(Author's Note: Here's the deal y'all, Roman stabbed his way out of the grimm that ate him. And here's what happened next…
Standard disclaimers apply. I own nothing except my own imagination.)
It had been 14 hours since he'd received the distress signal from Neo's scroll, and finally he'd found her. Well, he'd found her scroll, half buried in ash and debris, flashing red in the dark forest. He knew she had to be nearby.
"Neo!" His voice echoed through the trees, and then there was silence. Not even the rustling of leaves as she ran toward him or the sound of her breath as she sighed out in relief. He picked up her scroll and pocketed it. He was about to move on, but then he spotted it, tangled in the branches of a tree, Neo's umbrella.
A feeling of dread rose in his throat, causing Roman to hesitate a moment, before frantically searching the area, terrified that what he was going to find was not his Neo, but her corpse.
He tore through the surrounding area, fear coursing through him, and when he finally saw those first few stands of candy floss hair, he almost didn't want to look any further.
Roman knelt down beside his partner. She was lying on her stomach, her limbs all horribly twisted and mangled from the fall. He placed a hopeful hand on her back. Tears welled up in his eyes as he felt it move up and down with each labored breath. She was alive.
Cautiously, he rolled her over onto her back, straightening her arms and legs as well. She had a long gash across her face that had mostly stopped bleeding, and all of her exposed skin was peppered with minor cuts and scratches and the beginnings of bruises, but nothing that would cause her to bleed out.
"It's okay Neo," he whispered to her, kissing her forehead gently. "I'm here, I've got you. Everything's going to be okay."
He was nervous to move her, but he didn't feel he had a choice. No one in their right mind would send an ambulance to pick up two notorious criminals, and he wasn't too keen on letting Cinder, or anyone else for that matter, know that he and Neo were still alive. For all they knew, she died in the crash and he was eaten by a Grimm. No, they needed to lie low, so he wrapped her in his coat to keep her warm, lifted her off the ground, and started walking, heading back out of the woods. He didn't know where they could go, but they couldn't go home, not anymore.
He walked for hours, clutching Neo's limp body to his chest, the destruction of Beacon behind him. He needed to get them as far away as possible.
"I'll keep you safe, pretty girl. I promise," he whispered to Neo, trying to keep her relatively still as he walked. The sky was starting to get light when he finally found a place for the two of them to rest.
The room was tiny, but it was safe, and built for traveling huntsmen and huntresses, so it was well stocked with food and medical supplies.
Roman laid Neo on the little cot in the corner, and then went straight to the cabinet, pulling out bandages and antiseptic to clean her wounds. He still had no idea what to do about the rest; he was certain that she had some broken bones, and quite possibly some head trauma, but this was the best he could do.
His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp change in Neo's breathing. The slow, difficult, but steady breaths were suddenly replaced by quick, shallow ones, and Roman rushed to her side.
"Hey, shhhh, it's okay Neo," he whispered, relieved that she was awake. Her eyes were wild and full of fear, but she seemed to quickly realize that every movement she made sent waves of intense pain through her entire body.
"Try not to move," he said, "I'm going to do what I can to patch you up."
She breathed out heavily and smiled just a little bit.
"Don't thank me, pretty girl. I'm just happy to see you alive."
Roman worked for hours, cleaning and bandaging her cuts-his heart breaking every time he watched her grimace in pain. Assessing her limbs, it looked as if only her right arm was broken, her left remaining intact. Her legs on the other hand, had not fared as well.
They seemed to have crumpled on impact. Her legs were almost twisted up, both bent in unusual and grotesque angles, especially at the ankles. Roman knew that even if he could have taken her to a real hospital, there was no repairing them.
"Neo," he breathed, trying to find the words to tell her, but she'd slipped back into unconsciousness for the moment. He sighed, beginning to make a splint for her right arm, and wishing things had turned out differently.
The next few days followed a similar pattern. Neo would wake up, terrified and in excruciating pain, and Roman would calm her down. She'd maybe drink some water or eat a bite or two of food, and then she'd be asleep again. At least when she was sleeping, she wasn't in pain...
(Thanks so much for reading, maybe leave a comment if you feel like it? Next chapter will be up soon!
Much Love,
PrettyLittleMonster Xxx)