( 9 )
C H E L L

When Chell stirred, the first thing that she heard was the sound of running water. Slowly, she opened her eyes and sat up, squinting through the striking light. When her vision steadied a few seconds later, she found herself blinking in the middle of an unfamiliar place.

A few ways in front from where she sat, a wide river extended and gurgled peacefully underneath a massive arched structure overhead, which served as both a means of shade and protection. A bricked bridge, she thought. Layers of moss crawled underneath it, clinging to its walls and further dampening the air. Around her, ankle-length blades of grass served as a temporary bed. The place held a distinct smell of earth and rubble. Groggily, Chell blinked again, confusion clouding her head for a moment, unsure of what she was doing there. Then, a moment passed and she finally remembered where she was currently at. The Kingdom of Uldard.

Chell gazed at the running water as memories of what happened yesterday flashed through her mind—the thief, the cell, the burning, the running, the fight, the escape. As she did this, the witch noticed that a dirtied and torn blanket had been draped over her when she had fallen asleep. Chell stared at it, surprised in spite of herself. There could only be one person who could have done this... Noct.

Chell turned her head to the spot a few ways beside her, abruptly remembering about him. She had expected to see the thief lying there, fast asleep and recovering from the grave wounds that had threatened to take his life just mere hours ago. However, what she saw instead was an empty space of ground, the bent grass being the only sign that anyone had been lying on there before. She looked around and searched for him, thinking that he might have possibly strayed away. However, after examining her surroundings, Noct was nowhere to be found. Instead, the only thing that Chell found was her familiar satchel placed beside her, untouched.

For a moment, the witch stared at it, wondering at the back of her mind if he had left her. Then, she realized that he most likely had.

At the thought of this, Chell slowly raised her bare hands in front of her, studying them in silence. She had forgotten to wrap them up in bandages after everything that had happened. That was extremely careless and foolish of her. Normally, she would never forget to do such a critical thing. She imagined what the dead would say if they had still been there. Careful, our snow. You must never forget that important task.

Chell blinked. She closed them tightly, feeling her nails dig into her palms. Of course the thief would have left. After all, they were neither friends nor acquaintances, or even anything, for that matter. They were simply strangers who met by a series of misfortunate chance. It was all just a coincidence that both of them happened to be involved with each other. Chell recalled how Noct had accused her for everything that had happened, and how she knew that he was partly right. From the beginning, she had been the one who involved him in such a dangerous situation. The witch hunters had only been targeting her. After the deadly wounds he had acquired yesterday, how near to death he had been if Chell hadn't arrived in time, it was easily understandable that Noct would want to cut ties with Chell once everything was over. It was not as if there was anything else they needed to do.

However some part of Chell had wanted to let him stay even for a short while, to have enough time to say a proper goodbye and a thank you, unlike his sudden disappearance. Although he might have deceived her and even perhaps tried to kill her, he had still come back to help, despite everything. He had been the first person in a long while that Chell had decided to place her trust in. The first person in a very long time that she could somehow feel at ease with. The first person, since her waking two years ago, that she could actually... grasp.

A strange sense of loss came over Chell, quiet and gripping. The emotion surprised her. She had never expected herself to be this attached to anyone she had only met just yesterday. No, she had not even expected that she could still be able to feel this kind of emotion towards anyone at all.

"—Oh, you're awake."

At the sound of that clear, familiar voice, Chell immediately turned around, unable to believe it. Her eyes slightly widened in surprise as she recognized the person who was steadily approaching her from the mouth of the bridge, illuminated by the morning sunlight. In his arms he was holding up two slices of bread, a small jar, and brown cloaks. Noct.

Chell was startled beyond words, not expecting to see him again after all the reasons she had listed in her head. For a few moments, the witch could do nothing but watch him as he walked over. His eyebrows were raised in a curious look, most likely confused of her reaction. But Chell did not divert her eyes. A sense of relief flooded her.

The thief looked better than before. Yesterday, when she had found and saved him from the witch hunter, Chell was almost certain that Noct was not going to survive and live through nightfall. She thought that she had arrived too late. The thief had already lost a lot of blood and had broken more than a few of his bones, leaving him weak and feeble. The worst wound that he had, however, was from the side of his body near his stomach, where an arrow was protruding from his flesh. He already had been on the verge of death because of that wound, even if Worick hadn't tried to kill him. No human could have survived that long. Yet somehow, miraculously, Noct had managed.

Now, only a few hours later, he seemed to have already recovered his health with the help of Chell's healing spell. His face held more color, though still ashen. Most of the cuts he had acquired were already gone. If it were not for the slight limp he took with each step towards his injured side and the bags underneath his eyes, no one could have guessed what he had just went through. Chell noticed that he had also changed his clothes, replacing his torn and bloody shirt with a new one of the same design. The crimson scarf was still slung around his neck, however.

The thief stopped in front of her and offered one of the crusted bread he was holding, gesturing for her to take it. He shrugged. "I went to get us breakfast and spare clothes," he explained.

Chell looked at his face, then at the food held in his hand. Slowly, she reached out and took it from his grasp, making sure not to make any direct contact. After she did, Noct bent down and placed the jar that contained water by her side, simultaneously taking a bite of his own bread. Then, he proceeded to hand her the cloak he held next, which she also took, albeit reluctantly. A look of slight surprise passed on her face.

"If it tastes bad, it's not my fault. This was the cheapest I could find," he said, referring to the bread. "And I went back to one of my... ah, secret bases to get this cloak. I figured you'd need it to cover yourself if you don't want to be spotted when you moved around."

Chell shook her head, squeezing the food in her hand and sitting down properly. She was already grateful enough. After a slight pause, she found her voice and spoke quietly. "But you... your wounds...."

In that moment, he straightened up, patting his knees and offering a grin at her. It was the same grin he had showed before Chell had known his true personality, the false look of a kind, helpful person. However, something told her that this one was different. It looked genuine.

"My wounds?" he asked. "They're already mostly healed now. I hardly even feel anything. I actually recover very fast from any wound. It's of my gods-given talents, you could say."

Chell looked at him in silence. Then, she gave a small nod. The thief took another chunk of his food as he quietly moved to the wall of the bridge away from her, leaning himself gently on the damp moss. Then he looked at Chell with his pale eyes, taking out the bread in his mouth to speak.

"I... took a look around while you were asleep. The entire kingdom is talking about what happened yesterday. Worick and the other hunters' bodies haven't been found yet, but rumors have already spread around that you killed them in secret and buried their bodies in only-the-gods-know-where. Actually, the rumors also said you killed lots of innocent people in the square, which sounds pretty dramatic. Right now, half of the soldiers in Uldard are looking for us. Or more specifically, they're looking for you." He paused, taking another bite back into his bread and chewing it silently. Chell realized she had not eaten her own share yet and did the same, mimicking his movements by nibbling her own. When the thief gulped it down, he continued on.

"For now, we're still safe," he said. "This is a forgotten part of the kingdom, and the only people who ever come to these parts are the homeless ones from the slums. I don't think they'd recognize us yet. I think. But I still feel that it's safer if we can leave as quickly as we can..."

He left the words to hang in the air, as if he wasn't quite sure what to say next. Silence descended for a few moments, before Noct finally gave a small sigh, looking up to meet her gaze. Chell was startled, but didn't turn away. He seemed to be on the verge of saying something and was contemplating about it.

"Look. I gave it some thought today...," he finally decided to say. "And for my gratitude... I've decided to show it by taking you anywhere you want to. You came here for something, didn't you? Tell me the place you want to go to, and I'll show you the way. I know the easiest and safest hidden routes of Uldard at the back of my mind," he offered, giving a small nod. "This time, I'll make sure not to mislead you or anything. I swear on the gods."

Chell stared at him and remained in her usual silence. The sound of the running water interrupted over the quietness between them. They heard the chirping of birds somewhere above their heads, loud and clear. There were no sound of echoing hooves or loud footsteps. It almost seemed like they were in a different place.

She thought about what he had said. His help meant only one thing. Once the terms of the offer was met, that would be the time when they would finally part their ways. Once that would happen, Chell knew from experience that the chances of meeting him again, even in the kingdom of Uldard, were extremely slim. Most likely, they never would again.

She allowed that fact to settle over. She looked down at her hands again, bare and pale. Then, quite so suddenly, Chell remembered the memory of the masked boy that she had encountered from yesterday. The dead one that had shown her the way to Noct in time. She remembered the words he had told her, saying that the reason why they—the dead, that is—had led her to Uldard in the first place was all because of Noct.

She blinked. How could she had forgotten something so important like that? Perhaps this was the reason why she had seemed to trust him so easily. The reason why he made her feel at ease. The dead must have known this was going to happen. They had seen it in their visions. They must have thought that Chell and Noct's meeting was essential, even to the point where they had to lead her to Uldard and put her life in danger.

Chell remembered the face that the masked boy had given her when he told her to take care of herself. The look of knowing in his eyes, suggesting that he knew something she hadn't. The final grin he had left before subtly disappearing from her sight as quick as he appeared. It was as if he was saying that it was Chell's own decision to make. To either choose to let the thief leave or stay. She could almost even imagine to hear their cold whispers in her ear.

It's your choice, our Snow.

After a second, she finally made her decision.

"... Noct," Chell called out his name aloud for the first time.

The moment he had heard her, she noticed the thief's eyes widen in surprise, a baffled look was written on his face. She decided to ignore this, pressing on. Slowly, Chell moved to stand up, swaying. She gathered her strength and planted her feet firmly on the ground. Chell faced him with a look of determination, the same kind of look that she had worn she offered the truce. She bore into his pale eyes. Then, finally mustering up enough of her will to utter a single proposal, she said her next words in a very, very quiet voice.

"... Make a deal with me."

----> thank you for reading!

Q:

What do you think of Noct's sudden kindness?