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The great dragon fell in a mass of writhing wings and thrashing limbs. Nanwen scrambled away on her hands and knees, barely avoiding the lashing tail that pounded against the earth and knocked aside fallen trees like sticks. A final, defiant groan emitted from the beast’s throat as it died. For a moment she merely sat there in the dirt, chest heaving. The creature was enormous, and stronger than expected- one of Alduin’s generals, a lord among dragons, it turned out. But now it was dead. And the battle had very nearly been their last
Kaidan.
A pang of fear shot through her as her thoughts and heart ceased racing. Her companion. The man she loved. She’d lost track of him in the fight... last she’d seen him, he had been flanking the dragon with his sword, attempting to distract it after she’d been thrown to the ground and had lost her bow. Her world had gone dark for a moment, and then…? The small bosmer looked for him. Frightened eyes swept the ruined woodland; the broken trunks, the scorched grass, the pitted earth. Flames still burned here and there and smoke filled the air.
“Kaidan!”
There was no answer. She couldn’t spot him from where she sat. With a grunt she got to her feet and hurried to a tree that had been broken halfway down during the battle. On wobbly legs she climbed it as though it were a ramp, still gazing over the area for Kaidan. At the top of the split trunk she was finally able to see him several yards away, a dark spot against the grass and stone.
The dragon’s soul swept around her then, through her, shocking her so that she nearly lost her balance and fell. The tastes of copper and smoke touched her tongue and light burned her vision, the heat of another stolen life bonding with her own- but she tried to ignore the uncomfortable sensation. She felt clumsy and weak as she hopped down and hurried toward her love. She had to reach him, had to help him- gods, why were her legs so slow ? It seemed to take an age, each breath painful and full of fear, but finally she dropped to her knees beside him.
“Kaidan,” she pleaded. He lay on his side, still, silent, and far too pale. His crimson eyes were closed, lips slightly parted. Red colored the ground beneath him; she could see the place the dragon’s spikes had punctured his armor when the tail had struck him, and where his life’s blood had gushed from the wound beneath.
“No,” Nanwen begged, hastily removing her pack and throwing her weapons down beside her. “No, no, no. Mara help me, don’t take him from me! Kaidan, do you hear me?”
A small hand pressed against his tattooed face. His eyelids fluttered but didn’t open. He was still alive.
“If you die, I’ll kill you,” she threatened thickly as she gently rolled him onto his back. Tears were gathering at the corners of her eyes. She couldn’t lose him. Not him, not now.
Nanwen splayed her hands over the wound in his middle and let out a slow shuddering breath, then she closed her eyes and summoned a healing spell. She was no master mage, but she had learned the basics- and now more than anything she wanted to save Kaidan. She had to save him. Whispered prayers to Mara were on her lips as she focused her thoughts on mending the wound- stopping the bleeding- pulling him away from death’s door. The magic was soothing and warm as it formed around her hands; she could feel it pouring out of her and into him, sapping at her already spent strength- but she gladly gave it, she would gladly give everything she had for him.
When she opened her eyes and let the spell sputter out, she saw that the bleeding had stopped, and some color had returned to his face. She allowed herself a small sigh of relief- but there was still work to be done. He was still in danger. Nanwen began working at removing his armor. The wound had to be cleaned, any bits of broken steel or debris removed, before it could be closed and bandaged. As she slipped the first pauldron free he suddenly stirred, eyes fluttering open. Nanwen bent over him, her heart in her throat.
“Kaidan,” she breathed. “Can you hear me?”
“Aye,” he said, his voice far too weak. He squinted, his eyes glassy and sunken. It was as though he couldn’t see her, and didn't quite understand what was happening. “Nan... you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” she said, voice cracking. Here he lay in a pool of his own blood and he was worried about her .
“The dragon?”
“Dead.”
As if that was all he needed to hear, he closed his eyes again and let out a sigh, head lolling to the side. Unconscious again. Nanwen swallowed the cry of alarm that rose in her throat. Now was no time to lose her composure. With fingers that felt clumsy and slow she finished removing his pauldrons and then unbuckled the cuirass. With both sides unfastened she pulled away the damaged breastplate and tossed it aside. Next, she yanked the nordic dagger from her belt and sliced through the fabric of his gambeson, and the shirt underneath. Some of the blood had dried, and when the torn fabric was pushed away a fresh stream of it began to flow.
The bosmer hastily ripped away the remnants of his cotton shirt, bunched it and pressed it against the wound hard. Her heart hammered in her chest and her throat was tight. The thought of going on without him was terrifying. He was a part of her, her best friend, her beloved. If only she had been stronger, if only they had not traveled this way, if only he had not wanted to protect her. I f only. If only.
When the bleeding had finally stopped again she reached for her pack and set out her medical supplies. The first thing was to clean the wound. Luckily, she had realized early in her travels that she should have things on hand for such a situation, and she had packed kits for just this. She used a bottle of strong alcohol to flush the angry looking gash, and then- with hands that she fought to keep still and careful- removed the tiny broken pieces of steel. There was even what looked like a sliver of a dragon’s spike embedded deep.
Throughout it all Kaidan made no sound or movement save for the shallow rising and falling of his chest. Nanwen kept glancing at his face, wishing he would curse, complain, grunt, something... but he gave no signal. She fought to keep her heart from sinking into despair as she worked. He was the strongest man she knew. He could overcome this. He had to. Soon the wound was cleaned, and then she saw to sewing it closed. She had no mana left in her for another healing spell, and the amount it would take to seal such a gash was beyond her anyway.
Pushing the needle and thread through flesh made her stomach twist in knots. At this he finally made a noise, groaning in pain and jerking from her touch.
“Hold still, love,” she soothed. She could see his throat bob as he swallowed, his eyes still screwed shut, but he nodded wordlessly.
It was an arduous process but finally it was done. It wasn’t pretty and it would likely leave a scar- one more with the many he already had- but he was no longer in danger of bleeding out. She could not wrap a bandage around his torso with him lying as he was, so she merely pressed a poultice over the wound. Then she moved to his head and, with a grunt, carefully lifted his shoulders and shoved her travel pack beneath him as a makeshift pillow. She could tell he attempted to help, though he had very little strength.
“Kaidan,” she said, smoothing back his tangled hair. “Are you awake?”
“Yeah.” His voice sounded small and tired.
“Drink this, love.”
She pressed a vial of healing potion to his lips. He did as told, swallowing the medicinal mixture down. It went too fast and he coughed, and then grimaced and cursed in pain. She could see the muscles in his abdomen twitch and she grabbed his hand and squeezed... but slowly the golden glow of the potion surrounded him, and he relaxed. Letting out a deep sigh he opened his eyes. When he looked at her this time, he saw her, and Nanwen couldn’t keep the tears from falling. His face, already lined with pain, instantly twisted with worry.
“Nan, what’s wrong?”
He raised a hand to her cheek. His arm shook with the effort, so she pressed his palm to her face and nuzzled into his touch, relishing the feeling of his calloused skin against hers.
“I thought I’d lost you,” she said, closing her eyes. “That damnable dragon...”
“But you brought that beast down, aye?”
He conjured a small, weary smile for her, and she let out a sound that was somewhere between a sob and a laugh.
“Aye, we brought it down. Now you rest, you reckless man, while I set up camp.”
“Reckless man, ey?”
“Yes.” She bent down and pressed a kiss to his lips, her tears dripping from her lashes to land on his cheeks. “And one I love with all my heart.”