Disclaimer: I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games.
Claimer: I own all of my original characters.
This story is almost done! One more chapter and it'll be finished! Now I know, this chapter is a bit dark, but it had to be done. Anyway, please read, review and let me know what you think! Hopefully I can have the last chapter updated soon and finally put an end to this story…and start another about a certain feudal Japanese ninja. ;)
Chapter 12: The Realm of Death
Nottinghamshire, England 1453 A.D.
Lavender; the sweet smell of lavender mixed with medicinal herbs were the first thing that entered my nose once I became alert to the outside world. I kept my eyes closed, trying to determine my location before having to come to terms with the conscious world. I could feel cloth underneath me, followed my some or of cot, telling me I was in a bed or sorts. Crackling fire and the warmth emitting from it were the next things that registered in my mind. It was completely silent, aside from the noise coming from the fire, and the room smelled of a witches' brew. My chest ached from the wound given to me by the dragon and I could feel a clotted substance over it; not blood, but something thicker than a cloth. I was warm, feeling a sense of comfort…wherever I was, and felt at ease despite the recent events. I inhaled deeply, regretting it as soon as I did. A sharp pain shot through my chest where my wound was, causing a low, agony filled groan to escape and fill the room. I gripped the sheets with my fingers, waiting for the pain to ease in my chest. I hear the rustling of fabric before the scent of lavender became strong and the side of the cot became indented. I felt a pair of soft, small paws touch the sides of my face gently, confirming my suspicions that I was not alone in the room.
"Thou must rest, Sir Galleth." Katherine's soft voice whispered as her thumbs stroked my cheeks, an attempt at comfort. My grip on the sheet softened, the burning pain fading away and I relaxed again. Her paws released my face before her lips brushed my forehead. She lifted herself from the side of the bed and I could hear her walking to the other side of the room. I opened my eyes once I knew she had reached the other side of the room. I glanced to the princess as she searched through different plants and bowls resting on the table at the far side of the room. The room was dark, the only light coming from the fireplace ahead of me and the few candles for extra illumination. The skies outside were dark, telling me that the evening was late; very late. Katherine was dressed in a soft green dress, her long hair cascading down her back as her crown sparkled in the firelight. She was quiet, I assumed so I could rest as peacefully as I could, given the circumstances. Looking away from the princess, I spotted my armor resting in the corner of the room and the condition of it…made me shudder. The chain male and best plate had one solid rip through it, curling the edges of the metal from the impact of the dragons' claw. The rest of the armor was dented, scratched, with streaks of black from the flames. I glanced to my chest, seeing what was clotting the wound. I was no Merlin when it came to herbs and medicinal remedies, but I did know that certain herbs would clean wounds, clot blood, or just about anything imaginable. Whatever Katherine was using on my wounds was thick, a dark green, had the consistency of wet, shredded parchment and was crusting over the rip in my skin, clotting the wound.
"My Lady," I rasped to the princess, finding my voice gruff, "Thou hast complained to me that I doth compliment thee too much. Yet, thou art here tending to my wounds; a simple commoner being tended by the princess of the castle?" she turned to me, a bit surprised that I was indeed awake. Her surprise quickly formed into a warm smile as she grabbed a root from the table.
"Thou hast saved my mother and myself from the beast of Nottinghamshire, slayed the creature, and hast kissed the doorway to the realm of death. The least that I can do for thee is to tend to thy wounds and make sure that thee are well." Katherine sat on the edge of my cot breaking the root, what I assumed to be aloe, in half, dotting the sticky substance on the scrapes on my face. I tried sitting up, giving Katherine a bit more leverage when it came to dotting the plant goop on my face, only to have her push me back down gently.
"Thou must not move, Sir Galleth, for thy wounds will open." She cupped my cheek softly, a look of seriousness etched on her features, "Thy movements must be minimal for about a fortnight."
"Sitting around, My Lady? T'would be insanity if I were to do that." She giggled, patting my cheek before standing and placing the used roots on the bedside table.
"Then thou must resist the urge to steal and slay more beasts, my brave Sir Knight." I returned her smile, not wanting to see hers fade.
"I shall try. But I wish to apologize to thee, Lady Katherine." She stopped in her tracks, facing me with a raised eyebrow.
"Whatever for, Sir Galleth? Thou hast save my life…why dost though feel the need to apologize?" backtracking, she seated herself on the side of my cot again, folding her hands neatly in her lap.
"I made thee a promise, to take thee away from this lifestyle. But, I allowed thee to be taken from the castle by the dragon. I allowed it to take thee to its lair, putting thy life in danger. I broke my promise to thee, Lady Katherine." She shook her head, gripping my paw with her own softly. A gentle smile formed on her lips as her eyes met mine.
"Do not apologize for what has happened, Galleth. Thou did not plan for the beast to attack on this day or to take captors. But thou risked life and limb to save us and the beast gravely injured thee. You do not own my an apology, Sir Galleth, for it is I who is indebted to you."
"My Lady, it is my duties as a knight to protect my king, my queen, and my princess. Retrieving thee from that mechanical beast was both a duty of mine and a personal duty. I am not a knight…but I could not allow that beast to take thee away. And I do love thee, My Lady, and I do wish to take thee away from here, to marry you and show thee a different life than the one you life now. If that is what thee wishes, still." Katherine's lips crashed against mine, her paws gripping the sides of my face as she kissed. Her actions took me back briefly, for I was not expecting this from the princess.
"Thou doth not have to ask if I shall still wish to run away," she said after she pulled away, "For the answer will always be yes."
"I shall remember this, My Lady, for I shall ask thee again." she giggled standing again and making her way back to the table.
Thou must rest, Sir Galleth, and this is not joke. Thou wounds are horrid, not as bad as Sir Henry's mind thee, but thy wounds are rather serious." Sir Henry. I had completely forgotten about Sir Henry! He was hurt much worse than I was and he wasn't in the room with Katherine and myself.
"Where is Sir Henry, My Lady?" I turned to Katherine, desperately wanting to know where my friend is. She stopped at the table with the herbs, glancing to me quickly before looking back down at the table, avoiding my gaze.
"He is…in the castle, next door actually. Mother is tending to him, he is in good hands, Sir Galleth." I didn't like her reaction to my question, she was holding something back.
"How is he faring?" she stood there, shaking her head without a word. Despite what Katherine advised, I pulled myself up into a sitting position, leaning against my arm heavily. Katherine's eyes grew wide as she was that I was sitting. She rushed over to the bed, trying to get me back down…but I refused.
"Thou must sit…" she tried to reason with me, but I shook my head at the princess, gripping the cot firmly, trying to keep my position.
"Take me to him, My Lady. I must talk to my friend. Please, tell me how he is faring." Tears formed in her eyes, her paws gripping mine firmly.
"Thou could not bare to see him, Galleth. For he looks not himself," Her voice was soft, barely audible, even to me, as tears streamed down her face, "Tis a miracle that he hast lived this long."
"Thou must take me to him, My Lady. He is my oldest friend and it would kill me if something were to happen to him and I was not there to speak with him."
"It would kill thee to gaze upon him in his condition. And I hast seen thee suffer enough already, Galleth," she sighed, closing her eyes before straightening her posture, "But if thou insists on seeing him," she opened her eyes and cupped my face again, "then I shall take thee to see him."
"I thank thee, My Lady." She wasn't thrilled about the idea of moving me, but she agreed to do so. Before moving me, she wrapped my herb covered wounds in bandages, wanting to stoop the bleeding if any should surface during my move. She then placed a shirt over my torso, covering my wounds and bandages from any prying eyes.
"Art thou sure that thou would wish to see him?" I nodded as I started to pull my legs over the edge of the cot. Sighing, she stood and tossed my arm over her shoulder, doing her best to hoist me upwards. I stood, leaning heavily on the small princess, the first time I'd been on my feet since my battle with the beast earlier in the day.
"I can walk, My Lady, I not wish to harm thee with my weight." Pulling the door open, Katherine grunted a bit, trying to shift the weight from her shoulders.
"Thou shall fall if I am not here. And it is not much of a trouble, Galleth. My father, who is much heavier than thee, hast fallen asleep many-a-time from wine in his chair in the dining hall. Mother and I have hoisted him up ourselves plenty of moons. So thou weights nothing compared to him." I chuckled and placed my paw on the side of myself that was not leaning on Katherine onto the wall, an attempt to shift the weight from her shoulders.
Thankfully, Henry's care room was next to mine, making our journey short. Swinging the door open, Katherine shuffled me inside, glancing to her mother with a nod of her head. Isabel sat on the edge of Henry's bed, sweat forming on her brow as she held a cloth in front of her, what I assumed was Henry. From my position, Isabel blocked my view of my friend and the queen herself looked might disheveled.
"Seat him there, Katherine," she pointed to a chair on the opposite side of the bed, "Then fetch me more cloth, this one is almost full." Nodding quickly, Katherine seated me in the chair on the opposite side of the bed before rushing to the other side of the room. For the first time since the battle I laid eyes on Henry. Katherine was correct…he looked horrid. He had a bandage across his chest, similar to mine, but his neck had also been sliced into. Isabel pressed cloth after cloth onto his neck, which just poured blood. His eyes were clouded, his breathing was ragged and loud, which caused blood to spur from his lips with each breath. He seemed awake, due to his arm and tail movement, but he spoke not a work, staying silent except from his sputtering. Katherine returned with an armful of rags, handing a fresh one to her mother.
Isabel quickly discarded the blood soaked rag to the floor before replacing it was a fresh one. In that brief switch however, I could see how far his neck had been cut. It was a deep cut, pulsing blood with each heart beat, showing off what was left of Henry's vocal cords. Again, it was a wonder how he had stayed alive for so long. With the brief removal of the rag, Henry's heart beat quickened, gushing more blood from his neck. Henry's eyes looked to his right, resting on me. Coughing again, Henry lifted a paw, brushing Isabel's away so he could press the cloth into his neck. He looked to me, waiting for Isabel to stop wiping his chin of blood before speaking.
"Galleth," he rasped, "Promise me this," I nodded, inching closer to this bed so I could hear my friend's wishes, "Find the bronze of the dragon and make two swords," he gasped his breath in, trying desperately to finish his sentence, "Keep one from thyself and plant the other on my grave." I nodded, promising myself to fulfill his wishes.
"Thou shall not die, Henry," Isabel told Henry. He looked to her, half of a smile forming on his lips before gripping her paw with his last free one.
"I only wish that I had asked thee from thy hand, Isabel. I do love thee, my Queen, and I loved thee then. Tis my only regret in life." Tears streamed down Isabel face as she gripped his paw back.
"I love thee as well, Henry." Henry coughed again, blood spilling from his lips as the smile on them faded quickly. His limps grew weak and unmoving, his clouded eyes stared off into the distance, unmoving and his chest failed to rise and fall with each strained breath. The room was completely silent and blood stopped gushing from his lips.
Seeing that the life had left Henry, Isabel broke down. She cupped her paw over her mouth, hot, fresh tears streaming from her face, as she stood. She made her way to the door, opening it quickly before sliding out, falling to the ground as soon as she exited the room. She let out a long, pain filled wail, filling the hallways of the castle with her sorrow. Looking to the door, Katherine started to go after her mother, but stopped, turning back to my friend. She took his blood stained paws and folded then across his chest, clenching his fists. Taking her index and middle finger, she placed one on each eye lid of Henry's face, slowly and carefully pulling them closed. The placed a paw on my shoulder, a sign of comfort before speaking softly.
"Sir Henry Williams of the Knights of the Cooper Order and Knight to the King and Queen of Nottinghamshire…hast entered the realm of death.