Winds of Destiny: Converging ~ {Hawks x OC}

Once Upon A Time...Chapter Four

Misaki walked down the hall leading to Keigo's sleeping chambers the next morning, carrying a tray of breakfast items and first-aid supplies. He had still been fast asleep when she had stopped by his rooms to check in on him after she'd woken up. She hadn't wanted to disturb him, so she'd gone downstairs to make breakfast instead, allowing him to sleep a little longer before she returned to change his bandages. Kisuke and Tsukuyomi had joined her after returning from an early morning hunting trip in the forest. She had offered to make Tsukuyomi's large, feathered companion some breakfast as well, but he had insisted that it preferred whole red apples only. After she'd finished her morning meal, she had headed back upstairs to attend to Keigo. She wasn't quite prepared to find him struggling to sit up in bed when she entered the room, and she quickly set the tray down on the table to the left of the door before rushing over to his side.

"You shouldn't try to move around too much. You'll reopen the wound," she told him as she propped up a few large, fluffy pillows behind his back for him to lean against.

He gazed up at her warily. "Am I dreaming?"

She dropped her eyes to his wound, pulling back the bandages to inspect the healing laceration and pushing lightly around the edges to test the strength of the collagen. "Does it feel like a dream?"

"No, it doesn't," he grimaced, cringing in pain when she pressed on a particularly weak area.

She walked over to the tray she'd left on the table inside the door and brought it over to set it on the bedside table, removing a pair of scissors from the surface and cutting off the rest of his bandages. After cleaning around the wound, she inspected it more closely and commented, "There doesn't appear to be any trace of the poison left. You're actually healing remarkably well, under the circumstances."

"How did I get here?" He asked as she began rebandaging his injury.

"Tsukuyomi brought you back," she answered shortly, keeping her focus squarely on her task.

His concerned voice inquired, "Is he alright?"

She finished tying off his bandages and moved to wash her hands in the water basin to the right of the tray. "He's fine. He and Kisuke are having breakfast in the kitchen as we speak."

Keigo tilted his head a bit to stare into her face as he tentatively asked, "Are you alright?"

She was silent for a long moment, keeping her eyes trained downward as she dried her hands off on the towel in her lap before whispering, "Why didn't you say anything?"

He let out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry. The Land of Dragons is too dangerous for birds to fly into. By the time I was far enough away that I could send a message—"

Misaki lifted her hand, bringing her palm to rest on the middle of his chest directly over his curse mark, and gazed into his eyes imploringly as she cut him off to say, "I'm talking about this, Keigo."

His eyes dropped to where her hand was laying against his chest and widened, surprise quickly flashing across his expression. He lifted his shocked gaze to hers and asked, "How do you know about that?"

"The poison arrow you were shot with was cursed. It worked as a counteragent to the antidote. When I tried to break it," she tapped her fingers against his chest. "This spell activated."

"You're a curse breaker..." He trailed off in apt disbelief.

Pulling her hand back, she dropped her eyes into her lap and nodded. "My mother's line is descendent of The Divine Mage. Divine magic is a natural counter to curse magic. All of the women in my family can use it in some form."