The Benevolent Warrior (Fandral Fanfiction #1)

[16] Breathe

Ashildyr held the charge of training the women who felt more at ease with arrows and strings. The men ranged from late childhood to the age of forty. They had the stone wall for target practice (and each of them prayed that the arrows wouldn't bounce off to strike them back).
"Pull the arrow back slowly,  keeping your arm straight. Keen eyes make sharper scopes!" she instructed them, floating down the line of trainees, examining stance and hold. She paused by a slender girl,  about sixteen, and smiled.
"Good. Very good." She passed on. "Draw in a deep breath and release the arrow." She exhaled slowly, steadying her breath.
All of a sudden, a bittersweet sensation filled her mind,  fluttered against her heart.
***
She had been in Puente Antiguo, New Mexico working at Isabel's Diner over the seasonal break. It was a normal day, and that meant difficult customers and sparce tips left on tabletops. With a sigh she wiped the sweat from her brow and smoothed down her grease-covered apron. A brief glance out the window was enough to make her forget about all that had happened that day.
She saw... she saw a giant monster stomping the street,  dueling what appeared to be armour-clad warriors. She frowned at the sight and in a split second, she saw only one option. A fiery beam was headed straight toward her. She threw herself down onto her chest as glass rained down and a huge crash splintered her ears. She screamed as she poked her head up and saw bodies.
"Oh my God, oh my--" she tried to tip toe around them, around the debris. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the metallic monster was staring straight at her.
She swore she heard someone call her name.
She turned and saw a man,  clad in fine armour and wielding a sword,  staring at her.
"Are you alright, My Lady?"
She blinked. "What?"
"Are you hurt?" he looked her up at down,  before his eyes settled on the cut above her right brow. "Oh,  you've got a...a.." he gestured to his own brow and she mirrored him.
She saw the blood and instantly, everything blended together beautifully and horribly all at once. She felt herself away to the rhythm of some silent melody and she groped for a chair,  a bench,  anything. She found a pair of arms.
"Hey,  hey. It's alright,  you're alright." He gently lowered her onto the ground behind the counter and kept his hands on her face. She just stared at him blankly, confused.
"I can't...I can't see anything... I-"
He smiled and touched her chin. "That's alright. You're going to be okay. You Midgardians are stronger than you look." He looked around and saw the chaos, remembering his friends,  Thor. "I have to go. My friends need me. Stay here where it's safe. I'll come back for you when this is over. Just breathe for me, alright? Can you do that for me?"
She nodded groggily. "Yeah, yeah I can do that."
He smiled, "That a girl!"
His hands slipped away. Her hand found his.
"Be careful," she croaked out after him.
He looked upon her in amazement. How rare to find a woman who cared so much for a stranger.
"Always,"