Amelia had watched the fighting ensue before her in sheer horror, realizing that there would be no time to adjust to the notion that other entities existed in the world other than human beings. It was all playing out in front of her like a night terror, and her mind didn’t not begin to piece together the information until one of the figures was looming over Tobias, readying his weapon to deliver a lethal blow. 

She picked herself up and darted towards the dagger that had dropped to the cold, dirt floor beneath them, grabbing it clumsily. Then, she used the momentum she had gained and drove her body towards Tobias’ aggressor. What she would do when she reached her destination, she was not yet sure, but as Tobias being the only man she knew able to fight such beings, he was too valuable to let him die. 

As she approached the figure, Amelia pointed her shoulder to him and ran into him with full force, and once they were both on the ground, both of her hands tightened around the dagger she had retrieved and began to blindly stab at him, involuntarily grunts escaping her body with each movement. 

She felt back onto the ground and took a moment to collect herself before crawling over Tobias. ”[i]Merde,”[/i] she cursed in a whisper as her eyes locked onto the wound he had received. Her knowledge of treating the injured was limited, but she knew an attempt to stop the bleeding would be his best option. Her mind raced as she tried to think of what to use as a tourniquet as her hands worked to undo the jerkin and doublet. 

“[i]Je suis désolée,[/i]” she apologize before ripping a long piece of his cloak underneath him and working it around his waist. “I will tie this, then we must go.” Amelia grunted as she worked the fabric underneath his body and back up, securing the band. “Okay, come on, Tobias,” she whispered softly as she stood up and grabbed his hand to pull him up, and when he was vertical, she slipped an arm underneath his and helped him out of the clearing that they had settled into for the night.

To not make matters worse, Amelia did not verbalize it, but Tobias did not look well. Yes, that was to be expected of man who was just impaled. But this seemed… [i]different.[/i] Unexplainable. 

“I’ll need you to tell me which way to go, Tobias,” she spoke in a whispered. What she took as a point towards the north, she nodded and grunted as she pushed the both of them along through the dark, dense forest. 

[center]*****[/center]

Although she had no sense of how long it had been since they had left to find help, it felt like hours in the cold, dark night. The weight of the man Amelia was helping through the forest felt like it had tripled, and her legs were growing weak, shaking with each step she took.

At one point, she helped him sit down on a boulder and crouched down across from her. “I think we have already passed this point,” she whispered sharply, attempting to hide the annoyance she felt. “I need you to – “

Amelia stopped and snapped her head up at a noise she heard in the distance, and her eyes squinted to search around the pair. “What was that?” she whispered more to herself than to Tobias, and a moment later, her eyes widened when she saw a small, flickering light poking through between the trees, as if it were a star in the sky above them. 

She looked back to Tobias and reached an arm around his back. “We are going over there,” she grunted and pointed a finger towards the light. “Now is the time to tell me if you think we should not.” With no answer, Amelia rolled her eyes and began plodding along once again.

The light grew larger and brighter as they navigated through the thick shrubbery, and Amelia’s eyes recognized it as a torch, and since it was not moving, it must have been illuminating an entrance to [i]something.[/i] Soon, they cleared the trees and were presented with a stone building indeed illuminated by the torch that had acted like their Northern star. “A church?” she asked as she looked up to Tobias with narrowed eyes. Would they know what to do with his wound? 

Eventually, the two approached a large wooden door, and her small hand pounded on its surface. “Hello? [i]”Cet homme est blesse!”[/i] More knocking. “Please! He needs your help!” 

Amelia’s hand grew sore, and she sighed in frustration. “Have you been here before, Tobias?" Her nerves were firing inside of her of what could possibly wait behind the door in front of her. Would he be accepted inside and her left alone in the cold? Would they even take them in?