"I said, you're not allowed to talk. This is the Messed Up Families club, and I don't care anymore, anyway. Er, my aunt… she gave me ice cream once. I usually just go outside and read by the well, which is - it was a nice time. My brother used to think faeries lived near wells, but those don't exist in our world," she said with a small laugh.
Aster let out a soft cry of pain as Quinn applied more pressure. Sweat had broken out on his forehead, and his breathing was quick and ragged, eyes flickering with the effort to stay awake.
"But - but my nan thought they did," Charlotte continued quickly. "And I've been wrong about everything so far, so it's probably just that the faeries stay away from me. My nan said I've a tendency to believe the worst, rather than the best, and she was usually right about that sort of thing. And I did believe in the bean sidhe and that sort, so I suppose it makes sense."
Aster took a deep breath, staring at her.
The carriage stopped, and one of the other guards came in, gently pushing Quinn aside. "Your highness, let me handle this." he said, kneeling and starting to check the wound.
Quinn stood to the side, pale, his hands covered in Aster's blood.
Charlotte didn't let go of Aster's hand, but took several shaky breaths, looking at the floorboards.
The guard checked to see if any internal organs had been punctured.
Aster gasped, flinching.
Charlotte winced at the sound and squeezed his hand again. She was trying, and failing, to stop her hands from shaking.
The guard sighed softly. "He's lucky. It didn't hit any organs, just a clean stab." he said. "But we still need to get him to someone who can stop the internal bleeding."
Quinn nodded.
Charlotte looked up and nodded. "And who would that be?" She asked quietly.
"Any good healer should be able to." the guard replied. He stuck his head outside and barked orders at the other two, the carriage rolling into motion again. "I'm second in command, so I'll be in charge while he's incapacitated."
"I meant - alright," Charlotte sighed, looking down again.
The guard sighed. "I'm going to give him some rudimentary stitches to help with the bleeding." He said. "But we need to drain the abdominal cavity first, otherwise…" He trailed off. He gently lifted Aster into a sitting position, pressing on the opposite side of his body to coax out any blood that was still inside.
Aster gave a ragged cry, clamping down on Charlotte's hand with bone cracking strength.
Charlotte yelped before immediately shutting her mouth. She looked up, only to quickly return her gaze to the ground.
Quinn came over, his hands and clothes stained with Aster's blood. Too much of it. How much blood could one man lose before it was too much? "Need me to take over before he breaks your hand?" He asked softly.
Charlotte shook her head firmly, clenching her jaw. "That's fine, thanks," she managed.
Quinn nodded. "Alright. Let me know if you change your mind." He replied softly.
The guard kept working, stitching up the wound now.
Aster flinched, squeezing Charlotte's hand again as another ragged cry tore its way from his mouth.
Charlotte nodded, wincing again slightly and putting her other hand over her mouth.
The guard gently held Aster still as he finished up the stitching, packing clean clothes around the wound and strapping Aster down so he wouldn't move. "Try to make sure he stays as still and flat as possible." He said, standing. "I'm going to see if we can coax any more speed out of these horses." He swung out of the carriage, climbing along it and into the drivers seat.
Quinn wiped his hands on his pants, leaving smears of blood behind.
Charlotte breathed slowly, barely moving. She was having trouble focusing on anything, but had recently realised that her arm was throbbing. Whatever. She'd deal with it later.
The carriage picked up speed.
Quinn sat down to avoid being flung around.
Aster let out another soft cry, a tear slipping down his cheek at the pain.
Charlotte looked up again and quietly said, "deep breaths, Aster." She took a breath of her own.
Aster blinked, trying to do as she said.
Quinn bit his lip, and walked over, crouching and smoothing back some of Aster's hair. "Hey, we're getting you to a healer. Just hang in there, okay?"
Charlotte nodded in agreement before unfocusing again, staring at a spot on the wall. "Just hang on," she whispered softly. She couldn't recall who had said that to her, but she had a vague memory of it.
Aster nodded slowly, chest rising and falling quickly with each breath.
Charlotte blinked several times, refocusing. She briefly looked around before examining the floor. It must have been an interesting floor.