Darkest Night [DragonSong] [M]

[Zero]

"Yeah...sure." Cole agreed quietly, pulling her along out of the alley and ducking back into the crowds of people making their way to the markets. There would not be time for her to look at him, but if agreeing got her moving, then so be it.

As soon as they got there he was putting her in a wagon and disappearing. At least she would be safe, as he promised. What he would do...

Cole didn't want to think about it. Jarvis was dead. He was wounded. Zahra would be gone. There were few ways he could think of to play it off with him appearing innocent in those cold, unsympathetic eyes.

He'd killed a brother and let a slave go. Cole would be as good as dead to them.

They neared the gate and he saw what he was looking for. A caravan master was waiting impatiently, with his wagons loaded and beasts hitched up. All those traveling with the caravan were guards waiting placidly on their mounts and a handful of people that looked to be walking alongside. Everyone else going was seated in a wagon.

"You're late." The man barked as Cole hurriedly pulled her along. He eyed the injured drow with a surly expression, then glanced at Zahra, eyes flickering over her with annoyance. "This the girl? Fine, load her up and get out of the way. We're leaving."

Cole pulled Zahra to the passenger wagon and stopped at the gate. He pushed the pack he'd brought towards her. "Take it and go, sweetling. This ride goes all the way to Adela. You can keep going north into Serendipity from there, if you want. Or maybe you'll find a place to call home before you get that far."

[DragonSong]

True panic started to rise up in her chest as the elf slung the pack over her shoulder automatically and was ushered toward the wagon.

"No." She grabbed Cole's hand tighter, pulling gently. "No, I'm not leaving you. You have to come with me." Her eyes were wide and terrified. "They'll kill you, Cole, you have to come!" Not to mention he was already wounded.

She was out of time. There was no chance for her to come up with a clever plan, she just had to hope he'd listen to her.

"Please." Unable to help herself, her hands moved to cup his face as they had in her dream- she hardly noticed the blood she smeared over his cheek. Her eyes locked on his. "Come with me. Please."

[Zero]

"And I'll deserve it." Cole murmured softly, casting his eyes down. He did deserve to die. For a thousand reasons, but not least of all that he'd murdered a man just a few minutes prior. It barely mattered that it was self defense.

Jarvis was still dead, scumbag or not.

He sucked in a sharp breath as her hands cupped his face. Cole didn't care about the blood, the cut on his cheek was bleeding already anyway. All he could think about was his dream. She was begging him to come with her, and for a moment he wondered if maybe he wasn't still asleep and this was all still some strange, twisted dream.

"I only paid for your passage." His hands came up to press against hers, holding her hands to his face as he nuzzled into them. Gods, he wasn't dreaming, was he? "Sweetling, there's a good life for you out there. Men like me...we don't get happy endings."

Cole smiled sadly and pressed his forehead lightly against hers. "Please go, forget about me."

[DragonSong]

"No." Her eyes were fierce, mouth a hard line. "If you're not going, I'm not going."

It wasn't until the words were out of her mouth that she realized she meant them. She was not going to leave him alone, hurt, and waiting for death.

She wouldn't do it.

Her hands suddenly dropped from his face and she whirled to the man who'd seemed to be in charge. "Here." Her hand darted into her pack, then withdrew and thrust her flute at him. "I know it doesn't look like much, but it's worth its weight in coin. Take it. I'm paying for his passage."

Her other hand clutched at Cole's so tight her knuckles had gone white.

[Zero]

This was insane.

Why was she arguing with him over this? The entire reason she was in this mess to begin with was because of him. He'd kidnapped her. That he had protected her at great cost afterwards didn't make up for that. Forfeiting his life couldn't even make up for that, although that is what he'd done.

"Zahra, no." Cole growled, free hand shooting out and grabbing the flute back. He knew how much it meant to her and she was not trading it for him. His meager life meant nothing to him.

The caravan master rolled his eyes at them. "We are leaving. I don't care if the girl is in the wagon or not."

He turned away from them in near disgust and started to walk away. Cole took the pack back from her and fished out a pouch of coins and shook it at the man with a sigh. "Here. It's all that's left. Take it, but she's going on that wagon."

With a grin the man turned and snatched the pouch up greedily then gestured at the wagon. "We're going now."

Cole nodded sharply and pushed Zahra towards it again. "Get in."

[DragonSong]

Almost absently Zahra felt a small piece of her heart breaking as she tried to trade the flute- but then Cole was shoving it back into her hand, he was talking to the caravan master.

She looked from him to the drow beside her and hesitantly stepped toward the wagon. She kept her hand wrapped tight around his fingers. "Y-you're coming with me?" Her voice was small and desperate as she stepped one foot up onto the back of the wagon.

[Zero]

His heart lurched and his chest tightened painfully at the question. She looked desperate and small. Cole wanted to protect her. Well, he'd done that, hadn't he? Here was the wagon and she was getting on it.

"Yes." He relented, urging her up the rest of the way. The wound in his side was aggravated by his movements, more blood weeping from the gash.

Cole gritted his teeth and climbed into the wagon after her. His passage was paid for, and if he stayed in Essyrn the men would find him and flay him alive for his betrayal. Leaving the city had never been a choice, it had become a necessity. He just hadn't planned on leaving with her.

"Here." He directed quietly, finding an empty corner for them to sit in. The other passengers looked at them with a mix of curiosity and annoyance. They'd delayed the departure, after all. Cole ignored them and sank to the floor heavily.

His side burned and he felt drained.

[DragonSong]

Zahra started crying quietly, relief like nothing she'd ever felt swamping through her. They were going to be okay, they were going to be free.

She braced her hand against Cole's shoulder as he sank down, ignoring the other passengers for the moment. "Here, let me see," she murmured through the tears, swiping absently at her cheeks with one hand while the other worked at his leather armor.

She'd need something to stave off infection, and maybe something to sew or cauterize the wound... As the wagon started moving she looked back over her shoulders at the other passengers.

"Please, does anyone have dock, or feverfew? Even basil or bay leaves?" she asked quickly. "And something to use as bandaging? Please."

A few of the other people in the wagon exchanged glances, as though not quite sure how to react to her. She continued working at stripping Cole out of his armor, wincing when she saw the extent of the bleeding.

"Here." She ripped a strip of fabric off her already torn- but at least not bloody- dress and pressed it against his lips. "Double that up and bite down on it."

[Zero]

Cole sighed softly as he leaned back against the wooden wall behind him. It was a covered wagon with a white linen tarp secured on frames. They didn't have to walk and there would always be shade for them on the trip. Still hot as balls, though.

Sweat was beading on his dark skin and it made the cuts sting a bit. He tried to help with his armor, it was leather and designed to be light and easy to move in, so provided minimal real protection. Jarvis had certainly had little trouble digging his knife through it. A rare occasion where Cole wished that maybe he actually used that fancy metal stuff. Although in the desert it would have been far too heavy and hot.

He sighed again and let his head fall back, eyes closed.

Most of the people ignored Zahra's pleas for help. A very dark-skinned and withered grandmother aged woman finally stirred from her seat enough to dig through her own satchel and held out a small container of dried basil leaves. "Will this work?"

Cole grunted softly when the fabric was pressed against his mouth, but dutifully parted his lips so that he could take the offering between his teeth. He hated being worked on.

As his now bloody shirt was peeled away an entire patchwork of scars would be revealed on his torso. The raised ridges were lighter than his normal skin, and varied greatly in size as the scatted across his body.

[DragonSong]

"Oh yes, thank you!" Zahra took the small jar of herbs gratefully, nodding to the woman.

Feverfew would have been better- actually aloe would have helped immensely too- but she would work with what was available. "Cole, this is going to hurt," she warned him as she turned her attention to the gash again.

She paused a moment, eyes fixed on the pattern of scars that traced his skin. Gods. There were just so many..."

Giving her head a quick shake, she shook a few basil leaves onto her palm and stuffed them into her mouth, chewing them into a pulp before spitting them back out into her hand. Not the best method for making a poultice, but she had to work quickly. "Bite down, this is going to sting."

She spread the paste over the wound and looked around again. No bandaging. Fine then. She wrinkled her nose and tore a few longer strips of fabric from her dress. "I wish I had something cleaner," she muttered as she twined the fabric around his torso. Her eyes flicked up to his face. "Cole? I'm sorry, but you need to stay awake, okay? Just a little while longer."

She reached up with one hand to brush some stray hair off his forehead, then let it slide down to rest against his cheek.

[Zero]

Really he wasn't paying all that much attention to what was going on now. Zahra was safe, that was all that mattered. His task was complete. It was a great relief. Also a very heavy burden. As hellish as the group was...it was all he knew. Cole would never see his mother again. Not that she would care that he was gone.

The red stone tied about his neck with the black cord rested against his chest like a great big boulder. It was the only thing his mother had ever given him. At least he still had that much.

He barely heard her warning before he was hissing and gritting his teeth, practically chewing on the scrap of dress that preoccupied his mouth. Why did it burn like that? Cole popped his eyes open, wondering just what the nasty concoction she was smearing into the gash on his side actually contained.

As she wrapped the bandages he'd let his eyes fall closed again. It was rude to complain while someone was taking care of you. Nobody ever took care of him, he did it himself the best he could. Also it was hard to complain when you had something in your mouth.

Cole let out a muffled groan as she told him to stay awake. He was awake! Just tired and in pain and uncomfortable. He opened his eyes to look up at her as she brushed the hair from his face and laid her hand against his cheek. It almost made him squirm to have her looking at him like that, having her taking care of him felt...wrong.

But also very nice.

[DragonSong]

A small smile curved the edges of Zahra's mouth and she stroked her thumb over his cheek. Her other hand came up to tug the scrap of dress out of his mouth as he didn't seem to be spitting it out on his own.

"You did it," she whispered. A little impulsively, she leaned in to rest her forehead against his gently and let her hand come to rest against his chest. "You did it, Cole. We're free."

She was tired, so tired. With a sigh, she let herself shift to his uninjured side and curled against him, letting her head rest on his shoulder, one hand pressed over his heartbeat.

[Zero]

Honestly, he was a little dazed from the whole ordeal and hadn't even thought about spitting out the cloth now that his wound was bandaged. He let it pull free wordlessly, just staring up at her in a bit of shock as her thumb caressed his cheek like that.

"Free..." Cole whispered, unsure what to be feeling in that moment. Of course he had meant to free Zahra - and to never see her again.

Instead he had just sacrificed literally everything he had ever had or ever known for her. How was he supposed to be feeling right now? Happy that she was safe, yes, but what he felt for himself was far too complex to sort out just then. It would have to wait until later.

Cole stiffened as she settled against his side, looking down at her uncertainly as her hand pressed over his heart. Hesitantly he wrapped his arm around her, letting her rest against him.

"Is this...really okay?" He asked softly, letting his fingers stroke absently over her arm, enjoying the contact and relaxing a little. It still seemed strange and wrong to be with her like this. "I feel like I shouldn't be with you. This is supposed to be your fresh start..."

[DragonSong]

A small shiver rippled through her when his arm settled around her and she frowned at her hand on his chest, considering.

"I don't see what it can't be a fresh start for you, too," she murmured eventually. Gods, she was tired, but she should keep him talking, at least for a little while longer. He needed rest, but she didn't want him to fall asleep directly after her tending him- she'd had patients who would wake up and forgotten they'd been tended to at all and would pull at injuries.

"It's okay, Cole." She tilted her head back slightly to look at his face. She smiled. "I- I'm glad you're with me..."

[Zero]

"How?" Cole sighed heavily, letting his eyes close as his face darkened slightly. Where would he even begin to make a "fresh" start? There was no such thing when you'd done the things he'd done. He couldn't just hit a reset button to make himself a good person deserving of a second chance. Things didn't work like that.

What he had done and seen would haunt him forever. You couldn't run from that kind of past. Cole should know better than most. Everything he did, every action, every thought, would be tainted by the most horrific things.

The pain of his wound hadn't brought tears to his eyes, but Cole felt them welling up now. How could she say that? "I shouldn't be with you. You shouldn't be glad I'm here."

[DragonSong]

"Oh, no." The words slipped out unbidden and she reached up with the hand that had been resting on his chest to touch his cheek lightly. "...But I am," she offered quietly, running her thumb along his cheek.

It made her chest ache to see him on the edge of tears, though even she wasn't entirely sure why. "I- I don't know what we'll do from here, but I know at least now we have achance," she murmured, softly but firmly.

[Zero]

Cole couldn't help himself. His head leaned into that gentle touch, seeking out the comfort her warm hand brought to him.It was so much like his dream. Everything had been so much like his dream.

It was disconcerting.

"I don't deserve a chance." He lamented softly, turning himself just a little, but not away from her. No, he tried to curl into her, wanting more than anything that glimpse of a connection that had threaded through his dreams. Cole's head found her shoulder and he lightly clung to her, trembling with the effort to hold back his emotions.

Thankfully the other passengers ignored them for the most part.

[DragonSong]

Zahra's breath caught in her chest for a moment, then she forced herself to exhale and wrapped her arms gently around him as he curled into her.

Grateful that the other passengers seemed willing to leave them be, she stroked his back and let her other hand move to the back of his head, curling her fingers into her hair. "Of course you do," she whispered fiercely. "Cole, if anyone deserves a second chance, it's you."

She tilted her head against his, nuzzling into his temple. "I- I want to help, if you'll let me."

[Zero]

Why did she want to help him? Cole just couldn't understand it. She knew the horrible things he was capable of, the terrible things that he had done. Just because he had helped her escape did not mean that he wasn't still worthy of her hatred.

"Am I still dreaming?" He whispered, unsure if maybe he was wrong and they had not even woken for the day yet. Could it be the botched escape was merely some strange illusion his mind had made up to manifest his worries about everything going wrong? Having her holding him this way reminded him so much of his dream last night, and he could not help but cling to her.

[DragonSong]

Her heart clenched and she held him a little tighter. "No, Cole, this isn't a dream."

It seemed odd to her that he'd said still dreaming- wait. Had he dreamed about her? That would be a strange coincidence.

Although it wasn't like she was in a place to judge.

She lowered her voice, just in case any of the others were paying attention, and murmured, "I can't erase your past. No one can. But you can make the choice to be better, do better. I know that's in you, Cole, I know it."