She'd had to crawl out of her brother's room that night. Closing the door behind her took the last of her strength; she slumped against the set of doors, sliding slowly to the floor. For the first time in many years, a cold sort of panic began to set in.
She was going to die. She felt the blood pulsing from her side. A rib broken, maybe two... she hadn't looked. She was quite sure she'd see an exposed bone, and she couldn't handle the shock of it. The pain began to hit, moving in waves--she closed her eyes and planned to die as a sentry before her brother's room. Her body wouldn't be able to hold him long, but perhaps if he were conscious enough to see her corpse...
"Se'vhi."
She fought to open her eyes at the whispered curse. No footsteps; must have been that prisoner she'd seen in the kitchen... Well, perhaps he'd be kind enough to finish her off before going through the "valuables" in the basement. A lot of good silver platters and jewelry would do her anyway.
"Brandon!" Jerico yelled, call echoing fiercely down the hall. He was absolutely certain to be within hearing range. He always was. "Get Rhe! Quickly!" The boy might be stubborn and thick as the castle walls, but he knew when to take a request like that seriously.
She knew she was fading when her hearing surged in and out--but she heard enough of his words. If he wasn't planning to kill her, then... what..?
Fingertips lightly brushed her cheek, drawing to her chin and finally lifting her head delicately. "Hold on hold on, there, little bird." His voice was soft, careful. Another set of fingers brushed over the hand she was holding herself together with, ignoring the blood entirely. "That's not a blade wound, is it..?"
She might have answered, but she doubted she did much more than whimper like a weak and dying thing... like what she was. Her breath was getting short, the pain almost something else entirely. She had to gather that strength, she had to tell him; her voice was rough, almost too low for her to hear herself, but she felt the light touch of an ear against her lips. "Don't... open... the door."
"'Kay, little bird." Was whispered back to her. It could be understood later. Much later, when she was fine and healed and--dammit, where was Rhe?!
As if responding to the desperate thoughts, two sets of footsteps thundered down the hall. Rhe skidded to a stop the moment he saw the blood puddling underneath the girl; pushed forward forcefully by Brandon, who had gotten the idea of what was going on quickly.
"Come on, boy." Jerico's voice remained calm, even. "She needs you."
Rhe made an uncomfortable whine deep in his throat, shoulders dropping... but he let Brandon push him, allowed his knees to loosen as he was made to crouch. He couldn't actually look, closing his eyes tightly while allowing Jerico to guide his hand. So much blood, thick and sticky and too-hot/too-cold against his palm--he connected to her energy without the need to concentrate. It nearly surprised a flood of healing from him before he managed to reign the power in, carefully controlling the flow of energy.
Brandon and Jerico blinked over Rhe's slightly tensed body. He'd healed them both before, when they'd required more than a few days worth of natural healing--it had always been difficult and painful for him. It was an occurrence filed away under the millions of other things to discuss at some point in the future.
At some point well before Rhe pulled away, Nikkira had lost consciousness. Jerico checked her pulse, scooping her limp body into his arms and making the very dangerous decision to attempt to find her bedroom. "One thing." He directed toward the other two gentlemen as he walked. "Do not open that door."
Her bed. She recognized the texture under her fingers. She was... sitting up... under the covers... then what had...
"Easy, little bird."
She glared toward the man with the soft voice, sitting quite comfortably in the plush chair in the corner. "Why do you call me that?"
Jerico grinned lightly at how she managed a demon's hiss even with her wavering voice. "I don't know your name. We were never properly introduced."
She swallowed, the memory of just before she passed out coming back to her. She looked down to see her side, healed of all wounds with no scar. Only minor pain remained, nothing like it was and so she did not mind it.
He continued to watch from the corner, astounded that she hadn't tried to cover herself. She was quite naked under the blankets, sitting up and letting them fall low on her hips. He'd stripped the bloody clothes off himself, washing it off of her cautiously in her bath. Regardless of that being all he'd done with no intension of anything other, he was still surprised that she slung no accusations, made no move for covers or clothing.
"I thought you were all prisoners." She said at last, not looking at him.
"We were." Jerico confirmed. "Straight from Gelha."
She stared again at what should have been a gaping wound--what should have been her death. "A skilled healer isn't often locked away."
He made a noise of agreement, going so far as to lift from the chair and walk over to her. When her eyes fell sharply upon him, he smiled with absolutely no fear and sat upon the far corner of the bed. "It's a long story... little bird."
"Nikkira." She corrected quietly.
"Nikkira." He repeated, memorizing... tasting the word. It was foriegn to him in all ways, but there was something fitting about it. "I'm Jerico. The healer is Rhe. And the mean one is Brandon." He added, feeling the need to jokingly warn her.
She took the information as it was given, filing it away in her memory. Gelha was a hold for... "expendable prisoners"--available for anything from executions to medical research if it would quell a society. Not ones who would so much as think to help, let alone heal, anyone.
It was more than time to cut straight to the chase. Still not asked to leave his position at the end of the bed, Jerico turned his body to face her. He used a low voice, utterly serious but still friendly. "About that door, though..."
She stared. Hard. "There is no conversation to be had about the door. Do not open it. That's all."
Well, he had to admire her persistence in making the point. Not that he couldn't ignore it just as easily as any other. "Am I to take it whatever tore you open resides in that room?"
"Jerico." She used his name like a curse. "You and the others are free to go wherever you wish."
His brilliant blue eyes flashed with something between mock innocence and kind amusement. "Are you telling us to leave after we saved your life?"
She simply couldn't figure him out. He had an intense natural charm, and yet some of his motions were clearly trained despite how natural they might have become. He spoke truth, but he didn't attack her with it--and his gaze was astoundingly sincere. The near-porcelain flesh and his hair so brilliantly black that it had silver highlights were both intensely foreign to her. Not to mention those eyes... "I'm telling you I'll tend to my business, and you should tend to your own."
He quickly became extremely uncomfortable under her scrutinizing gaze--though he made a point not to let it show. "Then what's this? Haven't our individual bits of business crossed?"
"I'm grateful." She ground out. "But you have all been eating my food and living here for a week. I think we're even, all things considered."
At that sentiment, he laughed. It was an unexpected response, to put it lightly--but appreciated even more for that very fact. "Sorry to inform you of this, Nikkira, but Rhe won't be able to leave for a couple of days. And even then, he's going to wish to make certain you're healthy."
She muttered something scathing about not needing another set of servants, but left it there. They hadn't killed her, and clearly no one had opened the door. Truth be told... she was curious.
The silence seemed agreeable enough. "You realize you live in a tower, right?" He winked, somehow making the whole gesture rather dashing. "Are you a princess?"
She made a sound of bitter humor. "No. But I do seem to have a curse."
Jerico only shrugged. "Who doesn't?"
