Thankful

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== Full Text ==
Grey Bergman: It was a miracle, but Grey somehow managed to slip away from the rushing around at the camp. They finally gained some respite from the battle, but there was still a lot of work to be done. People needed to rest, to prep their weapons, to come up with new plans, etc. As the second-in-command, she knew she was supposed to be here overseeing it all, but…she couldn’t. She just had to get away from the chaos…after what happened. She looked down on her right arm seeing the faded bite marks, which were healed by Hunter’s magic fortunately, but that’s not what bothered her. Her fingers went to the line on her neck, and somehow that seemed to trigger unwanted memories. The wire…the inability to breathe…the woman’s cruel words…
“Die!”
“You really think they can hear you?”
“You’re going to die alone…”
“Get away from her!”
Her head began to pound as did her heart. Her breathing became very heavy…almost as if she was being strangled again. She began to feel very lightheaded and fell to her knees trying to catch her breath completely unaware of someone approaching her from behind. 
Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: The king jerked forward to catch her, wordlessly spotting Grey as she fell to her knees and making her descent to the ground less painful. He grimaced, belatedly, as he realized that dirtied her shoulders; his hands were, after all, covered completely in grime and filth at this time. 
“Lady Grey,” he said quietly. “Are you well?”
Grey Bergman: She tried so hard to catch her breath as she listened to the voice that sounded so faraway, but she recognized it. “C-Can’t breathe,” she said gasping for air. “She’s…trying…to kill me again. H-Help…” 
Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: By Hel’s long hair strands… the king gently placed his hand on Grey’s back, awkwardly patting and rubbing it and hoping that would soothe rather than instigate more terror. “No, no, you’re perfectly safe, Grey. She’s nowhere to be found, and I am here. Right at your back, okay, Grey?”
Grey Bergman: The Lady slightly jerked at the touch on her back, but the gentleness and the calming voice of the King helped her catch her breath. Her breathing slowly steadied. He was right. She wasn’t here, and he was. She was safe from that horrible woman. Haddock’s last statement even made her think back to their little exchange during battle. 
“Told you I’ve got your back.”
“And I’ve got yours.”
She took one last deep breath, and without looking up at him, she smiled. “Okay,” she said.
Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: “Okay? Good.” The king remained knelt beside her as she continued recovering. “War, it can be very difficult. Never easy, not for any mind or soul… especially not for one so kindhearted as you. This is a place where the worst side of humankind comes to the forefront, in death, cheating, and monstrous acts. Yet… it may also be where the best side as well can be glimpsed, through courage, honor, determination, and the saving of lives. You, Grey, I commend for what you have done so far.
“It is difficult and I understand. Take care of yourself, and I and every other in Hel’s forces will watch you closely. We will be able to make it through this. We all will.”
A lie, but perhaps one needed for the time.
Akkey…. Kiri… already people so dear to us lost.
Grey Bergman: Grey nodded as she listened to the King’s words. “Honestly, sir, when I was being…strangled…I didn’t feel like someone, who should be commended for anything,” she said. “You should’ve seen me. I was crying out..or at least trying to…for Warren…my dragon…even for you. I could’ve tried to fight back, but…I just couldn’t. Someone actually had to rush in to save me. Not to mention, I cried like a baby in front of Hunter. How is that honorable?”
Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: “Grey, you cannot blame yourself for your reaction. Fighting against what you did is difficult for anyone, and what you ‘should have’ done to defend yourself… it is never that easy. Do not speak ill of your reactions anywhere. To cry for a traumatic experience like that is not a bad thing, but emoting for legitimate reasons. In all honesty…” the king huffed a breath “…it is perhaps a better response than being stone cold.
“What you see here,” and Haddock opened his palms, looking at the brown and red stains on them, “are the hands of someone who has perhaps been too cold, too emotionless, in the face of battle. I killed my first men when I was seventeen… and I reacted not to any of it. No sense of nausea. No tears. Just emotional coldness.
“War is terrible. For you to cry… it shows you are better than many of the people in that war, myself included. Perhaps… I admire your tears, for they show a heart of someone far purer than I have ever been.
“And to be saved is not to be weak,” he continued, addressing her later comments. “We all save one another here. Even the most gallant swordsman, the most talented witches, need another to guard their back. There is nothing honorless in what you have done today.”
He stood up, and with a nod and small, small half-smile, said, “May I hope to match half of it.”
Grey Bergman: Grey stood up and stared at the King. She had never seen him smile…even if it was a half-smile…before. She had to admit that it was a nice change. Her mind kept replaying everything he just told her…especially how he murdered at such a young age…seventeen…and yet showed no emotion and how being saved was not weak. Perhaps, he was right. She was still a little embarrassed about calling out to him for help, but…she did feel better. Perhaps, she and others like her could change the outcome of this war. Who knew?
Then her mind wandered back his last statement. “Well, despite your past actions, sir, I think you already have,” she said smiling wider than he did. “I mean, you could’ve left the prisoners of the Grounded Dungeon and just returned home, but you didn’t. You stayed with them to lead them and to help them. You…helped those half-breeds when the whole mess with High Central was going on. You didn’t have to, but you did despite the huge risk. To me…that’s pretty honorable.”
Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: He closed his eyes for a moment, taking in what Grey just said. “Too early to tell,” he said at last. “There is much to do still. Much more I plan to do before I can be satisfied with who I am. I am far too much like my adversaries still.” His hand hovered toward the slavemark but then dropped down. “But it shall change.
“Enough about me, though, Lady. We’ll see to it that you feel well enough. Is that all fair?”
Grey Bergman: “I have no doubt it will,” Grey said still smiling. “And yes, Sir, that is fair. However, I would feel better knowing who saved my life from that woman. I…I remember hearing someone shouting at her to get away from me, but everything…just went black before I could see who it was.”
Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: “I did,” he said quietly, touching her once on the shoulder, then letting his hand drop.
Grey Bergman: Grey furrowed her eyebrows together as she thought back to the voice. 
“Get away from her!”
She stared at the king completely dumbfounded. No wonder the voice sounded so familiar…it was his voice…Hesaved her! One of the people she had called out to actually came to her rescue!
“I…I don’t believe it,” she said. “I-I mean…I’m not saying that I’m doubting that you would. You did say that you had my back too, but…I tried to call for you. But…I couldn’t even scream…and…and you-you were so focused on fighting that…I didn’t think you would notice. I—”
Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: “Hush,” the king said. “I don’t fight for my enemies. It’s for my people. As soon as I saw you I came. There is no need to be shocked of it; I will do it as many times as it takes. Although, Hel willing, we have no more close calls.” He sighed, heart aching for Akkey. “I am glad you are alive.”
Grey Bergman: Grey smiled as tears came to her eyes. “Thank you, Sir,” she said, “and I really do have no doubt that you would help me whenever I need it. It’s just she…that woman…when I tried to call for you and Warren…she told me I was going to…to die alone, and I guess…a small part of me had given up hope of someone helping me.” She sniffled and quickly wiped away her tears. “I owe you my life, Sir. Thank you…very much.”
Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: “People like that will say whatever they desire to be detrimental and dramatic.” The king avoided directly responding to her sincere thanks, though that expression of gratitude did clearly mean something to him. “You’ll never be alone. And as far as owing one’s life to another… I’m pretty sure you spotted my back, more than once. For that maybe I should say thanks.” 
Grey Bergman: “You’re welcome,” she said placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s what a second-in-command does…it’s what a friend does.” 
Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: “Aye.”
Haddock sighed heavily, then, and tried to rub off some of the debris from his hands, as pointless as that action was; he would only be dirtied again once he resumed fighting. “I should return to the lines to fight,” he said. 
Grey Bergman: “Yes, I’m going to do once last check-in on the medical tents,” she said. “Then I’ll join you on the lines.” 
Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: “Stay safe,” Haddock murmured, then determinedly stepped away. 
Grey Bergman: “You as well, sir,” Grey said as she watched him leave.
Category:Events
Category:Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second
Category:Grey Bergman
Category:BOTGD
Category:Season 5