Noa heard retreating footsteps, but paid them no heed. Instead she bent over the broken body of her unconscious friend.
Friend... What a feeble word to explain who he was to her. He wasn't merely a friend. He was much more, though Edward had never realized it. Shaking hands turned him over onto his shoulder carefully. She could hardly move, her shirt and coat were soaked in blood from her injury and it felt as if millions of needles pierced her right side.
The gypsy bit back a sob and tried to help Ed, averting her eyes from his wounds. To her blood was filthy, unclean. She had been raised to think this way, but as she let her eyes wander over his chest, she knew it was a petty, pathetic fear. There were more important matters to attend to.
With a shaky breath she lowered her head until she held it above his mouth- ignoring the fact that his cheeks and forehead were damp withblood- and placed two fingers against his neck. She held her breath and listened, but what she heard and felt sent a shiver of panic through her.
His heart was beating much slower than normal, and his breathing was very shallow. She could hardly feel his breath against her cheek. Noa couldn't see where his chest wound was, but it couldn't have been more clear...
Ed was dying.
She needed to get help, for herself and for Ed.
Biting back acry of pain she hoisted him up so that his arm draped around her neck, his weight being supported solely by herself. He was like a ragdoll, and a very heavy one at that! Her legs shook as she rose to her feet, and as she took a step forward- she knew this was not going to be easy.
The tears came freely now, running unchecked down her face. The pain was almost unbearable for her, it felt like her shoulder was on fire. Nobody was here to see her cry, so what did it matter? She even wondered if there were any Gods looking down on this pitiful tradgedy, and whether they cared if either of them died.
Edward made a faint moaning sound, his pain starting to work its way into his unconscious brain. Noa felt his pain ripple through her own mind, his skin in contact with her own making for an unwelcome exchange of emotions. But she refused to block it out, she wanted to share this moment with him. To take away some of his burden.
As a faint light fell across Noa's face, she could not have felt more relieved. And the timing could have not been better, as her legs suddenly gave out at that precise moment, she fell to her knees and gritted her teeth as she rolled Ed down to lie on the icy cobblestones.
She could hardly raise her left arm to knock feebly at the door. Sounds swam in her ears, the clinking of glass and the muffled voices of men talking to one another- but as her knuckles grazed the wood in a series of sharp raps- everything went silent. Then she heard the sound of footsteps and the door opening, shedding a ray of candlelight across her damp face.
"My God!" A woman gasped and threw the door open. Frantically calling to whoever was in the house to come over to her. It was hardly a moment before Noa felt herself being carried into the house. She couldn't help but slump against the chest of the person holding her. That was when she finally gave up trying to stay awake, and slipped off into a fevered sleep. Content in knowing that she had done all she could.
Sorry for the slow update, and thank you so much for the nice reviews everyone!
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