#fuck you valadan. im very fucking mad at you again >:(

[starlit-hopes-and-dreams]

[ID: screenshot of i-can-even-burn-salad's reblog of dear-ao3's post of AO3 notes, reading: You, sitting in the comfort of your home, minding your own business. Me, scuttling out of the ceiling and dropping this chapter at your feet like a cat with a dead bird: :) i-can-even-burn-salad's tags read: that's how it feels like. :) *scuttles back into the ceiling* /end ID]

Now look here, you little shit. You can get back in the ceiling if you want but it won't stop me. Pulls out aerosol can and a lighter. Get out here so I can strangle you >:(

Chapter 48

Glass Shards

Warnings: Lady whump, broken ribs, punctured lung, suffocation, no anesthesia, beating, drowning (the water kind)

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Merridy tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were too heavy. There was blood on her tongue, and a pain in her chest, familiar, and yet worse than ever before. 

“Stay with us. Hey, stay with us. Merry, is that right?”

She didn’t know that voice. It scared her. Merridy doubled her efforts to open her eyes, only to find a stranger looming over her. Deep black hair, and ice blue eyes, and a blue dress sprinkled with blood. That was strange. The woman didn’t seem to be bleeding.

Cold.

Merridy couldn’t speak. She couldn’t even scream as the cold crept deeper, numbing the pain in her chest and burning inside her at the same time. Nothing happened as she gasped for air, the bit she managed to suck in barely enough for a whimper. 

Damien.

Her hand twitched, empty save for the fabric under her fingertips. He wouldn’t leave her alone, would he? But he wasn’t here, the realization enough to momentarily drive off the fog that had settled over her thoughts.

She had promised to protect him. What if all her efforts had been in vain?

Her attempt to get up wasn’t more than a weak struggle. The woman put her hand on Merridy’s shoulder, not applying much pressure, but enough to hold her down.

“Don’t move. The healer is…” She broke off as the door sounded. “He’s here.” The relief was clear in her voice. “Everything will be fine now.”

How could everything be fine if Damien wasn’t here? Merridy was so tired, but she couldn’t sleep without knowing whether he was safe. If only it wasn’t so hard to keep her eyes open.

Muffled voices. Talking about her, not to her. About blood, and broken bones, and needing to be quick. A shimmer of auburn came into her field of vision. Merridy smiled. He hadn’t left her alone after all. He would watch over her while she slept.

She blinked, and it wasn’t Damien above her. His brother’s hair was too long, his beard too short, no hint of the familiar kindness in his eyes. Merridy was too weak to react to the panic flooding her as Damien’s brother grabbed her shoulder and hip. 

Where before his wife had been, now a stranger sat, his fingers all over her. It was like her nightmares, and just like in her nightmares, she couldn’t get away. Damien’s brother held her down while the stranger brought a blade to her skin. Merridy whimpered as the metal cut into her chest, blood running down her stomach, ice cold where it should have been warm. Fingers prodded her side, moving along the cut, slipping under her skin. Digging deeper.

Every bit of air her lungs held was put into a scream as her world turned black.

* * * 

Damien stumbled a step back, his foot almost slipping off the quay. The man followed, giving him no chance to get away from the edge.

“Should have stayed in whatever hole you were hiding in.”

Before Damien had time to catch his breath, a knee slammed into his stomach, so hard his legs buckled. He tried to catch himself, but his hand found nothing where the ground should be. In a desperate attempt to keep his balance, he threw himself forward, only to collide with a foot aiming for his shoulder. The kick shoved him over the edge, his shins scraping along the stone of the quay as he fell into the ocean.

Dark water closed over him. His scream turned into a stream of bubbles, taking precious air away from him, towards a surface that was out of reach. He had learned to swim, decades ago, but between his missing arm and his clothes rapidly soaking up the water, he sank like a rock.

Damien kicked his legs, the movements slowed by the weight of his clothes. It was barely enough to keep him from sinking further. As his lungs began to burn, his panic grew. He fought harder, kicking and thrashing, until his hand slammed against something. The shock of the impact let another series of air bubbles rise. The wall! 

The stones were slick and overgrown with algae, but they were also rough; rough enough for him to cling to it. His boots scraped over it as he pulled himself up, slowly, way too slowly. He was running out of time. Water filled his mouth, the taste of salt washing away the blood. His movements became erratic, kicking the wall, digging his nails into the crevices between the stones. 

So close, so close, so close so close so close.

The moment his head broke through the surface, he started to gasp. Water ran down his throat, making him cough and almost sink again. He clung to the wall, trying to catch his breath. The water left his vision blurry, but he didn’t need to see to know that the quay was too far above him. No chance of him climbing out, and he didn’t dare to call for help. If those men were still around, they might just decide to finish him quicker instead.

Despair filled him as his gaze cleared enough to look around. He was at last fifty steps away from shore. A distance that had seemed like nothing when walking, but now was insurmountable. He wouldn’t be able to swim that far.

Briefly, he toyed with the idea of using his magic. The risk of teleporting to a location he couldn’t see was preferable to straight up drowning, but he didn’t have the strength for it. The small spark of magic within him kept slipping away as he struggled to keep himself above the water. It wouldn’t be enough for something as difficult as a teleport. 

No. The only chance he had was to keep to the wall. The cold already sapped his strength, making his muscles stiff and his teeth chatter, but no matter how small his hope of success was, he had to try. He couldn’t give up.

The saltwater burned in his scrapes and cuts as he pushed himself forward, his head dipping underwater the moment he had to let go of the wall. He fought his way back to the surface, a tiny bit closer to safety, but still impossibly far away. 

Another push, another dip, and another, and another. Damien gasped for air, spitting out water. His fingers hurt, stiff from the cold and bleeding where the rocks had scratched them. His feet slipped off the algae, making the submerged parts of the wall slippery. Warm traces of water found their way down the coldness of his cheeks. 

Merry.

* * *

“Come on. Breathe.”

Merridy didn’t want to. It hurt too much. The fire in her lungs, and the ice in her chest, and the sand in her throat.

“Breathe, dammit.”

Someone pushed down on her chest, and she gasped involuntarily. Liquid filled her mouth and nose, dripping down her face. She coughed, struggling to breathe, unable to stop now that she had started. Everything tasted like blood. Smelled like blood. It clung to every breath she took, making her feel nauseous.

Hands were still all over her. Holding her. Touching her. Pushing her this way and that. Something tingled in her chest. People spoke in hushed voices. She didn’t bother trying to understand their words. With her face pressed against the cushions, she cried, wishing for it all to end. 

When the hands finally retreated, Merridy was completely exhausted. She had no strength left to draw back from the touch on her face. It was soft and gentle, but it wasn’t Damien. He wasn’t here. Why wasn’t he here?

A piece of cloth dabbed at her face, wiping away her blood and tears. Merridy finally opened her eyes, looking from the hand to the one it belonged to. It was the woman with the black hair. She grabbed Merridy’s shoulders, pulling her up and leaning her against the cushions.

“It’ll be easier to breathe if you sit.”

The woman. Valadan’s wife. Josephine.

“Here,” she said, offering Merridy a blanket. “You’re shaking.”

Merridy took the blanket with trembling hands, pulling it closer. Her limbs barely obeyed her will, so she didn’t wrap herself into it, only draped it over her bare chest. Hiding behind it. It did nothing to warm her.

“How do you feel?” Josephine asked.

Merridy didn’t reply.

“Your name is Merry, is that right?”

It wasn’t, but she didn’t reply to that, either. 

Josephine sighed. “You… one of your ribs broke. It punctured your lung. The healer—Elijah—fixed you up. Said you lost quite a bit of blood, and it will be sore for a few days, but the danger is over.” Her smile looked strained. “But Merry. He found traces of older injuries. Lots of bruises, and some older cuts, and…” She broke off, a mix of sadness and concern on her face. “Do you need help?”

The question didn’t make sense. Hadn’t they just healed her? 

A shadow fell over her, making her wince and cower deeper into the cushions. From the false safety of her blanket, she dared to look up. Valadan looked so much like Damien. The same auburn hair. The same hard lines around his mouth. The same purple eyes, fixed on her.

“Did my brother hurt you?” Valadan asked bluntly.

Merridy stared at him as if he had grown a second head. “W-what?” she finally stammered. “You… you attacked us.”

“That was… fuck.” He ran his hand through his hair. “It was an accident. I’m sorry.” 

An accident. He had hit Damien. Shoved him. Damien, who hadn’t even tried to fight back. The memory of that forlorn, hurt look on his face brought tears to her eyes. She knew she had tried to protect him, but everything afterwards was blurry.

“I mean before,” Valadan clarified. “Someone hurt you. Was it him?”

“He’d never hurt me. Where is he?” When no one replied, her tears spilled over, her stomach twisting in fear. “Please? Where… where’s Damien?”

“Calm down. I told him to stay away while I got the healer. I guess I’ll—” A knock on the door interrupted him. “Guess that’s him.”

While Valadan turned around, Josephine sat down next to Merridy. 

“Here. Some water.”

She handed her a glass. It was a fragile thing, with thin walls and a floral pattern. Merridy stared at the way it broke the light, wondering if in another life, Damien had made something like this.

The sip she took burned in her throat and tingled in her nose. Merridy lowered the glass as voices sounded from the entrance.

“You did what?”

Valadan’s shout made her flinch. In his anger, he sounded exactly like his brother, but unlike Damien, Merridy didn’t trust him. Her grip around the glass tightened, the water rippling as she trembled.

“It wasn’t… it was Peter! He pushed him off the quay. There was blood, and we thought… he thought… didn’t you—”

Whatever else the man stammered, it was drowned out by a slam as Valadan punched the wall. Merridy flinched, pressing herself into the corner of the sofa, a sob caught in her throat. 

Off the quay.

She didn’t even know if Damien knew how to swim! And even if he did, he was still weak, and wearing clothes, and… and…

The sob broke free, shaking her and making water spill over the blanket. Valadan looked back over his shoulder. In his eyes, Merridy saw the same fear that took her own breath away. It hit her that Damien had been wrong.

Valadan didn’t hate him. 

He turned away, pushing the man aside as he ran out the door.

“You should leave,” Josephine said, her tone as frosty as her touch had been.

Merridy looked up, but Josephine’s gaze rested on the man. He raised both hands in a defensive gesture as he backed off, pulling the door closed behind him. 

In the silence that followed, all Merridy could hear was the rushing in her ears. Her head spun, as if she couldn’t breathe again. Water dripped down her wrist. Water, and something warm. Merridy only felt the pain when Josephine reached for her hand, forcing it open. The glass was broken, shards embedded in her palm. Josephine pulled the shards out and wrapped a piece of cloth around Merridy’s bleeding hand. 

“It’s going to be okay,” she said as she pulled Merridy into her arms. “It’s going to be okay. He’ll save him.”

Merridy sank against her and started to cry.

And if THIS was a BTHB entry, it would be Punctured Lung <3

[ID: The top image is a banner covered in colorful glass shards. Across it is written the title of the story, glass shards, in a white to bright cyan gradient with a black outline. The font looks like written with a broad paintbrush. All other images in this post are purely ornamental lines. End ID.]

@dont-touch-my-soup @starrysky-whumpfics @kixngiggles @starlit-hopes-and-dream