Macha's Journey

Ha.s.sanatou lifted her head. Her voice sounded hoa.r.s.e when she called to Tyr, "Finished. I put her to sleep for a few days so her body has time to recuperate. She should be back to normal after she wakes up." Ha.s.sanatou rose from the ground and Mathis carried Macha over to Tyr.

Tyr held her tenderly, the dread he had disappeared after hearing that she would be back to normal. "Thank you," he croaked while giving Macha a tight squeeze. He turned around to ascend the steps, but Mathis stopped him.

Although he and Ha.s.sanatou were able to save her, there were other underlying problems with her health. "Tyr, make sure she gets enough nutrition. She hasn"t been eating right and her body isn"t doing well. It could be stress induced, but I just thought you should know."

Mathis a.s.sumed by the way Tyr worried about Macha that the two made up. He did not understand why they fought in the first place, but that was Tyr"s problem, not his. He just wanted to give his professional advice. Despite their disagreement, it was still important for her to eat properly.

Tyr nodded and thanked Mathis. He knew Macha"s stress or lack of nutrition was his fault. He made his way up the stairs and opened his apartment. Someone fixed the window and cleared the gla.s.s off the floor. When he looked around, he saw a dead bouquet of gardenias on the kitchen counter.

He took Macha back to his room and drew a bath for her. She used her ear-cuff use for the day, so he needed to wash the dried blood off of her normally.

While the water filled the tub, Tyr studied her face because Mathis warned him of her being malnourished. Her cheeks appeared gaunt and her hair had lost its beautiful sheen. He held Macha"s hand, "Forgive me," he whispered.

Aži entered the apartment through the window earlier and now observed Tyr as he sat on the bed, holding Macha. The last time Aži saw her was when she fainted and Tyr rushed away with her. She looked better now, but he worried because she did not wake up yet.

Seeing that his wyvern flicked his tail anxiously, Tyr explained, "Mathis and Ha.s.sanatou said she"ll be fine. She"s just going to be asleep for a few days."

This eased Aži"s worries, so he went to lap up some water from the running faucet in the bathroom. Both of those healers were the best in the guild, so if they said she would be fine, he believed it.

When the water filled the tub, Aži called from the bathroom and Tyr rushed to check on it. He added the lavender soap that Macha used and made sure the water was not too hot. While he washed her, he noticed that she lost some of her muscle ma.s.s. It was not a lot, but he spent many nights admiring her figure since they returned from Jimbaran, and he could feel a slight difference.

After he bathed and brushed Macha"s hair, he laid her down on the bed. A knock sounded on the door and he pulled the blankets over her before moving to answer the door. Before he was able to open the front door, Krystof and Luna walked in.

They heard Macha had been hurt badly and wanted to check up on her. Luna ran up to Tyr, distress written across her face, "Where is she? Is she all right?" Krystof came and held Luna"s shoulders, trying to calm her.

Luna was upset because she spent all of her time trying to locate Macha. Despite her efforts, she could not find any information on where her friend disappeared to. Krystof found Tyr, but she had not fulfilled her task. That fact bothered her and she knew if Macha had been home, then she would have been safe.

Tyr nodded his head in the direction of the bedroom. "Ha.s.sanatou made it so Macha will sleep for a few days, but Mathis said she"s malnourished. I can tell she lost some weight." Tyr stopped Luna from going into the bedroom. His voice was protective, "Let her rest. I"ll let you know when she wakes."

Luna turned on her brother, "Tyr, you should have trusted her." She looked at a wall, wanting to say more, but Krystof squeezed her shoulder. She knew her brother would feel guilty and came back because he cares. When she turned to leave, she added, "I hope you two can patch things up."

Krystof nodded to Tyr before leaving, "Take care, yeah? Ya need to be rested too."

Freyr had requested help from the guild to aid with the kingdom defenses, but Luna did not bother telling her brother. She wanted him to take care of Macha while the rest of them went out to help. Another reason she did not want Tyr to join in the fight was that she worried he would be too distracted and careless.

****

Meanwhile, in Sector 13, a small group of mages gathered in a room. They had prepped the sigil on the ground and had to cast the magic now. Bright lights flashed, and they worked for many hours, laying spell upon spell.

They were glad that the spy was able to create a distraction for them. There would have been no way for them to work without being noticed unless Ma.r.s.eille was being attacked. Right now, people were focused on defending the city from the monsters who wanted to overrun it. Bright flashes of magic were everywhere and their small task was the last thing on everyone"s minds.

The Queen would be pleased to hear that the mission was a success. This sigil would allow them to transport information instantaneously back to Phocée.

****

A few days pa.s.sed and Tyr prepared everything he could think of that would make Macha happy. He ordered new gardenias for the kitchen and bedroom; he got her a few new songs for the music player, and he practiced cooking a meal that would go well with the Pan Tao wine she enjoyed drinking.

Tyr had never cooked something so difficult before and he hired a professional chef to come in and make a recipe for him. Then had the chef show him exactly what needed to be done. The process was easy to understand, but he wanted everything to be perfect. Every detail needed to reflect his feelings for her and there was no room for error.

One afternoon, as Tyr lay beside Macha, he noticed her begin to stir. Seeing movement from her made him ecstatic, and he grew nervous. He quickly ran his fingers through his hair and straightened his clothes.

Her eyes fluttered open and Macha looked around the room. Tyr had been taking care of some paperwork in bed so he quickly put the papers on the nightstand and rolled over. "Macha, how do you feel?" his voice trembled, worried that she would get up to walk away from him.

Macha stared at Tyr. Everything that happened weeks ago seemed like a nightmare. She turned her head to look at the bathroom. She realized she needed to use the restroom badly, so she got out of bed and rushed to relieve herself. She spent that time trying to figure out what to say to him.

Tyr"s heart sank when Macha got up without a word. When she closed the door to the bathroom, he felt like she closed the door to her heart. He sat on her side of the bed, waiting for her to come out. While he sat there, he cherished the warmth from her body that lingered on the mattress. Minutes pa.s.sed, and he heard her start the shower. Wanting to be helpful, he got her a change of clothes and tossed them on the bathroom counter.

Macha watched the bathroom door open and worried Tyr would enter. Instead, a new set of clothes were tossed onto the counter and the door closed again. It was common for them to shower together, so she exhaled with relief when he did not enter. While showering, she tried to think of a way to leave the apartment with her dignity intact. She did not want to cry or make a scene in front of Tyr.

After finishing her shower, she changed her clothes and took a deep breath before opening the door. As soon as the door opened, she saw Tyr sitting on the bed staring straight at her. He looked tense and seemed like he wanted to say something to her. Macha rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh... I"m not sure what happened, but I a.s.sume you helped me. Thanks." She paused and quickly added, "I better be going. You can throw the rest of my things away."

Macha moved to leave but Tyr got up to grab her hand. "Macha," his clear voice cut the tension in the room, "I need to talk with you. Please, let me make you dinner." He expected her to agree because she normally listened to him. He gave her hand a slight squeeze as an added effort to coax her into staying.

Although Macha wanted to stay and talk with Tyr, she did not want to disillusion herself. She understood he did not feel the same as she did. Her eyes watered and she pulled her hand away. The touch of his hand holding hers burned her with resentment. If he did not reciprocate her feelings, she did not want him to touch her. She coughed to clear her throat, "I don"t think that"s a good idea. I need time to get over my feelings. Sorry, I misunderstood what we had." Macha rushed to the front door and turned the handle.

Tyr took long strides to beat her to the door. He put his hand on the door so she would not be able to open it. He couldn"t let Macha leave without telling her that he loved her. Her near death made him realize that they could die at any moment and he would have regrets if she did not know his true feelings.

"Macha, please. I was wrong. I"m sorry," his voice held more emotion than he meant it to. While she was asleep, he tried to work out a way to remain composed while convincing her to stay, but nothing was working out how he expected it to. "I realize I have no right to ask you to stay when I walked out on you." Tyr bent down on one knee, "Since I have no right to ask, I"m begging you to stay. Please?"

Macha"s eyes widened. She would never have expected Tyr to beg anyone for anything. His green eyes glistened as they searched her eyes for mercy. Seeing him like this was unnatural, he was the Captain of the guild and always had such a cool masculine demeanor. "Fine. Get up off your knee. You"re making me feel bad." She shifted her weight uncomfortably.

The uncertainty of what he wanted to talk to her about left her anxious. He had apologized, which seemed like a good sign, but Macha still worried that she misunderstood. When she confessed her feelings to him, she believed he cared for her, but he had turned his back on her.

Thinking back on that day made her frown and want to cry. Instead of showing Tyr her pain, she spun around and moved to sit on the sofa. Macha did not understand what happened that day, but she did not care. That whole day was terrible, and she wanted to push it out of her mind. She cursed herself for even remembering it. It was a day that she swore to leave in the past.