Bound in Spirals Ch. 09

Straightening her back, she looked straight into his eyes with confidence. She looked deep into them, beyond the madness. In that moment, it seemed as if she were staring straight at his soul, and he stared back. In it, she could see overwhelming sorrow, pain, and loneliness. So much so that she could hardly comprehend it. Then his eyes flickered with a brief moment of recognition.

"...Ms. A-Albright...? Wh-Why are y-you here?" Sam asked, his voice trembling. "Why... Why was that b-book in the archive room? Can I go back? I need to get the ring! Please, I need to get it!"

"Lord Samson, I am Princess Dettella. Not... er... Miss Albright. I apologize." She replied, trying to make her tone soothing. "Do you... remember me?"

"Prin...cess... Dett...ella...?" He muttered haltingly, his eyes losing focus for a moment. She felt a moment of disappointment, then Sam blinked. "Princess Dettella Reyall." He said with certainty.

"You do remember me!" She said, unable to hold back the relief that made it's way into her voice.

Recognition surged in his eyes anew. "So green..." He whispered inaudibly, but Dettella read his lips.

Then, he suddenly let go of her arm. She glanced down at the bruising marks on her forearm, then back up. Her brow furrowed in confusion when she saw his expression. Absolute horror. He pushed himself back against the tree, looking like he was trying to escape something awful.

"N-No... No, No I-I... I'm sorry, I didn't want to do it! I didn't mean to!" He spoke franticly, his eyes seemingly unable to leave hers. His body trembled convulsively. He eventually broke eye contact to lean over and vomit.

Dettella instinctively reached for him, "What is it? You needn't apologize to me. You've done me no wrongs."

He turned back to her. His face pale, eyes sunken with purple bags below them. His lip quivered and he sobbed, but no tears fell. 'What sort of suffering would break someone down so?' She wondered, suddenly feeling guilty for having thought the wild look in his eye exhilarating earlier. 'Had I known...'

"I-I... D-Don't come near me!" Sam shied away from her reaching hand as she leaned toward him, looking at it as if it were a venomous snake. He muttered, "I-I raped you... I raped everyone..."

She froze, bewildered. "What? No you didn't." She said firmly, but he'd already stopped listening. 'I... I think I understand a little now...'

"Father, why...? Why would you do this to me? I loved you... Aahh, father... father I-I'm so fucked up... S-Save me..." He said, clutching at his chest. Grabbing for something that wasn't there. "Daddy, I love... I hate... you..."

Finally, Dettella just lunged forward and grasped his hands. She ignored the blooming of magic in her mind as her bare right hand touched him. She held them firmly but not roughly.

"Samson, look at me." She said. He did not. "Look at me!" She stared at him with her best stern expression. He returned her gaze with cautious trepidation. The fear in his eyes nearly made her pull back but she fought the urge. "I don't know exactly what you think you did, but you did not rape me, nor did you rape anyone else. It was just thoughts brought up by your magic. It was not real. Do you understand that? It never happened, and you need not feel guilt for it."

For a moment she thought he didn't understand, but then he nodded slowly. "I... didn't do it..." He mouthed, looking down.

"That's right. Everyone is fine." She said, feeling a smile spread across her face.

"But, I would have done it. I would have done far worse. I would have if I hadn't been knocked out." Sam replied, no longer sounding frantic but coldly monotone. "I would have killed everyone."

Dettella hesitated, the change in tone sending a chill down her spine. "...But you didn't. In fact, you saved me. And you saved Letta as well." She said, deciding to omit the fact that he'd nearly killed the argwolf soon after.

He looked up at her, blue eyes seeming to pierce into her mind like icicles. Unlike before, they shared no insight into his emotions. They were shadowed beneath heavy lids, betraying a deep exhaustion that went beyond physical. His eyes flickered and Dettella felt like he was reading her like an open book in that moment. Then, they softened. In them she saw the mad, unhinged look recede like the tide. It did not disappear though. It continued to lurk in them dangerously, like a distant shark that could approach quicker than you could react.

"What is wrong with me? Am I insane?" He asked softly.

"No," Darrel replied from behind her, "You're just suffering from battle hysteria. It will fade with a little time."

"Will it though?" Sam asked. Darrel did not reply.

It was silent for a moment until Letta broke the silence with a puff of air directed at Sam's face. He looked at the argwolf, his hollow eyes seeming lost and vulnerable. Then, his gaze shifted back to Dettella. He glanced down at her hands which still held his. He blinked slowly, and she felt a flush of embarrassment.

'Oh blight! I held on far too long!' She thought, quickly pulling away. She tried to step back, but his hand shot out and gripped hers again. She let out an involuntary gasp.

"Thank you." Sam said, his soft voice sounding melancholy. "Even though you hardly know me, you pulled me out of that abyss. I appreciate it, more than you can understand."

"I... I just did what anyone would do." She replied, feeling uncharacteristically flustered. To her chagrin, she could feel her cheeks grow hot.

He did not reply, just looked into her eyes for a long moment. Then he released her hand, giving the slightest of nods. She turned away, and saw Darrel glance at her. Expecting to see a flash of amusement in his eyes, she was prepared to scowl at him. But, there was no humor in them, just a hint of worry as he watched Sam.

"Well, we should be returning. It would be unfortunate if more elves attacked while we were away." Dettella said, her composure returning. Noting the odd, jagged script on the tree opposite, she looked to Sam for an answer.

He was looking at Letta with an expression of shame, clearly communicating with her through the bond. The princess looked away, feeling like she was intruding somehow. She heard the argwolf snort loudly behind her as she strode to her nervous looking winnem.

———

'Silly pup, you think a little magic will kill me? You underestimate my durability.' Letta said, snorting with derision.

Sam knew she was putting on a facade, but it made him feel a bit better anyway. 'Alright. Well, I'm sorry nonetheless.' He replied, patting her huge snout. She did her mangled approximation of a grin and leapt up, her massive form shaking the tree she'd been wrapped around.

'Get on. You wasted a lot of time over here and now I must make up for it.' She said as Sam glanced at the tree where Feima had been.

Scrawled sloppily onto the tree were the words: "I go to the land of the humans. Do not search for me mother. When we meet again I will kill you." Sam scratched his head, grateful that she hadn't decided to kill him. 'Maybe Belleby said something to her.' He thought, feeling too exhausted to ponder it seriously.

Letta knelt down to allow him onto her back and he turned away from the carving. 'That elf child was here.' She said. 'Do you wish to find her?'

'No, it is unnecessary. Besides, I think we've caused her enough trouble.' He replied as he clambered up her side. 'Getting Theodore treatment is more important.'

Letta just nodded her head and stood. The winnem below seemed minuscule as Sam looked down from her back. The winnem set off, and they followed.

By the time they reached the clearing near the road it was nearly midnight. When they entered it, Sam felt he should have gasped or reacted someway at the sight. Even in the dark he could see the crushed remains of the hoshind scattered about, their elven masters mixed somewhere within. 'I did this?' He thought as he dismounted. Distantly, he knew it was horrifying. The destructive power resting dormant inside him had scared him, but simultaneously gave him a disgusting satisfaction.

At that moment however, his eyes shifted over the clearing with a strange lack of emotion. Fenella and Yalene sat next to a smoldering fire, eating what looked to be chicken. Sam felt his mouth water, realizing it had been quite a while since he'd last eaten. He hardly noticed the expressions when the two looked their way, his mind subconsciously picking out the easiest distraction. That distraction was his hunger of course.

He sat wordlessly on the portion of unbloodied grass around the fire. The gloom surrounding him momentarily forgotten. The bird that rested over the glowing coals dripped juice that popped and sizzled. He reached toward it, still unaware of the looks he was receiving. Thus, he was startled when he felt his hand slapped away. Looking at his hand, he wondered what that had been. He reached for the meat again, and was again surprised when his hand was smacked away.

Finally he realized that it was someone warding him off and he looked up, his expression blank. Slowly turning his head, he looked first at Fenella who looked at him with caution writ across her features. It hadn't been her, she was on the opposite side. Then his weary gaze fell on Yalene. She glared at him with a mixture of revulsion and hatred.

"The princess eats first you stupid man!" She said, a dribble of fat escaping the corner of her mouth.

"How hypocritical of you." He replied in monotone, watching the globule of fat drip onto her dress.

She glanced down at her dress where he was looking. "How dare you stare at my bosom with such foul hunger!"

Sam couldn't see it, but behind him Dettella was fuming. She was fed up. "Shut your mouth Yalene." She said, her tone that of a queen's command. "Your imbecilic denigrations end now, or so help me I will send you into this blighted forest with nothing but a tanned hide."

Yalene was frozen by shock, her mouth opening and closing as if trying to speak. She stared past Sam with the look of a scolded child, he hardly noticed. Dettella's imposing presence made him forget his hunger and, if only for a moment, he looked upon her grand figure, taken by awe. But his stomach was not to be forgotten long, protesting with a soft rumble. He began to reach for the chicken again and was stopped a third time. This time however it was not with a swatted hand, but a gentle touch.

"I can serve you if you'd like, Lord Samson." The princess said with a soft smile as she knelt down a foot to his left. Her words left Yalene even more horrorstruck than the rebuke had.

"Um, That'd, uh... That'd be great, thanks." He replied, feeling a small warmth bloom amongst the deep-seated despondence in his heart.

Yalene somehow managed to regain enough composure to leak out a few words. "P-Princess, y-you can't!"

Dettella glanced at the young woman as she plucked a leg from the bird. "I can and I will. I warn you that my patience is thin, so I recommend you speak each word like you walk on a bridge of cracked glass." Her words were quiet, but threatening. Yalene let out a choking sound as the princess handed Sam the juicy leg atop one of the steel plates he'd been gifted by Lorry. "Here you are."

She smiled at him and he nodded to her thankfully, unable to speak with the saliva pooling in his mouth. Despite his hunger, Sam somehow managed to maintain a steady eating pace and not embarrass himself. He didn't remember much of the meal except that when he was done his thirst was quenched and his stomach felt near bursting. No words were spoken that he could recall and he met no complaints when he just laid down where he sat and fell asleep.

———

Dettella looked down at the head resting on her lap, unsure of what to do. It appeared that he hadn't even realized where his head had fallen and had fallen asleep in seconds. Sam hadn't replied to any of her attempts at conversation during the meal, seemingly unaware of anyone around him. She hadn't been able to move his head off. He'd been sleeping so peacefully that she felt guilty and frankly, she didn't want to.

"Princess, I suggest we leave soon. It would be ideal to arrive in Geylin before news of this reaches it. I was unable to find the remains of the first elf anywhere here. I believe she was able to escape." Darrel said.

Before Dettella could respond, the healer spoke. "Princess, I would ask that you allow us to accompany you. The injured man's condition has taken a turn for the worse, and I believe it may be partially due to the rough conditions of our travel thus far. He would have a better chance for survival if he were to ride in your carriage." Fenella said.

"That would be no inconvenience to me, or mine." Dettella replied. "I owe Lord Samson my life, and for that I would assist his dear friend as if he were my own. We will need to use his familiar to transport the prisoners anyhow, as we do not have the space for four more."

Out of the corner of her eye, Dettella saw Yalene's mouth twitch. 'For once she holds her nescient tongue.' Fenella nodded her thanks, and rose. She shuffled over to her belongings and began redressing the wounds of the injured man.

She looked back at Darrel, "Would you bring Lord Samson to the carriage and help the medicine woman with the other. Then we will need to mount the prisoners on the argwolf's back." He nodded and bent down, lifting the tall young man from the ground with ease.

Less than an hour later they were on the road, with Letta following close behind among the trees.

———

Sam woke to find himself in the princess's carriage. He'd been sleeping sitting up next to Theodore. He blinked away bleariness, taking in the interior bathed in silver light. He heard the patter of rain on the polished wood roof and the soft sound of turning pages. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked around. Dettella was seated opposite him, next to a loudly snoring Yalene.

"Good morning." She said quietly, looking up from her book.

"Er... Good morning. Um, why am I in here?"

"Ah, I figured you'd be able to sleep more easily in here than on Letta's back." She replied. "I thought you'd need it based on how exhausted you seemed after recent events."

Sam nodded, his memories of the last day and a half flooding back to him. His mood darkened visibly. The unwelcome thoughts of his father bringing pain and disorientation. He felt awful, like he'd lost a part of himself somehow. He shuddered, catching himself starting to mumble incoherently.

'I... I'm not going mad, am I? I'm not, right? Samson? Are you there? Tell me I'm not insane? Samson? Samson where are you, why aren't you responding? Answer me. Samson?' He giggled softly. 'Samson, that's enough. Stop messing with me. Samson? What are you doing? C'mon man quit fooling around! I-It's not funny anymore...'

"I-I'm not insane, I-I-I'm not. I'm just stre-stressed-essed ou-out i-e-i-i... I am am am quite alright. Don't leave me a-a-alone-lone..." He whispered, words breaking like a scratched record. Unconsciously clutching his head, he brought his knees to his chest. 'Samson answer me, please. Don't leave me al-l-lone-lone. Answer me goddammit!'

He felt a hand on his knee, and he looked up. She had scooted off the bench and knelt before him, her emerald eyes catching his. "Samson, it's alright. You aren't alone." She said, her expression somber. She pulled him into a hug. "I am here, and your friend is here. And, Letta isn't far either."

He couldn't respond, his lips moving wordlessly as he sat there, arms now limp at his sides. Tears fell from his eyes, and he moved his trembling arms. He held onto Dettella for a long time like that, sobbing into her shoulder. Sam hated that he was crying, he felt so weak, so pathetic, but he couldn't stop. With every tear that fell a little of his fear and stress seemed to ebb away for a time. Dettella just let him cry out all of his pains, knowing that no words needed to be said...

Eventually, Sam's crying ceased and he forced his arms to unclasp. He was blushing furiously, having realized he'd been crying into a princess's shoulder for half an hour. "I, uh... Sorry about that. I got a bit carried away." He muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

"Please, don't worry. I didn't mind." She replied with a smile.

Sam was captivated for a moment. 'That smile...' He thought, 'I think I could just look at that forever.' Unable to hold his tongue, he said, "Y-You're really pretty."

He froze, realizing what he'd just said. His face felt like he'd pressed it into a sizzling grill. Quickly looking away, he berated himself for being an absolute idiot. 'Oh god. I'm a fucking moron. Holy shit why did I say that?!' He wanted to hide, but in the carriage there was no room. 'Crap, how am I supposed to...'

His words cut off as he saw out of the corner of his eye the slight pinkish flush to her cheeks and the bashful smile. He had to turn to make sure his eyes hadn't deceived him, and they hadn't. In a mere moment, she had turned from a confident princess to a shy girl. She fidgeted in her seat. Sam blinked, unsure how to react. 'Wh-What?'

A loud snort and a grunt interrupted Sam's thoughts, and he looked over to see Yalene waking up. Before he could say anything, Dettella had already regained her composure. "Thank you." Was all she said.

"A-Ah, y-you're welcome." He said softly, his hand moving to rub the back of his head. 'Why do I get the feeling that I just saw something very unusual?'

"Wha-Where are we?" Yalene asked, her bright red hair standing in messy clumps. She rubbed at her eyes. "Are we there yet?"

"No. We still have another day or so to go." Dettella replied expressionlessly. "There is a small city not far from here that we will have to go through if we want to keep at the pace we're going. Lord Samson, I would ask that you have your familiar take a detour and meet us on the other side. It would be a troublesome thing to deal with questions about the prisoners, not to mention Letta herself."

"Ah uh, yeah, I'll tell her. And um, I'm no lord or anything, so you don't need to call me that." He replied after a moment. He was still wondering if he'd really seen what he thought he had. Shaking his head, he spoke to Letta. 'Hey, there's supposed to be a town or something up ahead soon. You'll need to go around and meet us on the other side.'

'...I do not approve of this.' Came the reply.

'Well, if we go around it'll take much longer. Theodore is in a bad condition as it is, I don't wanna risk taking the long way.'

'...Very well. Try to keep out of trouble. We do not need a repeat of Eltinn.'

'Yeah yeah, I'll be careful. Just make sure you aren't seen. We'll meet you on the other side later, I guess.'

Three hours later, they reached the outskirts of the city. "Huh, I wonder what this city's called." Sam said, looking at the absurdly large sign before them.

"It says Fraeline right there." Yalene answered, pointing at the English translation below the elven lettering.

"Oh wow how could I have missed that." He replied dryly. "Maybe they could've used neon orange instead of green. Make it easier to see, y'know?"

Dettella covered a snicker with a cough. "Ahem. We should get moving. The sooner we're done here the less likely the news reaches the capital ahead of us."

Darrel returned a moment later, a pair of elves on the backs of hoshind right behind him. Their elaborate armored uniforms of layered brown leather and green chain mail displayed their status as city guards.

In broken english, one of them spoke. "We will bring to city. Not allow you die inside."

Dettella leaned toward Sam, "It might be quicker if you did the talking."