Auri felt his hands on her. Gently wrapping her in cloth, he moved her from side to side and maneuvered the flimsy fabric around her upper body. He'd removed her bloodied shirt at some point and somehow given her a new one. His finger traced over the jagged hole in her shoulder and she grunted.
'Sorry. It's healing fine.' he said from above her and she focused her eyes.

His hair was wet, and the corners of her vision were foggy.
'Do not sit up too fast. Stay there. You ripped open one of the wounds twice and I ran out of thread.' he said and placed a hand on her shoulder pushing her back down to the soft furs.
'How many days?' she asked and tried to not wince as her dry lips cracked. She was going to die of thirst.
'You don't need to know. You need to drink water and not refuse when I make you.' he said and passed her a skin. He stared at her for a moment before he uncorked it for her and moved a hand behind her back to help her up.

Lightning illuminated the darkness and the thunder that followed made the entire cave shake. She surmised from the state of him and the bow propped up against the nearby wall that he'd been out hunting. She emptied the skin and passed it back to him. She managed to do little else before the fog circled her in and forced her back down on the bedroll.

Auri's mind took her back to the inn, to the feeling of his skin. To the way his eyes softened when she warmed him. He'd tried to kill her later that night but he had decided against it. She knew what it meant, she just didn't believe him. Auri thought he was lying again, and she had good reason to.

She had not been that delirious the last time she spoke to him. She remembered everything he'd said. He needed her. And she understood why. His need for her was not rooted in any feeling of love or admiration, or even thankfulness. He needed her to not die. He needed her because the moment she opened her mouth about what he had tried to do to her he'd be dead. Her father would have him killed.

She was still a pawn, she was alive because he needed her. Cahir had simply decided to go against the will of Nilfgaard and he would use her to free himself.

Auri struggled against the hands that held her down. She whipped her head away from the grinning toothless man with the knife.
'You will beg for death!'

The smell of him made her gag, she could do nothing but scream as his dagger plunged into her chest. The sheer malevolent glee painted on his puffy face made her close her eyes. She closed her eyes and felt the blade being dragged down to her middle. She felt the warmth leaving her and the ground swam with her blood-

'Shhh,'

Cahir ran a hand up and down her back again and again. He had his chin placed on top of her head and she held onto him. 'It's not real.'
She tried to pull away from him but her body refused to move. Everything hurt, she heard her own heartbeat pounding through her head. Her knees were scraped raw and she didn't recognize the sound of her own voice when she spoke.
'How long does it last?'
'I don't know.' he said simply and loosened his grip on her. Auri moved a hand to her face and rubbed at her eyes with her sleeves. The shirt wasn't hers-
It smelled of him. Sweat, wine and salt.
'Did you undress me?' she asked and looked at him.
'You undressed yourself. I handed you a shirt, then you shoved your head back into the furs and passed out. I think you'd had enough of the blood.'
'Thank you.' she said quietly and moved away from him. She'd been tangled around his waist. If the indentation in her furs was any indication she'd been sleeping on him and her screaming had woken him.
'No cursing this time, you're definitely on the mend,' he teased and rolled his neck.
Auri eyed him from the side and smirked.
'Make no mistake, the moment I can stand you're going to die for this.'
'I can't wait. I wouldn't want to fight you now, it wouldn't be fair to you. I want you to have a chance.'
'Are you always this eager to die or is it just because it's me?' she asked and placed her chin on top of her knees.
'I had actually expected a few thank you's and more stabbing, but I understand it if you're too weak-'

Auri snapped a finger and waved the flame in front of his face. He didn't move a muscle. He just stared at her with an unimpressed look on his face.
'Vicovarian scum,' she said and laid back down, the flame dissipated and she said nothing as he laid down next to her.
'Correct.'

Auri fought for her life. She watched the dagger plunging into her chest and she saw his blue eyes fill with hope as he carved the life from her.
'I'm glad I waited for this, it wouldn't have felt the same if I'd done it by the Yaruga,' Cahir snarled and placed both of his hands on the pommel of the dagger, driving it clean through her breastbone and into her still beating heart.
Auri tried to force her hands to move, she tried to claw at every piece of skin she could reach but her hands didn't move. She was still alive when he dragged the bloodied dagger from her chest and moved it to her throat.
'You will be my freedom.' he said as he dragged the blade across her throat and she drowned in her own blood.

Auri woke up with a yelp. The shirt was plastered to her back and she couldn't breathe. Her lungs spasmed so violently she felt her head explode. She slapped a hand to her heart and when no blood coated it she turned.
He was still there. Laying on his back with one arm behind his head. Sleeping.

The other arm was draped lazily across her lap, he had tied a strap to her wrist. The other end was tied to his own arm. She scowled down at him and untied it. Auri lifted a shaking hand and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Her chest ached. She was too hot, the fire was going to burn her alive. She would crumble into dust and nothingness just like her mother. She had to get out.

Auri gently placed Cahir's arm over his chest and scrambled to her feet. He had folded her cloak and placed it under her head. She grabbed it and threw it around her shoulders, pulling the hood down to her nose. Her boots were still on, as were her pants. She tucked the massive shirt into the lining of her pants and snuck out toward the star-strewn sky. She needed air, anything but this.

Auri brushed past vines of hanging ivy and found Sir grazing lazily by a small stream. He lifted his head when he heard her but paid her little mind. He returned his muzzle to the ground and kept chewing the yellow flowers growing by the bank.

Auri tried to keep her balance as she headed for the water. She had no idea how long it had been since she'd eaten. She assumed he'd made her eat. She had a vague memory of meat being waved in front of her face and the taste of wine still lingered at the back of her throat. The deer pelt she found draped over a rock by the water made her realize she hadn't completely lost her mind.
The thunder had stopped, and the wet ground squelched beneath her boots as she sat down on the drying hide.

She was still shaking, her skin was too hot and the clammy feeling of her clothing made her squirm. He'd helped her. For days. Held her, soothed her, fed her and mended her wounds.
Auri shook her head. Pawn. Plaything. Mission.

Her fracturing mind refused to believe anything else. He needed her to keep his head. He needed her to vouch for him, and saving her life made her indebted to him. She had saved him too but a bite was far less severe than this.
Auri tried to control her roiling stomach as the smell of rotting flesh reached her nose.

'What are you doing?'
He heard him walk up to her from behind. He placed a cold hand on her shoulder and she nearly leaned into the touch.
'Fresh air,' she said and swallowed.
'Next to the rest of the deer you had for breakfast?' he said and moved around her. 'Not the brightest idea. I'd like for you to keep down the food I hunted for you, if you don't mind. I've just finished cleaning the remnants of the dinner you had several days ago from my boots.'

Auri flipped him off. He replied by smacking a hand to her forehead and his eyes widened.
'Are you doing this?' he asked and kept his hand on her forehead as the other tugged at her shirt.
'Doing what?' she asked and batted his hand away.
'The fire, are you doing it now?' he repeated his voice growing in intensity and his blue eyes scanning every inch of her. Prying the strips of cloth from her chest. She wanted to shove him away.
'No.'
'Fuck.'

Auri was back in his arms before she could protest. Her head was resting against his bare chest and she felt his heart racing as he carried her back to the cave. His grip tightened on her thigh so much it hurt her.
'Ow! Let me down!'

'Stay still.'

Cahir did let her down. But the panicked look on his face didn't dissipate. He kept rummaging through scattered vials and pouches of foul-smelling herbs.
'What's wrong?' Auri tried but he ignored her. She looked down and carefully moved the shirt out of the way. She squirmed at the sight and her nausea returned in full. The remains of the deer hadn't smelled. It was her. It was her festering, blackening skin that reeked.
'Cahir! What is this?' she panicked. She knew. Of course she knew. She'd seen the same necrosis eat away at his arm ages ago. She knew what happened next.

Cahir leapt for her before she could pull away. His panicked eyes found hers and before she could protest he shoved a handful of herbs into her mouth and moved her head back.
'Swallow. Now.'

Auri swallowed. The prickling leaves scratched her throat on the way down and she eagerly accepted the skin of stale wine he handed her.
'I can't do this on my own. I need help.' Cahir said and placed a hand on her cheek.
'The herbs will make you sleep. You'll be safe here. I have to get help. Now. Do you understand?'
'Yes, please don't leave me-'

Auri let herself fall back and allowed him to remove her cloak and bundle it up for her. His hair swayed against her nose when he lifted her head.
The herbs cooled her. She felt the warmth dissipate and the panicked feeling eased up. Cahir moved her hands to her chest, gripped them tight and looked at her.
'I will be back for you.' he said and took a breath. She heard his heartbeat as he moved his face to hers. She heard it racing through her head as his eyes closed and his fingers traced over her cheekbone. She smelled the wine on his breath as he moved his head up and kissed her forehead. He was so gentle it almost hurt her. When Auri opened her eyes she only saw the damp roof of the cave.
She fell asleep with images of his panicked eyes burned into her mind, the way his heart hammered against his ribs when he smelled her. How a corner of his lip had tugged up before he touched her cheek. The way his voice cracked when he begged her not to die as he grabbed his sword and headed for the mouth of the cave.