Conquests within Forfeits. The Hemerwig Series

Ch. 6-Healings

    Then again, where does she get off telling me to just die? If Melrose was any other girl she would have been dead a long time ago. I have to constantly remind myself that she’s important to my people. But then she had the nerve to forgive me? If I ever want anyone’s forgiveness, I will ask. What will her forgiveness amount to anyway? It will be worth absolutely nothing so I don’t know why I’m even thinking about it.

     I catch a glimpse of Melrose’s dress and relief washes over me. I can soon make out Melrose’s full appearance, and I notice the wind blowing her hair around. Melrose doesn’t seem to have noticed though.

    It would not be a good idea to get lost in Melrose’s kingdom. In the mood Melrose is in now, she might not even report me missing. Melrose’s so hard-headed. The worst thing about getting lost is that I don’t even know if Dizzy would notice me being gone. As long as she has her precious Colly, she’ll be entertained for a few nights. Once a fire elemental has his or her eye on something, nothing and no one can be a distraction.

   I hear a horse whining loudly and I look over in time to see an old man falling to the hard pavement. I stop in my tracks momentarily to notice the carriage that the old man was sitting in is now holding back the horse. The startled horse starts to buck in the air wildly and the injured man can’t get up or try to control the horse. Everything is happing to fast and of course that means people are screaming with panic high in their voices. The people in the streets begin to clear a path but unfortunately that path leads straight to Melrose. My eyes widen once the horse seems to come to the same realization and I push myself to run toward Melrose. The people push past Melrose, but I can still tell that she’s too upset to be paying attention.

    Once I’m in hearing range I shout, “Watch out!” Melrose whips her head to the right and screams. The horse bucks at the scream and gives me the few seconds I need to push Melrose out of the way. I can’t care less about the horse right now because as I hit the stones of the ground beneath us, Melrose lets out another scream. I didn’t mean to tackle her but she was in danger.

  “Are you alright?” I ask quickly. Tears are pouring down Melrose’s eyes as she shakes her head no.  I don’t waste any time by staying on the ground. I pick Melrose up in my arms and try to take her away from the crowds. I’m sure she wouldn’t want her people to see this.

    Melrose buries her head in my chest and continues to wail. “What’s hurting?” I ask.

  “My ankle! The horse stepped on it or I sprained it. Just take me to the palace. Please,” she begs.

  “Okay I will. Just hold on,” I tell her as I continue to run through the crowds. Melrose doesn’t seem to believe me because the pain becomes clearer on her face as the seconds go by.

    I’ve never seen someone in this kind of pain before. Even Melrose’s sobs make me feel terrible. Maybe she is more fragile than I thought. Maybe she’s the type of Princess who never sneaks out of the palace and always does everything her parents tell her to do. I shouldn’t have upset Melrose. I shouldn’t have yelled at her. I shouldn’t have let her get away from me. This is all my fault.

    After a while, Melrose’s wailing really begins to worry me and the palace isn’t in sight. A shaky idea comes to mind but it’s good enough for now. I slow down to a trot and Melrose looks up at me with questioning eyes. I set her down near a building covered in shade and kneel down next to her.