Aella (manxman) - ON HOLD - Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Hold on, my mate,
I will find you!
I was running at full speed as soon as I distanced myself from the two Aella hunters. I didn't care about my own tracks anymore. No matter what, I had to find him. And all my instincts screamed at me to follow the trace of that wicked hunter, Drita.
Some parts were more difficult than others as I couldn't find her footprints, but I managed to track where she came from, and the path seemed to keep going around the mountain without climbing it. I ran for more than an hour and I met no other hunter. She had them search other areas while she kept this whole part to herself. That reeked of suspicious behavior, but I didn't really need proof to believe anymore. I didn't need to see to know,
The vicious woman had him.
She wanted to keep him for herself and that was extremely disgusting. But also somehow relieving because that meant that she wouldn't harm him so easily. So he must be here somewhere, trapped and waiting for help. He must be-.........
I came to a sudden stop under the strong sunlight, in an area where the trail seemed to go into a total mess. I leaned down and touched the ground. I inspected the chaotic patterns of the dirt, only to realize with horror that there was a recent struggle here, right beneath my feet. There were traces of someone being dragged into the forest.
Then I saw smaller footprints under a tree.
My Aella...
This was definitely him!
I gathered the dirt in my hand and brought it to my chest, my eyes still scanning my surroundings. And there it was, another footprint of his going into the forest. My brave mate, did you escape? But why were the prints so close to each other, were you walking slowly? Are you hurt??
I followed the trail and it ended sooner than expected. It stopped where the dragging marks have begun. As I inspected the tracks closer, I realized... He wasn't taken into the forest; he was being forced outside of it.
I immediately turned on my heels and hurried back to where the dragging ended, outside of the forest and close to the mountain. I decided I had to climb it, maybe that treacherous hunter found another way to the Aellas' village on the mountain, and she was hiding him there?
It was a tiny possibility because I've always been told that there was no way to the Aellas other than the main path that they all used and guarded. But I had to try this even if it took a lot of time and risk. I had to find him NOW!
I went climbing the large gray rocks. After merely a couple of them, something shiny caught my eyes. A few step further than where I as searching, something on the ground was twinkling under the sun. I jumped off the rocks and moved towards it. What I found there made my heart sink and my knees buckled.
A small black feather, a couple of teeth attached to a leather string... and a pearl
It was my lover's necklace, the one he made himself, shattered in pieces on the ground. The pearl... I gave him this pearl the last time I came back from sailing. Cailyn had ordered me to stay away from Ceri, and when I didn't, he sent me pearl-hunting on another island. Ceri loved the gift and attached it at the center of his necklace, covered with the leather lace and tiny pieces of the white and black feathers that he got from his young cousins. The pearl was now abandoned in the dirt.
I wiped my eyes that started watering. I quickly gathered the small items and pushed them in my pocket. I looked around trying to find him.
He was here! Please be alive and safe
"CERI! CERIIIIIIII!!!!"
I yelled with all my might. I didn't think about hiding from the Aellas anymore, nothing seemed to matter. My heart felt like war drums when no voice answered mine.
Being certain that I was closer than ever to find him, I abandoned climbing to the top of the mountain, and chose to check the lower region of the it. But no matter where I looked around me, there was nowhere he could be hidden. No hole in the ground or den. And after a few minutes of searching, I returned to right where the pearl used to be.
From there, I climbed, hoping to be able to see better from a higher point of view. My vision wavered and I wiped my eyes again and climbed the third large rock when I was met by a set of thick bushes. I was so impatient that instead of walking around them, I stepped right through and pushed them aside in frustration. To my utter surprise, the bushes moved easily and slid down the slope. I pushed the rest of it away and saw that none of them were rooted in these rocks. Instead, there was a small opening in the mountain.
"CERI!! I'm here! I'm coming to you!!"
Heavy breaths and tears left me as I found my way into the hole. I had to move a heavy rock aside, one that I doubted Ceri could move on his own.
As soon as I jumped inside, I noticed that the hole wasn't that small. It actually gave way to a path. I hurried inside and followed the whirling path. A strange light started showing, leading me to a whole cave.
A small den was at the end of the tunnel. As I stepped inside, I saw some food, a small basin with water, other few items and part of a tree trunk, broken in half. The air was heavy, the only thing moving, was the weak flickers of a dying fire set at the center.
I took another step inside, checking around once more when I saw him. At the deeper end, under the wall, laid a motionless silhouette.
"Ceri?"
No answer. I moved slowly closer. He was definitely a person, his waist covered with a leather skin. When I saw the dirty blond curls, fresh tears forced their way out as I ran to him and knelt behind him.
"Ceri... Ceri, wake up!"
He was facing the wall and almost curled on himself. I tugged on his shoulder gently to look at his face, although the dying light didn't help much.
"My Aella, I'm......... I'm so sorry! Please open your eyes"
I pulled his upper body on my lap and he whined in pain. I immediately stopped moving him, my heart breaking as I realized that he was harmed
"Ceri, I'm here. Please talk to me"
He curled further on himself, his left arm holding his right side protectively. I pushed his hair back and called his name again, a bit louder this time. When I ran the back of my fingers on his cheek, his whole body jerked away from my touch and he opened his eyes.
"Ceri, it's me", I plead
"NNNNnnnnhh..." he whined again, sounding both scared and hurting. He tried to move away from me and closer to the wall. When I tried to stop him and hug him closer to me, he cried painfully. So I let him go. I touched his shoulder again, yet he cowered away from my hand. So I leaned over him and spoke gently.
"Ceri, it's me, Ithel! I'm so sorry, my love. Please, let me take you home?"
"......... Ithel....... Ithel?"
"Yes! Yes, it's me. I'm here for you"
He looked over his shoulder. One of his eyes seemed to be swollen and he tried to use the other to focus.
"Ithel!"
"I'm here"
I gritted my teeth and swallowed at the way his voice sounded so raspy and so weak.
"Y-y-you need to leave..."
"I'll take you home, Ceri"
"N-no..... You.. leave-"
"What?? I'm not leaving without you!!"
His right hand moved to hold my clothes while he stared at me with desperation I've never seen in his eyes before and he whispered
"Sh-she'll be back soon... h-hurry o-or she'll hurt you... please, sh-she's never far!"
He wasn't crying, but I definitely was. I wrapped my arms around him despite his pained groans and I pulled him to my chest carefully, "I'm taking you home"
"I can't leave, I-I can't...", his voice may have been weak and not higher than a whisper, but his fear was loud and clear
"You're not thinking straight! I'm taking you home where you'll be safe-"
"Sh-she'll punish me! Please... please, I can't anymore"
I hugged him closer to me, his head tucked into my neck. A sob left me as I realized,
He wanted to stay here. He was pleading for me to leave him behind to suffer!!
"My little pearl... what happened to you?"
His right arm hesitantly found its way around me and hugged me back.
"I know I failed you, my mate. But you are for always my dearest and I cannot live without you. I'm undeserving, but please trust me. That's all I ask"
He didn't answer. He was shivering and I noticed that he was feverish. I kissed his head and started plotting to get him out of here. I ran my eyes over his body. I couldn't see clearly because of the weak fire, but other than the swollen eye, he had a large bruise on his shoulder. No, he had bruises and bloodied scratches all over his body, but what scared me the most, was the way he was holding his side protectively. Other than the cover, he had only a piece of clothing around his waist. It looked ragged, dirty and slightly torn. He wasn't wearing his upper clothing anymore, and the thought was like a stab in my chest. However, I ignored a thousand questions in my head. I had more important things to do than rain questions on him.
"Ceri, can you walk?"
His chest rose and fell as if the question was too difficult to think about. He didn't answer, just squeezed his eyes shut.
I didn't ask again. I set him on the floor carefully and went to get him some water to drink. He hesitated while eyeing the bowl of water like it could bite him. When I encouraged him and asked him to open his mouth, he complied. The poor man was so parched, he emptied everything in a second. He was breathing heavily after he finished. I let the water settle inside him, while I tried to check the damage on his body. I put my hand on his chest. He jolted from the touch, eyes looking away and refusing to meet mine. I listened to his heart beating hysterically. I moved my palm gently to his hurting side and he bit his lower lip to keep from groaning, although it didn't keep his whimpers at bay.
"I'm so sorry. I know you're hurt, but I need to see if anything is broken before I move you more"
He didn't answer me. Just squeezed his eyes shut again. Unfortunately, I couldn't wait to make him comfortable about this, I definitely needed to get him out of here. So I used my fingers to pressure his ribs very slightly. He moaned and guilt ate me up, but I had to make sure. I held his right arm and moved it around. He resisted at first, but I asked him to please bear with it. After I finished with his side, I moved to his heavily bruised shoulder, and then the rest of his body.
He was heavily beaten, his lower back filled with marks and bloodied bruises, but nothing looked broken, torn or life threatening at the moment. Healing would take time and a lot of rest.
I sighed in relief when I almost finished. Yet relief was the last thing I felt when I finally got to his feet.
"Ceri, what happened to your leg??"
Still no answer. I patted his thigh to try and calm him before I focused on his feet. His skin was torn near his ankles and the injuries were already closed. However, his right foot was wrapped in a cloth. As soon as I touched it, Ceri cried and pulled it away from me very carefully, his whole body shaking as he did so.
"Stay still. This won't hurt". I held his trembling leg gently and started unwrapping the leather cloth carefully. "I'm just going to make sure that your leg is al-...............right"
My voice trailed when I unwrapped the last of the cloth. A large blister occupied most of the sole of his foot. Red, swollen and angry looking, it made me gasp silently. Such a wound can only be caused by fire! The sight of it rendered me completely frozen. And while I couldn't breathe or say anything, my heart bled and my eyes flooded.
What has she done to my little pearl?
My mate, I am so, so sorry...
I leaned down and gently kissed his ankle, where a set of scratches were healing. His shivering intensified. I wanted to know how this happened, what was he feeling... more like, how scared and broken did he feel right now.
But I couldn't voice any of my questions, nor my regrets. So I wiped my useless tears and wrapped his foot once again. I noticed the cloth was covered in healing herbs from the inside, but it would take much more than that to heal his injury.
I pulled him to sit and he didn't resist, only tensed and swallowed his moans of pain. He looked weaker than ever, smaller even. I put the leather skin around his shoulders, "We're going home"
With one arm around his back and the other under his legs, I lifted him carefully and carried him through the frustrating path that led to the opening of this cave. It wasn't easy to climb out of there. Despite his injuries and obvious fatigue, he listened to everything I said and did his best. As always. Since I couldn't carry him outside, I had to set him on his good foot, climb out and then pull him to me. The process wasn't simple at all. And when the sunlight touched his skin, I gritted my teeth to the number of bruises that I hadn't seen when we were in the dark. Long scratches, blue and purple bruises around his eye and in different parts of his body. And then there were markings on his neck that looked like someone tried to choke him to death.
And that someone was a heartless creature that I swear to hunt and skin alive.
My attention was drawn back to him when I noticed him trying hard to remain sitting straight outside the cave. He looked dizzy and weak so I helped him slowly climb down the large gray rocks. Judging from his movements and whimpers, I believed his foot, side and shoulder were his main weaknesses.
Though I could feel with every breath he took that there were deeper injuries than what the eye could see...
Once we reached the ground, I carefully carried him on my back. This way, I wouldn't put a lot of pressure on his hurting side. I headed into the forest and towards the Aellos' territory.
"Just a little more. You'll be home soon"
~~~~~~
I tried my best not to leave a trail, which was difficult to do since I was carrying Ceri with me. After a while, a couple of Aella hunters nearly crossed our path if I didn't hide from them in time. They were almost heading the same way as ours, so I had to change our course and take a longer route.
An hour later, I was getting too exhausted. I hadn't fed not slept well in days, running all over the territory to find him. I was tired, hungry and thirsty. Ceri wasn't in better shape either. I didn't know if he at least slept or ate, but his breaths were like small gasps of air, drawn with difficulty. I could feel his hot forehead on my neck, signaling that his fever had intensified.
I looked for water. By the time I found a tiny spring, the night had fallen. I set Ceri down and let him drink. He was lost between unconsciousness and reality. His injuries, the fever, the pain and the tiredness were getting their best of him.
I helped him drink and used the water to try and cool down his fever. Then I found a nearby tree that had enough lower branches to ease our way up. I carried him and set him on a higher large branch before I climbed down to clean some of our tracks, and then join him again on the tree.
"Are you hungry?", I asked as I pulled him back slightly to lay on my chest. "I can get you something to eat"
He didn't answer. He just shook his head and held my arm to his chest desperately. I kissed his head and caressed his arms. "It's alright, Ceri. It will be alright"
The days may be hot, but the nights are chilly. My mate was still shivering, so I removed my upper cloth and gave it to him. I helped him put it on, careful not to hurt his bruises or make us fall off the tree. Once he was done, I made sure to keep him safe and as warm as possible. So I set him between my legs again and pulled his back to my chest gently. Then I covered him with the animal skin he brought with him. I tried to meet his eyes, not only to make sure he was ok, but for my own heart to settle. Yet he refused to let the soft greens soothe me. He just turned his face away from mine and his body remained tense and trembling from time to time.
Still, I could see he had a constant pained look on his face. I could feel his suffering from the wound on his foot that was fresh. It was still hurting him and making him sick, I was certain of it. Such a burn can be immensely painful... The thought tightened my throat and my stomach.
How could she!!!! Why...... He never hurt anyone... never even asked for anything!
"My sweet Aella", what happened to you, my love? How badly have you suffered?... "I've got you. I'll never leave your side"
When his chest jumped slightly under my embrace, I gave in with him and we both cried silently.
"The next sunrise will be a new day. I promise you, before sunset you'll be safe at home. And I won't let anyone or anything hurt you ever again"
That was the best way to ensure his safety. I'll take him back to our territory. Cailyn and Alev will then sort out the mess with the Aellas, and I'll take care my Ceri's recovery.
I will fix everything, my love
I will talk to your father once and for all
I will keep you by my side every second of eternity
I will help you heal your body
I will tend to your heart
If Cailyn and Sosanbra did not end Drita, I will hunt her in her own territory and I will kill her myself
That way, no one can ever hurt you, my little pearl
no one will ever keep us apart.