???, Austria, Sarah Meadows
"Sarah." You carefully hide a smile as Iona turns the corner, the quiet clinking of her armour having alerted you of her approach well beforehand. You feel her disapproving stare on your back as you slowly move your hand, the gaping wound underneath pulling itself closed as it passes, the awed gasps of your patient's family lifting your heart. You start humming a gentle melody as the girl's eyes slowly flicker open, stepping back just in time for her family to rush past you, embracing the girl in as tight a hug as they dare.
Your knight follows you as you step out of the room, holding in her desire to tell you off for a more private setting. Ah, well. You step into your room, unsurprised to find Tracy missing. She's probably on the roof, again. The door clicks closed and you turn to your friend, resisting the urge to sigh as you watch the stress roll off of her shoulders now you are back in her sight.
"Why?" Her hand clenches and unclench as she watches you, the little tell for just how worried she is. "You can't keep wandering off like this." Her eyes stray to the small scar on your arm, a reminder that you couldn't heal everything. "What if you were attacked again?" A warm feeling fills your chest, taking the edge off of the annoyance you quickly smother. She's just taking care of me, like she always has.
"It's perfectly safe here, haven't the two of you already made sure of that?" She splutters for a moment as you turn her earlier argument back against her, unable to resist a tiny exhale of air when you see her hackles raise. Oh dear. Her hands cease fidgeting as she gives in to her frustration, taking a step towards you. Maybe I pushed once too many times.
"You know exactly what we meant when I said that Sarah." Indeed, you do. The faint smell of blood still follows you, no matter how much you scrub. Your friend steps forwards again, building herself into a temper as she bites her lip, holding in her desire to shake you if the way her hands are twitching says anything. "Just... stop going out alone." You obligingly open your mouth, letting her say what she really wants to as she cuts you off. "Please." She gives in, crossing the last few steps and pulling you into a hug, a sad smile kept to yourself as she tucks your head under her chin. "You can't keep doing this to us, it's not fair."
She doesn't cry, not any more. But you can feel the little shivers dancing along her limbs, her fingers clenching and unclenching in the back of your dress. "I'm sorry." It's not much more than a whisper, but you feel her still at your voice. "I won't go out without you or Tracy any more." You can literally feel the tension flow out of her body as she sags onto you. A month ago, you would have fallen under her weight, but the gentle caress of your power helps you hold her up. "I just-" She shakes her head, cutting you off.
"I know." You smile. Of course you do. Iona had always watched over you, she knew, more than anyone, just how much you have longed for this. It was why she had been so accepting when you'd pitched your idea to leave, she would always be there to shoulder the world for you, whether you wanted her to or not.
A gust of cold air catches your by surprise as it races up your back, the previously closed window hanging open as Tracy swings in, flicking it closed behind her. There is a certain urgency to her movements, the calm frown on her face making your heart plummet, the words she speaks more a formality than anything else. "The Demons are coming and the soldiers have already run away, it's just us now." Iona sucks in a deep breath, stepping back from you as she summons her sword, the comforting feeling of safety settling over you as she straightens her back.
"How many?"
Tracy pauses, long enough to send flutters into your stomach. "Too many, there are a few I've never seen before either." She turns to you, reluctantly speaking the next sentence. "We need you on the front Sarah." You slowly nod, pushing away the feelings that will get in the way of what you need to do.
"We'll lose a few here then." They both nod, trusting your knowledge on the injured. "But, if we don't stop them they'll all die." You ignore the flicker of memory, of the last village. "Which direction?" Tracy smiles.
"All of them."
