What Happens By Candlelight

Chapter Thirty-Five: Battle

After several long and tense moments, the three men agreed on a plan. Taking a deep breath, Thomas and Edward both took a shot, moving from one tree to the next. They moved with such fluidity as if they were part of some dance.

One of the shots hit Nottingham's non-dominant arm. Another grazed his cheek. One came shockingly close to his chest, and had he not maneuvered his body to avoid the hit, he would be dead on the ground.

The Corporal seemed to be saving his shot. He didn't do much more than observe the two as they moved, but eventually, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger - right as Thomas came around the trunk of the tree.

The bullet lodged itself in his thigh, leaving him to crumple to the ground. Gabriel grabbed me when I tried to sprint over, keeping me firmly guarded behind the tree. Silent tears began to cascade down my cheeks. I couldn't help my brother. The main reason I was here, to begin with, was because of them, and I failed.

"You need to stay here," Gabriel whispered in my ear the next moment before he began to creep around the other side of the trunk - where Nottingham's back was facing. I grabbed onto his sleeve, swallowing every last ounce of pride I had left.

"I-I'm sorry-"

"Now isn't the time Christina," his gaze showed all the hurt he had, but his tone reminded me of everything happening around us. He wanted me to tell him the truth, but the situation at hand was direr. 

I nodded, but couldn't release his sleeve. I just needed to say the one thing. "I do love you, Gabriel."

For a moment, I thought of how it sounded like I was using him. Any logical person could see how that would be manipulating his feelings to do what I wanted him to do. Had I been any crueler, perhaps I would use it to my advantage. And yet, it was perhaps the most truthful thing I had ever told him.

His gaze softened ever so slightly, but he made no move to do anything. Slowly, he removed my grip from his sleeve, forcing me to let go. "We'll talk later."

A promise. He was making me a promise.

I finally managed a nod, letting him move around the tree. My anxiousness grew as I watched helplessly as Thomas pulled himself to the other side of the tree, clutched his leg as blood poured out. Edward quickly ducked over to where he was at, pulling off his coat and tearing the bottom of his shirt to make a stopgap bandage.

Nottingham reloaded his gun, prepared to cause further damage to the two brothers. Gabriel left the shelter of the tree, aiming at the murderous man. His shot embedded itself into the Corporal's shoulder, which only caused the Corporal to turn his attention away from my brothers.

"Lieutenant Colonel," he growled out as he clutched his bleeding arm, "I see you're still choosing the girl."

My eyes frantically searched around me, trying to find something to disarm or harm Nottingham. They finally landed on Thomas' gun, which lay abandoned on the forest floor. He never shot the last round, so it was still loaded. If Nottingham turns his attention away from this direction long enough, I should be able to get to it. 

I moved my hands around frantically, gaining Edward's attention. Our eyes made contact, and I could see the understanding in his gaze. For a moment, I realized that I didn't know any of the fancy hand signals that they knew, but I had to get my point across. I mouthed 'distract him,' and slowly watched as he nodded his head.

He whispered something to Thomas, who turned his gaze over to me. I could see the objection in his eyes, but a short and quick nod was all he gave.

"You're wrong Corporal!" Edward finally reemerged from the tree, his hands soaked with blood. "Christina isn't a spy - we are!"

Edward held up his arms, almost as a sign of surrender. The Corporal turned his attention their way again, giving me just what I need. Without a second thought, I sprinted a few trees over, barely managing to not be seen.

Gabriel silently protested but didn't dare keep his gaze on me for long. Instead, he focused himself on reloading his firearm. 

I was much closer the Nottingham's peripheral vision, so I slowly crept from one tree to another, making my way towards Thomas' gun. 

"You're just saying that to protect her Captain-"

"Are you so sure of yourself?" I could basically see Edward's smirk as he spoke. "What's more plausible? A young woman or two British officers? We would have easier access to the information we'd need. Not to mention-"

A shot rang out, and for a moment I feared for Edward's life - until I saw the bark from the tree go flying past my face. "Found you!"

Thomas' gun was only a few feet away, I could get to it before he reloaded.

I swallowed every bit of fear I held and leapt through the air, my hand reaching out to grab the weapon. I landed on the ground with my hand barely touching the surface, but I quickly recovered and took it into my grasp.

I was still laying across the ground when I aimed the barrel towards Nottingham and pulled the trigger, watching as the bullet lodged itself into his abdomen. I let out the breath I was holding, lowering the gun to the ground.

Everyone seemed to stop and observe the man, waiting to see his reaction. Edward lowered his arms, seeming to relax after several tense moments. Then Nottingham lifted his weapon once more, but a final shot ended him.

As Nottingham fell forward and Gabriel was revealed, his gun still smoking.

The world has stopped. For however long it was that we were all here, the world had ceased all movement. and now it came crashing forward once more. I pulled myself up enough to crawl over to Thomas, applying pressure on his would to try and stop the bleeding. 

"I-I need to get the bullet out!" He hissed, squeezing his eyes shut and letting his head fall against the bark of the tree. I hurried tore the lace accent off the bottom of my sleeve, tying my hair back with it before continuing any further. 

Edward pulled the makeshift bandage off as I did so, giving my full access to the wound. I let out a deep breath, trying to think of the best course of action. "I... I have to..."

Another hand entered the scene, forcing a bullet into Thomas' mouth. I turned my head, seeing Gabriel nod. I let out another breath, sticking my fingers through the blood-soaked skin to find the metal ball. 

Thomas groaned, biting down as hard as he could on the metal. When I finally found the bullet, I pulled it out, tossing it away from us in order to begin re-bandaging him. He would need sutures, but I didn't have the materials or means to give them at that particular moment.

Thomas spit out the bullet, leaving the dented metal completely useless. He heaved in and out, trying to regain the proper air control once more. "We need to get him back with the others. I don't know how long it will be before infection will set in."

The two other men lifted Thomas, taking each of his arms over their shoulders. I grabbed the guns that were left behind, casting a glance behind me at Nottingham laying face down on the ground.

I couldn't do anything for him now. But I will probably tell some other soldiers where his body is in order for him to have a proper burial. 

Right now, I have my brother to focus on.