mean? Murtagh snapped, holding back a retort when she tugged on his hair accidently. This is just stupid idiocy, you've probably made her draw all over my face as revenge.
If only I was that harsh. Thorn chuckled dryly, You should be nicer to the company you rescue from dark and dingy castle prisons... Or better yet, don't rescue anymore! Murtagh sighed as he opened his eyes then thrust Jinxx away with more force than intended. She landed with a heavy thump and a soft 'oomph!'
"Must you feel me- oh..." Murtagh finally realised why she had been stumbling clumsily around the camp, tripping over obvious stones and immediately felt pity well up deep inside his stomach. He felt almost revolted at knowing her, immediately jumping to his childhood teachings that anyone who wasn't normal should be excluded from society. He brushed aside that thought, knowing that Thorn trusted her completely despite... that.
She flinched. Instead of having two beautiful, shimmering emerald eyes like he had imagined she would have had, two dull, glassy, hollow, cloudy, white eyes reflected the dying embers of the fire behind him.
She was blind.