Follows Feel Like a Monster.
It’s hot.
The thought echoed through her mind, a resounding bell that cut through the haze of sleep. She ignored it at first, but that thought soon turned to actual sensation, and she couldn’t help but notice everything else, too.
The pain, mostly, but also that she was drenched in her own sweat.
The Mercury page groaned quietly where she lay, brows scrunching together as the memory of her most recent encounter with a corrupt senshi came rushing back to her. The fight, the tormenting hand on her starseed, the threat of death looming over her…
Her eyes snapped open then, and she bolted upright as a surge of adrenaline ran through her.
There was instant regret at the sudden movement, and she fell back onto the bed with a much louder groan. She remembered that someone had come to save her, and while she had blacked out she vaguely remembered being carried somewhere, and then hearing someone recite very familiar words. The memory relaxed her, and the adrenaline faded nearly as quickly as it shot through her, leaving just the pain now.
She heard a door open, followed by someone saying, “Oh?” in a surprisingly soft voice. She hadn’t expected that…she could have sworn the knight that saved her was a guy. She turned her head to look, fighting back a grimace at even that small motion, and she saw a very slight figure in the small distance between the bed and the door.
“I see you’re awake. One moment,” the woman moved to the door and was about to step out when she paused and turned back to her, adding, “and do try not to move too much. One in your condition needs to be resting as much as possible.”
With that she left the room, and Ekstrom was left to her thoughts.
“She talks like someone from one of those TV shows set in olden times,” she said with a chuckle.
“That’s because she is,” came a slightly familiar voice this time–that must be the one who saved her. She looked toward the door again, fought down another grimace, and blinked at the Knight that came toward her. The woman followed close behind him, her expression as soft as her voice, but very clearly proud, and she had the most striking green eyes.
“She is?”
“Yeah. This is my ancestor, Alya. I’m Ashur Knight of Uranus.” The introduction was more formal than she’d ever heard for some reason, but she let that thought go in favor of asking another pressing question. As though reading her mind, though, Ashur went on to add, “We’re at my wonder, which is why it’s so hot. I took your jacket, hat, gloves, and boots off,” he nodded toward the end of the bed, “but that’s all I could do without worrying about taking off too much and freaking you out when you woke up.”
Fair enough. It wasn’t like she was in some kind of medical emergency, and given he didn’t seek out additional treatment after saving her, she had a feeling she was probably doing alright. So she cleared her throat.
“Ekstrom, Page of Mercury. How long have we been here?”
“Not long. Fifteen minutes, maybe?”
“And I’ve been out the whole time?”
“Yes.” Alya replied as she stepped forward to feel her forehead. “You are a bit warm, but given your state of dress it’s hard to say if it’s because of the weather or if you actually have a fever.”
“I’ll be fine, thank you,” the page replied softly, a hint of pink on her cheeks. Alya’s voice had a quality to it that she couldn’t place, but found incredibly comforting to hear. “Just the heat, probably.”
“Good.”
Their voices were stark in contrast, with his voice being quite a bit harsher than one would expect given his appearance, but looking between them she didn’t find it at all surprising that they were related somehow.
“I guess I owe you for saving me tonight,” she said as she tried to sit up, slowly this time. She had a feeling she’d have to call out sick the rest of the week with the way she felt. There was no way she’d be able to comfortably do anything like this.
“Forget about it,” he said as he, along with Alya, moved in closer to help her up. “Just glad I got there in time.”
“How close was I to dying tonight?”
“Pretty much right at the door.”
She winced.
“Yeah. What happened, anyway? She just got the better of you in a fight?”
“More or less.”
He paused to look her over for a moment, then shook his head. “Happens. Try not to patrol alone too often. Usually they’ll leave you alone if they’re at a numbers disadvantage.”
She gave a slight nod–it was all she could manage without hurting too much–and sighed. While it was entirely her fault for approaching, she didn’t feel the need to share all the details about tonight’s encounter with Ashur. She had absolutely no desire to be lectured about this sort of thing; she was doing her duty, and if that meant putting herself in situations that could end the way they did tonight, well…
Well.
Maybe she did need to hear this lecture. If not from him, probably someone else.
Sensing a growing tension, Alya gently placed her hand on Ashur’s shoulder. He turned his head slightly toward her before sighing. It was the sound of someone conceding, and Ekstrom wondered, had Benedict been an ancestor as opposed to her mentor, if they would have eventually developed that type of tacit understanding.
Past memories ran through her mind for a moment, and a different sort of pain clenched in her chest.
“Perhaps you should take her back now,” Alya said in that same, soft tone. “It’s been some time already so the chances of encountering another influenced by Chaos–”
“Are less likely, yeah.” The knight looked a bit skeptically in her direction before saying, “You feel up for the trip home yet?”
Given the option for A/C back on earth, she nodded even though she wasn’t even near fifty percent her usual strength. Neither of the two looked even partially convinced, but Ashur sighed and gave a little nod of his head. “Alright, if you’re sure. Is there someone you can call as soon as we get back to take you home?”
“Not anyone that wouldn’t ask any questions I couldn’t answer.”
He sighed again. “Guess it’s me, then.” He pulled a cell phone out of his subspace then, and offered it to her. “Give me your phone.”
She hesitated a moment, but ultimately did so just before taking his from him. To her surprise, it wasn’t password protected, and she was tempted to ask. The only time she didn’t password protect her phone was…
“Alright, here.”
They traded phones, and glancing at her screen she saw an unfamiliar name and number. “Thanks. Though wouldn’t it be easier to try and reach you using my signet ring?”
It was his turn to hesitate, then, though she didn’t press. Eventually he sighed and shrugged. “I…don’t power up much, so civilian contact is better for reaching me.” He waved his hand at that point, as though he wanted to move past the topic as quickly as possible. She was sure he had his reasons, so she didn’t comment.
“Anyway, whenever you’re ready, we can go.”
She nodded and, with Alya’s help, got up off of the bed. After slipping back into her boots she grabbed the rest of her clothes at the foot of the bed, and then moved to stand beside Ashur.
Ekstrom looked back toward Alya then, and smiled as cheerful a smile as she could manage given her current condition. It was small but bright, and full of her gratitude. “Hopefully if we meet again it’ll be under better circumstances.”
“Agreed. If I may…?”
The page blinked before nodding slowly.
Alya offered a comforting smile and took hold of her hand. “It’s best not to underestimate the whole reality of what your duties as a knight entail. Take what lessons come, difficult or otherwise, and learn from them. And remember that you’re not alone. It may seem that way, but you aren’t. At the very least, you can consider Ashur an ally.”
Her green eyes flickered to the current Ashur knight, and when Ekstrom looked at him he gave a nod. The page smiled, amused at the sight, before looking back to Alya.
“Thank you. Both of you,” she said, then gave the woman’s hand a little squeeze before letting go. The comfort brought on by her words helped to overshadow the pain still radiating throughout her body, and her smile widened as a result. “Whatever it’s worth, you can consider me an ally as well.”
Alya only smiled at that, and Ashur dropped a hand on her shoulder. “Good to know. Alright, here we go.”
And just like that, they were back in Destiny City.
985 (gdocs; Ekstrom only)
