Rue - excerpt

The moon was a shadowed thing, much like a mouse creeping out from behind cloudy walls. The faint light illuminated the area nonetheless, frosting the dead branches of trees that reached their arms to the distant sky and highlighting each curling tendril of mist. Every piece of bloodied armour and weaponry stood out sharply, shining in the light that fell on the clearing. Rue's breath blew out in a cold cloud in front of her face as she trudged across the muddy ground, carefully picking her way among the dead.
The battle had ended a while ago before sundown and she was sure that if there were any survivors, they would be dead from the cold that had descended on them so suddenly. There would be no one near to help them, the closest village was a day's walk away.
This had been an ambush by the looks of it. She was sure there would be no one left to disturb her as she made her rounds on the battlefield. As she passed every soldier, she held her hand palm down over their face. A white vapour that was no part of the mist tugged away from each body and slithered up her hand, disappearing as they touched her, just as if they had been absorbed into her skin. She moved methodically, from one body to the next, crouching carefully in her dress and cloak so as not to step on any of the corpses. She would not dishonour them.
The faces of the dead intrigued her. Their expressions of pain, of surprise, of joy even. They were all so unique. So unlike her. She did not know how to mimic those expressions. There was nobody to teach her. Her face, she had been told, was beautiful, in a way that marble statues were beautiful. Cold, dead, unfeeling, emotionless.
She had taken a hundred souls before the slight noise alerted her. Someone was not quite dead yet. She moved quickly despite the heavy velvet gown that tangled around her legs. The source of the sound was shrouded in thick mist, as if hiding the person from her. The sound came again. A moan of pain that died out quickly. She was sure it was human. It had to be. She moved quicker as the moan changed into a deep groan of pain. The mist parted before her in soft clouds as her breath hissed out with cold.
The sound had stopped. Had he died? She hadn't felt him dying. She jerked and stopped in surprise as something wrapped itself around her ankle and held fast. A hand gripped her ankle, a strong squarish hand, marked with calluses and smeared with blood. Her gaze traveled upward to the mail clad shoulder and the pale neck and finally to his face.
His head was bare, tousled waves of dark hair tumbling to the ground, free of the leather thong she knew most of the soldiers wore to keep their hair out of the way. The silver grey eyes were bright, feverish but still alert enough. "Who are you?" his cracked whisper came from between pale lips. Rue stared at him, contemplating her reply. Her black eyes were thoughtful as she took stock of his injuries and the pain in his eyes when he shifted. An arrow through the side perhaps? Or a knife wound? Gently she pried  his hand from her ankle and knelt next to him. His eyes widened, in fear and then in shock when she reached for his side where a wound bled freely, staining the muddy ground with steaming blood. He grunted in pain as he tried to move further away. "My name is Rue." she replied simply before placing a hand over his bloodied side where the armour was pierced through with a crossbow bolt. He winced and made to move her hand but she clung on. The white vapour she had been collecting flowed out, curling and coalescing into a sort of pad that settled into his wound. A harsh cough exploded from him as his body jerked in response to her power. Blood splattered Rue's ivory hair and stained the white lace at the cuffs of her burgundy velvet dress. His injuries were quite sever but the wound was knitting itself now. He would live. She sat back on her heels and waited as the boy, no, man shifted uncomfortably under her gaze and also from the effects of the healing.
She knew it was dangerous to heal someone like him, particularly since he could attack her when he was able to move again, she calculated the risks and steadied her heart. It was no matter, he was injured and he needed healing. Besides, it was only him. A single mortal. Even then, Rue was not used to being seen. A niggling feeling of unease settled into her spine and made her shiver under her heavy cloak.
The man must have seen her reaction. His eyes, now cleared of their unnatural brightness were keen and he seemed to realize that she meant no harm. He glanced at her, taking in the velvet dress and heavy black cloak pinned at her neck with the brooch with its circle of bones engraved in silver, the ivory white hair and onyx eyes. "Milady Death." he whispered "I mean you no harm."
Rue turned her black eyes on him again and cocked her head to one side like a bird considering a bread crumb. "I am Rue and as much as I appreciate your words, I doubt you would be able to harm me in the state you're in." she replied with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Rue," he slowly raised himself up on his elbows, his eye never leaving her face "I did not know that Death had a name. Nor did I realize that it was a lady who claimed us when we died." he smiled grimly.

~Rei Shiori