Bloodshed.

I felt a warm cloth being put on my shoulder. It stung a little, and I cringed at the hot feeling. Inhaling through my teeth, I tried to pry my eyes open. My breath was shallow and quick, and my whole body felt like it weighed a ton. “Wha..” I tried to say, but I was instantly shushed by an unseen person.

“You need to rest again, Master.” I heard Claire’s unmistakable voice. I started becoming conscious of my whereabouts, and I discovered that I was in the same place where I had been knocked out. I was up against the wall, but everything was quiet. No shouting, the clink of swords, howling or moaning. I missed everything. The little war was over. “You were cut real bad, Sir. Blood was pouring from your shoulder, but I fixed it.” she said with a smile. I nodded my head slowly in understanding, my eyes still closed but all my other senses returning to me. I moved uncomfortably, trying to sit up straight instead of leaning against the wall.

I wasn’t all that concerned for my health at this point. I mean, it was just a dream, right? No matter how much pain I felt, it was all in my head. I hoped. Slumping forward, I managed to ask, “What happened?”, in a small, fading voice. I felt Claire sit down beside me.

“The Banshee somehow discovered our secret hideout, and ordered her minions to attack. She was hoping to wipe us all out, I suppose. But we made it through, most of us unscathed.” she explained. I felt her hand rest on my injured shoulder. I winced, my eyes twitching, holding back the tears. “Poor Master…” she added. Yes, poor me. Why was it that I, the great Master, was the only one getting hurt? It seemed unfair to me. I mean, this was my world. Couldn’t it be a little nicer to me? “Willow has run off to fetch the healing herbs from Ivy.” Claire said before standing up again and walking away.

I was alone now. Alone, in my thoughts. Or would that be my thoughts thoughts? This was too confusing. Anyway, I figured that maybe one of the Banshee’s minions had seen me (the Hero, rather) retreat to the castle. Yes, I was already putting all the blame on myself. Hero. Whatever. I finally managed to open my eyes, but to my dismay, couldn’t see all that much anyway. Everything was foggy. I could tell my eyes were glazed over, so I blinked profusely until my vision cleared. I was met by a floor covered in scattered bodies and blood. Yeesh. No matter how sweet these beings seemed, they were truly heartless, eh? It was awful. I felt a little disappointed in myself, for being unconscious for most of the battle. I could’ve done a better job if I wouldn’t have been so apprehensive. Exhaling, I tried my best to stand up. Surprisingly, I was able to bring myself to my feet without much trouble.

“SIR! You should be sitting down!” I heard Willow cry from the other side of the room. Oh, no. Not him. Not yet, anyway.

“Willow, I’m fine. Just gimme the frickin’ herbs.” I said, but he most likely wasn’t paying any attention to me. I looked over to Claire, who was busy talking to the changelings and other imps. Why couldn’t she be my most trusted ally? I was stuck with Short Stuff. I don’t care how cute he was. Cute doesn’t win the war. It’s not a weapon.

He arrived at my feet, accidentally running into me. My legs were very weak, so of course, I just had to fall over. Luckily, though, I fell on my unhurt shoulder. All the same, I groaned ferociously as Willow padded over to my face. “Oops. Willow is sorry.” he said, looking genuinely apologetic. Scratch that. Cuteness could be a weapon.

Smiling a little, I told him it was no big deal. “Now” I began, sitting upright once more, “Could you be so kind as to hand over the magical herbs?” I asked politely. Willow nodded, taking a few of the lush green leaves from the little brown pouch. He handed them to me, and I took them eagerly. See, the way that these herbs work is that it numbs the pain until you can’t feel it anymore. Poke it, you can’t feel it. Burn it, you can’t feel it. Obviously you’ll make it look worse, but you won’t feel it. Unless you don’t eat enough leaves, that is. For my wound, which I took a moment to look at from underneath the still warm cloth, was a gash that was about the size of my fist. Scary, I know. I figured that about 5 would do, which was exactly the amount I held in my hand. I ate them hastily, ignoring the disgusting taste. Swallowing, it was almost instantaneous. I could no longer feel the sting of the exposed flesh. Willow watched me as I flung the cloth from my shoulder. I asked him for some bandages, which he retrieved for me immediately.

“Feeling good, the Master is?” he asked, after I had bandaged the gash as well as I could. I nodded, searching around for my shirt. I was beginning to feel a little cold. “Willow still has questions.” he stated, standing there and watching me. “How come the Master isn’t as nimble on his feet as he was before?”

“Listen here, Stumpy. I did some pretty acrobatic shit back there, so don’t be questioning me, k? I‘m not in the mood.” I told him plainly.

He pondered over that for a moment. “True be that. But you’re attitude isn’t the same-”

“Alright! You caught me!” I shouted, spinning around and leaning over to get in his face. “I’m not your Master. I just look like him. My real name is Felix, and I live in a shitty apartment, writing this story. Yeah, you live in a story world, bro. It all stemmed from a nightmare. So really, you’re a night terror. Somehow, in some sick, twisted way, I was sucked into my own brain, ending up in the fantasy world my mind created. And here I am. There. Ya happy?” I barked into his little black face. I looked up from his big, dark eyes to scope the room. I noticed that we were now the only ones in here. ‘Good’, I figured. “Now where’s my fuckin’ shirt?” I asked.

Willow was quiet. He blinked, and continued to stare at me. “Fe.. Lix?” he said my name in prolonged syllables. “Well… Alright.” he said, defeated. “Your shirt is hanging over the fireplace. Mother Elf washed it, as it was full of blood.” he told me while pointing to the great open fireplace. My face was blank. He just left it at that?!

“Wait, wait - you’re cool with all this?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Willow nodded his little head. “Of course. Even though all of that talk was caused by the after effects of the herbs, I finally know your name. Fe-lix.” he said, saying my name awkwardly, as if his tongue had never felt those syllables before.

My face fell. He didn’t believe me. Whatever. I didn’t need this. I stumbled over to the fireplace, grabbing my shirt and slipping it over my half naked body. That’s when my brain thought up something quick. “Willow?” I said. I saw his face perk up out of the corner of my eye. “This was all a test. I really am your Master. I was just pretending all along. It was to see if you would question my stature if my attitude were to suddenly change. You immediately figured I was either a spy or simply someone else. You failed.” A silly plan, but I’d be sure to get something out of it.

Willow’s little face split in two. He stared at me with a shocked expression, his arms going limp at his sides. “F.. Fa.. Fai.. Failed?” he said, zoned out.

“Although,” I continued, cutting off any further comment from him, “Now that I think about it, it would be the right thing to do. Suspect something is afoot, I mean. You were quick to realize I wasn’t the same, and you were persistent on the issue. Very well done.” I patted him on the head softly, picking him up and holding him in the palms of my hands. “Now, no more questions, alright?” I begged. His face had returned to its usual demeanour, his black eyes sparkling. He nodded, and I set him on my shoulder.

Finally. Some peace.