Leonaira: Tales of fallen kings

"Vulnerable" - Chapter 9

Mia

The medical tent was in is big. Ever bed is separated by curtains, doctors and healers walk from bed to bed. You can hear some of them groaning and talking. Mara walks to James's bed, checking his pulse. She ignores me. I can't make much of her, they said the girl was one of the kids she looked after or something.

James not waking up, his skin and flesh not healing from the deep wound. We end up going to her private medical tent full of devices, clean medical equipment, even a large bed tale in the middle of the room where James is lying on few books, a large cabinet with numerous stuff on and guessing inside it. Seems as if Mara isn't very fond of James dying yet unsurprisingly; refuses to talk to me giving me sly looks as if she either wants to kill me or kiss me. She confirmed James was "dead" yet he was slowly healing himself.

Perhaps James is more resistant than I thought. Mara only told me that his lung was punctured and somehow, nothing flooded into his lungs hence why he wasn't spitting blood mara mumbles to herself while she gets her equipment, a few bottles, and a cloth. Finally, she takes the dagger from her belt turning it into her staff. James suddenly comes too, the wound in his back unhealed, yet he's regained consciousness. He hits his head as he falls out of bed one of the stools next to it. He's disorientated clearly unnerved.

"The...fuck happened, and why does my back feel like, I've been hit by an Orc wielding a broadsword" he sits upon the ground. Propping himself up against the bed. His lack of breath from the wound does not surprise me. But seems as if Mara is in a state of shock as, I don't think anyone could sit up with a hole like that in their chest. He sits up looking at them both.

"How's it looking back there?" James asks. He peers back his shirt is nothing but tatters by now. I'm not complaining and neither Mara as she snaps out of it.

"Not good, It doesn't seem to be healing?" Mara replies hiccuping as she starts talking. He looks behind me.

"so...what is your name again?" He asks relaxing slightly almost like having the hole in his back is nothing, I can't help but laugh a little. Making me question if vampires do this stuff all the time, get impaled and just laugh it off? Probably not but still.

"Mara" she responds. She noticeably blushes, in terms of being a girl she's beautiful. Which, around James. I'm not too fond of. she's probably just a shallow bitch. The wind blows through the tent as James looks at the two of us.

"You were sleeping for almost a day" Mara furthers, giving James a flirty smile that makes me want to throw up. I still check on James none the less looking even closer at his body the scars look deep and even smaller scars that might have been done by crossbow bolts or arrows.

"well if you were stabbed in the lung wouldn't you" he chuckles that charming laugh. She laughs with him. His wound is slowly healing after a while as gruesome as it looks, the hole and the lung regenerates, the room goes silent as the assistants, myself and Mara watch.

"Unbelievable" Mara remarks poking the skin with a pen before flinching back not even I can't believe it.

"so where have you lived so far, James?" Mara asks checking the wound also then she looks up at him I can't help but almost growl, I hold it back as James hesitates.

"Well... It's a very, very long story."

She smiles "okay, you don't have to tell me" He strokes his arm. Hesitant. Speaking of that, he never told me what he left after he left the dark castle. Always skipping around the question.

"After I left the dark castle Victor sent some vampires after me. Some I grew up with other's I actually got to know. I was chased out of the north and I went to the volcanic land to the west. Trying to find a reason to go on with life. Everything and everyone I knew either betrayed or tried to kill me. So I wandered through never staying. Walked and walked with what I had... A simple and dull pocket knife I had used for carving. It was my passion back in the castle. To make something it may need to be destroyed. Which.

Was what happened to me with what happened to me I became a mercenary." He looks at Mara she looks back at him.

"A mercenary?" Mara asks curiously and rapidly making eye contact with him, she shivers those brown and black eyes did that to me

"At least you have a chance to make the world a better place now" I try not to roll my eyes and throw up. She's such a brown noser, I just hope she's going to leave us alone soon.

"No, I don't I have a chance to kill another. Within those volcanic rocks, I discovered. I was immune to the effects of fire, I stood on the tallest mountain. My lungs still full of air and neither feeling cold nor any of the effects. Poison still painful. Yet I don't think it would kill me... Now my final test. To defeat victor. Otherwise, my own oblivion" He shrugs his shoulder. He's not going to hold back during our fight with Victor.

"Don't say that. Plus now we're together, the first two elementals in one hundred years. We can help each other even after everything is over" Mara smiles her sincerity beaming and nauseating. She touches his shoulder smiling. the wish to turn and rip out her throat starts rising in me.

"well..I'm the problem is. I've come to learn that I would rather help you understand a few things." James looks at her. He looks a Mara.

"What do you mean?" She looks back at him.

"I was there. Years back when I was only ten. I discovered a body. A human body that was, unfortunately, killed by one of my own. Blamed it on the shapeshifters. Unfortunately, this is the reason why your people have been killing them. They tried pinning it on me but, I won't even dare to protest." James goes on, huffing at the thought meanwhile i look at Mara. "until the killer, blamed it on those who were immune to his abilities." I smirk. "can you guess the killer yet Melisandra? James leans against a pole of the tent.

"Victor?" he smirks almost mockingly "clever girl."

He moves quickly bopping her on the nose, almost invisible and we see him appear on the chair looking at one of the books. "seriously, Tragedy's Mara?" He stares at her.

"predictable ending". She giggles annoyingly.

"My mother's. She gave them to me. And most of the books I own are about magic and healing"typical" he throws the book back on its shelf. She smirks. "It's an interesting topic. Magic." Mara looks at the book he holds "

I know all about it Mara I spent my time in the largest realm in this realm." He smirks relaxing back on the table. "you can't know "everything" I mean that wouldn't be possible." she chuckles He stands up pointing his hand out to his staff "Valkyries strike" he sprouts wings. Their unlike anything I've ever seen. Their pure white yet turns black.

"I was reading more about the old elementals before I was one of them. Amazed by the lore and legends that they were." He smiles showing off his wings

"impressive" she smiles. A replicate of them, made of fire, appears on her hands then she closes her hand to a fist and James's wings turn into dust she smiles.

"This is how I started to train. creating pictures from fire then if I wanted them destroyed I would only have to close my hand and it would engulf them in flames" The grin still glued to her face. I don't know whether to be terrified or just plain freaked out.

"Hmm, impressive, my wings are a mirror of my soul. Yet my previous elementals was pure white... That was my problem whilst training." He looks at Mara.

"huh.." she looks back at him.

"I wouldn't have expected them to look like that In honesty" James comments also adding "I was chosen and during my isolation, I was trained a lot and taught more tricks than I could remember. They chose me because I had nothing left to lose." I smile. She smiles back. "I wonder why I was chosen"

"your ability to do good and bad I was told. I had an image of what you would like but not physically. You have greatness in you and can be a monster. I take it we will need both in order to destroy the plague." James comments coldly nodding as if it makes sense.

She nods says nothing as if she was offended by the elementals choices. Her ability to do right and wrong. Even that would hurt me. Mara walks out of the tent. After that James doesn't say much to me, I never bothered to ask as he slowly felt like he was more distant yet he was in the same tent as me. I got to sleep first, not even feeling hungry.