The Exiled Princess

Infection

Raiden set to work before the sun had risen, striding into town to survey the damage while Astrid rested. The city was demolished, but most of the people had survived the onslaught, much to his relief. The individuals he passed by nodded respectfully, but kept their distance, busying themselves with cleaning.

After collecting his and Astrid's horses, Raiden made his way to the only shop still standing. "I know you don't have much," he said quietly to the woman standing behind the counter. "But I will pay handsomely for anything you can spare."

She gave him a critical look, brown eyes narrowed with resentment. "Ye can't have any of my wares, wolf," she spat. "Them Shadow Guard say they're here to stop the Fiends. I didn't realize that meant keeping one as a pet!"

A lick of anger flared in Raiden's gut, but he quenched the wolf before it could rise to life. He simply nodded and turned away from the woman, leading the two horses back to where Astrid was sitting against a tree, still sleeping.

She stirred as Raiden approached, tired green eyes taking a moment to focus on him. "Baldur!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet despite her wounds. She wrapped her arms around the large black war-horse and buried her face in his mane. "I'm so glad you're okay," she mumbled.

Baldur nickered, nuzzling her hair, and Raiden almost smiled. If she had such a strong relationship with her horse, Astrid was already far more likable than most nobles he'd met over the years.

"I wasn't able to get supplies from the town," Raiden said, keeping his voice emotionless. "You might have better luck."

Astrid gave him a searching look. "We can stop in the next town," she decided. "It's only half a day's ride, right?"

He nodded once before turning to his own horse, a beautiful gray mare named Stormwind. "We'll be able to get you some proper medical attention there as well," he said. "In the meantime, try to save your strength."

"What about you?" she asked, swinging into Baldur's saddle with a wince. "You had it far worse than I did."

"I heal fast," Raiden said simply, mimicking her action. "The cut by my eye might scar, but otherwise I won't have a scratch by tomorrow morning."

"Huh, okay." Astrid c****d her head at him. "Do the healing powers come from being a Shadow Guard, or a werewolf?"

He sighed, urging Stormwind forward. "Is this how the trip is going to go?" he grumbled. "You asking a million questions?"

"Sorry," Astrid said, cheeks flushing red. "I'll stop."

A pang of guilt stirred in Raiden's chest. This young woman obviously hadn't been allowed much of a voice, which didn't come as a huge surprise. He'd met Lord Ewan of Starfell a few times, and the nobleman always came across as very...traditional, to put it kindly. Which brought a question to his mind. He knew that Starfell had been taken by Fiends, thanks to Meridia sending a messenger letting him know of her intention to send the Seal. But up until now, he'd only heard of Astrid in passing. How'd she end up being the one with the Seal?

"Tell you what," he said after several minutes of silence. "I'll answer your questions if you answer mine."

Astrid perked up at this, flashing him a smile. "Sure," she said. "Answer mine first."

Raiden snickered. "Alright, fair enough. The short answer is both werewolves and Shadow Guard have exceptional recovery. Because I'm involved with both factions, I have a greater capacity for it." He studied her. "Tell me what happened at Starfell."

Astrid stilled, hands clenching the reins. She studied the road in front of them, and Raiden resisted the urge to reach out and grab her hand. Instead, he slowed Stormwind's pace slightly so that he was next to Astrid. "I wouldn't ask if it weren't important," he said as gently as he could. "The king will want to know how you came to possess the Seal. Taking the Seal from a keep is punishable by death, unless you can prove there was no other choice."

She nodded, not meeting his gaze. "There was a lot of blood," she murmured. "And screaming. I woke up right before a Fiend threw itself through my window."

"That's when you got the wounds on your back."

She nodded. "Yes. I couldn't open my door because it locks from the outside, so it got a blow in before I could escape."

"Locks from the outside?"

"Yes," she said quietly. "Anyway, I got out and found my brother. Turns out he was working with the Fiends, and my guess is that he's the one who let them inside."

Raiden's mouth set in a straight line, but he stayed silent, letting her continue.

"When I told Caleb I didn't have the Seal, he gave orders to kill me," Astrid continued, twirling her fingers in the reins. "Meridia found me in time, but she was badly wounded. She gave me the Seal, told me to find the Shadow Guard on their way to Greyfair."

"Do you know if she made it out?"

"I doubt it," Astrid replied. "She was on her way to find Caleb when I escaped." She gave him a curious look. "Why, do you know her?"

Raiden chuckled, happy to distract her. "She's Myron's twin sister."

"WHAT?" Astrid exclaimed. "Are you kidding? She never told me."

"Yeah, they trained together to become Shadow Guard," Raiden said, giving Astrid a rare smile. "Meridia decided to take a different route."

"Wow," Astrid breathed, sitting back in her saddle. "I had no idea."

"They try to keep it quiet," Raiden said. "Being a Shadow Guard means that you have to be very selective about the people you keep in your life. People you care about get hurt."

"It sounds like a terrible thing," Astrid said quietly. "Being a Shadow Guard."

Raiden didn't answer for a long moment, gauging his answer. He'd experienced a lot of pain and heartache, but the day he'd become a Shadow Guard trumped everything. "It can be," he admitted, blue eyes dark with his thoughts. "It's definitely not for the faint of heart."

"What made you decide to join?" Astrid asked hesitantly, as if uncertain that she should ask.

Raiden sighed, looking at the road ahead. Trees bent in the rising wind, and a cool chill was cascading through the air. It was going to rain soon. "I wanted to help people," he said at last. "Back when I thought they were worth helping."

Astrid stayed quiet after he spoke, as if thinking his words over. They rode in silence for hours, both lost in their own thoughts as rain fell around them.

Raiden eventually turned back to Astrid. "We're here," he said. "Might want to tuck the Seal under your shirt."

Astrid nodded, but didn't say anything, shivering in the rain. Raiden frowned as a sickly feeling twisted in his gut. He pulled on the reins and Stormwind halted, allowing Baldur and Astrid to catch up. "Hey, look at me," he said.

She obeyed. He placed a firm, but gentle, hand on her chin and studied her face. "s**t," he said at last, a cold dread filling his bones. "I was wrong." There was a green tint to her skin, and her eyes were clouding over. Symptoms he recognized all too well.

"Wrong?" she managed to say between her chattering teeth.

"You're infected," he growled, dismounting. "Scoot forward."

Astrid tried to obey, but shook too badly to move. Raiden mounted Baldur behind her and took the reins in his hands. "Lean into me," he said. "Try to warm up."

"Raiden," she said, trying in vain to turn and look at him. "What's going to happen? Why did the infection take so long to show?"

"I don't know." Frustration spun in his head as he tried to think. He spurred Baldur onward, holding Stormwind's reins in one hand. The gray mare followed obediently.

"Am I going to die?" Her voice was so soft that he barely heard her words over the rain's pitter patter.

"I don't know," he said again. Something stirred inside him--the wolf, unable to be quieted no matter how much he tried--and he knew that whatever happened, whatever he had to do...Astrid would be okay.