The Vampire & Her Witch
Chapter 381: The Weight of Victory (Part One)

Chapter 381: The Weight of Victory (Part One)

Time passed, though Heila wasn’t entirely sure how much. Everything after she unleashed her killing spell on Ropati felt blurry and indistinct, leaving her unsure what had been a dream and what really happened. She had vague memories of Ashlynn descending directly from High Lady Erna’s private box to the arena below, walking on a stairway made of drifting willow leaves, but perhaps her mind had been playing tricks on her at that point and she’d already lost consciousness.

All she knew was that she’d won, and more importantly, she stopped the men from the Cauldron of Flame before they could unleash any truly devastating magic that threatened the lives of everyone in the arena that night. That realization had been enough for her to slip into a deep slumber filled with hazy, half remembered dreams for the past... well, she wasn’t sure how long had passed.

When her pale, grass-green eyes fluttered open, she found herself lying in an ornate bed that seemed to stretch forever in all directions, its luxurious size making her diminutive form appear even smaller amid the sea of silk sheets and plush pillows. A fire crackled softly in the hearth, its warmth keeping the brisk autumn day at bay while heavy curtains had been drawn tight against the bright midday sun. Near the fire, Ashlynn sat at a small writing desk, her quill moving steadily across several important-looking letters until she noticed Heila stirring.

Heila’s body felt stiff, like she’d been in the oversized bed for more than just eight to ten hours since the conclusion of her battle in the arena and the dry feeling in her throat made it even more apparent that she’d been asleep for quite some time. All of which suggested that this wasn’t the day after her fight in the arena, but, perhaps the day after that? Had she really worn her self out so much that she’d slept an entire day away?

"Good morning," Ashlynn said gently, setting down her pen and leaving the small writing desk in Heila’s chambers to come to her friend’s side. "Here," she said after pouring a small cup of weak herbal tea. "It’s not hot, but it’s one of Amahle’s blends to restore strength after a long rest."

"How long of a rest?" Heila asked after drinking almost the entire cup of tea at once. Now that she was awake, her memories of her final moments in the arena came back in a flood, pulling another, far more pressing question from her lips.

"Those men, the ones Ropati tried to... harvest. Was I able to...?" Heila’s voice trailed off as she couldn’t bring herself to ask the words. In her final moments before she lost consciousness, she’d done her best to ensure that Ropati’s horrific ritual was completely dispersed and that it couldn’t claim the lives of his companions but she had no idea whether or not she’d succeeded.

"They survived," Ashlymm said gently while she refilled Heila’s cup with more tea. "They will never recover what that man took from them, and their lives will be much shorter because of it. They are lucky to have had you for an opponent," Ashlynn added.

Her hands trembled slightly as she set down the pitcher, remembering how she’d found Heila after the battle. Heila lay where she’d collapsed on the arena sands, her face pale as milk while silvery-green energy still flowed from her fingertips as she tried desperately to heal the surviving cultists.

Even at the edge of unconsciousness, Heila continued reaching out with her magic until Ashlynn wrapped her in a tender embrace and smoothly took over Heila’s connection to the wounded men. Restoring what they had lost was impossible, and even if it was possible, Ashlynn had learned how painfully high the price could be for healing truly grevious wounds when she’d been confronted by visions of Ollie losing an arm in the Ancient Willow’s trial.

Now, she was willing to do what was necessary to preserve these men’s lives, since Heila wished to do so, but there were limits to how far she would attempt to go, and it seemed that Heila had yet to learn where those limits lay for her.

"Heila," Ashlynn said in a voice that held firmness she rarely used with her close loved ones. "I don’t mind that you tried to heal them after the battle was ended. You wouldn’t be the woman I know if you hadn’t. But I need you to be more cautious when you do. Ask me for help. Have them brought away to a place where they can be treated and take some time to tend to your own wounds first," she said, taking Heila’s small hand in her own and holding it tight.

"You’ve been asleep for three days because you pushed yourself when you had very little left within you," Ashlynn explained. "I won’t ever tell you not to show mercy, but please, please ask yourself whether or not you can afford to before you do."

For a few moments, Heila said nothing there as she pondered Ashlynn’s words. Part of her wanted to argue. The longer a wound was left to fester, the more difficult it was to heal. Acting immediately might be the only chance she would have. But, Ashlynn was right that she could have asked for help. If she’d turned to her friend and asked that those men’s lives be spared, the result might have been exactly the same.

"I’m sorry," Heila said after thinking for several minutes more. "I, I think I wanted to do it myself... to, to make up for hurting them. If, if they died fighting," she said with tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "That would have been one thing. But what was done to them, that was far too cruel, and if it wasn’t for me interrupting their first ritual then maybe..."

"No, none of that," Ashlynn said. Gently, she pulled back the blankets and slid into bed next to Heila, gathering the diminutive witch into a tender embrace. "You aren’t the one who used that cruel ritual on them, so don’t blame yourself for that. You fought openly in a clear match of strength. That night, you embodied what the people of the High Fen expect a Champion of the Arena to be, so you have nothing to feel shame over, all right?"

For several moments, Ashlynn gazed deeply into Heila’s grass green eyes. She knew that this battle, particularly with Nyrielle’s instruction that she didn’t need to leave these men alive, had been a heavy challenge for the first member of her coven.

Now, as she watched a whirlpool of complex emotions swirling in her younger friend’s eyes, she only hoped that she hadn’t pushed her too far when she stopped High Lady Erna from interfering in the fight. This battle had been a test for Heila in more ways than one, and Ashlynn held her breath as she waited to see if her friend could learn what she needed to. Otherwise, the price of victory would be far, far higher than anything that they had gained from it and Ashlynn would blame herself forever for breaking the heart of her closest friend.

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