Blind

The word rung in Murtagh's ears and he grimaced; it must be horrible to lose a major sense, to not be able to see the glorious burn of sunrise or the glittering scales of a majestic dragon. He paused, thinking what he would miss if he was sightless then realised the mere thought of losing such a vital sense was dreadful.

"I'm hideous…" Her soft voice brought Murtagh tumbling from his thoughts abruptly. Nay, the elf before him wasn't hideous yet now that he could see her haunting eyes she wasn't as beautiful as he once thought she was. He opened his mouth to object she spoke again, "Find me something to cover up with…"

He blinked, thinking she meant for a dress which would cover more than one of his shirts then realised she meant something for her eyes. He rummaged through one of Thorn's saddlebags until he found a leather bandage which he offered her. As he held it towards her, he realised how stupid he was as she wouldn't be able to tie it at the back easily. He knelt behind her and gently secured a tight knot at the back of her head under a thick layer of her silky hair.

You're not hideous. Thorn rumbled. Jinxx didn't reply, the look on her face said it all and both males realised her thoughts on the matter would not be changed.

Murtagh sighed, "I think we should sleep, worrying about our appearance can be kept for the morning." Jinxx nodded and stumbled back to her bed.

Poor child. Thorn pitied her as he curled up like a cat, his tail winding around his rider possessively.

I think 'poor child' doesn't cover it. Murtagh closed his eyes and, with a deep breath, succumbed to the world of dreams.

…

Murtagh felt incredibly empty when he woke to the sky being an exotic pink colour from the rising sun. He groaned, unsure as to why he felt as hollow as a lifeless tree in the middle of winter. Perhaps it was the lack of dreams that night that perturbed him, or perhaps it was the dark void of nothingness he had confronted upon the instant his eyelids drooped. Whatever it was, it seemed to have stolen something from inside him.

A soft moan came from the other side of the camp and Murtagh cast a quick glance at Jinxx who was squirming violently against something. He crossed the short space of ground between them and pressed his palm against her forehead, checking for a rise in her temperature. Her body betrayed no signs of illness when he checked for any signs of infection so he frowned in confusion as to why she squirmed so.

Her pale fingers began clawing at the mask that covered her eyes and he gently peeled away the strip of dark leather. His eyes widened as pools of blood cascaded down her porcelain cheeks; no source for such a large amount of that crimson, sloshy liquid could be seen clearly. Jinxx whimpered, out of fear or pain Murtagh could not tell, and soon tears mixed with hot blood. Barely thinking, Murtagh scooped her into his chest in a tender embrace and swayed gently, hoping it would comfort her.

How fairs the young maiden? Thorn rumbled sleepily, his giant paws thudding against the dew-covered ground as he approached.

I know not. Murtagh sighed and began murmuring to the elf in a hushed tone, I woke barely a few moments ago. She was fighting against something, gripping at the bandage around her eyes so I removed it to find a load of blood. I never knew anyone could bleed so much!

Jinxx? My dear tell me why you bleed… Thorn coaxed the weeping female sympathetically. She sniffled, acting as though she never heard the great beast. He repeated his question then scowled, It would seem she is not entirely all there…

'Not entirely all there'? What does that mean? Murtagh scowled in confusion as he glanced down at Jinxx, his thoughts jumping to the conclusion that she was mentally unstable. Thorn gave no reply so Murtagh pushed strange thoughts out of his head while he comforted Jinxx.

Finally she drew back and wiped her eyes, smearing blood and tears onto her white knuckles. A horrified expression flitted across her features and she began stammering out a thousand apologies, "I really didn't mean to! Oh I am really sorry! I must have ruined your shirt now… Oh I'm so stupid!" It took all of his willpower to force back the warm bile that rose in his throat; her cloudy eyes were surrounded by a mixture of dried and fresh dark-red blood, giving her the appearance of a demon-possessed child.

"Hey shh…" Murtagh enveloped her into his arms once again and stroked her auburn ringlets kindly, "It's nothing; I never really liked this shirt anyway." He lied smoothly; the shirt she had just ruined with her blood was the shirt he wore when Thorn hatched so it had a certain sentimental value. He shoved that thought away, a shirt was a shirt and more were being made every day.

She smiled weakly, "I-I'll buy you a new shirt when we find a travelling merchant or village." She promised weakly.

With what money? Thorn interrupted somewhat harshly, you have none of your own and the money we have if scarce and probably not the currency as we are beyond the edge of any map of Alagaesia.

She glanced down at her feet while Murtagh glared at his dragon, "You're right, I shouldn't have been so foolish in the first place…" She sniffed then spoke again, "Will you take me to the stream I can hear?" Murtagh guided her down to the water's bank then began retreating to the camp until he realised that she needed help returning. He squatted beside her as she splashed water over her creamy skin, ridding herself of any trace of blood.

"How did you go blind?" He asked inquisitively and she stopped rubbing at her left nostril, "Please, I don't mean to be blunt but I'm just curious."

"I was born blind." She finally answered, "The elves couldn't sing back my sight and when they tried…" She trailed off the glanced over to him with a smile while water dripped from the tip of her nose.

Murtagh didn't dare press for an answer so he let a moment of silence pass before he asked another question, "What did you mean when you said you created the Inn for Thorn and myself?"

She smiled secretively and sang quietly as though it was obvious:

"There's a place that I've found, as far as I can see, this place lies within, the depths of my dreams…"

She tapped his forehead, an action that made Murtagh think she was accessing his brain, "You have interesting dreams Murtagh… They're beautiful."

Murtagh frowned then smiled, "Thank you? He wasn't exactly sure if that was a compliment or not.

She began washing again then glanced back at him, "Does she know that you love her?"