The Goddess Crystal

Chapter 9: A Sincere Act

Skye's eyes are wide and stare at me, and I realize what I just said. I said yes. To getting married to Leith.

I realize that I'm not the only one who's teary-eyed as well. But why would Skye be crying? He doesn't care. I don't either. But why does my heart ache when I think of the pain he must be going through?

The light emitted by the crystal turns gold. Leith's voice seems so far off, like when someone tries to wake you from a deep sleep. "Thank you, Jillian." He pauses, and I can't help but think that I should be scared. "Guards! Apprehend this trespasser!"

Two men, hardly the age of service, appear and pull Skye's arms behind him. He doesn't fight, but continues to stare at me, eyes empty.

Leith walks up to him, and I can see his arms shaking. A quick flash of fist and Skye is bent over, hair in front of his face. He groans in pain.

Why can't I move?

Leith nods at the guards, who force Skye to stand straight. I see the damage and gasp.

His silver hair barely hides the split lip, the already discoloring cheek, the blood. That hollow gaze. I manage to turn my head and clench my eyes shut.

"Take him to a cell," Leith orders, walking away, but stops just a foot away from where Skye stands. He spins on his heel, and says something to Skye that I can't hear.

"Jillian?"

I swallow, forcing myself to look at Leith. Don't look at Skye. "Yes?"

His face softens. "Please meet me here tomorrow. We have much to discuss."

The Blue Feather is weighted in my hand, heavy. "S-Sure, Leith."

Leith smiles and motions to the guards, who force Skye forward. They don't bother holding onto him. Leith stops, observes, then trips him up, laughs and continues on inside.

Skye gets to his feet, grimacing, and continues walking without as much as a word. He glances over his shoulder at me before a guard shoves him forward and he stumbles.

It feels as if ice melts from around me. Did...did Leith just use the Goddess Gem on me again?

Somehow, I expected it.

When I finally go inside, I skip my room and head to the infirmary. A Nurse smiles at me, asks what it is that I want, and shakes her head when I ask about Skye.

"They probably took him straight to his cell."

But, all that blood... "Yes, but he was hurt."

The Nurse—a young, pretty lady—returns to wrapping a man's arm in bandages. "How badly?"

I swallow, eyes drifting. "A split lip. A bruised cheek. Scrapes." Could all that blood have come from a split lip? I look down and close my eyes as the picture comes back. "Possibly a broken nose. There was a lot of blood."

She stops in her work, walks over to a tall medicine cabinet and opens the squeaky door. "Hmm." She returns to the man's bedside. "Go take those to him, then."

I look up and notice the things she's laid out on the table: a small wash basin, bandages, rags, a bottle of iodine, an empty glass and a couple white pills. "Huh?"

She laughs as she ties off the bandage. "Take them to him. You can get water from the sinks over there and bring it in a bucket."

I stare at the supplies. "Thank you."

She smiles. "No need to thank me; just get that water before I change my mind."

The bucket is heavy and I can't carry it more than a handful of feet at a time. A young guard sees me struggling, and, being nice, asks where I would like him to carry it. I tell him near the cell of the new resident.

"Who? The only new person here is that Thief."

"Yes, that's him."

The guard looks at me funny, but picks up the bucket and walks down the hall and turns the corner. I follow quickly after picking up the rest of the supplies, careful not to drop anything. I slide the Feather under my door as I pass.

The bucket sits next to a door that looks like any other one at the base. They must have improvised a cell, I think, pushing it open and heading inside.

The room is dark, and it takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. Bare furnishings and the hastily sealed window are the only things that distinguish it from any other room.

And Skye, of course.

His head is bent when I walk in, but jerks up when I set the bucket down heavily.

I try to swallow past the lump in my throat. "Hi," I say, but my voice comes out as a squeak, so I clear my throat before trying again. "Hi."

He doesn't say anything. I sigh and put the rest of the things on the table, biting my lip as the door closes, sending us into darkness again. I fiddle with the iodine until I can read the label clear enough, sitting down. "You're angry, of course."

The chuckle that breaks the dark sounds bitter and dry. "That's not exactly the word I'd use to describe the way I'm feeling right now, Maiden."

My gut twists painfully. "Maiden? I thought you'd already stopped calling me that."

"I thought you'd already stopped running away when something goes wrong."

I sigh, a headache flaring behind my eyes. "I'm not going to fight with you, Skye. Call me whatever you want."

The chair creaks as he settles into it, across the table from me. "I expected more of a retort from you, Jill."

I snort, more ironic than irritated. I focus on trying to find cotton balls within the supplies. "Whatever." No cotton. I sigh and grab a rag, frowning at the fabric, and dip it into the water from the bucket, twisting the extra from it.

I walk back over to the table, grab the small basin and stop in front of Skye, daring to look up. "Do you want to take the painkillers before or after I fix you up?"

He groans painfully. "Before."

I hand him the pills, pursing my lips at the sound of his pain, and pick up the glass. "I'll go get you some water."

He puts the pills in his mouth, tipping his head back. "It's fine. I don't need it."

"Okay." I hold up the wet cloth, frowning. "Hold still so I can clean off the blood."

He doesn't complain as I wipe the rag over his cheek and chin, but the faint tightening of his face tells me the painkillers haven't kicked in yet. I drop the rag into the basin, watching as it splashes in the shallow water.

I pick up another rag, wetting it with iodine. "This might sting." He nods, but immediately sucks in a breath when I press it to his split lip. "Sorry, sorry."

Skye's eyes flicker to my hand, shaking. "It's fine."

I reluctantly return to disinfecting his wounds, stopping every time he winces. But he doesn't say anything, even when I gas at the gash on his forearm.

The bandages are clean and white and I press them onto his arm, wrapping according to the way they taught us at the Hospital. The way Mom taught me. "Are the painkillers working yet?"

His voice struggles to remain lucid and unslurred. "Yeah."

I sigh and sit, staring at him. "Sorry; drugs can make you kinda loopy."

Skye nods, sighing. His lucidity doesn't seem all that effected, come to think of it. "Why did you choose to say yes to Leith?"

I don't answer right away. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do."

I shake my head, smiling ironically. "Am I that predictable?" The smile drops from my face. "You hurt me. I wasn't keen on choosing you."

"I'm very sorry, Jill. I should've told you earlier about...you know."

"No, I reacted badly, like you thought I would." I looks up, eyes hopeful. "maybe you'd still like to explain?"

He smiles, but his split lip makes him stop, wincing. My throat closes up with tears that won't fall. I've cried too much recently. "As long as you don't interrupt this time."

I place a hand over my heart, and raise the other. "Scout's honor. Go ahead."

Skye shakes his head in amusement. "Like I said, I did what father wanted. It didn't really matter to me, back then." He breathes in deeply. "It does now, though. Well, it started to matter after I first met you, actually.

"Father painted you as a person who wanted him dead, who wanted to get rid of the Shade Law." He laughs. "Which I know now was—is—true. But, he told me you were this horrible, evil person. And, since I never truly met you, I believed him.

"But then I did meet you. The way you talked to me—as if I was some normal person, that you would treat me just the same—was different from what I'd expected. So I wanted to find out more, and so I did.

"Father managed to convince me long enough to make me trick you into a trap. But, by then, I'd already had my doubts and had been talking to you more than I should've—more than Father ever wanted me to."

Skye laughs. "I guess when he said he wanted me to make you have a crush on me, he didn't realize it'd work both ways."

I lean back in my chair. "Our first meeting, real or fake?"

He blinks. "What?"

"Real or fake?"

Skye sighs. "Fake."

"Spring Thanksgiving?"

"Real."

"The robbery of the Bar?"

"Real."

"Beach Day?"

He rubs his forehead. "Are you going to ask that for every time we met?"

I nod. "So?"

Skye sighs. "Half. Father wanted me to go see you that day, but what I told you was my own words."

"The robbery of the dig site."

"Again, half."

"The Fireworks Festival?"

"Real. Completely and utterly real."

I look up, stand and sit down on the bed, biting my lip. "The robbery of the farm?"

Skye follows and sits next to me. "Real."

"The robber of the Inn?"

"Real, again."

I motion vaguely to outside. "All before this?"

He chuckles. "Real."

I look at him, eyes bright. "What about now, real or fake?"

Skye smiles, despite his lip. "Real." And kisses me softly.

Tempest Bound: Fluff is amazing and fun to write. Who's happy? Who's mad? Whatever. :D

Anyways, going off topic here, but I've decided to open a request thing of sorts. If you guys like my covers for my stories, just PM me and I could make one for you, just like Pelkasauras-Cherry3456 did. Go check out her new story, Home. It's amazingly well written. I made the cover myself, so there's an example of what I could do, if you want. Just PM me and be aware it might take a few days, depending on circumstances.

Yes, it's a request, so it's free :D