Just Us Alone (girl x girl) COMPLETED

Part 8 (Alette's POV)

I watched Iris as she slept. Her cuts weren’t healing and each time she awoke, she stayed up for shorter and shorter periods of time. It was clear that she wasn’t going to get better, but I wouldn’t admit it. I gently held her hand, beginning to rub my thumb over the back. She stirred and smiled in her sleep, but didn’t open her eyes. 

    I’d been checking her wounds every day for improvement, but none ever showed. The cuts remained deep. They'd stopped bleeding, but the skin hadn’t scabbed over yet. I lifted her shirt to take a look and dropped her hand in shock. Purple liquid was leaking out of the gashes, dripping on and staining her white shirt. I leaned closer to see better and ran my finger along the cut, getting some liquid on it. I held my finger up and tried smelling the liquid. I scrunched my nose in disgust. It smelled acidic and rotten, a disgusting yet recognizably magic scent. That wasn’t good at all. 

    I didn’t want to leave Iris’s side, but I needed to go look at that tree. I kissed her forehead before heading over to the shelf and grabbing my knife. I raced through the woods, eyes peeled for any sight of Agatha. Finally reaching the stream, I washed off the liquid from my finger and went over to the tree Iris had fallen against. No, the tree I had pushed her against. I examined the bark, the leaves, anything that would give me a clue about it’s identity. The bark was rough, sharp, and layered, creating saw blade sharp edges. The leaves were nothing special, dark reddish brown, similar to the color of the trunk. I pulled out the knife and dug it into the bark, extracting a bit of sap. I smelled almost exactly like whatever was coming from Iris’s wounds. I racked my brain for information on the tree but could come up with nothing. 

    “It’s a Lyron Ash.” a hoarse voice said behind me. I whipped my head around to see Agatha standing there, a fake smile of sympathy pasted on her lips. 

    “You!” I screamed, running at her with my hands out. I grabbed her arm and tried to rake my fingernails across her skin, but it was tougher than any human skin I’d ever felt. 

    She wrapped her hands around my wrists and held me back calmly. 

    “Alette, there’s nothing you can do now, hurting me won’t change this.”

    “It’s all your fault!” I seethed, scowling at her as I began to cry for probably the hundredth time that week. She hugged me, trying for kindness, but I shoved her away. 

    “You did this! You made me push her, I know you did!” I yelled through tears, “Fix her, make her better! You’re a healer, so heal her!”

    “Alright, come to my cottage, I gave you directions. I’ll see you tonight.”

    And with a flick of her tattered robes, she was off, back into the woods. Lyron Ash, Lyron Ash. I turned the name over in my head. Lyron Ash. Then it hit me. I sank  down to the ground, sobs racking my body as all the facts I’d learned from my mother came flowing back. Deadly tree, bark coated with poison, fatal if it gets into your bloodstream. Iris was going to die. At my hands. 

    I ran back to the shelter, tears streaming down my face, blurring my vision so I couldn’t see the woods in my way. I tripped over sticks and ran into branches. My clothes were snagged by bushes and I soaked my feet in puddles. Eventually, I made it home, a disheveled mess. I slipped quietly into the shelter to find Iris peacefully sound asleep and breathed a sigh of relief. 

    I would take her to Agatha tonight. I really didn’t want to, but it was our only chance now, the only way I could possibly get her back. I shook her shoulder lightly, whispering her name and putting little angel kisses all over her face. She stirred and murmured my name, opening her eyes. I smiled down at her, shrugging off my coat and shoes and crawling onto the bed. 

    “Hey Flower.” I whispered, “How are you doing?”

    “Real great.” she said weakly, giggling. I ran my hand along the side of her face, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her skin was hot and feverish, her hair soaked with sweat and sticking to her forehead. 

    “So, I was thinking, what if we take you to Agatha’s to be healed?” I asked her, biting the inside of my cheek as I anticipated her ‘no’. 

    “Yeah, okay.” she agreed quietly. 

    “Wait, really?” I questioned. 

    “Yeah, I mean, it’s kind of my last hope isn’t it?” she whispered weakly, tears peeking out from her eyes.

    “I guess so.” I hung my head. I hadn’t stopped crying since I’d seen Agatha and this surely wasn’t helping. Iris reached up and brushed tears off my cheek with the side of her fingers. 

“Thanks.” I leaned down and kissed her, it wasn’t like I could get sick from her. I lay down and curled up around her, my hands combing through her hair. She slowly fell asleep and I wrapped my arms around her feverish body. I leaned my head against her shoulder and fell asleep too. 

~ ~ ~

I woke up to Iris shifting in bed fitfully, moaning and crying. My eyes flew open and I quickly shook her awake. 

“Hey, hey, what happened?” I asked worriedly. 

“Hurts” she mumbled, almost inaudibly, “hurts, so much.” 

It brought tears to my eyes to see her in this much pain. I wandered to the door and cracked it open, the sun was beginning to set. I made my way back to the bed and scooped up Iris into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her face on my shoulder, keeping her eyes closed. She was still hot and feverish and her cuts were dripping so much purple now that it had leaked through her clothing. 

I pushed my way out of the shelter and started heading to Agatha’s. 

“Iris, I’m taking you to the healer, alright? She’ll make you feel better.” I whispered to her, shifting her in my arms so I could carry her better. She nodded her head in response but didn’t speak. The light was slowly fading from the woods, the sky turning from golden to dark blue as the sun dipped further behind the trees. I stumbled along the side of the stream, keeping to the more grassy spots for easier passage. 

After walking for a half hour with no sight of the cottage, my arms were growing exceedingly tired, so I sank to the ground to rest. I lay Iris in my lap and began to stroke her hair again. I picked up a few strands and started to braid them, creating a pretty plait down the side of her head. It wasn’t much but I was proud of how it came out, considering I’d been in the woods for three years and hadn’t given my hair a second thought. I combed my fingers through the rest of her hair, smoothing it out and picking out the sticks and leaves that had weaved themselves back in. 

“Pretty.” A voice said in the woods behind me. I slowly turned my head, not wanting to disturb Iris. Not to anyone’s surprise, there was Agatha, appearing out of nowhere as she so often did. 

“I’m glad to see you came. I wasn’t sure you would.” she noted, beginning to examine Iris with her eyes. 

“I still don’t trust you. I just need Iris healed and then we’re leaving.” I stated coldly, challenging her with a stare. 

She nodded, “Could’ve expected as much.”

I gathered Iris in my arms and stood again. 

“Lead the way.” I said