Bly {Part 3}

"His story was sad, and I was amazed by how strong he stayed. Constantly with a smile on his face, and a cheerful word to us.  Captain Bolivar was an amazing person, and I found myself admiring him. He rather reminded me of a cross between my two brothers, Lithonien and Thalion.  Without his help, I'm quite sure our flight would have been made a good deal more complicated".

The fire had burned low, and Bly awoke. They had stopped for the night at the edge of the Tawarthion Forest.  With a shiver she sat up, and looked around at her traveling companions. Adonis was curled up in a dragon like position, but his face was troubled, as if he was having dreams he would rather not have.  Nairi was sleeping, her sword held close and tight, and a frown was on her face as well.
"Does so much misery trouble you two?" Bly whispered softly.
Xander shifted, and she turned to look at him.  He sat with his back against a tree, and his red sword laid across his lap. His hands were clenched on the sheath until his knuckles were white.
It was an interesting sword, red from the handle to the tip, and a sheath of black with red swirls painted down it.  It certainly didn't seem to be any ordinary weapon, she would have to ask him about it.
One of the horses stomped their hoofs and snorted nervously, no doubt being so near Tawarthion had them disturbed.  She herself had difficulty sleeping with the aurora of danger.  She decided to go comfort the animals, and stood up, shaking her long, dirty skirt out.  'I'm going to have to do something about this dress.  Why do Elven ambassadors have to wear white?' she stepped behind the bushes were Xander had tied Ciar and Rudy.  And she frowned at what she saw, both horses had been left in full saddle and gear.
"Now, thats hardly a way to treat you two" She began unbuckling Rudy's tack "After carrying us through the city, and aiding us, its the least we can do to give you proper rest when-" she stopped talking when she saw the long, jagged scars on Rudy's side. Tears came to her eyes as she laid a hand on the markings, "Surely, surely Captain Bolivar wouldn't treat you thus, it, it just doesn't fit what he would do. Abusing an animal he cares so much for, no. Surely not" Rudy shuddered as her hand gently traced the ugly scars. Suddenly, a pulse seemed to overcome her, and she felt dizzy. She leaned up against Rudy, and shook her head. "What, what just..." she shook her head again. She hadn't gotten much sleep lately, maybe this was just one of the side affects.
Bly moved on to Ciar, who had even more dress on then Rudy.  Aside from the saddle, and normal tackle, she wore an extravagant headpiece that covered her brow, and sported detailed stitching and two tassels.  "I will have to speak to Captain Bolivar about your scars, and how he kept you in the...the-" as she removed Ciar's headpeice, her heart stilled.
"Thats, not, possible. It, it cant be...I'm, I'm tired, and...seeing, things" Bly reached up, and touched the circular scar under Ciar's long forelocks.  It was hard, like a smoothed bone, and perfectly circular.
Her breathing quickened, "No...it...surely not..." she rushed back to Rudy's side, and looked at his scars.
With a cry, she covered her mouth, every inch of her was shaking.
Abusing an animal was one thing, but what had been done to Ciar and Rudy was...unspeakable.
Pure white anger filled her, and she clenched her hands.
"How dare you, Captian Bolivar, how dare you defile them like this"
She stormed over to him, and with stregnth she didn't know she had, jerked him to his feet.
"Wake up, Xander. You man of no conscience"
Adonis and Nairi woke up, "Hey, what's going on?" Nairi asked. And Adonis laughed at the sight of Bly holding Xander's throat and lifting him above her as if he weighed nothing.
"Tell them, Captain Bolivar. Tell them what those animals are. How dare you" Bly said through clenched teeth. Xander tried to loosen her grip on his neck, but it was useless. Realization dawned in his eyes, "Ciar and...and Rudy, you mean?"
Bly slammed him against a tree, "You have had part in harming two of the three sacred species" she slammed him up against the tree again. "And you dare rescue an Elf? Why not crop my hair? Why not shorn my ears off? Why not leave me to Felix's torture? What made me different?!"
Xander gasped for breath, and Bly heard Adonis and Nairi both shouting her name and saying something, but she blocked their voices out.
"Unicorns! Pegasus's! Dragons! All creatures that must not be harmed! Yet, I find Ciar's horn to be shorn off, and Rudy's wings clipped! Explain these actions to me, Captain Xander Bolivar!"
Xander gripped her wrist, and gasped again, "If...you...I...breath..." she realized she was choking him, and loosened her grasp enough to let him breathe. "Explain" she growled.
"I, I, For all things Precious! I didn't do it Bly!!" he shouted at her.
A wave of exhaustion came over her, and she felt the burning anger slowly ebb away.
She set Xander back on his feet, and leaned against the tree for support.
With the exhaustion, came grief. She slid to the ground, and covered her face with her hands, and wept.
Everyone else was quiet, but she felt Xander's hand on her shoulder, "Bly, you didn't know, it wasn't your fault"
Bly looked up, to Adonis, whose face was a mixture of relief, pride, and surprise in turn. Nairi, who looked purely terrified, to Xander, who knelt beside her. She shook her head, and wiped a tear away. "I am sorry, Xander. I couldn't help myself, I wasn't able to think rationally. But, that's not why I'm crying" she glanced over to where she could see the horses, for without their horn and wings, that's what they were, and began to cry again.
Xander shifted uncomfortably, obviously not used to seeing a woman cry, and she felt him pull her into a hug. "I know. It grieved, and still grieves, me too". She looked up, tears still in her eyes, "How? How did it happen? Who did it?"
Xander sighed, "I don't know. We, Greven and I, found them outside of Aragathia one morning. Rudy's side was still bleeding, and Ciar's stub was still wet. Neither one of us had no idea who could've done that, especially since their numbers are dwindling" Xander looked truly grieved, "They were both just Foals. And Rudy was so full of fire, it took us the whole of an hour to convinced him we weren't going to harm him or Ciar" Bly shook her head, "Remarkable, normally, an injured Pegasus or Unicorn never trust again"
Xander nodded, and continued, "He was dropping blood everywhere, another hour, and he would have died. Thankfully, Greven's mother was a herbist, and he knew which plants would stop bleeding. We wrapped him up in my coat, and he followed my like a puppy ever since"
There was a silence, and Adonis spoke up, "Wouldn't it solve a lot of problems if you had just told her what they were?"
Xander shrugged, and stood up, offering his hand to Bly. "Most likely. But she had just lost a close friend, and had been imprisoned, I didn't think she needed the added stress of knowing what Ciar and Rudy were"
Adonis shrugged, "Well, I'd do anything to keep unneeded disputes down". That earned him an elbowing from Nairi, "Look, the fool speaks".
He cast her a glare, "Hey shorty, didn't you hear what Bly said? 'Unicorns, pegasus's, and Dragons, all creatures that must not be harmed'. Pushing your luck, are ya?"
"Please, I apologize for my behavior. When Elves get angry, we lose all control" Bly spoke hesitantly, but it broke up the blooming fight between Nairi and Adonis.
Nairi looked at her with huge eyes, "I thought you were going to kill him"
Bly looked down at her feet, "So did I".