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Woah folks! this got long. Sorry!

Isella

She turned toward the man; he still had his water flask.

“May I use that flask again?”

He seemed to hesitate, as if frozen by fear or some other emotion. “Give it to me,” she said gently.

He handed it to her slowly. “My name is Isella. What’s yours?”

“Daire. This is Lorcan.” He said the name as if it should mean something to her, then added in a shaky voice, “Will he be okay?”

Isella glanced down at the man who had rescued her.  She’d hunted enough animals to recognize the look of one that’s about to die. No, he won’t be okay.

At first, she thought it blankly. Fear didn’t hit her until an instant later. She didn’t answer Daire’s question.

Her dress was torn near the bottom where Lorcan’s blade had caught it as he hacked the dragon’s tail. She knelt down and ripped a piece off, then took Daire’s flask of water and wetted the cloth.

She pressed it into the wound, trying to keep the bleeding at bay.

“Is he gonna die?”

She glanced up from bending over Lorcan.

“We all die one day, Daire.” She almost choked on the words.

Why should I care? People die every second. The pulsing in her veins never subsided. Why should he be any different?

She glanced down at the life under her hands that would be extinguished in a few minutes. How strong will the pulse be when I’m so close to him? She shook the thought away. I shouldn’t mind anymore. Without meaning to she glanced back at Daire. His face was almost as pale as Lorcan’s.

She thought about all the possibilities and shook her head. Stopping Time can’t stop someone from dying, even if I could hold it for more than a minute.

Lorcan shifted and groaned. Isella could feel him struggling for breath; his chest heaved under her hands. She bit her lip, and wondered how long it would be until her pulse told her that one more person had entered the heartbeat of eternity. [apply no theological significance to this statement. I haven’t evaluated it theologically.]

A step sounded behind her. She turned to look, waiting for the world to stop spinning before she could see who it was. It was the man that had hurt Lorcan.

For an instant resentment rose inside her, but she shoved it away. He couldn’t have known.

Lorcan’s face was ashen pale.

Daire started forward, waving a blade like he didn’t know how to use it but wanted to.

“It’s okay, Daire. He’s—he’s coming to help.”

She had been right about him once, and only hoped she’d be right again.

Daire didn’t look away. A wild gleam filled his eyes; they were moist.

The man stopped in front of him. Neither of them moved. Isella stood up and started forward without any clear idea of what she intended to do.

The cave spun and light fought with blackness at the edges of her eyes. Exhaustion pulled her toward the floor and her knees buckled. For an instant the blackness won and she was falling forward. Then her vision cleared, and she realized that she was kneeling on the ground, clutching the man’s arms. He looked into her eyes, with a little too much scrutiny.

“Thank you.” She pulled away. Perfect day; that’s at least the fifth time I’ve been helped today. I must come off as a weakling royal. The coronet had slipped, and she could feel it awkwardly perched on top of her head. She clutched it off, foolishly aware of how childish the gesture must look.

She passed her free hand over her aching forehead. The man’s voice broke into her thoughts. He was holding a peculiar looking object out to her, asking her to take it. “What is it?”

Everything was strange in this place, but then what made something familiar but habit?

He started saying something but trailed off, searching for a simple way to put it. After a while he said simply, “it will heal you.”

I wish it had that ability! The pulsing in her veins came into focus again, but she shoved the feeling aside. Nothing could cure that. Exhaustion pulled at her, but with it came the thought of Lorcan.

“Would it heal him, too?”

The man nodded. “He needs it more than I do.” There’s nothing actually wrong with me. This is just what happens when you manipulate time.

Daire protested, afraid of ghastly superstitions Isella had never heard of.  The man and Isella stared at one another, thinking what to do. If he’s not healed soon, he’ll die. The thought pounded through her veins almost as quickly as the vibrations.

“What if I take it first? Then we can see if it will do…that.”

A flicker of doubt passed through her as she reached out and gripped the object, but she shrugged it off. The worst thing that could happen is I die. Everyone dies sooner or later, and I’m going to die sooner, whether this kills me or not. *

She took the handle and followed his instructions. His face started to change, it grew paler, and his eyes looked like he had a headache. Hers was gone. She blinked, and he wobbled a little.

He took it. She stared down at the mystery that they both held an end of. Before she could stop it a thought flashed through her mind: now he knows what it feels like after forcing Time out of it’s course.

He said something to Daire and started toward Lorcan. Worry gripped her and she jumped to his elbow. “You can’t do that,” she hissed. “He’s dying—it’ll kill you.”

He shook his head and pushed her away. As he knelt down and wrapped Lorcan’s cold fingers around the little stone [@jared-williams idk if it’s stone], his mismatched eyes found hers. He gripped the other end and the little mechanism. A moment later he slumped forward, Lorcan’s injuries sending pain through his whole body. Isella winced.

Daire’s eyes grew bigger than she thought possible as they watched Lorcan’s face regain color.

The man groaned and Isella dropped to her knees beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

Lorcan looked around and spotted the man so close to him. He jerked away, and the man jerked limply after him—the healing mechanism wouldn’t let them separate. Lorcan jerked again, more fiercely, and the man groaned again.

Isella bit her lip. Every jerk must be sending fresh pain shooting through every limb. She hurried to Lorcan and gripped his wrist. “Don’t move. He’s a—doctor.” She knew it wasn’t true, but how else was she supposed to tell him? To her surprise, Lorcan stopped struggling.

The man was writhing now, shaking with pain and fatigue. She stood still, helplessly staring at him.

The gems on the mechanism clicked into place and Lorcan let go. The man reeled backward and sagged to the floor. Isella was just in time to catch his head and ease it onto her lap. His eyes met hers for a moment before he passed out.

The girl that had been with him stomped up. “Yup,” she stated. “Stupid.” Isella shot her a withering glance and turned back to the man.

Lorcan had his weapon again and seemed more at ease with it. She said something to him which she hardly could comprehend herself and turned to murmur  to the man.

May came up, indignation in her face. But she shuffled off one of her petticoats and tore a strip of cloth from it. Isella tried to hide her surprise. Maybe it’s appropriate where she comes from…She couldn’t believe it was dignified to take one’s petticoats off in any society, but then she’d never seen a green girl before, and one was standing beside her.

May put the cloth to the wound, grumbling to herself about how stupid the man was. Isella bit off the hot retort that rose on her tongue, remembering that May didn’t like her. Instead she said, “You look like you’ve done this before: you’re very quick.” It sounded hollow, even to her, but it was too late to change it. She’d have to take the compliment or leave it.

May only grunted, and Isella gave up.

All of the man’s looks had seemed to reassure her that he would be fine, and there was nothing more she could do now. She eased his head to the floor and stood up. The man named Lorcan was trying to free himself from Daire’s fawning.

With a final push he got away and stepped toward them. Daire’s babbling followed, but Lorcan took no notice.

He dipped his head so that his hair fell over his forehead. “Mi’lady.” As he looked up he fixed her with his dark eyes. “I hope all is right with you.”

She felt her cheeks warm, and for an instant wished she had left her coronet on. I’m covered in dragon blood, too. She shoved the thought away, telling herself it was idiotic.

She smiled. “I’m perfectly well, thank you.”  And thanks to him. She glanced at the man lying close to them. He seemed to be breathing easier, and she sighed.

There was a pause that could have been considered awkward. “Daire told me your name was Lorcan. Mine is Isella.” She saw him roll his eyes as she mentioned Daire. The affection is one-sided. She smirked.

“Oh, and thank you for—back there.” She motioned to the carcass of the dragon that lay smoldering behind them. He swung his head around and grinned at the dead beast.

 

~~~

@irishcelticredflowercrown I don’t know where to go with it from here. Change what you want.

@rose-colored-fancy I don’t know if you want to spring-board off of this: it’s up to you. 🙂

@jared-williams I like Abirami. 🙂