Light laughter slipped through a small gap between her slightly parted red lips, her fingers delicate as she moved them expertly on his face, in her treatment administration.
This wasn't the first time she would be dressing Eli's wound, she couldn't even count how many of his injuries she had dressed and once upon a time, she was the only one that could treat his face if there was ever a need for that.
She wondered if she was still the only one. She didn't have to think too long though. She knew she wasn't. Someone else had taken her place but not for long.
"Thank you for saving my life." His voice had a rough edge to it, along with the appreciation she had been dying to hear. "I should have thanked you long before now."
He clearly remembered being defeated by the dragon and how he had tossed his mask out at the last minute, blaming himself for not having done that way earlier, wondering if he had tossed it far away enough for them to even see it.
He remembered how his blood had trickled down his face and the loss of it forcing his eyes close from dizziness.
He had been losing it right there on the floor, till he suddenly found the strength from nowhere and had fought the beast again.
It could only be Kestra. He owed her so much already, there was no way he could ever repay her for the sacrifices she had made for him.
"You don't have to." She said dismissively, her gaze lingering a little longer when she looked down at him and found his eyes open, looking up at her. She could get trapped forever in those eyes of mahogany hue.
"My life would be nothing without having you in it. You know I really care about you."
"I must be in so much luck to have such a wonderful friend, even luckier that you are my right-hand woman. You are a friend I am grateful to hav--" his words morphed into a hiss, one of her nails punching one of his cuts in what he believed was a mistake.
"Sorry." She whispered and he nodded in understanding of a mistaken belief.
"Friend." She chuckled. "Of course, our friendship is wonderful. One of a kind."
The word 'freind' left a bitter taste in her mouth and she couldn't wait to get rid of the subject.
"This must be sickening." She said in reference to the scales. "It must be really annoying that they always have to grow back." She added with an annoyed gasp for emphasis. "It must hurt you that they still exist."
She waited for an elaborate frustrated reaction as usual, so that she would console him and they could hate on the scales together, but she only got a shrug.
A shrug?!
"You used to hate them." Her hands dropped from his face, now done with dressing his cuts.
"My Donna doesn't mind. She thinks it's beautiful, she thinks I am beautiful." He chuckled, sounding a little more relaxed, his mountain gaze looking a little distant. "She loves my handsome face."
She liked the scales too? Who in their normal mind would love the scales? How could he possibly start tolerating the scales, knowing full well he had gotten them?
What was wrong with hi---
Her eyes widened and her heart jumped with panic when she saw the blood that trickled slowly down his nose.
Eli reached up to wipe the blood away but she was faster.
"You need to feed, your Majesty." She said with an urgency that he understood, but he waved it aside.
It wasn't as if he was dying.
Alright, maybe he was dying but it wasn't that bad.
"I will be fine."
"No. Not if you continue like this. You are weak. It will only take some time before the dragon will take too much from you through the bond you share."
He looked over her shoulder at the lake and up at the sky. He was tired of sitting already, he wanted to stand up, and create some distance between them, but he was bleeding again and he was too tired to even do anything.
She was right, he was weak, but that didn't matter.
He had to get back to his search already.
The earlier he found the cave, the better for all of them.
"Talking of the dragon, why has she been attacking me a lot these days? Do you know wh---"
"Because you won't feed and since you won't feed, you are weak and the weaker you get, the more the dragon becomes the more powerful one in the bond you share. She will slowly stop seeing you as her master if you continue like this, your Majesty. You have to feed."
He frowned, trying hard to steady his breathing and not think of the pain in his hands. It was hard to ignore though, it felt like blades were being drawn slowly across his skin, at the same time.
He closed his eyes briefly and gritted his teeth.
He knew his hand was bleeding again but he seriously didn't have time for this.
Not right now!
He had a sleeping beast in his den and time was not by his side.
Why now!
"Eli."
His eyelids tore apart with speed and with a forceful grit, he said, "Stop saying my name like that."
"You will have to feed eventually, you cannot hold on like this till the Red Moon for it to disappear. You must feed before then or the dragon will act up again. That will be death on us all."
He shrugged, the action taking too much from him.
"Eli, you have held on this long. You have tried, it is time for you to stop being considerate and just take what you need." It was hard to resist the urge to move closer, but instead, stay here.
She would rather wait for him to make that move.
She knew that he would.
He had no choice but to eventually give in. She just had to wait.
"I have my bride." He whispered, not being strong enough to do more than that.
She burst into a short laughter, the humour wiping away the moment she was done.
"Eli, you didn't use to have problems with that in the past." The look in his eyes made her continue. It wasn't exactly encouraging but something about it told her she just had to say more.
Like if she said enough, that would be it?
"This place is far away from the castle, Eli. The Bride would never know."