[center][h1][color=mediumseagreen] A Garden of Doubt[/color][/h1] [h3][color=Navajowhite]Chapter III - Pride and Pain[/color][/h3][/center] [hr] They were after him. So he ran, deeper towards the light from whence he came. He had nowhere else to go. The cave was the only option. The only thing he could think of was the swords. If he could get one he might have a chance at fending them off. But that was only if… The thought struck him with dread. He was leading those monsters to her! She had just saved him and now… And now he was putting her life in danger! Was he really so selfish? Perhaps his father was right… He shook his head- Now was not the time to think about that! Now was the time to live or die. His footsteps echoed further, the snarls of the monsters closing in behind. They were close to the entrance. As the light neared, he saw the familiar silhouette of his savor, visage obscured by darkness, but the spear in her hand did not go unnoticed. “Why you come!” She yelled at him, brandishing the spear. “I say go! You go!” She moved closer to him and Zayd slowed down. He turned sideways and then pointed towards the entrance, finger shaking. He looked at her and could tell she wasn’t paying attention. “I say go! You go! No stay!” She shouted again. “Wh-” Her voice was cut off by a loud howl. Her eyes grew wide with fear. Her once proud posture seemed to grow smaller and she looked past him to the gleam of red eyes entering her abode. “Oh no.” She managed to say. Zayd took his chances and ran past her, around the small wall and into a crevice at the back of the cave. He looked up to see her shaking with fear, they were nearly upon her and she wasn’t even defending herself! Zayd grunted as he thrust his hand into the rocks. He was cut several times by sharp stones but his hand found what it was after- a hilt. He pried the sword free with little effort and swung around to rescue her from the monsters but… They ignored her. With one sniff of her head, the larger one moved on towards Zayd and the smaller one paced back and forth like some sort of shield, preventing him from being able to reach her but still keeping her from running. She crouched down and that was the last thing he saw of her before his attention swapped to the monster coming closer. In the light of the fire his eyes fell upon a horrible sight. Of a creature’s flesh that moved like worms in the dirt after a downpour. It was disgusting and the smell was foul. It stood nearly shoulder height to him and Zayd began to wonder if his dull copper sword was going to do anything to it. Still, he had to try. He couldn’t let fear control him! He took a defensive stance, eyes never leaving the beast that approached. It did not slow down, a low rumble emitting from it’s chest, teeth dripping with a black liquid. Zayd lunged at it, bringing his sword down in an arc but the creature was fast and it side stepped him. He overcompensated his wing and went forward as he lost his footing. Something slammed into his left side, sending him crashing against the rocks. His vision blurred and he felt two things, one was a blistering pain and the other was anger. He forced himself to stay awake and gripped his hilt tighter as he turned to the creature. It ran at him and Zayd barely had time to roll out of the way, feeling a sharp pain in his chest. He sprawled out in a heap as the creature slammed into the rocks with a piercing scream. It lunged at him again in it’s rage and Zayd tried to roll out of the way, but it pinned his left arm. A rare scream came from his lips, haggard and muted as it was. He felt something break and vision blacken one more, but this left an opening as the creature snapped at his body that had moved. With his right arm, he stabbed the creature in the neck. It screamed again, and Zayd lost the sword as it instinctively jumped away from the danger and into the other wall. It lost its footing as it screamed again. Zayd was relieved and began to sit up, watching the creature begin to struggle as dark liquid began to spew from the wound. That was his mistake, for the next thing he knew, something snapped down tight on his right shoulder. He wanted to scream, but his breath was taken away. He glanced right and the smaller beast had bitten down and then squeezed. Zayd struggled to free himself but there was little he could do, it was like the weight of three men holding him down, applying pressure, breaking bone, ripping flesh. Fear took him then, and the creature shook its head, rending his flesh even further before it threw him to the floor, knocking what little wind he had in him out. His eyes were barely able to stay open as he saw it come toward him with such evil eyes. His vision began to fade and the last thing he saw was… The girl… And… Her spear... [hr] “...uman…” Light was fading. Dim glows. The smell of smoke. There were screams in the dark and terrible eyes. So many eyes. It was like they surrounded him whole, always watching with such malice. He couldn’t escape them no matter how he tried and they threatened to swallow him up whole. “...You need too…” Was that a light hidden in the eyes? Something blue besides the crimson. He reached for it and tried to grab it with such desperation but it was fleeting like a shooting star. Fading from his vision. “...Wake…” Zayd felt himself fall with a jerk. He tried to scream but his voice was lost. It had always been lost. The eyes began to streak together as he fell, like horrible rivers of blood, threatening to swallow him up. To suffocate him entirely! He heard the howl, tenfold and bloodchilling as hot and humid breath touched his neck. It was going to kill hi- “WAKE UP!” His eyes snapped open, tears flooring down his cheeks. He tried to move but a hand pressed his chest down. He looked up to see her face, red with worry. He felt so much pain and he couldn’t move his shoulder without jolts of pain. He took a ragged breath and it felt like something had stabbed him. It was hard to breath. He was able to move his legs and feet and even his left arm? Hadn’t that been brok- “I try heal. I try.” She said in a softer voice, and Zayd focused on her as she took his left hand within her own. They were so soft and that voice of hers, she sounded sorry. He looked at her and gave a slight nod. He should have been dead. He would be, if it wasn’t for her. She must have killed them but… He tried to sit up but felt faint. She seemed to realize what he wanted and kept her hand pressed down. Not enough to hurt him but enough for him to realize he shouldn’t move. His eyes moved frantically, as they strained to see if they were truly safe. “No worry. Is okay. Killed.” She pressed a hand to his cheek and wiped away one of his tears. “You brave.” She said after a moment, their eyes connecting. Her face was one of guilt and behind those crimson eyes there was a pain of her own. “Why?” The question caught Zayd off guard. Why what? Why had he fought them? Why had he ran back into the cave? He could have ran anywhere else, those things would have followed. Right? Was it guilt that had made him pick up a sword? Or was it that he really had believed he could prove himself? He didn’t feel like he had proved a damn thing though. If anything, it had shown just how stupid he was. A thousand different emotions crossed his face and he looked away from her. He couldn’t speak, so why even try to explain? But he felt her hand tug him back to her and he relented. Zayd froze when they met again. She was… She was smiling. It made his heart flutter, that smile, so warm and genuine and just… Beautiful. “Thank you.” She whispered, a violet tear rolling down her cheek to her chin, then falling onto his bare chest. When did he lose his shirt? The plant girl then looked away from him, frowning. “I heal you. You rest…” She paused, peeling her hands away to rest them over the side of his stomach. “I go after.” Before he had time to object, he had the same tingling sensation as before, and then something popping. He groaned as his eyes went hazy but it did not linger and he took his first full breath of air without the stabbing in his side. Relief washed over his senses and he gave her a weak smile. He raised his good arm and then pointed to her. Then he pointed at himself. He frowned and began to shake his head. He didn’t want her to go. How would she be safe from whatever those things were that attacked them? She guided his hand back down with her own and shook her head. “I go. I d-danger. To you.” He took her hand and gave it a squeeze, shaking his head again. He began to mouth the word, stay, but this only further pushed her away. She broke free and stood up. Zayd tried to follow, but she placed a foot on his chest this time and she kept him down. He gave up in defeat and settled back down. “I...:” She pointed at herself. “Go.” Then she pointed at him. “You stay. You go home. Forget.” She said it with such a commanding tone, a stark contrast to how she had been only a few minutes ago. She walked over behind his head and sank to her knees. He looked up at her and she peered back before he felt her hands upon his right shoulder. The tingling began and he winced as she worked. Zayd made up his mind right then and there. When he was healed, he would follow after her. He didn’t know why but that smile had been enough to convince him that it needed to be protected. He was stupid but it had led him to her, right? That had to mean something. It just had to. He needed a purpose. He felt another pop and his eyes focused on her once more. She brought her head close and Zayd felt his heart beat faster. Her eyes seemed to wander over his face for a moment and then she placed a small kiss upon his forehead. “Sorry.” She whispered and before he could register what was going on, he felt her hand press into the base of his neck. The last thing he remembered was that kiss, warm and gentle, before his eyes faded to black. [Hider=Summary] Zayd, our fledgling hero, fights the demon dogs after they follow him into the cave. Strangely, they don’t attack the plant girl and one even begins to defend her. She looks shocked if anything but Zayd doesn’t worry about that, cause he’s got a fight of his own with the other dog. He wounds it, after getting thrown about and mangled pretty bad. As that one began its death throes the other one got the surprise on him and crushed his right shoulder, throwing him about some more. The last thing he sees is the plant girl attacking then he dreams some pretty bad stuff. He wakes up to the plant girl, who has been healing him. Who knows how long the days have passed. She thanks him for being brave but tells him she is leaving. Zayd, after falling for her smile, wants her to stay but she shakes her head. As she heals the last of his energies, she kisses his forehead then knocks him out with a pressure point. [/hider] [hider=MP] Zip. [/hider]