The Shieldmaidens Lover Pt. 07

Elwyn pushed the lifeless body off her own, staring up at a startling blue sky. She gazed at it until she felt two hands on her shoulders shaking her. She blinked and looked up into the face of Garenth. She shuddered and she pushed him away, getting to her feet. She limped badly from the wound that still bled heavily on her leg but was too stubborn to let it slow her down. Elwyn moved over to where Marcus lay and she pressed her fingers to his throat, and was relieved when she felt a pulse. She began to lift Marcus onto her shoulder when that same strong hand stopped her. She glared at Garenth but the silent man stood firm and picked up the fallen general and gently put him over his shoulder.

As she walked she realized that the battle was nearly over, the last burst of energy from their fallen leader having scared off many of the kings soldiers left fighting and dispelling any last magic that had controlled them. How long they had been locked in combat was beyond her, fading into a haze of the pain that coursed through her body. None hindered them as they retreated to the tent of healing. Several of the Elves stood gawking at her as she continued to stagger on, and a few even offered an arm which she roughly pushed away. There was anger and pain in her face, reflecting the new knowledge of treachery finally avenged. She only half realized it when they reached their destination. She followed Garenth into one of the smaller private rooms set up and watched as he lay Marcus's unconscious form on the cot. One of the healers came in and began to tend his wounds and Elwyn sat down on a chair opposite his bed.

Another woman came in and began to reach for Elwyn's armor, trying to tend to the still bleeding wound on her thigh. But Elwyn pushed her away. She barely heard the woman's soft words trying to convince her that the wound was serious and needed tending. Garenth seeing her protests left the tent as silently as he came.

After the third time the woman pestered her, Elwyn turned to her and said in a harsh tone, "Leave me." The woman startled by the anger and power in Elwyn's voice, backed up and left the room. Elwyn's eyes never closed, gazing at the face of the unconscious Marcus. The woman had stripped him of everything but the cloth around his waist and was bandaging his chest.

It was not long until Bronwyn came into the room with another of the healers. The young girl by her side reached towards Elwyn but her hand moved up and blocked the girl, just as she had the other without taking her eyes from Marcus. Bronwyn only shook her head and motioned for the girl to leave. Bronwyn knelt beside Elwyn and whispered

"My Lady, please...you will bleed to death." Bronwyn could tell from the look in her eyes that Elwyn didn't really care at the moment. But none the less Bronwyn reached for Elwyn's armor and surprisingly, Elwyn did not stop her. Her armor removed left her in a chain mail shirt and light soft leather pants, allowing for protection and easy movement. She only barely felt Bronwyn cut away her pant leg, revealing the deep gash high on her leg. Her eyes drifted closed but she made no sound as Bronwyn cleaned the wound and put a pressure bandage on it to stop the bleeding. Elwyn looked up as she saw the woman kneeling by Marcus get up and leave the tent when there was no more she could do to aid him. Bronwyn cleaned the cut along the side of Elwyn's cheek and some salve to make sure it didn't scar to badly. After being satisfied she had no other serious wounds, Bronwyn got up and put a gentle hand on Elwyn's shoulder before leaving as silently as she came. Elwyn moved her chair beside the bed where Marcus lay, his eyes close and his face pale. Her eyes drooped but never closed completely, focused on his face as the lights were lit and the sun fell below the horizon.

Chapter 25

It was hours later before any dared to disturb them. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the flap of the tent open and a ragged wounded but still lively Caspar came into the room.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her and whispered "My Lady?" more of a question, wondering if he was seeing things. He walked up and knelt by her side and took her hand in his. She jumped as if he had woken her from sleep and turned to look at him. He moved his hand to the side of her cheek, his thumb brushing just beneath the cut across her cheekbone and he whispered "Elwyn come back...he will live..." She didn't know what he meant at first, her eyes turning back to Marcus. But she slowly began to relax, and breathe more normally. She blinked several times and it seemed as if the world came into better focus, almost as if she had fallen into some kind of trance from the shock of battle and she shook her head to clear her thoughts.

Caspar stood and pulled a chair up beside hers, taking up her vigil at the generals bedside. He too now turned his gaze to Marcus. They had done all they could for him. Several of his ribs were broken, and the wound across his stomach looked all the more serious, the healers fearing the poison that many of the soldiers now ailed from.

"What happened to you Elwyn? Why weren't you at the head of your armies?" Her eyes closed and she sighed softly.

Her hand laced into Marcus' limp hand, holding it tight. "They set me up Caspar. I fell right into their hands." She shook her head, her face falling downwards, eyes unseeing. "They locked me in the tower, telling me that I had gone mad in my time in the human world." She lifted her head to gaze at Marcus "Donovan got too cocky with the lust for power that drove him to betray me. He forgot I played in those halls as a child. There is a system of hidden tunnels through out the castle. I managed to escape...barely."

Caspar was about to ask something when the tent flap opened and Koren rushed in, bowing before rushing to her side and kneeling. "Forgive me Princess," His head bowed "They told me before the battle you had ordered none to seek you out. But when I didn't see you on the field I knew there was something wrong." Elwyn put a soft hand on his shoulder and he raised his face. "Elwyn, General Donovan is gone. He is not among the dead or wounded."

She laughed softly. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me. He sold his soul and my safety to the hands of my enemy. And I prevailed. He would be a fool to stay." Both Caspar and Koren looked at her in shock. "Raygar had this planned fourteen years ago when he bribed Marcus' soldiers to kill me. Unfortunately for him their greed got the better of them. My return put a rather large thorn in his side." She got up and began pacing, limping but too stubborn to care. "Raygar bought Donovan's loyalty, convincing him to lead the remaining army into battle to reduce the elves to a non threatening level. She stopped walking, leaning one hand against the tent pole, her anger and the effort of pacing making her breath short.

Koren held his hand out to Elwyn and in her first sign of weakness she took his hand letting him lead her back to the chair. She sat and put her head in her hands. "King Earlar I would guess is dead and cold by now. Raygar planned to kill Marcus and the King and take over the lordship of the land, and propose peace by making Donovan his new chancellor." She wove her fingers together in front of her, resting her lips against her hands as she stared at Marcus.

There were several moments of silence before Caspar asked in a curious tone "Raygar admitted such treachery?" She nodded slightly.

"He boasted about some of it, expecting to leave both of us dead in his wake. But it wasn't hard to put two and two together. We might yet find evidence if Donnovan was fool enough not to burn all the letters of correspondence between him and Raygar." She let her head tilt back and her eyes closed and it seemed as if the remaining color had washed from her cheeks. Koren reached one hand towards her and put it on her shoulder. He could feel her labored breathing, but before he could call for one of the healers Bronwyn came into the tent. Elwyn opened her eyes hearing the tent flap shuffle and moved her vigil back to Marcus. Bronwyn handed her the cup of tea she had been holding, and Elwyn slowly began to drink it, knowing she was probably feeling the effects of the poison from Raygar's blade. Bronwyn unwrapped the wound on Elwyn's leg that she hadn't realized had begun to bleed heavily again. Bronwyn rewrapped it, tying a piece of cloth tight above the wound. She turned to Marcus but there was no change so Bronwyn slipped out as silently.

In the next several hours Koren and Caspar tried to convince Elwyn to give up her vigil by Marcus' side, promising to come and get her if any change happened. But she had returned to the silent state in which they had found her. Her eyes were glazed over, locked on Marcus' face , her body rigid and unmoving, as if the stillness of death had already taken over.

The two men had fallen asleep in their chairs as the night drew on. The sun began to slowly rise, a red dawn of a new day, giving the battlefield an eerie feeling as if the sun itself was wounded, its blood flowing like a river over the living and dead. Her head snapped to attention suddenly and she moved from her chair to sit on the cot beside Marcus. She thought she had heard him move. She put her hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat the slightly slow even beats thudding against her palm. He shifted again. This time she was sure of it.

"Marcus?" she called softly. "Marcus open your eyes." She moved her hand to the side of his face caressing softly.

His lips parted slightly and whispered in a voice so soft even she with her exceptional hearing had to strain. "Am I dead?" His eyes slowly opened, and she saw him struggling to focus.

She couldn't help smiling a bitter sweet smile. "No Marcus. You aren't dead" She brushed his hair out of his face and forced a smile.

He looked up at her and she saw the recognition flow over his features. "Elwyn...how did you..."

But she cut his words off with a finger to his lips. "It doesn't matter. I'm here now." His hand moved to hers on his cheek and he laced his fingers with hers, and she felt as if her heart would break. His eyes drifted closed again, as if he didn't have the strength to keep them open.

"Raygar?" he muttered.

"He's dead Marcus. He cant hurt us anymore."

"The battle, who won?"

She could see him getting agitated and she took his hand and held it over her heart. "Rest now Marcus. Please." She stroked his arm and felt him slowly begin to relax and she whispered, "Rest your heart. Leave your troubles till the morrow." She leaned close and she pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss and pushed from her mind the thoughts of all that still stood before them. Her lips parted against his deepening the kiss, trying to forget the tension that had not eased between her people and his. Her hands moved softly over his chest and his wrapped around her waist, not thinking on the knowledge that Donovan had escaped, ready to hatch new plans for power. She moaned softly against his lips, a wordless prayer that rose towards the heavens that they would both survive the grievous wounds they had both been dealt.

She pulled her lips from him breathlessly, reveling in the steady beat of his heart beneath her hand and for the first time she allowed herself to rest. Elwyn lay down on the bed beside Marcus letting one arm rest carefully across his chest. She felt his arm tighten around her, and she put a soft kiss on his shoulder, whispering his name softly. Neither realized when Caspar and Koren left the room. The red sun shone in through the door of the tent, the twin sapphire stones around the lovers necks ablaze with the blood amber glow of the new day.

Fin