Heir of the Sword

40 | Matutinus (II)

Matutinus {Dawn}

Dedicated to all of you for sticking with Arya and me until the very end. 

"No!" Arya shrieked out loud. Her voice cracked and it she sounded inhumane even to her own ears.

She rushed to where the princesses' fallen body lay and turned Lady Zelie over slowly. There was blood oozing from her abdomen and she was violently coughing out blood as well. Arya pressed her hands to the injury but the blood kept flowing. In a matter of seconds, Arya's hands were coated in crimson blood.

"Stay with me," Arya whispered to Lady Zelie.

Lady Zelie tried replying but she just ended up coughing out more blood. Arya spoke to her in a quiet voice, "Don't say anything. I'm going to lead you back to the healers and everything is going to be fine. We are going to win this war and we will go back and build the academy from the ground once again."

Lady Zelie smiled slightly and Arya knew that she had heard every single word she had uttered. Arya gripped her hand in support and was relieved to see that it was still warm. However, she began to worry as Lady Zelie closed her eyes.

"Don't die," Arya begged her.

The bleeding continued and Arya watched in horror as Lady Zelie's breaths became shallower until she took her last breath. And then there was silence.

A ghostly smile illuminated her beautiful face. The hand that Arya had been holding a few minutes ago was now stone cold. Arya laid her head on Lady Zelie's chest.

She couldn't believe that Lady Zelie was dead. 

Lady Zelie was the one who had taken her in,  trained her, believed in her when no one else did. She was the first friend Arya had made. She was everything to her but now she was gone. Arya felt something wet and salty sliding down on her face and when she touched her checks she felt that they were wet.

She was crying.

Arya couldn't believe herself. She had never cried in her entire life. Even when Harper had died, Arya had remained strong. This was the first time Arya was crying. And suddenly, she couldn't hold it in anymore.

Sobs rucked through her body and her wet tears fell onto Lady Zelie's now crimson uniform. She cried harder and harder. Not just for Lady Zelie but everyone else who had died as well. A little while later, Arya felt more droplets falling and she looked up to see that it had starting raining. It was as though the heavens were morning Lady Zelie's death as well.

She felt a soft hand land on her shoulders and she looked up from her tear stricken face to see Aaron standing beside her. He gently pried her body away from Lady Zelie's and picked her up. Aaron cradled her face in his palms and warmth spread throughout Arya. She hadn't realized her body was shivering with the cold. Aaron slowly wiped away the tears that were gathered in her eyes.

"Prince Zander is calling us," he said softly.

Arya didn't want to go. She didn't want to face Lady Zelie's twin who no doubt would be stricken with grief. It didn't help that he reminded her of Lady Zelie and the good times they had. But she knew that she had a duty to Kalvaria. If Prince Zander could get through it, so could she. She would just have to be strong right now.

Aaron led the way back to the camp and Arya blindly followed him. She was unaware of her surroundings but she trusted Aaron to lead her away from harm. With her head ducked Arya continued on her path. She was vaguely aware of people trying to attack them but Aaron managed to keep them all away.