Zed wondered how Korbin could let Onna die. She should have been protected. They knew assassins from other realms were after her; they had been doing this for months. Why everyone was after her, they didn't know. Haven had just started to question this himself, and her friends knew it was only a matter of time before the demon Lord stepped in.
"I thought she would live OK!" Korbin yelled; he knew he was being accused.
Zed sighed. "We will go and check on Onna; you should take Keely back to her people,"
Zed felt let down by his friend, yet he had let Onna down as well; he was not there to protect her. Everyone who was supposed to protect her didn't, and the person who had protected her had once tried to kill her. Fate could be cruel sometimes.
Korbin left with his head low, feeling defeated and angry. Marley started making her way to the main kingdom while Zed looked up at the tree; the wind had stopped blowing.
"You saw it all, didn't you?" He placed his palm against the tree as he watched its roots suck up her blood like it was thirsty for it.
"Perhaps some of your life went into our lady Onna," Zed said, then let his hand slip from the tree, and he began to walk away to follow after their human friend and her new demon Lord mate.
Haven walked with her in his arms bridal style. She lay lifeless, yet with her life. Even as he entered his castle, it seemed as if he had lost his hearing. Everything seemed slow around him as he carried her to a room and laid her on a bed. Her black hair was dirty; her clothes were dirty; she was dirty, and he was not about to bathe her himself. Soon, two rather healthy ladies filled the hot spring bath with blossoms and oils. The women rolled up their sleeves and returned to the room, ready for their set task given to them by the Lord. Haven stood in the room with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He opened them when the women began to undress the human. He could tell they were nervous around the girl, but they would not defy his orders.
He watched her clothes fall; his eyes ran over her body. One woman held Onna up, ready to take her into the bath. Her body was beaten and torn, and she looked too thin. A normal man would go straight to her breast, but he looked at her ribs, the large open cut from the dagger it was his eyes sought first. The women turned and began to walk into the bathing room with her; Haven followed.
He watched as the women went into the water, with their clothes still on but with Onna naked. The servant maids used sponges to clean her body, the warm water running over every inch. Even with all the oils and flowers, all he could smell was her blood. Everything washed away, but the smell of her blood remained.
They gently washed her hair, and he watched as blood and dirt floated away from her. He watched as they dried her and placed her in a plain white robe. He then had them place her in a large bed. They left in a quiet rush, but he stayed. He didn't know why he was standing there, why he had stayed and watched. He was contemplating her existence and why so many feared her. As he watched her sleep, he found himself wondering what she would do or say when she woke up. It matters not.
Haven walked to the window and stood; he would wait till she woke up and wait and see for himself. He had let her live; why, why had he let her live?
Onna moaned in her sleep, and he caught himself looking at her.
The morning sun would soon rise; Haven walked up to her bed and looked down. "You should wake now," He didn't know why he said it, not as if she was listening to him; even if she was awake, he doubted she would listen to him; she was hard-headed. He knew her friends would be here soon; she had to awaken before that, even if that meant he had to demand it of her. Onna moaned again and again; he looked down at her. She was still in pain.
The sun came through the window; his eyes were still on her. Her face softened, and soon her eyes fluttered open. Her blue eyes froze on his gold ones. It was a frozen moment as they looked at one another. "Lord Haven?" She asked, his name confused on her lips.
"It is I,"
Onna looked to the side, once again showing him the mark he left on her; he didn't take his eyes off it, and she soon looked back at him. "Where are we?" She asked softly,
"Where is Korbin?"
He could not help but get a bit annoyed at the question, yet she must not have known.
"We are in my home, as for my cousin."- He paused; he was not one for starting pointless battles.
"He is with the vampire," It was true, not a lie. Onna looked so confused.
"How, how did I get here?"
Great, now he would have to tell her; he could do that; he was not afraid of a mere human spirit holder, "I carried you."
She was silent for a moment; he could tell she was confused and trying to recall what happened. "You should rise; your friends are coming to retrieve you." Haven turned to walk out of the room,
"Wait," Onna said quickly as she sat up, wincing as she did. Haven stopped but did not turn around,
"What happened? I know something had to happen!" Little by little, it was coming back to her, but not entirely. "What happened to me?"
He was not going to answer that,
"I know not what happened to you, human."
It was not a complete lie; he didn't know how she came to lay dying under that cherry blossom tree; all he knew was how she came to be alive and with him, and she did not ask him of that. Onna blinked and looked down at the sheets; she was clean and in a white robe. She looked back up at Haven, a man who clearly did not like her; she wanted to ask him many things, the things she should ask, things he was waiting for her to ask. But she was afraid to question him. He saw her hesitation and began to walk away. The door closed slowly behind him; she didn't know why, but a tear ran down her face.
Haven left the castle; her friends were coming, and they paused when they reached each other.
"Lord Haven," Zed bowed his head, holding his sword at his side. Even though his mate was a sword maker, the one he carried looked old. Haven had never seen the man use it.
"She is inside," Haven spoke, then walked away; Zed watched as their Lord left, his black hair swaying in the calm wind behind him.
Zed caught up with Marley. "She's in here," Marley had waited for him. He nodded his head, then opened the door and found Onna sitting up in the bed, her feet hanging over her eye turned down to the floor, her bangs covering her face.
"Ahm," Zed made a noise, making Onna look up at him. "Master Zed?" Her eyes then met with his mate. "Marley, you came,"
"How are you feeling?" Marley asked; it took her a moment to answer, "Ok, I guess."
"Are you ready to go?" Zed asked; it was unnerving being here.
Onna slipped off the bed; she had changed into some fresh clothing, some that were left on the bed for her. Haven took this moment to get her out of her human clothing, which was quite revealing. She had worn a simple dress with spaghetti straps and small red flowers all over. She had it paired with a black leather jacket and matching black boots. It was odd and very human. Now she wore black pants, something that resembled what horse jockeys wore, tight against her skin but breathable and molded and bent with her movement; they paired well with her boots. Her top was the same material and red with long sleeves. Thankfully, he left her with her jacket, but it was far too warm with the long sleeves to wear it. Next to the jacket was a vested chest plate, shiny and new; she ran her hands across it.
"Are you going to wear it now?" Marley asked.
Many had told her she should, for her protection of course, but she always refused, but now.....
She sighed and picked it up; it was surprisingly light, but she knew this was made from magic, and they didn't have anything like it in her world. Onna placed it on and snapped it in place. It molded against her body, keeping her chest and torso safe but leaving her arms open for movement.
Onna picked up her jacket and looked up. "I am ready now,"
Zed smiled, and together, they made their way down the vast hallways of Haven's fortress. Using a portal room, Zed dialed in their address, "Ladies first," They portal back to their village right outside Lord Havens's lands.