Afternoon sunlight filtered softly through the curtains of the healing barracks. Joshua lay motionless in bed, wrapped in bandages and casts, his body bearing the brutal aftermath of his battle. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open. Blurred shapes turned to clarity, and the first thing he felt was warmth, a head resting gently on his leg.
Blanchette.
She jolted awake as soon as he moved, blinking rapidly before her face lit up with a radiant mix of joy and relief. Without thinking, she leapt forward and hugged him tightly.
"Joshua! I've been so worried. You were out cold for three days, I thought you wouldn't wake up," she said, her voice trembling as tears welled in her eyes.
Joshua blinked slowly, still disoriented. His thoughts raced as memory returned, Sawyl, the fight, the loss.
"Did they… did they bury James?" he asked, his voice heavy, fragile.
Blanchette's smile faded. She nodded solemnly. "They had his funeral two days ago."
Joshua looked down at himself, his leg encased in a cast, his arm immobilized, and fresh wounds hidden under wrappings.
"How's Sam doing?" he asked, sorrow dripping from every word.
Blanchette's gaze dropped. "She didn't eat for two days. At the funeral, she couldn't stop crying… She's a bit better now, but… she's lost her smile."
Joshua swallowed hard, guilt pressing against his chest. "I can't imagine what she's going through."
Blanchette gently brushed her hand against his, her voice softening. "But how are you doing?"
Outside the door, Merlin stood with her hand on the handle, ready to enter. But hearing Joshua's voice from within, she paused.
"I tried… so hard to save James…" Joshua whispered, his breath shaky. "But I was too weak. Sawyl killed him… right in front of me… I couldn't… do… anything…"
Tears gushed from his eyes, mixing with the mucus on his face as he broke down in uncontrollable sobs. He struggled to wipe his face, but his injuries made even that difficult.
Blanchette wrapped her arms around him again, holding him close as his cries shook the quiet room. Merlin, listening from the other side of the door, silently stepped back and closed it without a sound. As she walked away, tears streamed down her own face.
Joshua cried into Blanchette's shoulder until the sun had long since dipped below the horizon. Exhausted by grief, he eventually drifted off to sleep.
Blanchette gently laid him back against the pillow and rose from her seat, her expression still tender but underneath it, something stirred. As she stepped out into the hallway and softly shut the door, her face twisted into fury.
(So the bastard's name is Sawyl.) she thought, blue light igniting behind her irises.
(I'm going to kill that bastard.)
With a snarl, she drove her fist into the stone wall beside her, creating a crater that cracked and echoed down the corridor.
She stormed to her room, quickly changing out of her dress into her combat attire, her black crop top hoodie, brown cargo pants, and sturdy boots. She strapped her knuckle dusters to her waist, pulled up her hood, and exited.
Down the hall, she reached Merlin's door and knocked.
Merlin opened it, blinking at the sight of her. "Why do you look like that?"
"I heard you mastered teleportation magic. I want you to send me to the Werewolf Kingdom," Blanchette said, her voice flat and eyes glowing a fierce, unnatural blue. "I'm going to find the bastard named Sawyl and I'm going to kill him."
Merlin's eyes widened. (So that's why no one told her the name…)
"I did learn teleportation… and the other witches' magic too. But the Werewolf Kingdom is dangerous. Going alone is suicide. Why not...?"
"No," Blanchette snapped. "They'll only slow me down. If you won't teleport me, I'll go on foot."
Merlin stared at her for a moment, at the rage, the grief, the burning need for justice. Then she nodded, slowly. (If it gets too dangerous… I'll teleport us back out.)
"Okay. Come in."
Blanchette stepped inside. Merlin peered down the hallway to ensure no one saw them before closing the door.
She pulled on her own hood and veil, masking her face, while Blanchette lowered hers to hide the radiant glow of her eyes. Merlin unfurled a map across the table and studied it.
"I need to see where I'm going if I haven't been there before. Where exactly in the Werewolf Kingdom?"
"The Werewolf District," Blanchette said, pointing. "It's similar to the Human District. Fewer guards. We can gather information on Sawyl there."
"At least you thought this through," Merlin muttered, folding the map away.
She placed her fingers to her forehead and her other hand on Blanchette's shoulder. Her eyes began to glow violet, then, in a burst of purple light, they vanished.
They reappeared high on a rooftop in the Werewolf District. The city buzzed below, dimly lit by lanterns. Merlin staggered, breathing heavily as the light faded from her eyes.
"So, what's the plan?" she asked, still catching her breath.
But Blanchette wasn't listening. She was staring down at three Werewolf City Guards below them, laughing and drinking loudly in an alley.
"Blanchette…? You already made up your mi..."
Blanchette was gone. She leapt from the rooftop like a missile.
Her knee collided with one guard's chest, sending him hurtling into a dark alleyway. In the same breath, she seized the other two by their faces and spun with devastating force, slamming them into the alley after their comrade.
Merlin blinked. "...That answers that."
The guards scrambled to their feet, furious.
"Are you dumb or something?!" one snapped.
"Do you even know who you just messed with?!" growled another.
"You just messed with the law! You're going awa..." The third one stopped mid-sentence, his face paling.
From the shadowed alley, a figure stepped forward, her eyes burning like stars, casting blue light through the darkness.
"An… Alpha Werewolf…" one of them choked, stumbling backward.
The other two froze as Blanchette emerged, her knuckle dusters clenched, her glowing eyes fixed on them like a wolf ready to strike.
"Now," she said coldly, "tell me where I can find Sawyl."