Eden practically toppled onto her bed when Arielle had helped her finally reach her room. It was already evening and the ever vigilant Helen had left some food, candles, bandages, and other things in the room when they got there. There were many wounded and no beds left in the hospital, but Eden didn't mind at all.
Arielle regarded the warrior who looked like a fallen disaster. She should have been half frantic with worry, but she was just too happy with the fact that Eden had returned and was alive. It was a sentiment that Eden shared.
"This time I'm going to take care of you." Arielle said quietly and Eden simply nodded.
Slowly, Arielle peeled away the guardian's armor and clothes until Eden was left in only her undergarments. The sight made Arielle suck in a breath. Eden's entire body was black, blue, and red. The skin that hadn't been either cut or bruised was covered in dirt. Arielle shook her head once and then brought over a large bowl with warm water and a cloth rag. Slowly and gently, she cleaned Eden's body, wincing every time Eden did as if they shared the same pain. When she had cleaned off the dirt and blood, Arielle took the bandages Helen had left and began to wrap them around Eden's wounds with a steady, knowing hand. Eden observed her quietly; she saw a different woman than the one she had met not all that long ago. Despite all the things there that frightened Arielle or made her uneasy, she acted as if there was no other place that she would rather be. She didn't rush anything to be over with it quickly, she didn't talk or joke to pretend nothing was really happening. And Eden found herself surprisingly at ease with her own defenselessness in front of the bard. Eden trusted her. It was that simple and it scared her half to death. For Eden, lying there under Arielle's healing hand was more dangerous than any battle.
When Arielle was done, she helped Eden put on a long tunic, took a step back, and looked at her.
"It's nothing." Eden mumbled, not wanting her to worry.
"Of course, it's nothing..." Arielle replied in sarcastic teasing, "You and your 'nothings'. Eden, you look like a bedsheet that was run over with a plow... several times."
"Really? I must have been enjoying myself." the guardian answered with a small, foolish grin and Arielle just shook her head and sighed.
"Tell me, what am I going to do with you?" the blond asked with a small smile.
"Feed me?" Eden suggested with a cocked eyebrow.
Arielle let out a laugh. She brought over the vegetable soup Helen had left and sat down on the edge of Eden's bed as the warrior sat up and then grimaced.
"Is that shoulder bothering you still?" the bard asked, feeling guilty that she was the cause of that pain.
"I probably pulled something." Eden replied plainly, "It was bad before, but it's better now that I'm here."
Naturally, Eden wouldn't let herself be fed while she still had functional arms. Arielle gave in and poured a bowl for herself too. They ate quietly, every once in a while stealing glances at each other. There were so many things that they wanted to say to each other, but neither had the heart to break the comfortable quiet and so they simply ate and enjoyed each other's company.
"I'm tired." Eden murmured later, her eyes already almost half closed.
"Then sleep now."
"I should walk you back to your room."
"It's alright. I'll stay here until you fall asleep. Then I'll just ask Lawrence or someone..." Arielle said and Eden was too tired to argue, but she noticed a strange hesitation in her voice; Arielle seemed to be nervous or hiding something.
Eden fell asleep with the bard sitting in a chair beside her bed. She awoke two hours later to see Arielle still in her room, leaning against the wall and looking out the window.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" Eden asked drowsily.
"Oh, you're awake." Arielle said , turning around with a bit of a start, "Do you need anything?"
"No."
"Are you sure? You can't sleep? Maybe something to eat or drink?"
"Maybe some water." the warrior finally answered.
Arielle crossed to the table, poured some water into a cup, and walked over to Eden. She sat on the edge of the bed and handed her the cup as Eden sat up a little.
"Now tell me what's wrong." Eden said, grabbing the cup along with Arielle's hand.
The warrior heard the tension in the bard's voice and could now, in the faint candlelight, see it on her face. Arielle tried to smile it off, but it came out too nervously and she wanted to get up and run, but Eden was holding her.
"Nothing is wrong." the bard answered, the trembling in her voice evident.
"Oh, Arielle, you and your 'nothings'." Eden teased lightly.
Arielle let out a soft chuckle and then looked at Eden. Perceptive blue eyes stared back at her, pleasantly cutting straight through to her soul. She felt like Eden could see everything within her, all her hopes and fears, all her rights and wrongs. She remembered that Dorian and Garrett had piercing glares, but they were cold and judgmental. Eden, however, enveloped Arielle in her gaze and offered her a safe haven there. The bard felt her heart skip a beat when she realized that it was her parents' and then Dorian's eyes that had chipped her away into stardust, but it was Eden's eyes that wanted to pull her back together into a star and let her shine brightly.
"Arielle..."
There was something in the way her name rolled off the warrior's tongue in that low, rumbly voice she sometimes had that sent a small shiver through her and made her want to tell Eden about everything she ever feared or loved. The guardian squeezed her hand very gently.
"Could I please stay here with you?" Arielle finally blurted out quickly, knowing that if she didn't say it now she probably wouldn't say it all.
Eden looked at her with a slightly perplexed look and the bard was afraid she mighty be angry.
"It's just that you... you make the shadows disappear..." Arielle whispered and turned her eyes to the floor.
Eden knew that Arielle suffered from nightmares, but since the bard never spoke of them, neither did Eden. Eden didn't want to pry and Arielle didn't want to be a burden. There was a tiny voice in Eden's head that hissed that Arielle got what she deserved, but she smacked that voice to kingdom come as soon as it spoke.
"Come here." Eden said softly.
The guardian turned the covers away beside her. Arielle looked at the guardian with hesitation. Yet, when Arielle met with those sharp, blue eyes again, her uncertainty vanished and she walked over to the other side of the bed and lay down. Eden slid back down and pulled the covers up. They looked at each other, Arielle's eyes holding a question and Eden's an answer and slowly and carefully, the bard moved a little closer and let herself be pulled in by the warrior's open arm. The bard lay her head on Eden's shoulder and Eden wrapped her arm around her.
"Better?"
Eden felt the bard nod against her shoulder. And as it usually happened when they lay like that, they soon both fell into a deep sleep, each drawing the comfort they needed from the other.
With the dawn, Eden awoke to see a still slumbering bard huddled closely to her, the warrior's tunic balled up tightly in Arielle's fist.
"Never one to rise with the dawn." Eden whispered with a smile on her face.
She rested her eyes on her friend for a moment, the growing daylight asking her to take a moment to appreciate the beauty before her. And Arielle was beautiful. Eden was captivated by the short blond hair that feel around that innocent face in disarray. It had so many different shades, from a very light blond, to gold, to something that reminded Eden of fire. Eden gently pushed a few stray strands of hair away from the bard's forehead. And without a conscious thought, Eden ran her finger lightly down the bard's face. Arielle's forehead had little creases in it from her constant thinking and worrying. Her cheeks had now filled out a little, regaining their color, and the bruises were gone. Her nose scrunched up in the funniest way when the bard would grin widely. Her ears were the most endearing things Eden had ever seen and she couldn't think of any other word to describe them except for 'cute', a word Eden never used. Her jaw was an interesting shape, being both soft and strong. Eden sighed. Yet, this was all nothing compared to Arielle's eyes. Eden saw in them a much more complicated and powerful person than the bard would ever show. And one thing she couldn't admit to anyone was that those green eyes were the one thing that Eden lost control in... and Eden didn't mind it at all. She felt her heart skip in an erratic beat. Eden turned her gaze to the ceiling and wondered if Arielle knew all this. She wondered if Arielle would want to know.
"Good morning." a sleepy voice said beside her.
"Good morning." Eden replied, turning her eyes back to the bard.
There were those green eyes looking straight at her as if there was no one else in the entire world. And there was that erratic heartbeat again.
Arielle opened her fist and smoothed out the tunic that she had so diligently crumpled. All her fears and insecurities suddenly set in and she began to think that she had gone too far, crossed some boundaries, wanted too much, and had tried too little to keep it hidden and save herself.
"I'm sorry-"
"You can always come to me... with anything... whenever you need to..." Eden interrupted, looking deep into her eyes.
"Really?" the bard asked, as if she was expecting Eden to tell her that she was just joking, "I don't want to bother you."
"Arielle, you could never bother me."
Arielle's breath caught. She wanted to ask how that was possible; she always bothered everyone, she was always a naïve nuisance. She began to finally realize that there was a much different Eden locked away deep underneath the surface, the loving and caring one that Lawrence had once mentioned. But she had also gone through enough now to know that it was a beautiful secret that she would have to keep to herself. Arielle smiled warmly at Eden and then peered over her shoulder.
"It's dark."
"Because it's only dawn."
"Good. I was afraid I have to get up already." Arielle murmured and then unabashedly snuggled back into the warrior's shoulder to the sound of Eden's throaty chuckle.
The two friends spent nearly every moment together while Eden recovered. They ate together and took walks in the city once Eden convinced the bard that Dorian wouldn't be a likely threat for a while. In the mornings, Eden would practice and train with the bard as much as her strength would allow and in the evenings, Arielle would tell stories and naturally the warrior liked the ones about adventure most, but secretly loved every single one just because Arielle told them. They played with Felix who was very happy to see Eden again and looked much healthier than the first time Eden saw him. They helped Helen with what they could until it was time for the bard to drag Eden away before she strangled the poor woman for asking too many questions or fussing over how adorable Eden and Arielle were which made the bard blush and the warrior fume. They visited Lawrence a few times as he lay in the hospital with a head wound that he quickly recovered from. They learned different little things about each other from countless idle conversations. Their days were finally calm ones where they could spend time quiet time together and they both felt a much greater ease between them than before Dorian had slithered in.
Yet, a part of Arielle worried that Eden's return to health was too slow. The bruises and cuts had healed, but the guardian's strength didn't seem to be returning and she constantly complained about her shoulder.
"It's a strange thing with this shoulder," Eden said once on a walk with Arielle, "it always seems to feel better when you're around."
Arielle snorted and Eden swore she was telling the truth so the bard decided to play along and put her hand over the scar.
"Better now?" the bard teased.
"Yes." Eden answered with a look in her eyes that told Arielle that she was serious.
While the blond worried about the warrior, Eden gave a lot of thought to Arielle's nightmares. She couldn't help but notice the rings that started to appear under Arielle's eyes when she returned back to her lodgings. The guardian tried to find a solution without confronting the bard which Eden was afraid might embarrass her or make her retreat into herself. And once Eden came up with an idea, she spent some time wondering whether it wasn't simply selfish of her. In the end, her heart's reasoning outwitted her logic and she went to work on her plan.
The fourth evening after her return, Eden was sitting in her room, writing in her journal when she heard a knock at the door. She rose and opened it to find a anxious bard and very smirky Helen there.
"You have a special delivery." Helen said mischievously.
"Did something happen?" Eden asked, turning her eyes to the blond.
"She doesn't have anywhere to stay." Helen explained with a wide grin, "... I think she might want to stay with you."
Eden glanced at Helen, wanting to smack that foolish grin off her face, and then back at the bard.
"The hospital is full... the innkeeper had to make some rooms available for the less wounded..." Arielle explained shyly.
"See?" Helen added cheerily, "She needs a place to stay. I said that, didn't I? So... what are you going to about this?"
Eden shot Helen a glare, but the sister was too content to notice.
"You can stay here... if you'd like..." Eden said simply to Arielle.
"Well, of course she would!" Helen exclaimed and then turned to the bard, "Well, what are you waiting for, little one? Go along now."
Helen tried to gently nudge her forward, but Arielle stood glued to her spot, looking at Eden from under her lashes as if she was asking something unforgivable.
"Are you just going to stand there? There's nothing to be so shy about. Eden, isn't going to bite... well at least I don't think she will."
"Thank you, Helen." Eden said, wanting her to leave.
"Oh, don't mention it." Helen replied with a wave of her hand, completely missing the message the warrior was sending.
"Thank you, Helen." Eden repeated in a growl and Arielle's head shot up, knowing that tone meant it was time to save Helen's life again.
"Thank you for your help, Helen. Eden and I will talk this over. We don't want to keep you from your duties." Arielle said gently to the sister.
"Oh, it's not a problem at all. I'm so happy I could help." the sister said with a wide smile, but showing no intention of moving and the two friends began to think she might never leave.
"I think Sister Margaret might be looking for you." the bard baited.
"She was?... That's quite alright, she'll manage." Helen answered with self satisfaction.
Arielle turned to Eden with a slightly annoyed look and mouthed 'For goodness sake, let me in'.
"Come in." Eden automatically said and opened the door wider.
"Oh, this is so wonderful, isn't it? I knew Eden would take you in. You two are such great friends, such wonderful people." Helen gushed over them.
"Goodnight, Helen." Arielle said, turning towards her.
"My goodness!" Helen exclaimed, clasping her hands in delight at the two women standing next to each other, "It's such a shame that Eden isn't a man. You would have the most beautiful children!"
Eden nearly had steam coming out of her ears when the bard quickly closed the door. The two women let out a sigh at the same time.
"Remind me next time to throw her into that famous stew of hers." Eden grumbled.
Arielle chuckled and shook her head. They looked at each other and the bard's shyness returned.
"Are you sure this isn't a problem?" Arielle asked awkwardly, staring at the floor, "I don't want to be any kind of bother."
Arielle felt Eden's hand under her chin, lifting it for their eyes to meet.
"What have I told you already, hm?" Eden asked very softly.
Arielle replied with a warm smile and blushing cheeks.
"So what is it like being a hero?" Arielle once asked as she, Eden, and Lawrence were eating supper.
All of Jerusalem was talking about the battle, especially the great odds the Orders went up against. It was such a great story that most had forgotten Eden's trial and her unveiled dark past and treated her with tolerance. But Eden and Lawrence just looked at Arielle for a second, blinked, looked at each other, and he laughed and Eden snorted.
"We're no heroes, Arielle." Lawrence said, shaking his head slowly.
"Of course you are! You fought with Dorian and demons. You took on a force five times your size!" Arielle emphasized.
"We're warriors. That's simply what we do." he replied with a shrug.
"You didn't see how glorious you looked upon your return." Arielle noted, remembering the line of knights in the sun.
"Let me tell you something about glory." Eden said matter-of-factly, "We all fought in mud up to our ankles and rain that just wouldn't stop... And my glory was being awakened practically entombed in that godforsaken mud by Arion neighing into my ear."
The warrior noticed Arielle's expression turn into one of worry and she mentally slapped herself.
"He's the one who almost had his head chopped off." she said, pointing to the Hospitaller, trying to change the subject quickly and realizing that she said something stupid again.
"Dorian's a bastard." Lawrence grumbled, recalling his duel, "And that mud was slippery."
Arielle realized then the vast difference between the romantic picture that she had seen in the setting sun and what the warriors had experienced. And the bard vowed to never let Eden go through that by herself again.
It had been a long day for Eden. She spent a couple of hours with the Grand Masters of the different Orders giving her eye witness testimony of the battle near Mirabel. Their questions went from very general to ridiculously specific and the answers Eden gave ranged from informative to evidently annoyed. Then Lawrence discussed with her some of his visions and reports of strange activity in the Levant, asking for Eden's opinion. Upon returning to the Hospitaller quarters, Helen found her and begged a tired Eden to help her since one of the sisters became ill. While they moved from bed to bed, Helen practically flooded the guardian with stories of how she always fears for Arielle's safety which made Eden feel guilty and how she herself was quite sad and lonely with her husband's continued absence. The sister grabbed hold so tightly too every genuine kind word Eden said that she ended up practically bleeding the warrior dry of all warmth and hopeful thinking. When they finished, Helen felt much better, but Eden was drained and exhausted. The warrior nearly crawled her way back to her room, almost praying the entire way there that she be invisible.
"Oh, there you are," Arielle said, sitting in the room like it was hers, "I was looking everywhere for you. Where were you?"
"Out." Eden muttered, slamming the door behind her.
"I see... Listen, I was waiting with supper for you so now-"
"I'm not hungry."
"Well, then how about you make some tea and-"
"Make it yourself." Eden snapped.
"Excuse me?" Arielle retorted, now standing with her hands on her hips.
In response, Eden simply flopped face down on the bed. Arielle let out a deep breath, walked over, and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"What's going on with you?" the bard finally asked, concerned with the guardian's strange behavior.
"I don't know." Eden replied with tired frustration, "I'm constantly tired... My back is on fire..."
Arielle knotted her brows, leaned over Eden, and pulled back her tunic from around her neck.
"What?..." Arielle whispered in confusion, "What's this black line on your back?"
"What black line?" Eden mumbled into the blanket.
"You have black lines coming out of where the arrow hit you... It's spread over your shoulder like branches of a tree..."
"What?" Eden asked, jumping up abruptly as if she had just been burned.
"See?" Arielle offered, helping Eden as she turned around as far as she could to see the marks.
Eden didn't say anything, but the look on her face and its sudden lack of color told Arielle that there was something wrong.
"We have to see Lawrence." Eden decided.
The fact that it was late at night and Eden had decided to go baning on Lawrence's door told Arielle that something was very, very wrong and it made her heart pound. When they arrived a somewhat groggy Lawrence opened his door and before he had a chance to say a word, Eden pushed past him, turned around, and pulled the neck of her tunic back to show him the markings. He woke up immediately and quickly walked over to Eden to take a closer look. Without a word, Lawrence picked up a thin, sharp knife from his table, ran it through the flame of a burning candle, and drove it into Eden's scarring arrow wound.
"What are you doing?" Arielle cried at Eden's hiss of pain and ran up to them.
She watched in absolute horror as a disgusting, black pus oozed out. Lawrence and Eden exchanged glances, both knowing what this all meant.
"I know you hate that place," Lawrence finally said slowly to Eden, "but you're going to have to go to the catacombs."
"Catacombs?!" Arielle exclaimed.
"Has she touched this?" Lawrence asked, nodding his head towards Arielle.
"No." Eden answered.
"Let's go then. We have absolutely no time to spare."
Arielle had to almost run to keep up with the two rushing guardians. Lawrence led the way through the different corridors, passages, and finally a long flight of stairs spiraling down with a very quiet Eden following him. They reached the bottom of the stairs and started down a long, stone, arched corridor lit by torches on either side. After a few steps, the bard finally stopped.
"Will someone please tell me what is going on?!" she yelled, stopping in her tracks and throwing her arms up in the air.
Lawrence looked at Eden, sighed, and turned to the blond.
"Eden is sick."
"How sick?" she asked, her tone becoming immediately very concerned.
"That black ooze is demon's blood... It works like a poison..."
"Eden's been poisoned?" Arielle said quietly as her mind furiously began to put the pieces together, "My arrow... the arrow was poisoned, wasn't it?"
Arielle's gaze turned to Eden and the waves of horrified guilt that were now crashing in those green eyes nearly drown the warrior. But Arielle was determined to be brave and first help Eden; she would feel guilty later.
"How sick are you?" the blond whispered.
"Arielle..."
"How sick are you?" she repeated more loudly and with a slight tremor in her voice.
"Very..." Eden admitted.
"Then..." Arielle announced, trying to keep her shaking voice under control, "we're going to do everything we can to make you better again."
"No," Eden stated firmly, "you'll have to go back. You haven't come into contact with this and I don't want you to."
Eden saw a strange light flash in the bard's eyes, turning them a much darker and sharper green.
"Don't think for a minute that I am going to leave your side." she said with a rare tone that told Eden it was not up for discussion.
Arielle had no idea how sick Eden really was. But Eden had no idea how determined Arielle was to return the warrior to health.
The problematic thing with demon's blood was that it would react to being let out and begin to spread throughout the body in a greater hurry to do as much damage as it could before it was cleaned out. The Hospitallers' guardian healers knew demon's blood well and did everything they could to treat Eden. The moment they heard she was infected, they appeared and began all the treatments they knew with great organization and precision. To Arielle it almost looked like the healers were fighting in a battle of their own, measuring amounts, counting down time, noting progress or worsening all the while saying very little.
Eden also said little despite being constantly poked, prodded, massaged, cut, and so on. She put up with it all calmly despite knowing the painful truth of her condition. But the healers fought hard and she let them- they all wanted to know that they had tried absolutely everything. All the while, Eden put on a calm face for Arielle, not wanting to frighten her and wanting to make it all as bearable as possible.
Eden's condition rapidly grew worse, the black lines now covering her entire arm and reaching up her neck. The last treatment was immersing Eden in the holy springs that were once discovered beneath the Hospitallers' quarters. Arielle had insisted on helping and the healers agreed. The bard supported the weakening and feverish Eden to the springs, they both undressed and the bard helped her into the warm, holy waters. The healers couldn't enter the waters themselves and so they asked Arielle keep Eden immersed up to her neck with all her strength since they knew she would struggle. The water already hurt Eden when she stepped into it after the bard. Arielle faced Eden and wrapped her arms around her and pulled her in gently. She watched Eden's contort as she struggled not to show the pain she was feeling. Then Arielle clamped her jaw, tightened her hold, and pulled the guardian further down. The water around her began to boil furiously as the sacred waters came into contact with the demon's blood and began to battle to flush it out. Eden yelled in pain and thrashed around, wanting to get out, but Arielle held on tightly and kept her in the water. Her heart almost bled with the sounds of Eden's torture and she pulled her closer, whispering in her ear that it would all be alright, trying to give her some kind of comfort in that way.
The healers helped Arielle lead Eden back to her chambers and the warrior fell asleep after her tiring treatment. Later, while Arielle was trying to feed Eden some soup, Eden made a decision.
"Arielle," she said weakly, "I want to tell you something."
"Quiet now. Save your strength and eat." Arielle said gently.
"No, I want to. If I won't survi-"
"Don't." Arielle said sternly.
"I don't want you to wonder..." Eden pleaded and Arielle sighed and set the soup to the side.
"I don't know what Dorian told you... My father and I met the Paymon family when we were in Venetia... we had dinner a few times... my father always preferred a good wine over his good name... They were an influential family, but they cast a very long shadow..."
"Eden, you don't have to explain yourself to me..."
"I want to... Know that my father never had any dealings with them other than those dinners... and I never did anything to them... I didn't even meet Dorian then... I don't even really know why he came after me... and you... Maybe because they were a family you didn't say 'no' to..."
"It's alright, Eden," Arielle said quietly, brushing the black hair off of the warrior's forehead, "it's in the past now... But thank you for telling me."
Lawrence came that evening to visit Eden. He walked over to her and saw that the wound wouldn't even close anymore and the black ooze continued to trickle out. He felt so sorry for the warrior and wondered why she couldn't have at least one peaceful day in this life.
"We'll keep trying." he said, squeezing Eden's hand and giving her a weak smile, knowing that there was nothing more they could do.
Eden only nodded. She was tired, feverish, pale, and too weak to argue or even talk about anything. Lawrence left the chamber with Arielle close behind and after she closed the door behind her, she grabbed hold of the seer's arm.
"Lawrence," she said quietly but firmly, "you are going to tell me everything there is to know about this and you're going to do it now."
Lawrence was at first a little shocked at the bard's command, but then then gave her a smile of acknowledgment. He led her to the guardians' library where they kept all the knowledge they had about demons, guardians, and anything else they deemed important. Arielle was impressed with their large collection and the seer showed her where to look for what. He pulled out a medical book about different inflictions and diseases that demons carried and brought it to the bard.
"Are you sure you really want to know all this?" he asked hesitantly.
"I have to." she answered slowly, taking the book from him and sitting down at a table near the wall to begin to read it.
Arielle couldn't explain why she had to know. She again began to feel the same strange feeling of revolt in her stomach like when the angel came with a message. She knew Eden was in grave danger. But there was also another feeling in Arielle coming from somewhere deeper in her being that was pushing her to help Eden. She poured over the pages and when she finished her mind knew there was nothing that could be done, but her soul kept insisting that she had to try and save Eden. I won't let you die. I won't let you leave me.
Eden's condition continued to worsen and the healers came much less often since there was really nothing more they could do. Arielle remained by her side the entire time. The bard brought books into the chamber and would sit at Eden's bedside, holding her hand as she read. Arielle read of different demons, their nature and talents, and she would discuss them when Lawrence came to visit. Eden began to stop eating and Arielle was growing nearly mad in her constant search of a way to save her dying friend.
"This isn't your fault." Lawrence said one evening, looking at a very distraught Arielle.
"Isn't it?" Arielle countered, holding Eden's hands in hers and looking at Lawrence with sleep deprived eyes, "I just can't figure out how the blood got on my arrow."
"It was Dorian's arrow..." Lawrence answered cautiously, hesitating with saying the rest.
"What demons did Eden defeat at Mirabel?" the blond asked after a moment.
"Paimon and Azazel."
Lawrence could almost see the gears in the bard's mind begin to turn furiously. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, she bit lightly on her lower lip, and then rested her chin on her hand. Paimon, a prince of Hell and his 200 legions. Azazel, the leader of the watchers. After about a minute, she looked up at Lawrence again.
"Dorian is a watcher, isn't he?"
Lawrence slowly nodded, somewhat surprised that the bard had figured it out, but also knowing that the fact would hurt her.
"It's not your fault. You didn't know who he was and how dangerous he really is. No one did really. And even if you knew, there probably wouldn't be anything you could do."
"I won't let him take her away from me."
He was struck by the resolve in that statement that was so unlike the constantly wavering bard. He saw through his seer's eyes a strange energy emanate from her and he could see a cord of light between Eden and Arielle that pulsated with a sacral vengeance. He had always felt that their was something unique in Arielle and that their friendship was very special, but he had never really seen it as clearly as he did now.
"I know." he said quietly, giving her a sad smile, wanting to believe she would save Eden, but not being able to.
The next evening Eden was burning with fever, her skin the color of chalk, and too weak to even raise her head herself. Nothing Arielle gave the warrior seemed to help. The healer had come, left some herbs for the fever, and then began to pray. Arielle was reading about archangels when she suddenly realized that the healer had come to administer the Anointing of the Sick. She promptly got up and loudly told the healer to leave.
"Get out!" she yelled for a second time and he quickly ran out of the chamber in shock.
The bard had reached her limit to the things she could understand, learn, do, and take. She paced the chamber at the edge of madness.
"This is not over!" Arielle yelled at the heavens, shaking her fists, "I won't let you have her! Do you hear me?! I won't let you have her! I will defy you to keep her here! I will defy all of you!"
At that moment, Arielle turned to see two archangels looking at her intently and she was suddenly speechless. She had seen drawings and tapestries, but none of them could ever fully capture the beauty of the sacral beings who were now standing before her. She was much calmer in their presence though they still said nothing at all.
"You can't take her." Arielle said quietly.
"That is not your decision to make, little one." Michael said, holding his hands behind his back.
"It's not yours either." Arielle countered.
He took a step forward and she took one back. He took another forward and she took another back. Arielle now felt the bed behind her knees and knew there was nowhere else to go. She reached for Eden's sword that was propped against the frame of the bed and pointed it at Michael.
"I won't let you take her."
"You dare raise a sword at an archangel?" Michael asked calmly, his eyes burning.
Arielle had very little idea of what she was doing and the consequences it might have. All she knew is that she had to protect Eden.
"You're an archangel and you know that I don't want to do this... But I said that I would defy you and I know you come for the dying." Arielle answered, not lowering the sword.
Michael titled his head slightly and it almost seemed to the blond that he smiled ever so lightly.
"Uriel." he said, turning around abruptly and then disappearing in a flash of light.
Arielle turned her attention to the other angel who was dressed in a bright red tunic and carried a large book. Unlike the stone faced Michael, Uriel looked at the bard with much more warmth and understanding.
"Have you any idea what you are doing?" he asked gently.
"No..." Arielle admitted, lowering the sword, "but I'll do whatever I have to."
"What makes you want to defy the Heavens?"
"Eden can't die... I just know it... I can feel it in my heart..."
"The heart can see many things that otherwise remain hidden. And your heart is a strong one. Come," the archangel said, opening his book in front of Arielle, "and look with your heart once more."
Arielle took a step forward and gazed into the bright book. And there she saw Eden, beautifully dressed in clothes and armor she had never seen before, so happy and smiling that it caused a pang in Arielle's heart. Eden was kneeling down, raising her hands in front of her, almost shining in the rays of a blazing sun. She looked like the happiest person on earth. And then the image faded and Uriel closed the book.
"You have seen the will of God."
"Why are you showing me this?"
"For you have been chosen to see it." Uriel answered and began to back away to leave, "Do not lose faith, Arielle and know that I am always near."
The archangel was gone before Arielle could ask what it all meant. Arielle saw a happy, peaceful Eden, but she didn't know where it was or when or how and it raised more questions than answers. And Arielle's heart began to pound when she realized that Eden was kneeling in the vision delivered by the archangel of repentance... and Eden kneeled only before God.
"Angel." Eden whispered feverishly with a tiny smile on her face.
Arielle turned to her and smiled sadly. She sat on the edge of Eden's bed and pressed a damp cloth to her forehead.
"Oh, angel of green, I'm not worthy of you..."
Arielle blinked, noticing then that Eden wasn't talking about the archangels, but about... her.
"Yes, you are worthy…" Arielle answered, but her voice began to quickly crumble.
"No... Angel, you are truly magnificent. A wonder..." she said and then closed her eyes for a few moments as she breathed heavily and then reopening them with same gaze of wonder.
"What is it like up there... beyond the clouds and stars? Are all the angels as beautiful as you?... No... You must be a chosen one..."
Eden coughed and Arielle couldn't find any words that had the strength to shove past the lump in her throat and across her shaking breath.
"Please, do something for me?..." Eden continued weakly, licking her pale lips, "When I'm gone, take care of Arielle. She is my... best friend, my... please... She is so full of light and good... you remind me of her. Please angel, tell me... tell me you will take care of her. Promise me. She saved me... Please..."
Arielle couldn't say a word so she just nodded, trying to hold back the sobs wanting to rack her body. Eden smiled lightly and relaxed knowing that Arielle wouldn't be alone after her death.
"Thank you. Never leave her... Protect like I would..." Eden whispered and then noticed a tear roll down Arielle's face, "Oh, please don't cry angel... My God, you are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I'll tell my brother and sister about you... You look so much like her... your eyes..." and then her eyes closed and she fell into a very deep sleep.
Arielle let go of her hand, walked to the farthest corner of the chamber, and let herself cry and abuse the heavens until her tears and curses stopped.
Eden later awoke, but wouldn't eat. Arielle opened Eden's tunic to see the black lines had spread over Eden's chest, over to her other arm, and down her stomach. She traced the thick, black line encircling Eden's heart. She knew that Eden's guardian blood had kept the poison at bay much longer than in a normal person, but she could also clearly see that Eden was losing this battle, a thought the bard couldn't bear. She closed Eden's tunic as the guardian began to shiver.
Arielle grew completely distraught and felt like she might crack into a thousand pieces. In exhaustion, she lay her head down on the warrior's chest and listened to the labored and troubled beating of her choking heart. She winced with the memory of a different heartbeat holding on to her in her sickness. Instinctively, Arielle put her hand over Eden's wound and simply let it rest there. She closed her eyes and her heart suddenly slowed down to a constant, strong beat. She felt herself floating away from consciousness as a pleasant warmth grew beneath her hand.
"I will protect you with all my strength, all my faith, and all my heart." she whispered, barely conscious, "and I won't ever let you go."
And Arielle slipped off into a short, but deep sleep as the warmth underneath her palm grew to a heat that would have scalded anyone else, but not them.
In the middle of the night, Eden awoke and opened her eyes slowly and slightly. Arielle hovered over her, brushing her damp hair from her forehead.
"Arielle..." Eden whispered with great strain.
The bard's name sounded like a distant dying whisper of a ghost and made her heart cry out in pain.
"I'm here." Arielle said, choking back her tears.
Eden wanted to say so much, but had no strength to say anything more. So they simply gazed into each other's eyes for a while, Arielle stroking Eden's hair. The blond saw a familiar blue flicker in Eden's now blackish-red eyes, noticing the lids becoming heavier and being kept open with greater and greater trouble. The warrior was fading and Arielle's heart began racing.
"Eden, listen to me." Arielle said, imploring the guardian to stay with her for a moment longer by looking at her with intent and grasping her hand firmly, "You need to fight this, understand? You're young and strong, you can make it. Just rest and get better, alright?"
"Arielle... the gears... of the world..." Eden whispered in that ghostly tone again.
Eden could hear the gears of the world turning, groaning loudly. She could hear and feel the shift in things. Eden didn't know what it was exactly, but she wanted to prepare the bard for it. Yet, she just didn't have the strength to say single word more.
"Eden..." Arielle said, her voice cracking, her tears coming to the surface, her soul breaking, "Don't you leave me... Do you hear me? You promised me dandelions, remember?"
Eden struggled to stay awake and Arielle rested her forehead on the warrior's and closed her own eyes, wishing for her strength, for her very soul to sink into Eden and save her.
"Don't you dare leave me, Eden..." the bard whispered, heartbroken, "Because... Because if you do... I'll follow you... Do you hear me?... I swear to God I will follow you..."
A stray tear rolled down Eden's cheek as her eyes finally closed. And her eyes remained closed until the next night when Lawrence came, checked on Eden, and finally pulled the bard away.