The Princess of Cithrí - Chaol Westfall Fanfiction

I am no one

The soaring eagle pommeled sword slid out of the carcass with a hiss. The body slumped at the feet of the captain of the royal guard. Around him lay the devastation of war. Bodies, butchered like boars scattered the muddy wasteland, carriages burnt and flags flew threw the wind without poles. In the distance a horse shrieked and bolted through the mud, it's fore leg was blooded, a slab of splinted wood sticking out of it. The horse smashed into the ground, rolling down, and waiting to die. Chaol gasped and spun, his head pounding from the head injury that poured lakes of red into his eyes. He was the only man standing. His oposition had had around three thousand men serving him, Chaol had two thousand, eight hundred and three men. Everyone was dead but him.
He craddled his hand against his chest as he trudged back over to his Asterion stallion, he barely made it onto the back of his horse. Slumping against the horse's mane. His injured hand wielded the house flag - Hallivard. The end were torn and snatched at by the wind.
He did not need to look to know his wounds were fatal. He would die on top his horse if he could not find help. His feet dug into the horse, wrapping the stirrup leathers around his ankles so he may not fall. They moved on. The only survivors of the war. Walking into the abyss to die alone.

~~~

I had been sweeping down the tiles, gathering up the shattered glass fragment from under the bench, when the dark horse snorted on the road. I bit my tongue back, the horse large enough to trample me, glared at me with human eyes. It was calling for my help. There was a groan and a thud. I gasped, throwing aside my broom as the rider lay on the dirt covered track. His blood puddled around him, seeping darker than any larger I had ever seen. His skin was ice cold. He was dying. I screamed back into the emptiness of the Inn, clasping the stranger's hand. "We will get you help, you just have to stay awake."
His eyes were gone, rolled back into his skull. Only the twitch of his fingers to tell me he was still alive. "Stay with me!" I cried down to him.

The great healers of Torre Cesme pondered over the rider lying in my bed, they poked and prodded the man. Taking samples of his blood, and interrogating me on who he was exactly. I had no answers. I only knew, from the horse, that I had to save him. I shivered. I hadn't told the healers that it was an Asterion stallion he rode into town on. That it was currently in the Inn's stables, hidden under a tattered tartan sheet. The healers scowled at me down the end of their sloping noses. "We will have a trainee come tend to his cuts, and provide pain relief for you to administer to him frequently."
"Thank you." I said an curtsied, blushing at my foolish gesture. They weren't kings or queens, they just had such scary demeanours it felt right to bow. "You're generosity is very kind."
The one in the cream-grey apron and dress frowned, her lips pinching. "Our help does not come freely."
I blushed, and looked to the man. I couldn't afford treatment, least of all for a stranger. "Oh, I thought as I worked for you..."
Their heads snapped at me, the bags of herbs and vessels in their wicker baskets clinked. "You work for us?" One puzzled.
"What is your job girl?" The other asked.
My cheeks burned and sweat dripped down my back. My father had always said I would grow confidence around people as I aged. I never had, all I had done was learn to avoid people. This situation right now, if you had told me I was to be in it an hour ago, I would have fainted. "I clean up after your operations."
All three flickered looks to each other, like they were sizing my answer up, trying to see if it was a lie. "Oh... yes of course." One said slowly.
The one in cream-grey cocked her head. "Do you work at the Inn or not then?"
I nodded. "Yes at the fleeting fox, I clean there too."
I could see the judgement in their eyes. They would go home and laugh tonight over glasses of wine, and platters of cheeses. I would eat the kitchen scraps from the inn, check on the horses, and then sleep on the floor. A stranger currently occupying my bed.
"The cost is still the same." The healer in blue spoke, causing my gut to ache. "Even for cleaners."
I gulped, and told them I would have the money sent to them shortly. That would be after I picked up additional shifts at the inn. They sweeped out of my room, snorting down the staircases, as they already mocked me. I hung my head low, and drew my shoulders in close to me. I hated people for that very reason, everyone was out to see the worst in you. There wasn't much good to see in me, but there was a lot of bad.