Have a Heart

"And no I'm not going away," Daniel added.

Ellona's glare darkened.

Daniel said nothing in reply, but continued to trail behind her. Goddamn it if he wasn't going to prove himself to her.

(skip when ready)

Ellona's demeanor didn't change. If anything her attitude towards the hero got worse. Even though they were chained together again, she acted like he didn't exist.

Daniel sighed as he worked on his meal. When he tried to be blunt, it pissed Ellona off. When he tried to be more tactful, she saw through it and got even more pissed. He needed to find the good middle ground.

Ellona picked at her food purely out of boredom. She barely ate anything anymore. Hell she barely spoke anymore.

He couldn't blame her for being sulky. He was nothing like her former love. They would probably be lucky if they learned to tolerate each other. But he didn't want her vibrant spirit wasting away either. Right then he was just glad that they would be going to sleep soon. Maybe he would think of something in the morning.

Ellona pushed her plate away, done even pretending to eat.

Daniel soon put his own plate aside, having finished most of it.

Ellona glared softly into space. She hated this. She hated that she was getting married in a week. She hated that she was expected to bear a child for this man. But mostly she hated herself for not trying harder to get away.

Daniel laid down on the bed, careful not to yank Ellona down with him. He didn't feel like talking at the moment, and apparently neither did Ellona. It wasn't like their words seem to do much good.

Ellona remained at the edge of the bed. She briefly considered smothering the hero.

Daniel wasn't sure what to say, so he said the first thing that came to mind. "Sorry."

"No you're not." Ellona stated bluntly. It was the first thing she had said to him since the cemetery.

So even that didn't work. Daniel sighed.

Ellona remained were she was. She was starting to think that smothering the hero was a better and better idea.

Daniel fingered at his shackle with irritation. This bonding measure was making things worse, not better.

Finally Ellona laid down with her back to the hero.

Daniel kept his silence, until he was finally able to drift to sleep

-----

He was lying flat on the ground with many stones. He tried to get up, but he couldn't. There was a blade stabbed through his chest, pinning him like an exotic insect in a display box. As if that wasn't insulting enough, it was raining. Hard.

He didn't really care much. He didn't care that he was stuck in place (with a sword, no less), didn't care that his blood was being drained into the soggy ground, didn't care about the rain threatening to drown him, didn't care that these many stones started to look more and more like tombstones, graves with familar names, didn't-

Of course he cared! He really cared! He didn't want to die like this, a half-dead lump of flesh! He writhed against the sword, even as it started to glow and shift to the form of Clarent. Out, he wanted out, he wanted-

Daniel woke up with that horrible choking sensation and thrashing emotions, like he usually did after a bad nightmare or adventure these days. Dammit, when would it stop? He got up to go to the bathroom, forgetting about his metal tether to Ellona.

Ellona woke to a falling sensation a split second before she hit the floor. She let out a small cry, her head bouncing off the cold hard floor.

Daniel jumped at the cry and the thud, hurriedly turning around to see Ellona and the chain. Crap, he had completely forgotten about that. He rushed over to her even as he struggled for breath.

Ellona groaned lightly, rubbing her head. There was already a knot forming.

"You...you alright?" Daniel gasped out, before going into a coughing fit.

"I'm bleeding" Ellona stated emotionlessly as she pulled her hand away, it sticky with her red life force. She pressed her hand against the cut again.

"Shit," Daniel hissed as soon as he was able to speak again, hurrying over to the bathroom to get some bandages. "Shit, shit..."