Knockin' on Heaven's Door (FINISHED)

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik stumbled through the forest in a feverish haze, doing his best to ignore the voices in his mind as he tried his best to make his way through to Titania's palace. His horse had finally collapsed a day...or was it two days...or was it a day...he wasn't quite sure but his horse had collapsed some time ago a few miles from the entrance to the forest, and in all honesty he was amazed (or would have been if he could focus on something that wasn't his slowly dying body) that Desertfury had managed to serve him so long as he did. But it seemed a sign that the horse that had carried him so long and so far had finally died as it's master seemed about to follow suit.

You trusted her... a single voice, one that both was and wasn't his own, said in his mind easily drowning out everything else that was going on.

_"Titania..." he called, his hoarse voice barely audible even in the quiet forest.

"You trusted that little bitch and tried to help her...[/i]

"Titania..." he called again, a little louder but still ineffective.

And at her first opportunity to run back to daddy and get back on his good side she slit your throat...

"Titania..!"

Oh yes the little bitch had you fooled, just like I told you...[/i]

"Titania.!!"

You should have killed her in the beginning LIKE I TOLD YOU!

"Titania!!!"

You constantly seek for me but you're too damned COWARDLY TO LISTEN!!!!![/i]

That did it, it pushed him to the point he just wanted to drown it out and he did.

"TITANIA!!!!!!!!!!!" he roared, his voice echoing throughout the forest before he collapsed to the ground coughing up blood.

...Well maybe he overdid it with that last call...

[titania]

Titania had no idea what was going on. She was relaxing quietly in her palace when it hit her like it hit Obi-Wan after the destruction of Alderaan. The trees were sad, were grieving for a lost soul, collapsed in the forest, calling her name.

Quickly she emerged from her bed an put on a quick set of clothing. After, she was out the window, flying as fast as her fairy wings could take her, the win and the trees her guide.

She was not prepared for what she found laying in the forest. A collapsed body, blood spilling from his mouth. Initially she flinched and looked away, but inside she knew she had to help this person. Wait a minute, no...

"Merik?" was all she could muster before getting close, seeing the blood made her a bit queasy, but her hands began to glow a bright white, giving him all of the healing power she could muster. It wasn't going to instantly fix him, but it would stabilize him for now, until she could get him to the palace for real medical attention.

[Merik Dragmire]

A lot of the wracking pain subsided as Merik felt the white magic flow into him and the coughing fit passed soon after. He tried to stand and found that it was too much of an effort for the moment, so spitting out the last of the blood in his mouth and doing his best to wipe the remnants from his face he turned to look at her.

"Oh good...I got the right forest this time...you'd be surprised how rude the other forests were...not even kind enough to point me in the right direction..." he said with a faint chuckle before he realized that chuckling hurt too.

He tried again to stand but found that just sitting worked out a lot better and he decided to stick with that.

"Seriously though...I am very glad you found me...I didn't think I was able to shout loud enough...but I suppose I can still do that just fine..." he said before looking at the small pool of blood that had been his payment for the louder call. "Well more or less fine...

[titania]

Titania tried to chuckle, but it sounded so faked. She was worried sick about his condition, he looked like he just got smashed by stampeding boars.

"Then it's lucky that the forest still speaks to me" she managed to joke after a bit of worried retching at the bloodstains on the ground.

After watching him try and fail to stand, she decided trying to get him back to the palace now might not work so well.

"Sit, rest, and try to recover your strength. Now what happened? Why do you come to this forest barely able to speak and why do you come alone? Last I checked you had a traveling companion." She didn't have a clue how bad of an idea it was to bring up Nairore at this time.

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik nodded weakly as he sat there trying to stay balanced. Wondering about the best way to go over the events that had occurred since he and Nairore had left here a few weeks ago.

"We left here and set off for Castle Town. She wanted to talk with Zenethil about things, afterwards we were going to head off for the desert." he paused to take in a few labored breaths, at least that part of the story was easy enough.

"We got to Castle Town and we separated for a while. We were staying at her home... I was in disguise of course... I woke up on the day she was expecting to talk with Zenethil and as the day went by nothing had really happened. In the afternoon I looked out the window and saw them fighting." And here was the part where it started to get bad...and by bad it began to piss him off.

"She took a hell of a beating and her sword wound up exploding... I jumped down to help her... I helped her off the ground and the bitch took a piece of her damned sword and slit my throat..." he lifted his head a little so she could see the burns along his throat. "I burned my throat shut to buy some time... rode my horse to death from Castle Town... I knew you'd be the only one that had a chance of helping me..."

[titania]

Titania listened as he recounted the tale of action and betrayal. Of how he was brutally suckerpunched by his own apprentice and her broken sword assassination attempt. Of how he had to cauterize his own wound just to make sure he didn't bleed out as fast. If anyone was a trooper and a die-hard, it was Merik Dragmire.

"Well, Zenethil's probably going to be hunting for you. I'm gonna take you back to the palace to see if we can't do something about these injuries. Hopefully big Z will think twice before bringing a regiment of knights into the sacred grove, at least I hope. If he knows where you're with me I wouldn't be surprised if he razes half of the forest looking for you." The scenario actually frightened her, not because of what it was, but how likely it was that Zenethil would do something like that. All her work to make the sacred grove a peaceful and welcoming sanctuary could be ruined in one fell swoop because she tried to help someone.

"Whenever you're ready we should head to the palace. I'm taking a big risk taking you in but I'm not about to sit here and not treat an injured man." She held out a gloved hand to him, fully aware this whole outfit may need a good wash if any of Merik's wounds decided to bleed on her.

[Merik Dragmire]

"It might not help his eagerness to hunt me down that I set his stable on fire but it should slow him down and I stabbed Nairore...I think she might be the only one in Zenethil's little war group that knew we had a relationship...and more likely he'll head for the desert first..." Merik said as he took her hand and tried to stand without dragging Titania down (as he outweighed her by quite a large margin).

Using a tree for help offset the weight issue he slowly rose and worked to find his balance.

"I know I put you in a tough spot...but you're the only one I trust enough to keep me alive...and I cannot understate how much I appreciate this..."

[titania]

Titania did everything she could to help brace him and get him up and standing, but her lacking size and strength didn't help against his massive frame.

"That might have been a little much, but I guess when you've just taken a blade in the throat you're not exactly thinking clearly. You might want to keep that part out of the report should you make one." He really didn't have to tell her that. It was kind of...gruesome. She didn't handle gruesome well.

"It can't be helped. I treat injuries in the grove, we are a sanctuary of peace and healing, and I intend to keep it that way." Besides, no one else was going to help a wanted man, much less the reviled Gerudo King. But someone had to look beyond that. And that person was the fairy queen herself.

"Take it slow, even with my white magic, it's gonna be a long time before you're back to your regular self."

[Merik Dragmire]

The attack on Nairore and the torching of Zenethil's property wasn't part of the plan but Merik had been fully focused when he performed the acts, not that he'd share that fact with Titania. He needed a little extra time and the burning stable would provide that; the way things had been going he didn't expect anyone to stop for Nairore's sake and somehow that made him feel a little better.

"Who's going to believe a report I write anyway? Zelda is most likely going to side with her precious Knights... even with the fact that I was attacked first in that damned exchange."

Once he felt he was steady enough he started moving forward with her assistance. One foot in front of the other in front of the other...good so far, haven't collapsed and no explosion of burning agony.

"Well she had better die then... if the Knights do manage to catch up with me... I'd like to be in a condition where I can send a good dozen of them ahead of me to clear the path to warm, sandy paradise..."

She'll betray you just like the other one...she'll wait until you're unconscious and summon the Hylians...and I'll just have to mark you off as another one of my failed servants... That voice again, the King had thought he had just been imagining it earlier but now he was starting to think otherwise.

_{"Shut up...this is a case where I know what's best...and you're wrong about this..."}[/sub] he growled under his breath, in too much of a haze to really consider the fact that he was arguing with someone who wasn't there.

[titania]

Titania looked at him, shaking her head and covering her mouth with her finger, indicating quiet.

"The less you speak, the better you'll feel. Besides, I'm not really interested in trying to take sides, the less I know the better. At least when Zenethil comes barging in with a full regiment of men and women I can claim a relative level of ignorance." She helped him take steps forward, making sure his center of gravity was stable. It was a tough task. He was big, she was small, it didn't help with trying to balance him.

He muttered something under his breath that she didn't quite get. "You ok there?" She wasn't sure if she was supposed to have caught that. Perhaps it was a note for later, thinking aloud so he wouldn't forget.

[Merik Dragmire]

"Simply telling some... rather rude people to leave me alone..." Merik responded with a smirk before complying with her wish and falling into silence.

They continued along the way in silence with him only pausing their journey occasionally to take a quick breather against a tree (and to give Titania a slight break from carrying him around) and regain his equilibrium. It was during one of the breaks that he broke the silence between them.

"If you do get word of any Knights... near the forest just tell me and I'll be... I'll be gone before they can get near enough to cause any trouble..." he turned away from her and spat some blood a distance away before they began moving again. "Sorry about that...I gotta tell you... I don't care for this being... mostly helpless thing... it's just not right..."

[titania]

Titania had to stretch her arms out so they didn't become too sore. Carrying any amount of Merik's weight was tiring, though he seemed to slowly be regaining his strength.

"Don't worry about the knights. I'm not letting anything outside the grove taint the beauty inside of it. If any of them show up and you're still here they'll just have to come back later. Or follow you out, there's really only so much I can do. Much like my hospitality to you, I'm hospitable to any others who show up without any malicious intentions." It would be funny to have Merik and Zenethil occupying adjacent guest rooms. Hopefully no one was stupid enough to try that though, goddess knows Titania wouldn't.

"Don't worry about being helpless. It happens when you're seriously injured. I just don't want you moving around too much while you're recovering. Truth be told, the faster you recover, the faster things in the grove will return to a relative state of normalcy." Having the Gerudo King in the palace, undisguised and badly injured, may, just may, cause an uproar.

[Merik Dragmire]

"I really hope they don't make the mistake of waiting for me to leave out the front door... that'd have just been a waste of your time and effort if they manage to find and kill me and otherwise... well it'd just be dumb if I went out the obvious path..." Merik said, laughing quietly, and shaking his head to refocus himself.

Though he was moving a bit more surely, the effort behind it was taxing him greatly, and though he'd never admit it he couldn't wait for an opportunity to lie down and rest.

"Just because it happens... doesn't mean I have to like it... but the pain is nice at times... helps me remember I haven't burned out just yet..." he said with a hidden smirk as they continued along before adding. "When have things ever... been normal around us? I can give you... a relative status but our normal... has always been pretty crazy..."

His talking subsided into coughs as his 'nice' pain decided to do its job and remind him of his continued existence.

[titania]

"I think your enemies know you'll make some big grandiose escape. Just don't burn down anything on your way out." She chuckled softly, slowly getting back to a relatively relaxed state as the two of them approached the border to the sacred grove.

"Let's get you in bed before you collapse. I can't carry you. Besides, at least once we're in the palace you can lean against the walls for support." As she approached the border, the guards nodded and let her pass, though they couldn't help but look bewildered at a hurt man who closely resembled the Gerudo King, but knowing this was a sanctuary, did not object since he was very clearly injured.

"As for our past, we won't discuss it just yet. Let's make sure you're recovering first." She wanted to mention how he left last time without saying goodbye, as well as mention her suspicions about him and Nairore, but it would be better served for another time, once he had relaxed more. They entered the walls of the palace and she tried to get him braced against the wall. Hopefully the wall could hold him better than she could.

[Merik Dragmire]

"Kind of defeats the purpose of... starting a fire to slow someone down if said person... isn't even chasing you in the first place... so I think the forest will be safe..." Merik said as they finally broke from the forest into the Sacred Grove. "Oh good... I was starting to think... I wasn't the only one lost in here..."

Once they were inside the palace he did take immediate advantage of the walls to remove some of the weight from Titania. Moving through the hallways he did his best to keep from bleeding on anything that appeared valuable...or anything that shouldn't have blood on it.

"Bed already...? C'mon nurse I can go... at least another hundred miles..." he said with laugh before stumbling a little bit and catching himself again. "Well maybe fifty more miles..."

As he was quickly finding himself able to recognize parts of the palace he began to relax a little in the knowledge that he was almost to the destination he had strived so hard to reach.

"Uh oh...I recognize those words...I am in trouble and you're gonna wait for... me to heal up a bit to lay a little... beating of your own on me..." it was said a little jokingly but he could pick up that she wasn't exactly the happiest she had ever been with him.