The Mountains Blade

Chapter Forty Six

Chapter Forty Six- Cowardice 

Stepping out of the hollow tree, only moments later; Elwyn was anywhere but home. 

She first saw the fluttering of autumn leaves and her nostrils flared. 

Her attention snapped to the towering obsidian castle, the air pad. It was the eerie quiet she noticed next. 

Her eyes scanned the trees, the swaying branches and the darkened windows. 

Elwyn ripped her hand from Fern and bit back a snarl. Her fire crackled at her fingertip and fern who once again looked like autumn, stared with widened eyes. 

"The trees took you where you wished." He said taking a tentative step back. 

As he did, his clothes changed to a dark marron pant, the shirt now a deep green. His now amber eyes pierced hers with fear. "I don't control the trees. They take you where you are needed."

Elwyn's fists curled, digging into the grime dried under her nails. 

She took in staggering breaths. The place she least expected of course was where she ended up. 

"I didn't want to end up back here." She snapped glaring viciously at the trees. They did nothing, as if they were ignoring her. Elwyn's cheeks flamed from her outburst and she took audible breaths. 

"I'm sorry. I just- I want to see my sister."

As if on que the air around them whirled, the trees groaning and lurching in different

 directions. Fern and Elwyn dove behind a tree from the huge gust, plugging their ears as the plane dove down for the air pad. 

As the plane landed and Elwyn emerged from behind the trees, the door was already cracking open. 

Fern had left and she stood alone watching as the stairs pulled out and Markarious emerged with a blood soaked person in his arms. 
Elwyn's heart hammered in her chest as she watched Markarious hold Avelina tight to his chest. Her wings hung by fleshy threads, her face gout and limbs lanky and thin. 

Makarios's dark hair whipped in his face before he was hurrying across the expanse between him and the castle. Two female nurses were already running toward him with a handheld stretcher. They wore black scrubs, hats covering their hair. 

Elwyn's legs shook, threatening to give out underneath her. Failure. Failure. She had failed. She had failed Avelina. 

All of the exhaustion in her bones crashed into her and suddenly her bloodied knees were digging into the rough pines on the forest floor. 

Elwyn could taste her tears. She was coward, she couldn't see Avelina. 

She watched frozen on her knees. Was she dead? She was dead-.

A moaning cry broke her trance as Markarious tried to gently place her older sister onto the stretcher. 

As she was lifted from the ground, her head rolled to the side, her eyes meeting Elwyn's. They stared at her and Elwyn stared back. 

Her face twisted into pain as she laid face first onto the stretcher. 

She wore only a slip, a discarded olive blanket lying feet behind her, covered in blood. 

~

Evander said nothing to her as he emerged from the plane. He only looked at her for a moment, both frozen in place.  His jaw tightened, a muscle feathering in his jaw before he walked off. 

He was bloodied and war worn. Elwyn swore she could scent blood of his own but didn't dare step forward to ask. 

The last to exit the plane was Dane. He looked towards her and took a step too her but she took a step back in response. 

Dane frowned and shook his head before following after the king. 

~

Elwyn waited outside in the raging storm that had erupted from her. She had managed to keep the rain that of a somewhat normal storm but every cry of Avelina's pain had the wind howling in agony. 

The medical ward was equipped with 12 beds, all unoccupied aside from the winged female writhing in the bed. 

They couldn't give her anything to lessen the pain until they were sure she would pull through. 

She had vomited up the tonic they had attempted to give her hours ago and then more. 

Elwyn curled her knees to herself rocking on the floor blinding tears, and shame coasting through her. 

She wished there was something, anything that she could do. 

Elwyn couldn't see behind the curtained windows but she could hear  Avelina. She shoved her palms into her ears and felt likely to rip her hair out at the sounds her sister made. 

She was supposed to keep her safe. Coward, weak, shameful, powerless human. The words drilled into her skull. 

She hadn't realized she was hyperventilating. She hadn't noticed the rain harden and the windows crack upon impact. 

Not enough to shatter, to harm. 

A cold hand touched her shoulder and Elwyn's eyes brimmed with awaiting flame. 

She swallowed when she saw who it was. 

"Wynn."  Elwyn teeth ground together, her body stiffening. Dane stood in front of her, giving her the space to leave if she wished. 

He stood in the rain, it dripped down him in red streaks, opening a few small cuts on his cheek. He took a step forward and Elwyn stilled. 

Her teeth chattered as she spoke. "What- do-- you want-?" She hissed. 

Danes grey shirt and pants dripped water. HIs brown eyes softened at her state and he sat a foot away from her under the awning. Elwyn watched as he did this, her brow furrowing. 

She chewed her lip, awaiting what he would say but he just sat with her. His knees were bent and he placed his hands over them watching the rain. Elwyn took the moment to study him. Once upon a time she had been good friends with him. She hadn't wished him dead. 

Guilt plagued her, here she was angry with him. How comical. She was angry at him for hurting Avelina and her when he had no control over his actions. 

Similar to how she had reacted with Evander in his now burned room. She had no control over the power that had brimmed in her and overtook her surroundings.

The air felt heavy with unresolved issues and words not spoken. The rain continued to fall, retreating into a heavy drizzle, the wind only sweeping a cool breeze to them once in a while. 

Elwyn closed her eyes and breathed deeply through her nose. Who had she become. What was she doing? What did she do now?

She had no time for pondering this before the exhaustion from earlier finally swallowed her whole.