Falling Petals

Chapter 2


After she was bathed the women ushered her to another room to prepare her.

“You are untouched yes?” House Woman demanded.

“I don’t see how it is any of your business.” Orihime snapped. “But yes.” She admitted, blushing.

The women murmured in pleasure and before she knew it she was standing with her arms out completely naked in the middle of the room as they started to prepare her. She was covered from head to toe in white paint that caused her skin to twitch a bit.

The paint dried quickly while they applied the rest of her makeup; bright red lipstick that was painted on with a brush and black eye liner applied the same way. The layers of her Shiromuku went on next, the heavy fabric feeling like the true weight she felt on her shoulders.

“Why am I letting them do this? I could just run. I know Ichigo-kun would help me, and so would Tatsuki-chan and probably even Nel-chan.” She wondered as the last layers were put on and she was asked to kneel on one of the pillows so they could start on her hair.

She knew the answer of course. She could indeed run, but she would probably get no help from the Gotie 13, not with a very clear contract with her signature on it. And in the time they took arguing over the contract and in hunting her down Byakuya would continue to fail in health and perhaps even die, and she could not do that to Rukia or even Renji, who she knew looked up to the man.

But still, marriage? Why were they pushing so quickly? She could stabilize him for a while until they could find a suitable woman for him, like another Noble for starters. More startling was that clearly he had agreed for his signature was beside hers.

The heavy weight of the Tsunokakushi settling on her head broke her out of her thoughts. She was ready and she felt like her heart was going to burst.

“Perhaps the worse part is I don’t even know anyone here. What about my own friends? They have a right to know what is going on.”

They must have known she had no family because she was sure a noble family would not be so blatantly rude as to not approach her parents for their permission to take her hand. Tatsuki was really the only family she had and that thought sobered her up and almost made her want to cry.

“There, we are ready.” House woman declared.

They helped her stand and led her to a mirror. She gasped, not recognizing the image as herself. Slowly she turned around to get a better look. She looked and felt like a stranger in her own body.

Numb, she let them herd her to another part of the grounds past gardens that took the breath from her to what looked like a private shrine near the back of the grounds. She found her eyes starting to dart around for escape routes, but came up empty handed.

Although she stopped looking when she suddenly felt a very faint reiatsu that was washed in agony, causing her to come to a halt. Trying hard not a bite a lip she let it draw her the rest of the way down the path, all thoughts of weddings and forced marriages gone as the need to ease that pain overcame her.

Coming around the last corner of the garden she spotted the rest of the family in traditional garb. Despite the display her eyes latched onto that of Byakuya’s figure, looking regal in his ceremonial Montsuki and Hakama with his captain’s haori instead of the traditional black.

His hair was done up in his Kenseikan and his white scarf was wrapped around his neck. Any woman would have swooned at the chance to be where she was standing and would no doubt be trying to discreetly rake his body with their eyes.

Orihime noticed none of that, all she noticed was the pain he was clearly in and it was due to her worry for his health that she approached him, almost completely forgetting about the reason she was here.

The closer she got to him the more she could tell he was in pain and doing a good job of hiding it. She almost bit her lip in worry, but managed to stop herself in time. There was a priest waiting for her as well as a tray with a bowl of rice, two saucers of sake, and a large needle.

She found herself kneeling beside him, her focus entirely on him and not on whatever the priest was saying. Her hand was placed in his over the bowl of rice and it took all of her strength not to summon her fairies to start healing the damage she could feel done to his body.

His eyes remained on hers and betrayed not a single thought as the priest read them the duties they would be expected to share as husband and wife. The bowl of rice was removed and their respective kimono’s were brushed aside.

More words were said but all she could notice was how cold his hand was in hers and how clammy his skin still felt. She could almost see the life force being drained out of him and without a doubt she knew he needed her.

Not emotionally, but her powers. She was the only one who could keep him alive. Unohana had been right, she held the rope attached to the guillotine suspended over his neck.

The rice, now cooked, was placed before them and she winced only a little when the priest took the needle and pierced her chest, drawing some of her blood and letting it drip into one of the saucers before doing the same to Byakuya.

Both of them repeated the false phrase three times over as directed by the priest before eating a bit of rice from the bowl and drinking the saucer of Saké that held the opposite persons drops of blood.

Normally this would take three days of ceremony, but everyone knew Byakuya would not be able to go through it, not in his condition, so they condensed it down to a few hours.

The cords were wrapped around their hands and neck, linking them now as one. The majority of the ceremony was now complete. The two turned to face the audience, all of them his relatives and she felt that pang of pain hit her again that her few friends couldn’t be here, not even Rukia by the looks of it. Clearly they were desperate for that Heir.

She didn’t taste the food they ate or acknowledge a single word said to her. All of her focus was on his well being and the very moment it was polite to do so the elders were shuffling them off to the ‘bridal suite.’

As soon as the door was closed she turned to stare at her now husband, although that thought still didn’t process. It was a sign as to how weak he was when he laid down to rest almost immediately and she didn’t hesitate for a moment as she summoned her Soten Kisshun.

His grey orbs sought hers out and they sat in silence as she healed him, a small frown on her face as she realized a good twenty percent of the damage had come back already. Having gained a bit of understanding on how the disease worked over the last few days, it only took her about an hour to return his body back to 100% physical shape.

Her task done she found herself kneeling next to him, looking down at her hands nervously now that there was nothing to distract them from the predicament they found themselves in.

“You were misled.” He comment, causing her to jump a bit in surprise at the sudden break of the silence.

“It’s my fault, I should have read the document better.” She tried to wave it off with a forced smile.

Her smile faded and she looked down at her pure white hand. She spotted what appeared to be a large basin of water and walked over to it, kneeling down and grasping the cloth provided she started to wipe the white makeup off. By the time she was done the water was more like a white soup, but she felt considerably better.

Byakuya watched her in silence, and the feel of his eyes on her back caused a slight blush to light her face, one she refused to show.



He could tell the moment he saw her that while his Grandfather hadn’t lied to him, he had definitely bent the truth. She had more or less been tricked into this. Tricked or not there was real concern in her eyes when they fell upon him.

After the ceremony and the rather forced escort to the ‘bridal suite,’ he found his body already floundering and made for the bed to gather his strength before the next phase of the ceremony.

While she may have been innocent of the so called Saké they had drank, he was not so foolish, nor was he blind to the elders taking up the four corners of the room and chanting softly, their reiatsu all but infusing the room.

They were desperate to get an Heir out of him regardless to the cost of his body or her soul. He still wondered why they had picked her of all people, although he did not wonder for too long.

Her unique powers were definitely an asset to any family, despite her heritage. With her power they could cure almost anything and the price people would pay for such a power, especially the other noble families, would be enough to buy an entire district.

No, he had no doubt that after witnessing her power what they saw was not a bride for him to produce an Heir, but an asset they had to have and one that was ever so easy to obtain.

By her own signature the only way she could be free of his family now would be to die, and than there was no telling what would happen to a human that died while already in Soul Society, or for Central 46 to declare the document void. The second was highly unlikely to happen as they had far more important things to think about than a woman unhappy with her marriage arrangements.

Her shield fell over him without a word and the pain that had been creeping up on him receded. He let his eyes slid over to her, noting the look of determination on her face, pleased when he saw no pity, only a sense of helplessness that she could not do more.

“Time is short.” He thought to himself. “There is no telling how long she will be able to maintain this, nor do I desire to live the rest of my life like this.” He closed his eyes again.

“You were misled.” He comment causing her to jump a bit in surprise.

“It’s my fault, I should have read the document better.” She tried to wave off his comment with a forced smile.

He was feeling normal again, but already he could feel the disease eating at him. Time would be short and he doubted she would take any form of initiating contact. A failure to complete the ceremony would not end well for either of them.

Despite his own feelings he was a man of duty. Although the thought of forcing himself on any woman, regardless of the fact that she was now legally his wife and it was his right to have her, left him with a sick taste in his mouth.

She moved away from him suddenly, taking him by surprise as she moved over to the basin to remove the makeup from her body. He watched in silence as she cleansed the white paint off.

This would be far more difficult by the fact he was positive she had never shared a bed with anyone before and suddenly she was expected to share one with a more or less complete stranger.

When she was done she sat in silence and just stared at the wall. Standing up he came up behind her, determined to get this dance over and done with as quickly as possible. Judging by all the preparations the elders had put into this night he would be surprised if she didn’t conceive.

She jumped a bit when he rested a hand on her shoulder, her gaze jumping up to meet his with large hints of surprise shadowed by fear. She was biting a lip nervously and he could feel the small trembles of her body beneath his hand.

No, this was not going to be easy on either one of them. Had she been noble born she would have gone into this knowing what to expect, but she was not. She did not want to be here and no doubt had never imagined herself to be in this position.

She was terrified, her gaze dropping back to the floor and she wrung her hands in clear nervousness. Her breath came a bit faster and if she didn’t calm down going into a panic attack was highly likely.

“Fools.” He couldn’t help but to think of his elders. “Had they giving her time to come to terms with the contract this would be easier.”

At this rate anything he did to her would be rape as far as he was concerned, regardless of the fact by Noble law it was now his right. He would not do that to his adopted, sister’s friend and the woman who had put an extension on his life.

He needed to calm her down, and was at a bit of a loss on how to do so. Hisana had never been this nervous around him, but there had been love and time between them. Suddenly, and rather unexpectedly, the trembling beneath his hand stopped and with a deep breath she turned her gaze back up to meet his, a look of determination in her eyes. Whatever inner battle she had fought she had clearly won.

Her eyes met his for a moment, a slight frown marred her face as she gazed into them as if searching for something. Whatever it was she was looking for she must have found it for her body relaxed even more beneath his hand as her gaze broke from his and fell back to the floor.

She stood up and with legs that shook only a little made her way back to stand before the futon. After a second he followed her over and once more rested his hands on her shoulders.

She jumped just a little at the unexpected contact but otherwise remained still. Ever so slowly he untied her obi and pealed off the first layer of her wedding kimono, folding both properly and setting it aside before pealing of the next layer and treating it the same.

She remained still before him but he felt the small twitches of nervousness that broke through her silent resolve to clearly go through with this and his respect for her grew. To combat what to her had to be a truly terrifying experience was admirable.

He shed his own clothing next, leaving her in the last layer of her own dress while he disrobed and folded his own clothing neatly to lay beside her own. Now in nothing but his hakama he once more rested his hands on her shoulders and applied a small amount of pressure.

He meet with a brief resistance before she went down to her knees, her hair coming undone and falling to hide her face. His own hair fell lose as the Kenseikan was removed and left to lay on top of his pile of clothing.

Her breath was coming a bit faster again, but she still managed to keep calm and that was a good thing. He manoeuvred her ever so slowly to lay down on the futon on her side and settled in behind her.

If he moved too fast he was sure she would panic and possibly even bolt, not something he wanted. Her hair was still damp in places from her bath earlier and she smelt faintly of the shampoo they had used.

She flinched when a hand rested on her side, but didn’t try to pull away. He noticed her eyes were closed and she was taking deep breaths in an obvious attempt to keep herself calm.

He reached down and pulled the blanket over them before slowly removing the last layer of her defence. As he had expected the presence of the blanket kept her calm. He turned to the two candles and reached out to snuff them, placing them in almost total darkness.

With both the blanket and the darkness to hide behind he felt her relax just the tiniest bit more. He removed the last articles of his own clothing, folding them and placing them in the right pile despite the darkness before settling in behind her once more.

She jumped again when his hand rested once more on her side and slid around her body gently rub her stomach before traveling south. She jerked a bit when his hand reached her curls and ran through.

While he was expecting the jerk he hadn’t been expecting her head to go back that far and the back of her head collided with his face, earning a grunt of pain as it smashed into his nose.

His grip tightened in pain and she gasped and began to turn in his grasp while apologising a mile a minute to see the damage she had done. He silenced her with a finger to her lips.

“I assure you I am fine.”

She blushed darkly when she realized she was now kneeling in front of him and the blankets were no longer hiding her body from view. Shyly she pulled them up to hide her body and her gaze left his to stare at the far wall.

The pain from his nose subsided and gently he rested his hands on her shoulders, pleased when she didn’t flinch this time, probably because she saw it coming. With gentle guidance he got her back down, only this time she was facing him.

Somehow it made this harder. He could see the pain in her eyes, could tell she was holding back tears behind the false front of forced determination. He steeled his will with walls of iron built from his desire to fulfil his duty as the head of the family.

With the same will power that permitted him to stand silently by while he watched Rukia’s attempted execution, he pushed all further hesitation aside and settled between her legs.

Her gaze left his to fall to the far wall and he could see her entire body stiffen, which was only going to make things worse. He reached under the blankets to find the small bottle of oil that had been provided, for he had no doubt she would be very dry.

Before he even positioned himself he knew this was not going to be pleasant for either one of them and for once in his life he wasn’t annoyed at how easy it was to get hard, for the sooner this was over the better it would be for both of them.

She whimpered in pain and her hands clenched into fist when he slowly started to penetrate her, holding back a curse as to how tight she was. She actually gave a bit of a cry in pain when he broke through her virgin wall, and that cry might as well have torn him in half.

He felt like a rapist as he slowly began to move in and out of her as her walls slowly adjusted. Eventually her body started to relax, making his job far easier and he felt that well of pleasure building.

Her head was still facing the wall but he could see her body had relaxed a bit and was no longer pinched in pain. A light sheen of sweat started to cover them both. He felt his strength start to wane as the activity combined with his illness started to overcome him.

With the determination that had seen him through so much pain in his life he forced himself to reach a climax, having to hold back a sigh of relief when he felt himself give way into her body.

He could practically feel the reiatsu from the four elders flowing through them, giving them a good chance this coupling would be successful and he would never need to subjugate her to this humiliation again.

He managed to pull out and roll off of her before he felt his body start to tremble a bit. The pain was quickly coming back and he found himself breathing heavily. He was dimly aware that she had shifted beside him, and then the room was infused with golden light.

Cracking an eye open he saw her shield envelope him even as the pain slowly started to ease. A glance over to her showed that iron will in he eyes again and she was kneeling beside him, completely oblivious to the small trail of her own blood and the fact she was completely nude.

There was pain in her eyes but he had a feeling it was because she could only ease his own pain so much and not because she had been forced to marry and sleep with a man she neither cared for nor cared for her.

“She will make a wonderful mother.” Was his last thought before he fell into a fitful slumber.


She wasn’t sure when she finally drifted off, only that she was rather sore between the legs and that a warm body was pressed up against hers. She could feel the after traces of the reiatsu that had been flowing through her the night before and had wondered what the elders had been doing to them but was too afraid to ask.

She felt the first trail of tears fight their way past her guard and before she could hold them back she began to cry quietly.

This was not how her life was suppose to go. This was not how her first time was suppose to be like, granted she had giving up years ago about it being with Ichigo but her first time was suppose to be with someone she loved and who cared for her, not to someone she barely knew because of some contract she was too stupid to not read right.

“Why do my best intentions always turn my will to ash?” She thought in despair.

She could feel the so very faint reiatsu behind her and the pain that was infused within it even as the condition ate at him and his body. During one of her talks with Unohana she had learned that the Kidou healing the shinigami used healed reiatsu first before the body, where as Orihime’s ability healed the body first, hence why she was the one able to do something.

She felt him stir behind her and tried to stifle the tears, worried she had woken him up from some very much needed rest on his part. It wasn’t his fault it had come to this, it was hers and the others who had backed them into this.

“He still didn’t need to sign though.” She thought rather viciously, startled at the venom of her own thought.

She gave herself a mental shake and reigned her tears the rest of the way in.

“Crying isn’t going to fix anything, and he does need me. At least he isn’t a mean person…. Per say. Think Positive, it could be worse.” She tried to cheer herself up. “And now I am related to Rukia-chan.” That brought a bit of a smile to her face. “Wait, does this mean I am related to Ichigo now to since he and Rukia-chan are a couple?” She wondered.

It was highly amusing when she thought about it that way and suddenly the situation didn’t seem so scary anymore. She still had connections with her friends and she had just as many friend here as she did the living world, like Rangiku-chan and Hanataro-kun.

Things wouldn’t be so bad here. She had a real purpose here, someone who really needed her, even if he would never admit it. Something only she could do, at least until a cure could be found or he manages to fight off whatever it is.

She felt sticky and that sore spot was starting to get very annoying. The only thing she wanted right now was to take a shower and she wondered if she couldn’t get someone to direct her towards a place she could bathe or if they would force her to return to the room.

The man beside her stirred, causing her to jump a bit in surprise, for in all her musings she had almost forgotten he was there. Dull grey eyes met dull grey eyes, and she could see the barest hint of confusion in those eyes until the fog of slumber lifted and once more they closed off.

“I never realized we both have the same color eyes.” She found herself thinking absently.

It was about three seconds after that thought that she realized they were both completely naked and with an epp she pulled the blanket up to cover her breast. Now that it was morning she could see all too clearly.

His eyes slid shut a moment later and calmed down she could hear his laboured breathing. The pain he was feeling seeped towards her and almost at once she summoned her healing shield without a second thought, not even noticing she had let go of the blanket that had been covering her and she was now kneeling beside him completely exposed as she worked.

His eyes slid open near the end of the healing and she offered him a tentative smile of encouragement, for she had no idea how he was so easily living with the pain he had to be in.

“How are you feeling?” She asked, the shield coming down.

It was the first time she had really spoken to him, and she felt a bit of jolt at the realization.

“Adequate.” Was his response.

He removed the blankets and got to his feet, swaying only slightly and a small frown touching his features as he regained his balance, clearly displeased with the lack of control over his own body.

Orihime’s eyes fell onto his naked back and its other assets and could only stare for a few minutes before a deep blush quickly lit her face and she turned her eyes politely away.

She looked up again when the sound of rustling cloth finished to see he had pulled a basic sleeping Kimono over his body and only than did she realize their clothing had been removed sometime during the night.

She blinked in momentary confusion at the second one he was holding out to her before realizing she was still kneeling before him completely naked. Emitting another eep she grabbed the offered clothing and quickly pulled it on, a blush once more on her face.

He seemed to be unaffected by her nakedness, or at least did a very good job hiding any fluster he might have felt. He started walking away and after a moments hesitation, she followed him, not sure on what else to do.

There were two woman by the door who bowed as they came out and fell into step behind them. Orihime looked around them in awe at the gardens they passed and the design of the estate as well as the artwork set on display.

“It’s almost like some sort of fairy tale castle.” She couldn’t help but to think.

She found herself being led to what appeared to be a family shrine and hesitantly kneeled beside him, not sure if she was intruding or not. She went through the proper motions before resting her eyes on the rows of pictures.

One leaped out at her and she knew in an instance it had to be Rukia’s older sister, for they were spitting images of each other.

“Hisana-san, I am not sure if it’s really my place to say anything here, but I want you to know Rukia-chan is doing well and that she has lots of good friends and a boy who loves her very much.” She silently prayed, feeling a bit less like an intruder now that she had someone she could actually send a prayer to.

The picture seemed to be smiling at her and despite herself Orihime felt a bit better.

“Byakuya-san is very sick, but I will do what I can to keep him feeling okay. Hopefully Unohana-san will find a cure soon. I don’t want Rukia-chan to feel the pain of losing her Onichan.” She felt a bit of a painful tug at the thought of her own older brother.

Somehow that smile seemed to be encouraging, and it once more made her feel better. It was strange that a simple picture of a woman she had never met made her feel better just by looking at it and if the picture was anything like the woman had been she could easily see why someone like Byakuya would have fallen in love with her.

She felt fresh determination rush into her. Somehow they would find a cure, and soon. She was sure of it. No doubt the 12th was already working on it with the 4th.

She offered the woman a small bow, her new husband doing the same beside her, no doubt done his silent prayers to the family. They both stood up and once more she found herself being led through the mansion and out to a large garden full of Sakura trees, which at this time of the year were not in bloom just yet.

Each one seemed to have a small headstone nearby and eventually they stopped at the end of the current row where there were several men waiting with a sapling still in its bag of dirt.

They stopped before the men, who offered them a bow and held it as the two woman who had been following them set down two cushions. She followed his silent lead and kneeled down on the one set before her.

A glance at the nearby tree the sapling was about to be planted beside showed Byakuya’s own name on the plaque and she suddenly had an idea of what was going on. Each tree represented a member of the family, and judging by how big the garden was and how many trees there were it was a very big family.

She briefly wondered why there wasn’t one for Hisana and decided she would ask Rukia about it if she got the chance, for as naive as Orihime was she knew such a subject would be very painful and touchy to the man sitting beside her.

More people arrived, the elders she remembered seeing and meeting the day before. Each took a kneeling place except for the woman Orihime had decided had to be the head of such things.

She launched into a speech that more or less covered what their duties to each other were and what sounded like a rather complicated way of saying ‘welcome to the family.’ This was followed by a speech about how the tree was going to represent her growing and blossoming into her new roll and as long as the tree remained healthy, so too would she and her relationship, and the day she passed on she would be buried beneath its roots.

Surprised by the speech she glanced over at the tree she knew had Byakuya’s name on it and had to hold back a frown when she realized the tree did look sick. She positively jumped when she felt the reiatsu of the elders start to wrap around hers.

With a nod to the two kneeling men, they stood up, bowed once more and set to work digging the hole and planting the tree. Orihime glanced around in confusion as she felt that reiatsu surround hers even more firmly, but it felt sort of warm instead of threatening.

“I think.” She frowned a bit as she tried to work it out. “Are they tying me to the tree?” She thought in surprise.

As soon as the last bit of soil was patted back down around the newly planted tree she felt something, sort of an inner strength well up inside of her that told her there was nothing that she couldn’t do.

Ever so slowly the elders Reiatsu washed away from her own and in a sort of trance she walked up to what was her tree and kneeled before it, taking hold of the ceremonial dagger the elder women handed to her and using it to prick her thumb, wrote her name on the tree bark.

The blood disappeared almost at once and the last traces of reiatsu slowly faded away, even though that inner strength remained. She bowed once to the small tree and turned around to bow to the family before retuning to her husbands side.

The elder woman blessed the new tree and a plaque with her name was set into the ground before it. The congregation broke apart and everyone went their separate ways. Briefly she wondered if Rukia had a tree but somehow she doubted it.

Her husband stood up and she followed his lead. This time he led her to a bath house and while the need to clean up was definitely strong, modesty held her feet still. Surly they were not meant to bathe together.

That seemed to be the plan however for the two woman remained on their heels, giving her no chance to back off. In fact Byakuay merely stood still as the two women unrobed him before moving forward to settle into the hot spring.

Orihime felt that blush come on again and didn’t resist as she was also disrobed and the two women bowed their way out, once more leaving the two of them alone.

She stood there uncertainly, hands trying vainly to cover her body. She was reminded of the stickiness between her thighs and the need to get clean finally overcame her. She slipped into the water, eyes adverted. The water was very hot and before long she found herself relaxing, the reflective surface covering their nudity rather well.

She dared to look over at him, noticing his eyes were closed and he seemed to be breathing deeply, as if in meditation. She could practically feel his exhaustion already from the short excursions they had done today.

Suddenly all she wanted to do was get him back to bed and resting, but he looked so peaceful at the moment she was loathed to disturb him. Peace was going to be rare for him until they found a cure.

She started to clean herself, pausing as she got to the still slightly sore spot between her legs. The fact she had lost her virginity hadn’t really occurred to her until the moment, and surprisingly she didn’t feel all that different.

Maybe it was because she was older now, no long the naive young girl she had once been. Perhaps it was because there hadn’t been someone in her life for the last nine years after having long since giving up on ever claiming Ichigo.

She sighed and looked back over to the man she had ended up marrying, and briefly wondered what Rukia, and Ichigo, were going to think when they found out.

The silence was starting to bother her. Even after all the years of living alone in her small house after Tatsuki had moved out, the silence was starting to weigh on her.

“So….” She started.

His eyes opened and his gaze turned to face her.

“Umm….. What happens now?” She asked nervously. “I mean, I don’t know anything about being a noble, or how to run a household, or anything like that.” She stammered.

“The family has other plans for your skills than running the house.” He answered.

She blinked in surprise. She didn’t have many skills at all that would appeal to a noble family that she could think of. Her cooking skills had always been questionable by others. She had no crafting skills and she was hardly the worlds greatest librarian. She doubted they needed a convenient store worker.

“I don’t have any real skills.” She muttered.

He raised an eye brow at her.

“Are your healing skills not stronger than even Unohana-taichou?” He pointed out.

“Oh.” She looked away. “So they want me to be like a doctor? To heal others?”

“Indeed. The fourth division serves the Gotei 13, not the noble families. They have their own set of doctors, rare though they may be.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” She chuckled. “I am not so sure I could run an estate. I would probably get lost every hour.”

He didn’t join her in her mirth, closing his eyes once more. They sat in silence again for some time before he suddenly rose from the water, taking her by surprise. She shut her eyes until the sound of rustling cloth was finished.

She peeked and noticed his back was turned to her and she took the time to quickly crawl out of the water and get dressed herself. She could feel the pain radiating from him and was relieved when he led her next to what she assumed would be their actual living quarters.

Shortly after he laid down the soft golden glow lit up the room. Pain lines she hadn’t noticed until now smoothed slowly as she did all she could to heal the damage done to his body.