Destined

"Perhaps You'll Hate Me Afterwards"

I turned as fast as I could away so I didn't have to witness all the gore. Kneeing next to Conor, I opened his leather vest to examine the damage the knife had caused. Carefully, I cut with my own knife his vest, to get faster access. 

All that blood! A second pair of hands helped me. Ai! Thank Theos! I wasn't alone in this. I watched surprised how she rose her dress above her tighs. To my amazement a leather ribbon came into view. If it wasn't such a serious situation, I would have laughed my ass off.  As a retired "silent killer" Ai brought her dear little friends with her, the poisoned darts. 

She shrugged her shoulders as she noticed my stare. "Just a precaution...", she muttered, "and look how they come in handy!" I shook my head smiling with a heavy heart.

She took one dart out of its bracket. "I'll give him that, so he will fall asleep but only for a few minutes and we can see, what we can do for him,  transport him somehwere." I simply nodded.

Ai injected him with the narcosis. Nearly instantly Conor's breathing calmed down. A large body hovered over us. My eyes rose meeting Gaisgeil's. 

He wiped the last remnants of blood and shreds of flesh from his face with his sleeve. His worried eyes were on his brother. "Can you help him, Callida? Ai?", he pressured.

 With my fingers I carefully touched the wound. Conor had pulled out the knife on his own before he fell. Now his aggressive wound was open and heavily bleeding.

"I don't know, Gaisgeil, he is loosing a lot of blood and I don't know what damage is caused on the inside. He is lucky it missed his heart..." 

Gaisgeil's eyes were glued to the wound. Still his face was a grotesque mess, a cruel evidence of his doings only a moment ago. His despair pained me but I couldn't console him with Conor's life at stake. 

"He can't stay here on the ground, we should bring him somewhere where we can examine and treat his wound", I stated. 

"Yes, ...Ai? You know where to go...", my destined pled with a hoarse voice.

She nodded, her eyes still on Conor. "Yes, take him and follow me. If there is a chance to save him, Callida and I will do our best."

"Should I carry him?", Ronan asked in a soft tone. I was so focused that I hadn't noticed Ronan's and Yrina's presence. 

"NO! He is my brother...", Gaisgeil growled lowly, closing his eyes the next moment in remorse. 

"Sorry, Ronan...I am sorry I snapped at you", he said in a ragged breathing.

Ronan shook his head in understanding. "It's alright...I know..."

Gaisgeil put his hand on Ronans shoulder. "I put you through so much shit and you are still such a forgiving and good friend", he sighed regretfully. "I need you two here to watch out if someone tries anything. You know what to do than...", he begged, his eyes moving from Ronan to Yrina. 

Yrina walked straight away to the guards. Ronan nodded simply, bending down to kiss Ai's head. They exchanged a loving stare without further words.

He turned around shouting commands to the guards to ship the people off...

In the meanwhile Gaisgeil bent to pick up Conor attentively. Carefully his one large arm reached under Conor's legs, the other one embraced the torso. Ai and I got up, watching with wary eyes. We peeked at each other, knowing that perhaps all effort was in vain. But at least, we had to try.

The picture tucked at my heart strings: The big Creachadair holding his unconcious and wounded little brother in his arms. I recognised, that it really hurt my destined. He was anxious to lose his brother, whom he hadn't had the chance to get to know.

„When I was a healer here, I had my little empire, a room with five beds for the seriously ill and wounded to nurse. I am sure, it is still used. Let us bring him there."

We followed Ai in a rush, hurling along the long corridors. On our way we witnessed first-hand the outcome of Keallach's death: laughing happy guards and soldiers were fratenizing, joyful people socializing and gossiping about what was about to come. They were happy they got rid of Keallach. The big question: Who would be the next bailiff of Nefaria? 

But that didn't matter at the moment. Saving Conor's life was our first priority. When we reached the healer's quarter, Gaisgeil put his brother cautiously on a bed, standing guard next to it, observing with hawk eyes our work. 

Keallach had aimed his knife at my heart and he would have hit his goal, if Conor hadn't thrown himself in front of me. Conor was lucky because he was taller than me and the knife hit below his heart right into the spleen. Obviously we had to remove this organ because it was smashed and heavily bleeding. 

I sighed. „We have to remove his Spleen, Gaisgeil, or he dies. You have to help us with the surgery like you did with the child in Gordan."

Ai's eyes widened amused. „He helped you, without burning you on a stake as a Kjerring?", she mocked him. Gaisgeil rolled his eyes on her. "I'll do it, I'll do everything to save him." 

"Wow, here I am dying and you are joking around", a weak but smiling voice made itself noticeable. "But it's good to know, that at least my brother cares about me...", Conor tried to laugh but instead coughed painfully.

Obviously the anesthesia had worn of. Gaisgeil sat on the edge of Conor's bed, his concerned eyes on his brother.

Conor tried to speak up, but Gaisgeil stopped him. "No, don't  speak, brother, you are weak and hurting, don't stress yourself. Ai and Callida will perform a surgery on you."

Conor tried to rise on his elbows but failed. His face took on an urgent expression.

"No...please, listen...I have to tell you something important. Perhaps you'll hate me afterwards but you have to know...that ..."

"NO, don't tell me, save your breath, it's unimportant at the moment. Tell me after you wake up again."

Conor shook his head vehemently searching his brother's eyes. "No...I can't risk dying without telling you. What if I won't wake up? I can't let you go to Betrayen without telling you. I know, you'll kill me after I tell you the whole story."  His torso heaved up and down rapidly by his laboured breath.

From the corner of my eye I saw Ai prepare the anesthesia. She nodded at me and I nodded back in agreement. It was time, Conor was getting too agitated and it wasn't good for his condition.

Without further words, Ai put simply the pad with the anesthesia over Conor's nose. 

"Please, you have to listen to me, it's important because it's all ...", his last mumbled words were inaudible.

Gaisgeil huffed. "Whatever you wanted so say, brother, tell me when you wake up..."