BREAKING FREE CHAPTER 9
Instinct took over once more, her intense need to protect, carved into every fiber of her being, sent her into a sprint straight into the younger woman´s left side, the rush of adrenaline transforming her body into her namesake. Lightning crashed her right shoulder against Vanille´s back, most surely hurting the young Pulsian, but effectively saving her life, as a ghost of a pain ran through the soldier´s continuously abused arm. Kain´s Lance did nothing but brush past the mage´s body, cutting some of the beautiful orange hair, and instead, embedded itself into Lightning´s left upper arm, just to be immediately withdrawn by its skillful owner, tearing apart muscles and vessels, scratching bone surface, and sending up a searing pain that made the soldier collapse against Vanille´s body, as warm blood dampened her left side. A high pitched cry escaped the soldier´s lips as both women fell hard in the ground.
"Light!"
Lightning could hear the young Pulsian´s voice, but it didn´t register completely in her mind. Her senses fell numb once more, but the adrenaline still rushing in her bloodstream sent deafening alarms into her system. Guided by instinct, the soldier rolled off the young mage´s body and kicked Kain´s Lance end aside and away from her body, as it had flown downwards, seeking for their flesh. The hard push made it stab instead the ground next to the strawberry blonde, although the tip of the blade was still able to scratch the soft skin of her abdomen, drawing a trail of blood and coming close to tearing apart the piercing in her navel. The strawberry blonde grunted as she clenched her teeth, in an effort to prevent the cry of pain to form in her lips.
The lance rose again, and the soldier was able to see the devil crimson glint in her partner´s eyes, as Fang readied Kain´s Lance for a third strike.
"Tch…" Lightning´s eyes narrowed, angry at herself and at her dulled reflexes, when suddenly a powerful thunder spell crashed against Fang´s body, rendering her painfully down on her knees.
The soldier jerked her head around, finding Hope´s slim body trembling, but in an attacking stance, his right hand still sparking, and she send him a mouthed 'thank you'.
But the jade eyes weren´t on her, instead they were focused at front, and the soldier saw them opening up like saucers, sheer terror clouding his vision, as the one visage that covered his sight was that of Fang locking ferocious eyes with his, displaying a feral expression on her already tainted features, as her body slowly rose and a menacing growl escaped from her lips.
Hope never knew why he didn´t pee on his pants at that moment. Probably because he knew Lightning was close by, and it would be too shameful for the teen. But that would be the only reason against thousands of ones to wet his pants.
"Hope!"
The memory of their battle against Odin flashed in both their minds, as Lightning shot herself forward, forgetting all the pain, all the exhaustion she felt, as she forced her muscles to their limits. Her body screamed in agony, but she shut it down fiercely, as fear washed over her at the sight of the frightened teen, and now her only drive in life was getting to Hope in time.
But although Fang wasn´t as fast as Lightning, she was still fast enough, and reached the boy a precious second before the soldier did, Kain´s Lance seething for young blood.
Hope opened his eyes even wider if possible, tremors of horror washing over him as he saw the bluish danger coming straight at him, approaching fast and menacingly. But he recognized this feeling, he had felt it before, as the memory of Odin slashing at him assaulted his mind; that time the soldier had been there to protect him, to shield him. But now, as he could see a flash of pink drawing near him, the teen remembered the sprawl of blood that had been drawn from her arms. Twice. He recalled, as well, that, many days ago, even though she had been able to defeat the Eidolon, she had received serious injuries as a result of her effort.
And he understood that, this time, she wouldn´t be able to sustain any more damage before she died. The idea of Lightning dying in front of him, especially if it were to protect him, clenched his gut, and made the teen want to vomit right there if she were to die for him.
That had settled it.
He clenched his teeth as the dangerous blue figure towered over him, and the silver haired teen gathered his wits and forced a protective spell to come to his aid. A second later, his throat would´ve been torn apart; but the spell came just in time, the strength of the shield effectively protecting him. The power of the blow sent him flaying backwards a meter away as Fang´s arms flew above her head, the mighty lance ricocheting against the magical shield, its protection so effective that not even a scratch formed on its surface.
But the murderous intent hadn´t left the warrior at all, and her red eyes met the jade ones, transmitting all the hate and anger Hope had never seen in his short life.
This time, up close, the intensity of her emotions reached him, but what glued him to the ground was the dire color invading the eyes he had seen before, and at that moment it hit him: he knew those weren´t Fang´s eyes. He understood the person in front of him was a complete stranger. He had seen the emerald orbs before, in a close, quite intimate range, he had already witnessed the tenderness and determination carved in them, the affection and care, the cheerfulness and sarcasm… this could not be the same person, and something in his mind stirred, close to reaching into a wild conclusion.
"F-Fang…?"
The lance fell downwards, searching for his body again, but this time it clashed against the dark steel of Omega Weapon, as multiple sparks were born from the shaft.
Lightning had finally arrived.
The power of the strike sent painful shockwaves down her body, but she refused to acknowledge it, her determination born anew, as she met the feral glint with one of her own.
"You won´t have Hope."
The words were whispered, but the full threat reached its target, as the red eyes locked the azure ones, opening wide in surprise.
"Nor any of my friends."
This time, Fang answered with a devilish smirk, and raised Kain´s Lance for a second strike. Lightning readied her weapon, seeking to clash it against the lance´s body, but then a movement on the warrior´s wrist caught her attention. She had seen that movement before.
She knew exactly what it meant.
The moment Kain´s Lance parted in three, the soldier was ready, and with a swift downwards movement, she clashed the body of her gunblade against the lance´s right end, forcing it to miss her chest, and she smirked, feeling a surge of pride at the look of utter astonishment the Gran Pulsian displayed. This obviously had never happened to the tribeswoman before.
Too bad she probably won´t remember any of this, she thought in amusement.
Too elated to feel sad about it, and without losing the inertia, Lightning opened her arm wide, slashing at the left end of the crimson weapon, effectively drawing it away from her body.
But Fang was no amateur at all, and recovered quickly from the surprise, taking advantage of the momentum of the soldier´s right arm, which revealed an opening in her body, and gave it another try at the left side of the Cocoon native.
Lightning saw it coming, and felt ready for it, pushing the gunblade downwards. But the warnings her muscles had been screaming at her before, this time wailed in protest, refusing to obey her command, and she saw she wasn´t going to be able to draw the gunblade in time to deflect the attack, so she used her left, injured arm instead, and grasped the body of the lance as tightly as she could, right below where the blades started, struggling to force them to stop their deadly travel towards her body.
But as fast as she was, she couldn´t be as strong as Fang, not even in her best days, and surely not as injured as she was at the moment, so the blades kept their deadly travel, burning the soldier´s fingers with the friction.
The moment Omega Weapon clashed against the body of the lance, the sharp end of the crimson weapon had already tasted Lightning´s flesh.
The blades embedded themselves into her chest, piercing flesh and bone, injuring her lung and slashing great vessels and bronchi right above her heart. Ironically, the ends of the lance tore apart the developing lines of her brand´s upper border.
Azure orbs opened wide in pain, surprise and horror. She grunted as the cold weapon entered her body, and almost no sound escaped from her lips when she felt the second end tearing apart the flesh of her right torso, slashing liver, diaphragm and lung, making her eyes and teeth clench tightly.
The pain was like she had never known before, it froze her body up, and sealed her lips. Her lungs suddenly seemed empty of air, and she couldn't utter a single word, although she couldn´t know whether it was out of pain or from the skillful injury her friend had inflicted. Or was it rather, her enemy?
Still refusing to think as such about Fang, Lightning looked down to her body, and fear plunged into her, fiercer even than the pain, as she saw in awe and horror both ends embedded deep into her chest. She forced herself to tear her eyes off the frightening sight, prompting herself to look up, when she found hers and Fang´s body enveloped by a purple-pinkish fog.
Azure eyes found themselves locked with deep emerald orbs, which seemed to be full of confusion.
"L-Light?"
In spite of her plight, the strawberry blonde tried to smile, happy for being able to witness that deep color she cherished so much, until she saw those orbs opening wide in surprise, at the same time that she felt something warm enveloping her lower lip.
Fang was completely speechless, intense surge of fear rushing past her, while her eyes followed the trail of blood coming from her partner´s lips and traveled down her neck, her mind desperately struggling to comprehend… until her eyes fell on her friend´s chest, and the sight that met her was so overwhelming, that the warrior almost fell to her knees, if only for the fact she realized that any inch of movement from her, drew a small and wet grunt of pain from the soldier.
The emerald orbs searched for azure ones, terrified, pleading for answers and forgiveness at the same time, until her rational mind finally caught up with her and decided to release her friend from the suffering she must surely was inflicting to the soldier, every time the impaled body fought to breathe in.
With a swift motion, the warrior withdrew both ends, trying to spare her friend from any unnecessary pain, but in spite of her good intentions, she saw the strawberry blonde cry out and collapse against the tanned body, dampening her sari in blood.
The movement hurt like hell, and as her body fell forwards, crashing against her partner´s, Lightning took hold of Fang´s back tightly, fingernails drawing trails of blood over the tanned skin, as the soldier desperately gasped for air, grabbing her friend´s clothes as if for dear life, Omega Weapon forgotten, falling hard against the ground, as the crimson lance did likewise, while its owner held her partner tight against herself, as if, by that action, she could transmit into her the life the soldier was losing with every second.
Kain´s Lance fell loudly, clashing with Omega Weapon one last time.
Ragged breaths were accompanied by bloody coughs as Lightning started to feel numb, breathing coming as a titanic accomplishment; tremors washed over her being while precious body temperature was lost by the second.
Fang delicately followed the soldier´s frame in her travel towards the ground, cradling her, but without relenting at all the tight hold she had on her, and without paying attention to the trails of tears that had started to form on her tanned face.
Sheltered as she was, and as exhaustion finally took complete hold of her, Lightning let go of the iron grip she had Fang under, and azure orbs locked with emerald ones, struggling to convey the reassurance Lightning wasn´t feeling, but that nonetheless she fought to express for her friend´s sake. It tore her apart to see Fang´s desperation printed all over her face.
Neither of them noticed they were being surrounded by the rest of their peers, fear and utter astonishment craved on each one of their chests. Sazh and Snow were completely speechless, exchanging looks, as if trying to find reassurance with one another, but finally finding each other at a loss of words, while Vanille approached Fang from behind, already crying soundlessly, hesitant on whether to interfere.
Hope, on the other hand, remained rooted to the ground, motionless, taking in their dire situation, his hand still ablaze with the Esuna spell he had just learned, and that had released Fang from the curse she was under. A powerful and effective counterspell that, unfortunately for all of them, had arrived a minute too late. Just like last time.
He shook his head, as a clutching pain assaulted his chest. He hadn´t understood what was happening, he didn´t know Fang had been cursed. Etro! If he only knew! He had already learned the counterspell a few days ago! What type of sick joke was being played at him?
The silver locks swayed as the teen shook his head in rage and denial, treacherous tears dampening his cheeks, while his legs prickled with the intense need of running away from all of them, away from such a stupid and painful plight, but a wet sound that sounded somewhat familiar made him look up, and he immediately recognized the struggling voice of his mentor.
"F-Fang… you need… to…" Lightning´s voice seemed hidden under gurgling sounds, and the Pulsian could see the pain that the effort of speaking was causing the strawberry blonde.
"Don´t speak, Sunshine. There´s no need…" the tears flowed like a river now, and Fang noticed they were falling over her friend´s face, but refused to move away from her. Refused to move at all, one arm cradling the soldier´s back, the other tightly grasping the bloodied hand.
"I… need to… tell you…"
"You´ll tell me later. Just don´t speak, you need to save your strength."
"No… time… left… Dysley…" a bloody rant of cough trashed over her, and her breathing became even more ragged, and Lightning found herself desperate for air, for transmitting to her friend the information she knew was of uttermost importance. She was afraid, terrified of her impending death, as breathing became more and more difficult with each passing minute. But she was even more terrified at the idea of dying without fulfilling her purpose. Without saving Serah… she had to tell Fang, she had to…
Fang knew they were losing her. That the soldier was drowning on her own blood, but refused to turn around to ask for Vanille´s help. This wasn´t the first time she had seen someone die over an injury like this, and she knew well there wasn´t anything they could do, l´Cie or not. So she did the only thing she could do. She would remain at her friend´s side, holding her, reassuring her.
She would not let Lightning die alone.
Fang clutched tighter the warm body of her friend, her knuckles almost white in the powerful grip. She sensed someone kneeling in front of them, but refused to acknowledge the person. She was afraid that, if she tore her sight away from Lightning´s face for a split second, that second would take her away.
But the azure eyes did turn to see the one kneeling, and a small, bloodied smile played on her lips, as a gloved hand reached out for her free hand, grasping it tightly.
"Here, Sis. Take it. This time Serah will take care of you."
A small whimper escaped from Vanille´s lips as she understood Snow´s intentions. Lightning held tightly her sister´s crystallized tear, thanking the tall blond with the eyes, and closing them while Snow bent further, placing a soft kiss over her forehead, just barely a brush of his lips, and after that, he caressed the strawberry locks, so tenderly, that Fang felt she would choke out of pain.
"Such a sweet, bonding time." A loathed voice followed by a contemptible chuckle reached their ears, as Barthandelus, in his form of Primarch, appeared in front of them, a mocking and disdainful smile plastered on his features. "But time has arrived for you to lose the battle, Sergeant Farron."
All eyes turned to meet him, full of hatred and fury. A growl emerged from the depth of Fang´s throat, and her muscles tensed, radiating anger all over, an overwhelming feeling that could be perceived in the air. She longed so much for this man´s –no, this fal´Cie´s death…
Vanille wrapped her arms around Fang´s torso, naively hopping she could prevent any movement from her adoptive sister, but Fang´s growl was forming already, vibrating through her chest, her body tensed almost painfully, as her eyes conveyed the same hatred and bloodlust her countenance had displayed while under the damnable curse.
But right when she was about to scream, loosing herself in the hatred, going all berserk, a bloody hand snatched her necklace, pulling her down, hard, forcing her to meet azure, desperate orbs.
"Don´t… go…" Lightning struggled for breath, fighting intensely to utter the words, while the blood chocked her, drowned her. "Stay… with me…" but her eyes weren´t pleading, quite on the contrary. They were ablaze, seemingly angry, issuing through them an order that her lips could barely express, the depth of her stare so alive Fang felt close to smirking, if it weren´t for the fact her friend was dying in her arms. So strong. So determined. Her willpower still intact in spite of everything. Her eyes bore holes into Fang´s soul. "Don´t… fall…"
Lightning´s words were confusing, and for everyone to hear, she looked as if begging, but Fang knew better. She knew that her partner wasn´t pleading her to stay with her because she was afraid of being alone, the proud soldier wasn´t begging the warrior not to abandon her.
She was forcing Fang to avoid the bait she was surely falling under. With her remaining seconds of life, the soldier was protecting the one meant to become Ragnarok. She was protecting the warrior against her dark destiny.
Her hatred melted under the stare, and Fang stifled another cry, as she felt her body trembling, not knowing whether for Vanille´s own tremors or because her own body was shaking. Maybe for both.
"You! Bastard…!" But Snow was out of Lightning´s reach, his eyes eerily focused on the treacherous Primarch, so he ran towards Dysley, longing for another strike at him, but he crashed once more against the strong shield that protected the fal´Cie, and the NORA leader fell as the loathed laughter invaded all their senses.
Sazh ran to help Snow get on his feet, as Dysley hovered above them, and disappeared, followed by his metallic laughter, and while he was gone, his voice still resonated in the air.
"I´ll meet you at Oerba, if you still want to have a taste of me, young l´Cie."
Many sets of eyes remained focused on the place where his body had disappeared, but immediately turned around, seeking for the dying figure on Fang´s arms.
Snow approached the prone frame, and knelt the closest to the two fighters, muttering soothing words at Lightning, lulling her into sleep, as his enormous palm softly stroke the strawberry locks, a tender movement that any person would find so uncharacteristic of such hands… but that was quite characteristic of the tall man.
"Don´t worry, Sis. Save your strength. We´ll be here to protect you while you recover." He sniffed, tears already forming on his blue eyes, as a smirk faintly formed in the woman´s lips. The tall blond understood he had been caught up in the lie, and gave her a sad smile in return. "Sorry…"
The soldier smiled a bit, thankful for his effort, and impressed by the calmness that washed over her as a response of his voice. She didn´t know if it was for Serah´s influence, but knowing that such a loving and caring man would be there for her sister, would do anything for her baby sister, had an incredible soothing effect over the eldest Farron. As a soldier, she wasn´t afraid of dying, her only fear was of leaving Serah alone. But as Snow´s deep voice vibrated through her being, her body relaxed into Fang´s arms, now confident that her sister would be in good hands.
She closed her eyes and sighed, as the pain eased away and was replaced with an intense cold. Coldness she could manage perfectly.
She tried to speak, to thank Snow for being there for both of them, for all of them, but another rant of bloody coughs trashed over her body, and she trembled, as Fang shushed her and rocked them both back and forth, as if she were a little child.
Sazh knelt close by, his eyes trained on the dying soldier, completely silent, but with one reassuring hand tightly grasping Vanille´s closest arm, as the girl was breaking down on top of Fang´s back, convulsing violently out of crying.
The group of l´Cie remained close to their leader, some crying silently, some of them rather soundly, but all of them determined on staying with her until the very end of her life.
All of them but Hope, whose eyes seemed trained on the spot the fal´Cie had abandoned. He could felt hapless, as an intense pain and intense loathe for himself surged from deep within. It could only be his fault for being always late.
The dire idea of him knowing what to do, but doing it too late, was still eating at his soul. The last two times he had arrived late, had ended up with a seriously injured Lightning. And this last time could mean a dead Lightning, meaning as well, that the treacherous fal´Cie would win. The idea was still too terrible to assimilate, too loathsome to accept.
He clenched his teeth, fighting back tears, but losing the battle, as his eyes traveled back over the prone figure on the Pulsian´s arms, and a tremor ran down his body when he saw the way his mentor seemed to be frazzled, suffocating on blood, her voice drowned in gurgling sounds. He saw Vanille hugging Fang tightly from the back, as the tribeswoman held the shaking body, with Sazh and Snow knelt over, but without any of them doing anything to save her.
Won´t they help her? Will they let her die like that?
He knew the answer. Neither of the Pulsian´s knew any magic that would save her. Not that level of magic. There was no power in the whole world that would save his mentor now.
Or…
Was it?
He clenched his teeth. The teen had been working on his magic relentlessly the last couple of days, after their arrival on Gran Pulse, more specifically after his confrontation against his Eidolon. Sazh´s and Lightning´s words had found their way into his heart, making it race in excitement and pride. It had been a test, and he had passed it to its fullest. And now, the towering Alexander, the biggest of all the Eidolon´s (even bigger than Fang´s and Lightning´s, he had thought gleefully) was his. Knowing such strength was hidden inside him, knowing it was his to wield, made him understand the probable range of his true capabilities. Therefore, he had been training day and night with his magic, determined on exploiting every single cell of energy on his body. Of making himself useful. He might as well not be as strong as Fang, Snow or Lightning herself, but he could become the best magician of the group.
And as such, he´d trained day and night, his young imagination meeting no boundaries, and he had developed many new spells not even the young Pulsian knew of.
And he had accomplished his dream.
He had helped them all in so many battles now. He had saved Fang from her curse and almost saved Lightning. Only… If he only knew on time what had been wrong with Fang… but was he wrong now? Would he tempt fate once more at hesitating, and thus, leave his mentor´s life to slip away from his hands? Or would he risk being wrong and make a terrible mistake?
Light jade eyes found azure ones, as the ex-sergeant´s sight searched for him, finally finding him a few steps away from them, and he could clearly see her clothes drenched in her own blood, and how the spark in her eyes seemed to be waning, apparently losing focus, as death was taking its claim on her body. He could see how she seemed to be saying goodbye with her eyes.
No! I promised you I´d protect you! No!
The scream that was born deep within his soul broke the inertia of his body. He strode forward, determination in his steps, as Lightning smiled at his approaching figure. She was no longer feeling any pain, nothing but coldness, her body quivering, but the sight of Hope walking towards her made her chest warm up. She feebly reached out for him, or tried to, but her hand barely moved, her muscles now in complete disobedience, as if her body didn´t belong to her anymore.
He knelt beside her, as Snow made way to him, and the teen clasped tightly the trembling hand that was struggling to reach out for him.
"You´re… here…"
"I´ll always be, Light. I promised I´d be."
"Thanks… Hope…"
Those last words were a titanic effort, and she curved her body in pain and desperation, swallowing the blood, fighting to clear her voice so she could speak one last time to her pupil. She owed Hope so much. She wanted to thank him so very much. Wanted to hug him one last time before she had to leave. She clenched his hand, and opened her eyes wide, her suffering obvious in her attempt at reaching his heart.
But she didn´t need to suffer, for he immediately understood. He bent over and kissed her forehead, and then her bloodied fingers, the gesture effectively reassuring her, as her body and her countenance relaxed.
"Don´t worry Light, you´ll be fine." Without losing his focus on the young woman, he raised his voice, not caring his developing vocal cords made high pitched noises. "I need all of you to step back. Fang, let her go now."
A bewildered Fang yelled at him, not relenting by an inch her hold on the lithe form. "What? What are you talking about?!"
Snow sighed and grabbed his shoulders, trying to pull him away from the dying woman. He had been expecting something like this, after all, Hope was still a kid, and the blond knew he had come to see Lightning as his adoptive mother. Or something like that. It was just understandable the teen would be in denial. "Kiddo, I know what you´re feeling, but I don´t think…"
The teen roughly shook off his shoulders the offending hands, aggravated by Snow´s words, and raised his voice even louder, so that he came close to screaming. "I said. Step. Back. Vanille!" he addressed the young woman, who yelped at being yelled at. "I need your help, you´re the only one who can assist me now!"
But the girl was still in shock, and her body trembled, as she shook her head in denial, afraid of moving away from Fang.
"Vanille!" Hope pushed forward, but to no avail.
Sazh tried to intervene, to ease the tension and the pain the teen was going through, and placed a reassuring hand on the slim shoulder. He knew each one of them hurt, but there was no doubt Hope had been the closest one to Lightning. He could relate the desperation he was in.
"Please kid, I know it´s hurting, but the soldier is already out of our reach. I know how much you love her. And that you´re powerful and all, but her injury…"
Hope finally lost the little patience he had, and screaming at the top of his lungs, he shook his head and swayed his hands, slapping the hands that were trying to control him.
"Shut up! Shut up all of you! If you don´t want to do anything, then I´ll do it myself! I´ll help her!" his temper still raised, and losing any trace of fear, he confronted the tall warrior, screaming so loud that his throat burned. "Fang! Let go of her! Right now!"
But without looking at him, the woman shook her head, her arms clutching the injured body tightly, emerald eyes still trained on the pale face of the soldier in her arms, as the azure eyes were closing slowly, unconsciousness claiming her, her mind now traveling through a road far away from her friends, one that they couldn´t follow.
Watching Lightning´s eyelids closing, the teen grew desperate, and he shoved the woman as hard as he could, but it was to no avail, she was way too strong for him, plus the eldest Pulsian seemed glued to the ground. Glued to the one in her arms.
"Fang! I can help her! Let go of her! Now!"
Her only answer at his desperate plea was another shake of her head. Hope barely noticed she whispered something under her breath, as if talking to the already unconscious woman. But the Pulsian´s body remained firm and stoic.
The next time he tried to shove her, she captured his wrist in a tight grip, which made him flinch, and the jade eyes met the intensity of the emerald ones, as Fang´s determined look bore into his soul.
"I´m not moving."
He clenched his teeth in anger, locking eyes with the warrior, this time fearless, his love for his mentor and his rage giving him the bravery he had lacked before. The silver haired teen readied himself to lash out at the woman he once was so afraid of, but she interrupted him before he could utter a single word.
"But I´ll assist you, Hope. I trust you. What do you need me to do?"
His eyes opened wide in surprise and disbelief at her words, falling confused at first, not giving credit to what he was hearing, but then a gratitude that he had never felt before washed over him, and his body relaxed, as he felt relief enveloping his being at knowing that such a powerful person seemed to be on his side.
"Thank you, Fang."
Silently, she slowly nodded at him, and he felt a smile tugging at his lips.
Both their eyes fell on Lightning´s seemingly peaceful features, and tanned fingers caressed the strawberry blonde tresses, as Hope´s lips kissed delicate, bloodied fingers that were still trapped under his grasp, while his magic started to make its way into the already limp body of his mentor.
Don´t worry Light, we´re right here with you. He pleaded Etro she could hear him. We´ll get you out of this. You´re not going through this ordeal alone.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.
A/N: this is dedicated to an amazing person that I loved so much, who taught me so much, and who died under my watch. I had the incredible opportunity of saying goodbye to him while he was leaving this earth. Of kiss him on the forehead, hold his calloused hand (the hand of an artist), and caress his already white hair while his heart pumped its last beats. My favorite cousin, an amazing doctor, wanted so much to give his everything to save him. Instead, I just decided to let him go. I understood his time had come. He was, in so many ways, my mentor, so I knew he needed to go with his pride intact, and we understood each other the most. He had been a soldier too, a sergeant, after all. And I think that´s why my mourn is less painful than the rest of my family´s. After all, I was the one who said goodbye.
Sorry for my rambling.
On a side note, thank you SO much for Darkgirl, whose magic, inspiration and friendship helped me improve tons. And who is my first beta reader! Yay! I´m soooo happy! Thank you pal!
I really hope you liked the chapter. We´re getting SO close to the end! Yay!
