Of Fae And Fire [#Wattys2016] √

(|] 9: battle [|)

I feel a sharp surge of adrenaline deep in my chest. I want to double over and heave, but now is not the time. I have to fight. With the stinging sound of metal, I yank my sword out of it's sheath and charge.

I know what to do, but it just seems so cruel. These are living beings, and I can kill them. Just take their life away like it's a lollipop that can be stolen from a little kid.

As I quickly approach a Chaos Fae, he swiftly readies an arrow. When his fingers fly and the bowstring snaps, I deflect the arrow with my sword, blocking the way that Farland taught me. The fae's dark eyes narrow, and he reaches a hand back for another arrow.

Before he can shoot me again, I close my eyes and drive my sword into his stomach. When I crack them open again, I see him staring at me, his eyes slowly glazing over. Boiling scarlet blood pools out around my sword, and I pull it out of his body with a sickening sound of metal against flesh. He collapses to his knees, and his just enough strength to draw one last arrow. He can't take his aim very well, and the arrow flies past me and lands in the grass. I watch as the glint leaves his eyes, which are now glassy and wide. Blood is still pouring, but when I feel for a pulse, there is none. The blood eventually stops.

The fae is dead.

I just killed someone. Killed someone. It scares me, how powerful I now feel. I wipe my blade on the grass, staining it scarlet. Then I plunge back into battle.

I'm blocking some hits when Ferin swoops in and fends them off for me. As I'm sending her a grateful glance, I see someone, a girl in black, crouching by the fae I killed. She lets out a pained yelp and takes his limp hands. "Carswyn!" When she notices that he's dead, she gives a strangled shriek and gives him a hard kiss on his cold, dead lips. They have the same dark red hair; he must have been her brother. The fae girl carefully lowers his eyelids and then turns her rage to me.

She yells again, this time a war cry, and pulls a knife out of the cloak I didn't realize she was wearing. She runs to me so quickly that I don't have time to ready my weapons. Her dagger tears along my leg, and I scream in pain. My leg gives out and I collapse. The fae lunges at me again, her eyes fully black now. She thrusts her hands in front of her and mutters in that same strange fae language. My leg starts to bleed faster, and I yell louder. It's torture, pain ripping through my whole body. I roll on the ground, clutching my body. My sword falls to the ground next to me. The girl licks her lips and picks it up. She's about to drive it into my stomach and finish me off, when a flying blur comes in and drives its sword into her leg, in the same spot where she got me. She falls next to me, and the figure, in silver, takes the fae's bow and shoots an arrow through her eye.

A breath escapes her mouth and her hands scrabble to grab and strangle me. I snatch my sword from her and put her out of her misery.

I turn to my savior and realize it's Farland. "Thank you so much," I say, breathless. "I would have died." I realize that a huge weight has been lifted off of me, like dark storm clouds being cleared from the sky. "I owe you my life."

"You don't owe me anything," he assures me. "It's enough that you're here, and you're going to stop this war. Somehow. I know you will." Farland spins around before I can respond and shoots the fae that was creeping up behind him with a dark arrow. The fae smiles, a terrifying, twisted smile, and grabs Farland by the neck. I ignore what Farland said about not owing him anything and whip out my knife, trading it for my sword. I chop at the Chaos Fae's face, and my blade catches on his eye. He lets go of Farland and clutches at his face. When he lifts his head again, I see his eye closed, an angry red scar over it as if it's been like that for years. He howls with anger and tears the arrow out of his arm where Farland shot him.

The Chaos Fae lunges at me, knocking me to the ground. "What's a pretty little girl like you doing out here?" he snarls under his breath, that crazed smile across his face again.

I elbow him in the stomach. "Kicking your fae butt, that's what," I mutter. He keels over, and I slash at him again, cutting his shirt to pieces and leaving scars all over his body as he worked quickly to heal himself while fighting me. I give a final blow, and he falls to the ground, mouth still twisted into a grimace.

Farland grins. "Wow. I'm impressed," he says to me.

I grin back and wipe the fae's blood off of my arm. It stains my beautiful silver shirt. "Thanks. You're pretty impressive yourself." He shrugs.

I feel a stinging sensation in my back, and see that another fae has drawn her dagger down my back. I flick blood onto her (I'm not sure if it's mine or someone else's), and it doesn't even show up on her dark outfit. She smirks and cuts me in the leg, the same one that the other fae girl did. I shrink to the ground and clutch the reopened wound. It stretches over my kneecap and down my shin. Blood drips down into my boots.

"Well, my friends, I believe we have done enough damage for today," a Chaos Fae man says with a wide smile. "Let us go back to our homes to celebrate."

A cry rises up from the rest of the Chaos Fae, and they run back the way they came, not turning their backs to us until they're far away.

We stand there for a moment, swords dangling from hands, clothes ripped, blood dripping. Then people race to find their family and friends and head back home. I lay down where I am, sticky with fluids. Farland crouches next to me. "Meree, stay awake. Please, just while I find them. Stay right here." And he races away to find the rest of the Few.

After a little bit, Ferin, Farland, and Faas come racing over. Ferin takes a look at my leg and sucks in a breath, and Faas rushes to gather me up in his arms. They head quickly back to the house, and I rest my head against Faas' shoulder. Soon, my eyes close themselves and I pass out.

···

When I come to again, I'm on a pillowy soft substance. I realize it's my bed; we're back at the house. The Few are leaning over me. "She's awake," Ferin murmers. Faas runs his strong hand over my hair and kisses my forehead.

"Good." I sit up, and pain rushes down my back. I glance at my leg to see a long pink scar. "I healed you the best I could," Faas says. "Our magic's gotten weaker over the years. It may hurt for a while, sorry."

I grab him in a kiss. "Thank you," I mutter into his lips. "All of you, for keeping me alive. And teaching me how to fight. And for letting me stay here. And for everything."