Pure Imagination

Death, she thought, was a welcome thing. She was floating, neither here nor there really. Her body seemed so much lighter. She was staring up at an endless darkness, that filled every corner of her mind, and the space around her. Saturn blinked slowly, then brought a hand up to look at it. She admired the way her once perfectly manicured nails now seemed to be permanently etched with her own blood. She vaguely recalled seeing it when she had discovered she had been shot...with an arrow of all things. She timidly felt her shoulder, and winced. It was tender. 'Figures' she thought absently. Suddenly, she tilted her head, listening. Voices...she could hear voices. Distant ones....she strained to hear what they said....she HAD to hear...

"This would NOT have happened if we had merely set a guard on her like I first stated!"
"Braxton, we can not treat her as a prisoner...she has free roam...and Ramzy found her...."
"Yes...and she got SHOT in the process...SHOT Akil...how are we to explain this to her people should she ever return to them?"
"...."
"Exactly! We do not need another country proclaiming war upon us...they already refuse to help.."
"But we know they are helping the enemy Braxton....of course they would not help us...and Lady Saturn says LA is a nice place...they would never..."
"Lady Saturn can not be trusted with what she says anymore..she tells me she will keep out of trouble...she allows a dragon to kidnap her....she tells me she will be right back he merely need to borrow her....she gets ambushed and almost killed!"
"One would think you are in love with her Braxton.."
"!!!!!!!!"

Saturn couldn't help but chuckle to herself then groan as the sound caused her shoulder to throb angrily. 'Wait...Im..in pain...pain doesn't exists in death...so I must be merely...'

"Shush you two...she is waking up..."
"We can see that!!"
"Braxton....hush...Saturn....Saturn, open your eyes...it is Ok...you are safe now".

She squinted, feeling the darkness begin to fade, and blinking when a fresh flood of light begin to replace it. She took a pained breathe then another. Slowly, she opened her eyes, blinking slowly to clear the last of the darkness. The light retreated, revealing the eager blue eyes of Harmon. She struggled to make his face stop moving, hen finally had to close her eyes and re open them. "H...harmon..." Her voice sounded like a frog. He raised a hand to stroke her face, but was roughly shoved aside and Braxtons dark features took his place. He was frowning heavily. She sheepishly looked away, but squeaked when he grabbed her face and forced her to look at him again. "You will never...EVER...do that to me again!" he told her thickly. "I thought you had died!" She could see the fury in his gaze, but behind it a pain. He had been...worried? She shifted. "Im...oh!" He had suddenly scooped her up in a hug, being careful not to bump her shoulder, which she suddenly realized was bandaged.. The thick cloth wove around her chest as well as her shoulder, sand she secretly wondered which of the three had undressed her to do so. "Braxton..." Akil's voice was dry. "We must go...there is a meeting.." The centaur shot his companions a dirty look, but it softened when he turned his gaze back to her. "I will return..you are not to get up from this bed..." She started to nod and lay back when a thought occurred to her. "Ramzy....how..." Braxton stroked her brow. "He will live...he is being kept in the kinds personal stables...you may visit with him when you are better..." He gave her one last, firm 'stay' look, then followed Harmon out of the room. Saturn could feel her eyes beginning to get heavy. Akil watched her from the door for a moment, then walked out after his friends. Saturn stifled a yawn and sighed. When she closed her eyes, she felt the thick blanket of sleep overtake her instantly. She would not awake for a few hours to come.

The war meeting had been brief. The fact that their enemies had snuck across the boarder undetected and had gotten so close had disturbed the royal family immensely. Braxton only partially listened to everything that was being said. His thoughts kept drifting back to the young woman now passed out in his bed. Her own room was still being cleaned up after his last search, and he felt compelled to have her as close as possible. They had set up a comfortable pallet for her to sleep on, and he had every intentions of joining her as soon as possible.

Once the meeting had been concluded, with the notice that more groups would be sent out to patrol the boarders more completely, The dark haired centaur had made a hasty retreat back to his bedroom. He felt fortunate enough to not have met anyone along the way, and promptly slid into his room, closing the door quietly. He turned to peer at Saturn's sleeping form, only to find she was up and staring at him intently. "Ah...My Lady Saturn..you are...ah..awake". She nodded slowly, clearly still half asleep. "What time is it", she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes in a manner that made Braxtons heart skip a beat. She was, for lack of better wording, adorable. "Prithy, tis half past 11 my lady. You should still be asleep." She yawned and he was forced to stifle a groan. "But Im hungry..." He blinked. "H...hungry?" She nodded, blinking at him slowly. "Yes...I have not technically eaten since yesterday morning". He quickly snapped out of his thoughts. "Of course...you must be starving...I will have something sent up..." He bowed and retreated from the room to find a servant. Saturn took the moment to go to the bathroom. She spotted her reflection in a black mirror Braxton kept on the wall and made a face. "God...its tequila sunrise..." Bruises spread from beneath her bandages, and she was sure the wound was even worse looking. She finished up, and returned to her make shift bed just as Braxton returned, carrying a tray laden with food. She smiled gratefully, and examined what appeared to be some sort of turkey leg. She picked at it lightly and he frowned. "Is it not to your liking?" She smiled faintly up at him. "Oh no...it is..its just...iv never had room service before..." He tilted his head. "Room service?" She nodded. "Yea..having it brought to me". He smiled, suddenly understanding. "I see.."

She finished a fair portion of what had been brought to her, and lay back, content and feeling stuffed. Braxton had watched her eat with wide eyes, awed at how much her tiny frame had managed to put away. She glanced shyly at him, and he coughed, suddenly embarrassed. "Forgive me Saturn, I was just...I mean...I have never seen...a woman eat so...heartily before". She chuckled and closed her eyes. "I don't usually eat that much". He shifted, having lain down beside her midway through her meal. She toyed with the necklace at her neck for a minute, unsure of what to say. "My Lady?" SHe looked up at him. "Hmm?" "Forgive me if I seem so blunt but....you are not truly from around here are you?" She smiled and shook her head. "No...Im not...apparently I was..summoned...to help with this war..." She shifted, resting her head against his side. He seemed to enjoy the contact. "By the witch?" he asked softly. "She nodded, closing her eyes again.

She was tired. "Yea....at least thats what she said.." He grunted. "I suppose I should believe you...Matilda may be a bit off, but she has always been justified in what she does...." He looked down at her. "Where will you go when you have finished here?" She smiled faintly, eyes still closed. "Africa..." He tilted his head. "Africa, My lady?" She nodded, feeling herself start to drift off. "Yea...I hear they have wild horses there...with stripes...and some that look like donkeys with stripes....and giant lizards called dragons..." She yawned, this time not bothering to keep it in. Braxton smoothed her hair down absent mindedly, trying to imagine a striped horse. "Africa...perhaps I will go to..." Saturn made a soft sound in her sleep, and he shifted so that he was laying down completely. "Striped Horses...amazing..."