AWOL

Hitomi Hyuga

Chapter 1

"An emergency, you say?"

I nodded and explained my situation to the doctor. Even in this tiny town in the middle of nowhere, there appeared to be an experienced doctor available. He was an older gentleman with a pointed goatee and flecks of gray in his black hair. A bit stern-looking, but he seemed to understand my plight and offered me a medical kit and a horse to carry him back. I told him I couldn't accept anything less than a horse and cart, as his patient wouldn't be able to steady himself on horseback.

"Are you trying to rob me, son? I've only just met you and you're already asking an awful lot. Quite the nerve you have."

"Sir, I'm begging you. If I don't get him here as soon as possible, he could die."

"I could very well need my cart while you're away. I could be needed for a home visit or an emergency. What then?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose; there was no reasoning with the common folk of Hyrule. This wasn't the first time I had been forced to interact with the peasantry, and they were notoriously stubborn. Then again, they all knew who I was, and that always put me in an awkward position. The only saving grace with this doctor was that I was keeping my hood up and my hair over my eyes as much as possible. Now that I think about it, he had every right to be distrustful of me.

"How fast do you think you can get him here?"

"It took me two hours to get here on foot. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it should take less time than that."

He sighed and removed his spectacles from their perch on the tip of his nose. "If you can make it quick, I'll loan you the horse and cart. Be careful of the narrow roads, and try not to jostle him around too much on the ride back. I'll send a medical kit with you just in case."

"What about potions?"

"No, no potions. If you give him potion before I can treat him, his leg won't be reset properly and will probably heal wrong. Just give him medicine for his pain and leave the doctoring to me, so as not to cripple him."

I clasped my hands together and bowed deeply to show my gratitude. "I am forever in your debt." I reached into my wallet and placed a red rupee on the front counter. "This is for your trouble; I'll pay all of his fees when you're done treating him." The man waved his hand impatiently and shooed me out the front door, following close behind. He then hitched up the cart for me and sent me on my way.

I'd been on the road at a comfortable trot for about forty minutes when the scenery began to look more familiar. There was no doubt that I'd make it back to the doctor before my target could either have his injuries get infected or, goddesses forbid, hurt himself even more. I had another moment of realization of what I was doing; taking him to a doctor was risky enough for potentially revealing my identity to the townspeople, but if any of them were to send word to the queen about what I was doing and who I was with, I would likely lose my head. All I could do is keep my hood up and my eyes hidden, as well as avoid any unnecessary interactions with anyone besides the doctor. I knew that what I was doing was crazy, but there was a small part of me that seemed to think I was doing the right thing. At this point, that was all that was keeping me going.

Within the hour, I found myself at the same ditch my target had fallen down. I left the horse and cart on the narrow road; I was blocking the path, yes, but what else was I supposed to do? I stumbled down the steep slope and made my way into the campsite where I'd left him. Embers were all that remained of the fire and, to my surprise, my target was sitting upright in the bedroll, eyeing me warily.

"So you came back," he said.

"You sound surprised," I answered. I'd left him a note scrawled in charcoal on a bandage telling him where I'd gone and that I would return for him. It was more of a precaution, as I didn't expect him to wake up before I returned.

"Well it's not every day a killer saves another man's life," he scoffed. "I was wondering why you'd left me a note saying you'd come back when I was so sure you wouldn't, once I knew it was you."

"How did you know it was me before you saw me? For all you know, I could've just been a kind benefactor saving the life of a poor, stupid traveler who couldn't watch his step."

He patted the bedroll. "This is far too nice for an ordinary do-gooder. Only royalty would sleep in something this nice." To be fair, it was a very nice bedroll. The queen may have been cruel, but I often benefitted from her fine taste. "You were sent here to kill me, weren't you?"

"I still could, you know. It would save me a whole world of trouble if I did, too. Now hurry up and get out of the bedroll so I can pack it up. And hand me your things, will you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, no need to be so bossy." Getting him out of the roll proved to be a challenge; it was wrapped tightly around his body (he had much more width from muscle mass than I did) and it hurt his leg no matter which way I tried to remove it. I managed to just yank it off, causing him a lot of pain, but the job was done regardless.

"Geez, can't you be a little gentler? My leg's broken, in case you forgot." Silly me, I must've forgotten even though I'm the one who had to try and snap your bone back into place last night. Why am I saving him again? I rolled up the bedding, collected his belongings, sprinted up the hill, tossed the paraphernalia into the wagon, and came back down to find him clutching his leg and grimacing.

"How much does it hurt?" I asked.

"A lot."

"Do you think you can make it up the hill? It's going to hurt like hell, but it'll be worth getting to the doctor quicker. And I'll give you some medicine to relieve your pain once we make it up there."

"Why not now?"

"Oh yes, let's not only have you physically incapacitated, but mentally as well. You'd be out of your mind and probably hurt yourself even more."

He sighed. "Fine, let's get it over with. Gimme a hand, I'll hoist myself up on my good leg." One quick pull and he was standing. A little crooked, maybe, but standing nonetheless. The bandage job I'd done was barely holding out; blood was beginning to seep through the thin material.

"Okay, I'll support your right side on the way up. It's steep, but it's not impossible." I hope…

Suddenly we were making our way up. His hobbling was awkward to support at such a steep grade, but we were making progress little by little.

"This is a new low for me," he said. "Being helped to the doctor by a notorious murderer."

"Do you want this notorious murderer to change his mind? Because I'm going to be honest with you, the thought has crossed my mind." We were about halfway up at this point. "It would put you out of your misery and save my ass in more ways than one."

"You keep saying that, so why don't you do it?"

"You want to live, don't you? Imagine that as a way to die: alone in a ditch with a mangled leg."

"Alright, you've made your point. Let's keep moving-augh!"

One misstep and he was on his back, my grasp on his arm the only thing keeping him from rolling back down the hill. He howled in pain. "Hang on!" I yelled. Mustering all the strength I could, I pulled him toward me and wrapped my arm around his middle. My hood slipped off of my head, but I didn't even notice. I failed to see the point of hiding my face from him seeing as he already knew who I was. "Come on, I need you to work with me here. Bear it for just a little longer." With a little coaxing, I got him standing on his good leg again. "You can see the cart from here, look."

"Shut up and get me up there before I fall again!" he growled. His face was a dark, angry red with tears streaming down his cheeks. My stomach dropped when I looked down at his injured leg; there was definitely more blood seeping through the bandages.

Baby steps, that's all it takes. One step at a time, we slowly descended up the incline until we finally reached the horse and cart. He tried to collapse right there on the road, but I spurred him on to climb into the back of the cart. Once he was safely secured, albeit in tremendous pain, I rummaged through the medical kit for something to ease his suffering a little bit. The doctor, bless his heart, had the good sense to send me off with morphine and several clean syringes and needles. I made a mental note to give the man a good tip once this was all over.

I prepared a solution and showed it to him. "This will make your pain go away for a while. You want me to give it to you?" He nodded eagerly. I got closer to him. "I will only give it to you if you swear not to tell anyone who I am or what I do. I still have very good reason not to let you live, and I am going against my better judgment in keeping you alive. If you so much as breathe a word to anybody about me, I will see to it that your remaining days are a living hell. Is that understood?" His eyes grew as wide as saucers, but he nodded again and reached for the syringe. To think this child was insulting me just a few minutes ago. I guess things change when there are opiates involved. I cleaned up his arm, tightened a bandage around it as a makeshift tourniquet, and administered the drug. Within the next few minutes, we were ready to move along.

Though I had made very serious threats against him, I doubted my own ability to follow through with them. Even he wasn't stupid enough to turn in the person who was saving his life, notorious assassin or not. My mind was no longer plagued with thoughts of what punishment could await me once the queen discovered my act of treason; I was far too relieved that the man I had been pursuing, the man whom I was supposed to kill, seemed to be safe and able to make a full recovery with the proper treatment. I shouldn't have been so happy, but I was for reasons I didn't fully comprehend. Little did I know the extent of the impact he would have on my life.

To be continued...

And there's the first chapter! How'd I do? Review!

-H. H.