Chapter 1
The journey had been long and hard and Kit had been so elated to be reunited with her brother that she hadn’t bothered to check in with anyone. In fact, it wasn’t until they made camp for the night nearby, her leaning against Airk’s side, that her brother piped up to ask if everyone was okay. He wanted to know if he had hurt anyone.
Kit let the small murmurs of confirmation that they were okay wash over her as they were given from person to person, pausing when she realized that the one voice she had been expecting to hear was strangely silent.
Kit peered up and her gaze swept over the crowd until it landed on Jade’s form, the girl leaning against a rock with a hand resting on her stomach, her eyes half-lidded with what appeared to be sleep. Her chest rose and fell steadily, a reassurance to Kit, but the sight of something red staining her fingertips had Kit suddenly jolting away from her brother to approach her.
Jade barely stirred as Kit approached her.
“Jade?” Kit kneeled next to her and Jade’s eyes popped open, peering up at Kit. “Are you alright?”
Jade gave her the same dopey smile that Kit loved. "I'm fine."
Kit's eyes trailed down to Jade's stomach, swallowing hard at the red seeping through the fingers. "Liar..." she whispered, reaching for Jade's hand. She was afraid of what she would see underneath it.
"I'm okay," Jade repeated, not even bothering to stop Kit as the girl pulled her hand away.
Kit nearly gagged at the sight of the wound. "You're hurt!" She couldn't keep her voice quiet. "Jade!"
"Sorry..." Jade didn't look that sorry about it, her head slowly falling back to lean against the rock again.
"What's wrong?" Boorman was the one to question, poking his nose into everyone's business.
"Jade’s hurt!" Kit told him as she replaced Jade's hand that was keeping the large wound from bleeding out.
The others were suddenly clambering to get closer and Jade tried to bat them away with her free hand.
"I'm okay," Jade repeated, smiling weakly at Kit. "Just need some sleep..."
"Lay her down," Willow instructed and Airk helped Kit tug Jade from where she was leaning on the rock to laying down. A groan of pain finally escaped Jade's lips, a sound that pierced Kit's heart.
"I'll get some water," Elora said and disappeared quickly as Kit looked down at Jade.
"I'm okay," Jade repeated like a broken record and Kit wasn't sure if she was trying to reassure the others or herself. "I've been stabbed before."
"Yeah, with a fishing hook!" Kit tried to calm her racing heart, wondering if this was how Jade felt when she was drowning.
"I'm okay," Jade repeated, taking a shallow breath. "I'm okay."
Kit finally realized what Jade needed and moved one hand up to brush a strand of frizzy red hair out of her face. Jade was scared but she wouldn’t tell anyone that. But Kit knew. She knew Jade better than anybody. Kit took a deep breath to try and calm herself.
"You're okay," she echoed softly, reassuring her friend, and Jade's eyes met hers. "You're okay. We'll get you patched up."
Jade seemed to fall limp in relief, her eyes starting to slide shut. "I'm okay..."
"You cannot fall asleep," Willow spoke as Elora returned with a bowl of clean water. "Keep her awake, Kit."
Kit wasn't sure how to help. This wasn't just a scraped knee or a small slice from their training. Jade had a jagged wound on her abdomen that seeped more blood than Kit had ever seen come out of her friend.
"Boorman, get a light," Willow instructed the man. "Elora, I need you to start clearing away some of the blood. Airk, put pressure down where I tell you."
Jade whimpered when Elora touched the area around the wound and Kit tried to think of what she could say or do to soothe her. Willow finally pulled Jade's hand away to inspect the wound and Jade tried to look. Kit gently pushed her head back.
"Eyes on me," Kit instructed and Jade peered back up at her again. "Just focus on me, okay?"
The moment that Airk put pressure down where Willow told him, Jade almost shot upright, a cry of pain escaping her lips. "No, get off!" She weakly shoved at Airk. "It hurts!"
"I know," Kit quickly grabbed Jade's hands to stop her, pulling them up to her own chest. "I know it hurts, I'm sorry."
Jade's face was scrunched up in pain, tears forming in her eyes as her breathing quickened.
"Look at me," Kit squeezed Jade's hands when the girl tried to look down at the wound on her stomach, ignoring the blood getting onto her hands. "How did you get this?"
Jade focused on Kit once again. "I... they were going to hurt you..." Jade whispered, her lower lip wobbling. "Nobody hurts my princess."
Guilt slammed into Kit, the chattering of the others around her turning to white noise. Jade was staring up at her with such sincerity and love that Kit couldn't breathe. "You're such a show-off," she managed to get out.
Jade let out a weak chuckle, her grip on Kit's hands going slack. "Just for you." Her eyes started to close once again.
"No, Jade. Wake up, you have to stay awake," Kit let go of one of her hands to stroke her hair again, hoping to keep her focused. "Just look at me. You have to look at me, that's an order from your princess."
"I'm looking," Jade protested softly, one of her hands moving. Kit felt the familiar soft touch of her best friend on her cheek and couldn't help but lean into the touch. Trust Jade to try and comfort her while she was bleeding out.
Jade's hand slowly fell, fingertips brushing against Kit's cheek as her eyes sluggishly blinked.
"Jade?" Kit repeated, squeezing the hand she was holding. "Jade!?"
Kit's attention turned toward where Willow and Elora were making a paste of some sort from the ingredients near them. Airk was still putting pressure down on Jade's abdomen as Boorman held a lantern high to provide everyone with enough light.
"She'll be fine," Airk told her, his voice sounding convincing. "I mean, she's Jade. You know how stubborn she is."
“She took a blade for me…” Kit whispered in horror. “And I didn’t even know she was hurt.”
“This is not your fault,” Airk told her firmly, one hand moving to grip her shoulder as the other steadily applied pressure to Jade’s stomach. “Do you hear me?”
Kit nodded and turned her attention back to her unconscious friend. Neither of them had ever been seriously hurt before. Kit had gotten dangerously ill as a child and didn’t remember much more than Jade constantly sneaking into her room despite orders to stay out. Kit had been deprived of human contact in the fear of getting others ill but Jade had no such qualms and would hold her hand or hold her close. The few hazy memories Kit had of the time were of Jade or waiting for Jade. Jade had fallen ill after Kit and was moved from her place in the stables to inside the castle. She wasn’t hit as hard as Kit but Kit had returned the favor to her friend.
This was more than a fever. This was a blade that had undoubtedly killed a man, and sunk into the body of her best friend.
“This should help,” Willow told the others as Elora spread a thick paste onto the wound before covering it with a ripped piece of fabric. “We’ll need to take turns watching over her.”
Kit took a deep breath before letting it out. She was only sixteen, older than only Jade, and even then it was by a few months. She was glad in a way that the ‘adults’ of the group were taking charge and knew what to do.
“Here,” Elora was suddenly grabbing Kit’s hand and before Kit had the chance to say anything, the words died on the tip of her tongue as Elora wiped away the blood that Kit had gotten on her hand. Jade’s blood. Her friend’s blood.
Kit fell backward to lean against the rock that Jade had been leaning on, reaching up to wipe away the tear she felt rolling down her cheek. She already knew that despite her exhaustion, she wouldn’t be sleeping that night.
Airk sat next to her in silent support but he was exhausted from his ordeal and eventually ended up falling asleep sitting up, leaning against Kit as he slept.
Jade was unconscious through the whole night and despite the fatigue gripping Kit, she pushed through.
Willow and Elora checked on Jade in the morning. Willow’s face was grim as he inspected the wound. “We need to get her proper healing in a sterile environment.”
“Not like we’ve got the choice now, have we?” Boorman inquired with a huff, his hands on his hips as he watched them. “We still have to find our way up and out. That’s not to mention the countless days of walking.”
“How are we going to move her?” Elora questioned, glancing at Willow. The Nelwyn grimaced slightly.
“We’ll have to take turns carrying her,” Willow said.
Kit hovered anxiously when Boorman gently scooped Jade up into his arms, his touch surprisingly soft. Jade made no noise other than a pained whine as she was moved.
Finding a way up after diving off the edge of the world was rather hard to do. Kit felt like they were walking in circles and tried not to let Jade’s pained whimpers cut into her any more than they already had.
Airk was the one that found the stairs that seemingly led up, a long winding path of narrow steps. Kit could see shortly after they started their trek up that Boorman was getting tired, sweat pooling down his face in big beads as he grunted and hoisted Jade up higher in his arms when she began to slip.
“I’ve got her,” Airk finally offered, his arms held out. Jade knew that Airk never trained very much, preferring to chase girls rather than learn to defend himself. He wasn’t as strong as Boorman by any means but he would do just long enough to give him a break.
Her brother predictably didn’t last as long as Boorman, struggling under the weight of Jade as he started to struggle to gasp in air. His knees shook with every step that he took and he was leaning against the wall far too much.
“I’ve got her,” Boorman tried to tell Airk but his arms shook when he reached out.
“I’ve got her,” Kit butt into the conversation. They turned to look at her and Kit knew that they thought she couldn’t do it. But they still loaded Jade onto her back to make it easier for her to carry.
Kit and Jade had roughed around plenty during their training and it wasn’t uncommon for piggyback rides back to the castle to be a good incentive for the winner. Jade would end up carrying Kit more often than not but Kit remembered the days when she would carry Jade for a duration of most of the way, unused to carrying large amounts of weight. It would still end with Jade carrying her the rest of the way, laughing about how they needed to get her stronger.
Kit gritted her teeth and thought of the days when she was training with Jade, pretending that she was merely carrying her friend back to the castle after a long day of training. Her calves started to burn only a few dozen steps up and she started to get exhausted not long after that. Sweat poured off of her face and rolled down her neck to soak into her shirt under her armor, uncomfortably chafing with each movement.
“I can see the top!” Elora called out from her spot in front of them.
Kit focused on trying to count each step to take her mind off of her muscles that were screaming at her for a break, using the sound of Jade’s shallow breathing in her ear as an incentive to keep going. Jade had gotten stabbed for her, Kit could at least carry her in return.
Boorman took back over a few dozen feet from the top. Kit nearly toppled over in relief and had to rely on her brother to keep tugging her up the steps. The group nearly collapsed with exhaustion when they reached the top, laying on the ground as they struggled to catch their breath.
They started a small camp and Elora erected a fire to cook up some of their dwindling supply of rations. Kit helped prop Jade up so that they could trickle some of the broth into Jade’s mouth to keep her strength up.
“We have to keep moving,” Kit told the group when they wanted to settle down for the night.
“Nobody is going to be able to help Jade if we’re all too exhausted to move her,” Boorman told her and Kit refused to acknowledge her aching bones. “She’s strong and stubborn, she’ll be okay.”
Jade struck a fever in the middle of the night. She was mumbling incoherently, occasionally calling out for Kit as Willow told them that she had an infection.
The group packed up earlier than planned and Boorman once again scooped Jade up.
Hours later they came across the silt sleigh that they abandoned before jumping off the edge of the world. Kenneth wasn’t there to pull it anymore but it contained some of the supplies that they couldn’t take with them. Jade now had access to blankets and some more food.
Willow sat with Jade in the sleigh while the rest of them pushed it across the Shattered Sea. Pushing the sleigh was slightly easier than carrying Jade, especially with Boorman, Airk, and Elora’s help.
Kit could have collapsed in relief when Kenneth suddenly showed back up, eager to help them once again. Graydon freeing him had gotten them good faith with the creature. Kit was so happy to be able to sit with Jade once again.
“Kit…” Jade whined out, half-lidded eyes seeking her out. Her cheeks were flushed a rosy red, eyes glassy as she patted the spot next to her.
“I’m here, Jade,” Kit took the hand that was wandering to search for her.
Jade let out something that sounded like a sigh of relief. “It’s cold…” She mumbled.
Willow had instructed them to strip down Jade as much as they could earlier to give her a better chance to fight the fever before she got too hot.
“I know,” Kit cupped one side of Jade’s face, feeling the boiling skin under her touch. “You’ve got a fever.”
“Do not,” Jade breathed out, leaning into Kit’s hand.
Kit let out a soft laugh at Jade’s stubbornness. “You do, darling.” The pet name slipped out before she could think better of it.
Jade gave her the soft dopey grin that Kit adored. “Maybe a little…” she conceded.
Kit couldn’t help but notice that Jade was shivering furiously, sweating out the fever coursing through her. She slowly shuffled down until she could lay next to Jade, the other girl immediately trying to curl into her. Kit had to press a hand against her chest to keep her still. “Settle down.”
Jade let out a soft sigh of contentment as Kit curled closer around her. “You’re warm.”
“I try,” Kit let out a soft laugh, brushing a strand of frizzy red hair out of Jade’s face. “We’ll get you patched up, don’t you worry.”
“I’m not,” Jade hummed, her eyes sliding closed once again as she soaked up the touch that Kit offered her. “Not when I’m with you.”
Kit finally slept, curled around Jade with a hand resting on her chest so that she could feel the rise and fall with each breath she took, a reassurance that Jade would make it through.