Pebblekit: Hey guys. I'm sorry it's been awhile. I've been a little worried about this chapter. It's kind of serious and important, so my writing capabilities were put to the test. This is where all of the characters realize how much each of them means to the team- how much they're a family. As I've written this, all of the characters' emotions have started to rub off. The spoils of war are starting to seem much more realistic, and I cringe almost every time I read or write a battle scene. Okay. Now that I've earned a one-way ticket to the loony bin, on with the chapter that I hopefully didn't butcher.
Prisoner in Reality
Chapter 21: The Aftermath
21 in the Age When People Start Putting their Lives in a Substance's Hands
Disclaimer: Refer to all the former chapters. They have all the information you need.
(Shinon)
Shinon walked somewhat slowly down the dark hallway. The bottom of his stomach had long since fallen away, and he felt as though his legs were made of lead. Mr. Hood walked on next to him, his usual cheery self. The sniper couldn't stop himself from looking over at his companion every few seconds. He just couldn't process the fact that the man wasn't fully beorc. How on Tellius had he been able to miss such an important detail?
Never mind.
That wasn't a DETAIL. That was a main PLOT POINT.
Now, every time he thought of something that the two had been through together, Shinon would carefully examine every single word spoken, every thing that had happened, trying to see if he would have been able to ever have seen this coming.
Looking back, he noticed what could have been a few clues. Mr. Hood had outstanding hearing- he had been the one that had heard the Daein troops in the forest back when Gatrie had still been with them. He also had a gift for magic, which, as far as he had heard, was characteristic among branded. Herons too. He never took that stupid cloak off, even when it had been scorching hot outside- there had to have been a reason for it. The way he tilted his head like a cat- but that one didn't make as much sense, because he was part wolf.
But by far, the most incriminating evidence was the song Mr. Hood always sang. Herons loved to sing. According to some old book the sniper had read long ago, they sung things called galdrs that had healing capabilities and such. Shinon vaguely wondered if his companion was causing some odd effect on him in the long run, but he pushed the thought away.
He had more important things to worry about right now. The absent minded guard had finally found the key to the cell door and was now leading the two of them to go see Ashnard.
Shinon wasn't exactly happy with this. He had gone over every way he could think of to ask the king about Tukuru's grave, but so far, he hadn't found a safe angle that wouldn't get him killed. He also doubted that Mr. Hood would remember to take care of it. With each step they took, the sniper had to wonder if he was that much closer to his death.
Ashnard might have changed his mind about them being in his army. He might also have decided that it would be better to get rid of Mr. Hood, which was a wonder why he hadn't done it in the first place.
Shinon wasn't usually one to worry about this. He had never been afraid to die. He knew full well there was a goddess, and he did pray to her…occasionally. But now, he felt as though he wasn't finished. It was as though he had knocked an arrow on his bow, but hadn't fired it yet.
All too soon, the trio stopped outside two huge doors. The guard slowly pushed one open, obviously straining against the weight. Despite the severity of the situation, Shinon snorted, unable to contain his amusement towards the man's face turning red. Mr. Hood looked on, but even he started to chuckle when the Daein had a vein popping out in effort and stress.
He eventually got it open, giving cold stares to the sniper and the almost beast-man. The three walked in to see Ashnard pacing busily around a grand room, his throne somewhere behind him. Shinon recognized this as the place that he and Mr. Hood had agreed to join the Daein army. The area looked much bigger now that there were less people in it.
The King abruptly stopped as the guard cleared his throat, seeming to notice the three for the first time. He nodded and waved the man away, leaving Shinon and Mr. Hood alone with him.
The sniper as though his feet were frozen to the floor. Ashnard's eyes were colder than Soren's- bearing the same consistency to a glacier. He looked at the two, his mouth cracking into a dark grin that wasn't readable. "Hello," the King said, his voice echoing slightly off the cavernous walls. Shinon felt bile rise in the back of his throat. "It's very good of the two of you to join me. Would you like something to drink?" the looks on their faces apparently answered his question. "Apparently not."
"Why…did you call us here?" Mr. Hood's voice held no fear, only genuine curiosity. Shinon was somewhat comforted by the calm tone and he let out the breath he just realized he'd been holding.
Ashnard looked at him closely, narrowing his eyes. His smile faded, and he took a step closer to Mr. Hood, who simply stared with wide, questioning eyes. The King finally spoke after the two's gazes met. "You really are alike. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was talking to him."
Mr. Hood cocked his head to the side. "Who?" his hood was still around his shoulders, leaving his hair exposed. Shinon hoped his ears wouldn't pop up- but then he remembered that Ashnard already knew about them.
"I'd say he's referring to Tukuru." Two pairs of eyes turned to him, and the sniper realized that he had spoken without thinking. He quickly came up with a comeback and shrugged. "You two do act alike. And look alike too. Except-"
"Tukuru has dirty blond hair and dark green eyes," Ashnard finished, looking closely at the sniper. "Did you know him? Wait…No, you probably didn't. Gawain probably mentioned him, right?" he didn't wait for an answer, but looked back at Mr. Hood.
Shinon looked to his companion and breathed a silent sigh of relief at not having to answer that question. What was he supposed to say? Oh yes, I talked to him in my dream last night. After all, we all know it's possible to talk to DEAD people. After all, they are DEAD. Somehow, he didn't think that that'd fly too well.
Mr. Hood simply stared at Ashnard. "Tukuru? You mean my father? Did you…know him?" The poor guy had apparently forgotten who he was talking to.
Ashnard smiled again. But the gesture was so dense with teasing that he might have well laughed out loud. "You could say that. Elena, Peter, Gawain, and he all caused me considerable trouble back in the old days when I was part of the Daein army."
Shinon stiffened. Gawain was Commander Greil's name, and he knew that the man had been part of the Daein army. However, he didn't know that Tukuru and he had been acquaintances. And if he remembered correctly, Elena was the name of Ike and Mist's mother. Did that mean that she knew Tukuru as well? Even more disturbing, Peter was there too? Wasn't he the guy that had tried to kill Mr. Hood? Tukuru's son? This made absolutely no sense to the sniper, and he was confused beyond all reason.
"Daein…army?" Mr. Hood's eyes narrowed and he took a step closer to Ashnard, looking very concentrative. Suddenly, he jumped back, an immense hatred growing in his eyes. "Ashnard!"
The mentioned man laughed manically, the sound sending a shiver up Shinon's spine. "Finally decided to remember me, haven't you? It hurts that you didn't until now. It really hurts." He laughed some more- harder this time.
Mr. Hood glared at him harder for a moment before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. When he opened them again, there was simple curiosity embedded in their depths once more. For a moment, Shinon thought his companion was losing his memory again, until he spoke. "What do you want, Ashnard?" his voice was calm and thoughtful, as though he were trying to read the older man like Oscar sometimes had. But there was an edge to it- almost as sharp and restricting as a knife's edge. Why was he talking to Ashnard like that?
This put a new thought into Shinon's head. What was Mr. Hood's age? Was the King of Daein older than him? His thoughts shattered when the latter of the two spoke once more. "I wanted to inform you that the rest of the army wants to see what you are capable of. I'm about to send you outside to train with them."
What was left of Shinon's stomach fell. He hadn't been able to practice with his bow for weeks. He sincerely hoped he hadn't lost his edge. However, Mr. Hood seemed untroubled by this. "Okay. But first, we wanted to ask you something."
Ashnard cocked an eyebrow looking at the two men in interest. Shinon's heart sped up. At this rate, he might not have to say anything at all- Mr. Hood might take care of everything. "And?" the King asked impatiently. "What do you want to know?"
"It's not a matter of information," Mr. Hood seemed to choose his words very carefully at this point, trying to think over what he was saying. "It's something we want to do."
Ashnard looked on and his smile faded a little. "Don't tell me…"
"We want to visit my father's grave." Mr. Hood finished, almost emotionlessly.
Silence flooded the room as Ashnard looked back and forth between the two of them. Shinon started to absentmindedly draw circles on the floor with his foot, not sure what was coming next. Thankfully, he was too tired to lose his temper, so his smart mouth wouldn't get him in much trouble. However, this was also, in effect, making him jumpy as well. He was starting to find that he felt uncomfortable around Ashnard, more so than anyone else.
Suddenly, a soldier ran into the room, his feet squeaking slightly on the floor. He stopped abruptly to salute, sweat pouring down his face. "SIR!"
Ashnard answered, but his attention had fallen on Mr. Hood and refused to leave. "What is it?"
"Two prisoners have escaped sir!"
That got the Kings attention. "What?" he shouted, turning to look at the myrmidon in front of him who was still saluting. "Which ones?!"
"That woman and the teenage boy we picked up awhile ago, sir!"
Ashnard frowned deeply, and Shinon could have sworn that he saw a hint of fear in the King's eyes. "When?"
"Just recently, sir! I checked on them ten minutes ago, and as I came back five minutes later, they were gone! Sir!"
Ashnard looked greatly disturbed. "Keep an eye out for them. They must NOT make it to this room, do you understand?"
The myrmidon faltered, looking slightly confused. "Sir? Why would they flee into the castle when the forest-"
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
The soldier jumped about four feet and reinforced his salute. "YES SIR!"
"Good, now go find them!"
"Yes sir!" the myrmidon ran off as fast as he possibly could. Whether he was trying to find the prisoners or get as far away from Ashnard as soon as possible was unknown.
Shinon was baffled. Why would the prisoners go into the castle? If they were really trying to escape, wouldn't they, as that man had tried to say, just gone into the woods? And why was Ashnard worried about them making it to the throne room? It didn't make any sense. He turned to Mr. Hood to see his own confusion reflected in his companion's eyes.
Ashnard sighed, rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger, and seemed to be lost in great thought.
Mr. Hood looked at him for a second before opening his mouth. "Sir?" Shinon nearly slapped him.
You IDIOT! He thought, practically yelling in his head. Don't provoke him!
Ashnard didn't answer, so Mr. Hood spoke up again. "Sir? Is everything okay? Is anything troubling you?" There was no fear in his voice. Sympathy was absent too, but he did seem to care somewhat.
Ashnard stopped rubbing and looked at him. "Why would you care? Trying to get information, are you? What, are you a spy or something?"
Mr. Hood simply looked back at him. "No, sir. As a member of your army, it is my duty to ensure that my King or leader is content- just as it is your duty to see that all of your people are content as well."
Ashnard narrowed his eyes slightly, and Shinon looked at his companion in surprise. Not only had he wormed his way into looking like a loyal soldier, but he had also reminded the King of the previous conversation without mentioning it at all.
Ashnard obviously noticed this as well, for he smiled somewhat and chuckled. However, he didn't seem as confident as before. "You…you really want to see that grave, don't you?" The King looked around, seeming to make sure that no one would overhear him. "Okay." He said at last.
Shinon's eyes widened in disbelief. "Okay, what?" he asked, without thinking again.
"You can…go. First thing in the morning, you can take a couple of wyverns and go. I'll assign some others to accompany you." Ashnard seemed kind of worried as he said this.
Mr. Hood didn't seem to notice as he dipped his head. "Thank you. We'll hold you to your word."
Ashnard nodded shallowly. "Of course…of course you will…Go back to your cell. I'll call the guard-"
"There's no need." With that, Mr. Hood turned and started to walk away.
Shinon wasn't sure whether to follow or not. After all, one faulty move, and Ashnard could sentence him to death. The sniper couldn't help but feel that his companion had pushed the limit a little back there, what with interrupting and all. He glanced at the King, who still seemed to be a little nervous about something as he stared at the doors Mr. Hood had disappeared into. It didn't seem as though he was going to dismiss him, so after another few seconds, Shinon left too.
He followed the sound of Mr. Hood's echoing footsteps and jogged, not wanting to get lost in the castle. Eventually, he saw his partner. "HEY! DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME BEHIND!" His pace quickened to a sprint.
Mr. Hood looked behind him and stopped, waiting for the sniper to catch up. "Hello." He said. His voice was stern and somewhat empty. One thing was for sure- he wasn't the same person that had spoken to Shinon earlier that day.
The sniper didn't really know how to react. "So…uh…that was some quick thinking back there. Uh…good job."
Mr. Hood looked at him, confusion blurring his eyes. Almost unconsciously, his left hand drifted to his right hip. "Who are you?" he demanded, sounding somewhat threatening.
Shinon's heart nearly stopped. Wait a second…So the forgetful him remembers me, but the not-forgetful him doesn't?! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?!
The sniper treaded carefully, suddenly realizing that this Mr. Hood might not be the sort of person to cross. "Um…I'm Shinon…" his partner's eyes bore no recognition of any sort, or understanding, so he continued. "You know…We've been traveling together. We got caught by Daein back in Gallia? Or maybe it was Crimea…It was so long ago, I don't even remember."
Shinon suddenly realized that this was true. He hadn't even thought about how long he and his companion had been together. Now, the thought that Mr. Hood didn't remember who he was sort of scared him. Never before had he been afraid of being alone, but Daein, from what he had seen, didn't seem to be nearly as friendly of a place as Crimea.
Mr. Hood looked at him for a moment more, slouching slightly more with each passing second. Then, he blinked and stood up straight. "Oh…Shinon. Yes, of course. You were with the Greil Mercenaries."
Shinon sighed in relief. Mr. Hood turned and started walking. He was alert the entire, his head swiveling around at every creak. If they had been out, his ears probably would have been perked intently, listening for anything out of the ordinary. Shinon was slightly worried. Thinking about it, he figured that had his partner had a sword, when Mr. Hood had been bending over a little earlier, he would have been in some sort of sword stance.
Which meant that Mr. Hood, or at least this version of him, had been prepared to attack Shinon.
He'd been ready to kill him.
Up until now, the sniper had been raring to go to Tukuru's grave. He wanted to find out as much about Mr. Hood as he could- then, many odd questions would have been solved. But now, he wasn't so sure. He hadn't realized that that might bring out an entire personality that the guy had lost. The more he thought about it, the more realized that he missed Mr. Hood- the one he had known before.
"Hey um…" Shinon wasn't actually sure how to approach this, but he had to know if this was really the result in meddling with his companion's past. "Mr. Hood?" The guy didn't answer, but kept walking, undaunted by his call.
Shinon's blood turned to ice. He ran to catch up again- his partner certainly walked fast- and the sniper tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
BIG mistake.
Mr. Hood rounded on him, pulling a wide, broadsword from a suit of armor standing against the wall, and shoved Shinon into the cold stone, thrusting the blade into his throat, not deep enough to draw blood. There was a fiery light in his eyes as his breathing grew harder.
"What. Do. You. Want?" he asked through clenched teeth. Shinon had no idea how to respond, his eyes growing wide. He noticed at that particular moment that Mr. Hood's fang teeth were abnormally sharp- like a wolf's- and that they were dangerously close to his face. In the absence of Shinon's answer, he pushed the blade slightly deeper into the sniper's neck, a small stream of blood trickling down. "DO YOU WANT TO DIE?!"
Shinon nearly shook his head, but thought better of it at the last moment. "N-no. I just thought-"
"Just thought WHAT?" Mr. Hood pushed the sword a little harder.
Shinon could feel the pressure slowly getting closer to his windpipe. "Well, you didn't answer, so…" he didn't know what else to say. Now it was clear what Ashnard had been afraid of. The King had seen something in Mr. Hood's eyes that the sniper hadn't noticed. Suddenly, he realized that the confused stare he'd gotten from his partner might not have been about the prisoners, but about Shinon himself. If Mr. Hood hadn't remembered him, he would no doubt have wondered what he was doing there.
Now, Mr. Hood looked at him in the same way, his eyes narrowing. "What do you mean? You never called me."
"Yes. Yes I did." Shinon put a hand up and gently tried to push the sword away. "Could you please stop? That's somewhat unnerving." The sniper was getting desperate. If Mr. Hood pushed much harder, he'd be in serious trouble.
Mr. Hood's eyes narrowed more. "You mean when you said 'Mr. Hood'? You were referring to me?"
"Y-yes." Shinon saw a ray of hope. "We decided to call you that because you couldn't remember your name.
"Couldn't remember…Are you trying to trick me?" he asked in a quiet voice. Shinon's stomach fell again.
"No! No- I'm-"
"I KNOW my name! It's…"
Mr. Hood stared at Shinon for a moment longer. Then, suddenly, his grip on the sword slackened and his eyes grew wide. "Sh-Shinon?" he asked shakily, the blade retreating a little from the sniper's throat.
Shinon simply stared for a little while. "Hood…you're back." He said, almost in a clueless way. He had no idea what to make of the situation.
Mr. Hood seemed to realize what he was doing and leapt backwards while dropping the sword to the floor with a noisy clang. "What…WHAT WAS I DOING?!" His eyes started to get watery as tears formed. His voice was slightly higher with a lighter tone to it too. Shinon felt blood running down his neck and he absently pressed his hand to the gash to stop the liquid with his glove.
"Mr. Hood, what…" before he could finish however, Mr. Hood shook his head and blinked several times. Then, looked at the sword on the ground, to Shinon, and back to the sword. The sniper's heart plummeted. He didn't even need his companion to speak before he knew that the Mr. Hood he knew was gone again.
"What happened?" the new stranger asked with a suspicious glance at Shinon.
"You went back to the other you." Shinon said, almost confusing himself as he took a cautious step away from the wall. Mr. Hood's eyes narrowed and he seemed to brace himself as he saw the movement.
"What do you mean?"
"The other you- the one who always forgets things. The one that I know."
Mr. Hood looked at him in curiosity. "You mean the side of me that Peter created?" he asked finally, cocking his head to the side.
Shinon froze. For just a second, it seemed as though his old partner had returned. They move a lot alike… he realized.
Mr. Hood looked at him for a moment longer before picking up the sword at his feet. Shinon leapt back, putting his hands in the air defensively. Then, the man looked at the blade and wiped it off with his cloak before returning it to the suit of armor. "I'm sorry if I startled you," he said plainly before walking off again.
For a moment, Shinon looked after him. His stomach clenched with a fear that he had never felt before. Then, it loosened in confusion. After that, his feet started moving, only to stop a moment later in remembrance.
Back when they had first met Ashnard, Mr. Hood had lost his temper, so to speak. For the longest time, Shinon had assumed that that was the real him, the one that had fought with Peter not long before that.
Now, he realized that he might have been wrong. As uncharacteristic as it was for the Mr. Hood he knew to explode, that night, he had spoken directly to him, Shinon, as though they had been old friends. If he was remembering correctly, and the man in front of him now was the REAL Mr. Hood, then that day, the one who yelled at Ashnard must have been his own companion.
With this thought, and memory, anger started to burn in him.
Before Shinon quite knew what was happening, he had sprinted over to Mr. Hood, and words were flying out of his mouth as they walked on. "Startled? STARTLED?! YOU NEARLY KILLED ME YOU JERK! JUST THE OTHER DAY, YOU WERE DEFENDING ME AGAINST ASHNARD, AND NOW YOU'RE STICKING SWORDS IN MY THROAT?!"
Mr. Hood looked on in shocked silence, his eyes wide. After a moment of Shinon gasping, he responded. "Are you done?"
Shinon continued to gasp.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'. I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you were in touch with my other…self."
Once Shinon finally managed to talk, he didn't really know what else to say, so he tried to lighten the mood a little. "Are you sure you're part wolf? Because you seem too cunning to not be a cat."
Mr. Hood turned away and started walking again, Shinon following in tow. "I'm fairly certain that I know more about my heritage than you do."
"In my experience, you know nothing about you heritage."
"Shut up. You're being annoying. And besides, you're thinking of a fox, not a cat."
Shinon snorted. "So what? Aren't they related or something?"
"No, foxes and wolves are, though."
"Shut up. Now YOU'RE being annoying."
Each seemed to take the other's advice as they walked on in silence for awhile.
Suddenly, Mr. Hood looked at Shinon. "Wait a minute…you know about…about me?" he asked somewhat worriedly. It was the first time the sniper had heard some fear in the man's voice since his partner had changed.
"Yeah, I found out this morning."
Mr. Hood turned away again. "Darn it, Peter. No one was supposed to know about that! What did you do to me?!"
Shinon didn't answer as they continued on- Mr. Hood silently fuming.
After a little while, Mr. Hood stopped at a cell door. "This is it," he said. Indeed it was. They had left the castle, walked across a courtyard, and into a prisoner dungeon, and Shinon had hardly noticed. The two went in, and the sniper immediately ran to the corner and sat facing the wall. He wasn't sure who this new Mr. Hood was.
But one thing was for sure.
He didn't like him.
(Astrid)
Nothing existed.
She was drifting in darkness. She could move, but she couldn't see. She lifted her hand in front of her face to make sure that it still existed, but her eyes couldn't make out anything in the gloom that had become her existence.
Dimly aware of anything, she tried to remember what had happened to bring her to this place. She had been in some sort of building, fighting. That much she knew- she could feel parts of her body that were still sore, whether hurt or tired, she wasn't sure. However, she couldn't tell how long ago she had been there, or whether that held any real significance to her life as a whole. She had been with someone, but wasn't quite sure who it was.
Her memory was foggy, but at least she could see something besides darkness as she thought back on what had happened. Yes, she had fought alongside someone else, most likely on a horse, for they were at the same height as her. There was green. Lots of green…
Soft voices were nearby, but though they were quiet, they echoed harshly in her head. She tried to listen, but it hurt too much, giving her an immense migraine. She retracted her mind, focusing instead on her still-blurry memory.
Though it wasn't much, she didn't feel nearly as lonely as she did when she had completely been in that black abyss she'd been stuck in for awhile, even if she was on a battlefield surrounded by death and battle cries. However, even here, she wasn't conscious of her surroundings. She could only hear and see shadows, her brain not working properly. She felt as if she was watching someone else go through what she had instead of living it herself.
Not knowing what else to do, she kept trying to force her mind towards the person that was still fighting alongside her. She felt herself raise her bow and fire, but she couldn't see through all of her smoggy vision what she had fired at. To her, she may be fighting, but she was still surrounded by darkness. The person next to her said something, but because of her lack of attention and headache, all she could hear was his urgent tone.
She could tell it was a man, but she couldn't tell, or remember who.
She concentrated, trying to focus on his words, but they still all sounded like mush, echoing in her pounding mind.
She did her best to ignore the pain, and forced herself to listen, trying to filter out as many of the ambient noises as she could. After a few minutes, which could have easily been hours anywhere else outside of this dark, dreary place, her tired brain was able to process a few words, trying to separate their meanings to form something that actually made some sense.
"Astrid!" she heard a name- presumably hers, but she wasn't sure- and the rest was a garbled mess. She tried even harder to sort everything out.
It was labor intensive work, and she let go of the memory several times, leaving herself to pant and try to quell the aching in her head. She would always end up going right back to the black nothingness she had been trying to escape earlier. This just fueled her resolve to try and get back to her memory- where she at least had something to focus on, something to explore. Each time, she came back with a little more curiosity and urgency. She desperately wanted to get out of this grim existence. If her memories could help her do it, she wouldn't give up.
There seemed to be some sort of invisible barrier that she wasn't allowed to walk through. She was able to look in and see snippets of the whole picture, but she wasn't able to truly analyze or understand what was going on. It was cutting her off from the rest of the memory. This only fueled her determination. Soon, she was mentally ramming the invisible wall, trying to force her way through. Each time she hit it, her mind rattled with pain, her vision blurring even more- but she wasn't about to give up. This could lead to a gateway out of this black life.
She heard a crunching sound after awhile, and she took it as a sign to keep up the assault. Soon, she broke through, stumbling into the fuzzy battle. She fell to the floor, exhausted and dizzy- her heart pounding so hard she could hear it throbbing in her head. There was red stuff everywhere around, saturating the floor where she lay, but she couldn't process what it was. She closed her eyes, suddenly wishing that she had remained in the quiet stillness of the black existence from before.
"Astrid!"
The bow knight cracked open one eye, then the other, seeing her memory for the first time up close and personal. Everything was still blurred, and she had difficulty telling what was what. There were several people- mostly men as far as she could tell from their yells- dressed in black.
"ASTRID!" She heard another shout- much more loud and urgent than the others. She squeezed her eyes closed, fully expecting excruciating pain from the noise- just as everything else so far had made her head pound. However, none came. In fact, her mind seemed to relax a bit, focusing on that voice.
She heard many clangs, and it took her a moment to realize that there was a fight going on somewhere near her. Something fell on her, dripping off the back of her armor onto her bare neck. She shivered at the warm liquid, somewhere processing that it must be blood.
She kept her eyes closed, trying to shut out the world around her. If this is what she would be returning to, then maybe she should go back to the dark place and wait until her head stopped hurting to focus on it. Then she remembered that this was a memory. Logic dictated that she could leave whenever she wanted to, but if it was as hard to get back as it was to get there in the first place, maybe she should try to endure it a bit longer.
"Astrid!" The clanging right in the vicinity stopped as something thudded to the ground next to her. Something grabbed her shoulder and gently shook her. Her head exploded into a rage of pain at the gesture, but the voice that sounded was so calming that it died almost immediately. "Are you okay?"
Whoever was trying to wake her up was trying to be as careful, but firm as possible. She tried to find the words to answer, but they died in her throat. She felt drained and couldn't move. "Ugh…" she groaned, but that seemed to be all that she could manage. At least whoever was helping her would know that she was alright.
Or at least alive.
After a moment, the grip tensed a bit. "Astrid, can you hear me? I'm going to get you to safety, okay? Just hold on." Somehow, she knew that this person would stay true to their word. She tried to nod, but then she remembered where she was. All of this had already happened- there wasn't really anything she could do except relive it.
Something slowly rolled her over so that she was on her back instead of her stomach. The back of her head suddenly felt as though it would explode as it made contact with the cold stone floor.
After a moment of gritting her teeth to stop herself from screaming, at least her mental self, she felt strong arms under her knees. Then another one under the middle of her back. Slowly, whoever was helping her lifted her off the ground. Though she made no decision to actually do it, the her in this actual time frame opened her eyes a crack.
Her vision was blurry, as though she was once more behind that barrier she had broken through, and all she could really see of the person holding her was a dark green color. In one hand, connected to the arm that was under her back, he had a white helmet. She figured it was probably hers, for it was the same color as the bright armor she had on.
After a few moments of slow walking, in which the man seemed to be as gentle as possible, she saw an odd brown blur. The thing, whatever it was, made an odd growling noise and she braced herself, wondering if it was going to attack. Whoever was carrying her tensed slightly as well. His voice was soft and she could hardly make out his words as he answered the thing. "What is it Maple? Are there more enemies coming?" As though to answer his question, footsteps sounded.
Someone was coming.
And they were getting closer.
"Darn it…" The man said softly, his voice full with urgency that hadn't been there a moment before. He quickly walked to the side of the brown thing and lifted her up.
She felt him sit her upon the thing and gently lean her forward so that her face was resting on a bunch of thick, black hair. She felt something roll down the side of her head and land on the thing that she was sitting on.
It was blood. Her head was bleeding.
Was that why it hurt so much?
She tried to remember what had happened before the memory had started, but it was all a black, blurry blob that held no meaning to her.
The her in the memory groaned and shifted the position of her face slightly, her eyes squeezing tightly shut again. She heard the voice of the man, seemingly right next to her. He sounded extremely worried, and for a moment, she felt sorry that she had caused him such a panic.
"Astrid, are you okay?! I'm so sorry! This is all my fault… If only I had seen that guy coming." He then lifted himself onto the thing, sitting behind her. Slowly, he coaxed the thing to walk, slowly backing up.
Her head bounced slightly against the neck of the thing she was on, causing her to cry out softly in pain. The thing stopped. "I'm sorry!" the man said apologetically. He seemed to think a moment before softly wrapping one arm around her stomach, pulling her up to where she was leaning against him. "I don't know if this will help much, but it's the only thing I can think of right now."
With that, he started to steer the thing again, backing up some more. Vaguely, she opened her eyes and saw a blob of light spilling from the wall of a small room they were in. He was trying to get her to a doorway, but she wasn't quite sure where it led.
The her in the memory groaned slightly as she saw the light. "O-Oscar? Is that…you?" Her voice was a little more than a whisper, so that she could hardly hear it herself. Nevertheless, that didn't stop the man from jumping slightly.
"Yes, Astrid, it's me," he said, the footsteps in the background getting louder. He seemed worried as his arm tensed around her at the sound. "I'm here, so don't give up, okay? Whatever you do, don't go to sleep, okay? Promise me that you won't go to sleep!"
She took a moment to answer, fighting off the drowsiness that nagged at her, trying to pull her into the cruel claws of peaceful slumber. "I…I'll try…"
His grip tensed more- the footsteps were right on top of them now. "I'm going to get us down that hallway and find Rhys or Mist. Don't worry, okay? I'm going to get you to safety, okay?" She sighed, not able to answer him. However, his presence was so calming, so…reassuring and warm. She felt as though no matter what, she'd be safe, just so long as she was in his arms. Yes, he would do his best to help her, no matter what. However, her silence seemed to frighten him as he shook her gently. "Astrid?" She didn't reply, unable to find the strength to. He shook her slightly harder. "ASTRID?! Please, answer me! DON'T GO TO SLEEP, ASTRID!"
She closed her eyes, listening intently to his voice. She couldn't answer- the voice wouldn't come very far before it died in her throat, and her strength was starting to ebb away at an alarming rate.
The footsteps now were so close that there was no way that they weren't in the same room. She heard some anguished yelling, figuring even in her confused state that there was no way it was directed at anyone but her or the man.
She knew his name, she had said it. And she had heard her own name a fair few times by then. However, as hard as she tried to grasp them in her hands, concentrate on them with her mind, they seemed to slip away. She couldn't think clearly about anything.
She heard the other men rush forward. They were so close that she could smell their sweat, hear their ragged breathing. The man sitting behind her muttered to himself, "Oh goddess…please give me the strength to protect Astrid…" Then, he started to move around constantly, seeming to lunge and swing out with one hand while trying to maintain a firm grip on her with the other.
She knew he was fighting. Fighting to protect her.
She saw another thing, like the one they were sitting on, charging at the other men. But, everything was such a mess to her, such a disorderly jumble, she couldn't make heads or tails about what it was, even though she had seen it many times before and the name was one the tip of her tongue.
A loud thwack was heard, with some sort of crunch as the man behind her cried out in pain. Then again. She felt liquid run down onto her neck, but it wasn't from her head this time. It was from his shoulder. The man trying to save her had been hurt. Regardless, he kept fighting back. Even as he fell more and more, even greater numbers of men entered the room, looking for a fight.
She knew that the man behind her wouldn't be able to hold out for long. She didn't want to see what happened next. She didn't want to even know if he died or not.
She didn't want to know if he had died to save her.
Because that would be the same as killing him.
Mentally, she screamed for it all to stop. She longed for the darkness in which she had been alone earlier, because it meant that she wouldn't have to see anybody else get hurt. She wanted to leave the battlefield behind, leave all the pain, all the injuries, all the blood…
But not him.
She didn't want to lose him.
She didn't want him to die.
The next moment, she found herself huddled on the ground, her knees drawn up in a tight knot against her chest, her arms wrapped around them. Silently, she cried into her legs, seeking the comfort and warmth of her own body. Oddly enough, however, her skin was eerily cold.
It was as though all the life had been sucked out of her, just as it had been throughout this horrid, dark place. She was alone. And no one else would be with her until she could find the way out, assuming that there actually was an exit.
For the longest time, she sat there, crying. She lost all track of time. What seemed to be the longest second of her life could have just as easily been the shortest day. All sense of direction and logic were absent, seeming to have been lost somewhere in the dark void that was her life at the moment.
She just wanted to know what was happening. Why was she here? Where was here? When did she get here?
For a few more moments, she sat there, thinking to herself as tears kept flowing and flowing.
Then, she saw an odd light. It started kind of dull, and small- like a pinprick, or a star in the night sky. She stared at it in curiosity. Then, almost absentmindedly, she reached out for it, steadily standing and starting to walk towards it.
Right before she touched it, however, she hesitated. In that memory, she thought to herself, I had a pretty nasty head wound. Maybe that's why my head was hurting so much. This light might be the way to get rid of it- the way back to the world that I love. But…what if it's not? This light…Could it be something else? Maybe death?
She thought about it, not sure what to do. She wasn't afraid to die. She knew that the goddess had a plan for every being on Tellius, that's what she believed. If it was time for her to go, then who was she to argue with fate?
However, something held her back. She wasn't sure what it was, but there was an odd lingering sensation in her body, as though she'd be leaving behind something that she wanted to stay with her. She thought about this, confused. How could there be something in this weird, black realm that she didn't want to lose? There was nothing here! And yet, she couldn't move, for fear of losing that one thing.
She jumped slightly as something touched her shoulder and turned around only to see the same empty darkness that encased her on all sides. Still, she felt as if there was something there, something watching her. Normally, this feeling would disconcert her. However, right now, the presence, whatever it was, was comforting, and she didn't want to leave it.
"Astrid."
It was a light, calm voice, but still, it made her jump. Was there really something else here with her in this dismal world?!
"Astrid?"
The voice was stronger now, and she recognized it as the man that had protected her in the battle. Did that mean that he was alive? That was great!
"Astrid, can you hear me?"
The girl, suddenly realizing she had failed to do so before, wiped away the tears still streaming gently from her eyes. "I-I'm here!" she said, desperate to see him, to know that he was alright. "Where are you?"
The man sighed with relief. The sound seemed to come from within her, and yet seemed to emanate from everywhere at once. "I, like you, am in this dark place, all alone."
"Then come here! We can be together!" she was lonely, and she wanted to talk to him, to apologize for putting him in danger.
However, the man seemed to have different plans. "I don't think so."
"Why not?!" she asked, upset. Why didn't he want to be with her?
"Go to the light. It's time for you to go back."
"What are you talking about?"
"Go to the light."
She looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, but she couldn't. He was nowhere in sight. "But, I want to stay here with you!" she said, still not sure where the light led or what its purpose for being there was.
"No, Astrid. It's time for you to go back."
"Go back where?!" she asked, starting to get a little fed up. Why was he chasing her off?
Suddenly, she felt a small prod in the mid section of her back. She wheeled around, trying to see who had poked her. But no one was there.
Confused, she continued to look, but she was completely and utterly alone.
Or so she thought.
Something grabbed her arm, softly, yet the grip was firm. "Come on," said the voice, right next to her ear. The man gently started to force her towards the light. She wanted to protest, but, suddenly, she felt calm. There didn't seem to be anything to be afraid of. She could feel his breath on her ear and neck as they walked on.
The light got bigger. And more inviting at that.
She now knew this was the right path for her. She felt the man's presence start to back off, leaving her there alone. Before he could though, she reached out, grabbing his hand. A yelp in surprise made her turn around.
He was there, his hand in hers. He was squinting, like he normally did. He was also wearing dark green armor that was coated with blood. He looked at her, willing her into the light.
"Come with me," she said, giving a small tug.
He looked at her and frowned, looking troubled. "I can't. I'm not ready."
"But…" with that, he gently backed up, removing his hand from hers. After a few long minutes, knowing there was no way to change his mind, she stepped into the light, all by herself.
Now, she felt even more alone than she had in the black void.
Because, even then, he had been with her- protecting her.
"How is she?"
"She's running a high fever. She's been tossing and turning all day."
"Is she going to be alright?"
"I think so. The fever is fighting off the infection. She might wake up soon."
"That's great! What about…"
There was no answer. Just silence.
This was what Astrid woke up to.
She felt a cold chill from a small breeze and shivered slightly. She could feel liquid running down the sides of her face. For a moment, she thought it was blood, but then she realized that it wasn't warm. In fact, it was freezing cold. Her face was drenched with sweat.
She slowly opened her eyes, not exactly sure what she would find. Where had that light taken her? Was she dead?
Her vision was blurry, the right side was pitch black, and everything echoed in her head. For a moment, she sat petrified, frozen to the spot. Oh no! I'm back in my memory! However, that didn't seem right. There were no yelling men, no clanking of metal on metal, no weird, fuzzy things, and certainly no man to help her.
The only thing that was really the same was the smell of blood. It was everywhere.
Astrid looked around, her eyes adjusting. She was now aware of who she was. She was Astrid, a bow knight from Begnion. She sincerely hoped she would never forget again.
Above her were two people. One had a long, red cape and a head of messy, bright blue hair. At his side was a sword that he rested his hand upon. Next to him was another man, one clothed in white robes. He had orange hair that was bunched and matted together in odd clumps. There were great circles under his eyes. He looked as though he hadn't slept in days, maybe weeks.
Astrid stared up at them, then continued to examine the room. She heard shallow and fast breaths coming from next to her and turned her head to look. She suddenly wished she hadn't. The movement made her dizzy with pain. For some reason, whenever she moved her head, she felt as though it was going to explode.
She slowly resumed in turning her head, only to catch a glimpse of green before her vision started swimming, running together to form no more than a confusing blob of colors. For a few seconds, she fought to stay conscious, but eventually, darkness won her over again.
She found herself in that stupid black world again.
But this time, no matter how hard he hid, she knew she wasn't alone anymore.
"Oscar!" she called, remembering his name this time.
He answered, though in surprise and disappointment. "Astrid?! Why are you back here?"
"I fell asleep again. Is something the matter?"
Oscar appeared somewhere off to the left, walking out of the dark abyss. "Yes, there is. I thought that you went back. Are you okay?" he seemed really worried, frowning deeply as he looked at her.
"I think I'm fine. My head hurts a little, that's all," she said, remembering the ache she had gotten from moving it.
Oscar nodded. "That's to be expected, after what happened at the battle."
Astrid looked at him intently. "What happened?" she asked, interested.
"Don't you remember?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. She shook her head, trying to think back to before the weird memory she had had. Oscar continued. "Some guy came over and started fighting you. He hit you really hard and you fell off your horse. Your helmet fell off, and you started to crawl towards your bow, but he…" the lance knight broke off, biting his lip.
Astrid's head suddenly felt as though it was going to split open. She put her hand to it, trying to quell the pain. Her friend didn't need to go on- she could figure out the rest her self. "Oh…I guess I was a little slow, huh?"
Oscar shook his head vigorously. "No, no! You were just caught off guard. I was the one who was late. If I had gotten there sooner, you wouldn't have been hurt! I…I'm so sorry."
He looked at the ground, and Astrid was suddenly reminded of how much he looked like Rolf. She shook her head. "No, if it weren't for you, I'd be dead by now, so…Thank you."
Oscar couldn't answer for awhile. But when he did, his voice was quiet and serious. "I'm glad to have been of service, kind lady."
Astrid sighed. Why did everyone have to treat her like some sort of snooty noble? "Thank you, but you should really watch out for yourself too, okay?" Oscar kept staring at the ground, but eventually nodded. Astrid wasn't quite sure if she could trust this response, but she nodded anyway. "By the way, do you know where we are?"
He nodded. "I've been here before, but never for this long. As far as I can tell, this is the border between life and death."
Astrid's heart nearly stopped. Her stomach jumped to her throat, then dropped away completely. "Life and…death?"
Oscar nodded. "Rhys was here too, for a little while, but he left pretty soon after he came. I thought that you had too, but…"
Astrid looked around, but she could no longer see the light that had been there a little earlier. "So…we're dead?"
"Not really…We're still breathing, we just can't wake up. That light is a sign that you're ready to leave. If you had tried to take me with you earlier, you would have gone through but I wouldn't have."
"What happens if you…die?" she asked, not sure if she wanted an answer.
There was a pause. "I don't know. I've never experienced that."
Suddenly, Astrid spotted the light again, right behind Oscar, and right in front of her. Oscar seemed to notice the change in her expression, because he smiled happily. But Astrid frowned. "I don't want to go…and leave you here alone."
Oscar shook his head. "You need to go. The others are probably worried about you. This time, don't move so fast, and you'll probably be fine. You won't have to come back."
With that, he took her arm and started to pull her towards where the light was. Apparently, he couldn't actually see it, because he was a little off, but he could guess from her eyes. Astrid looked at the radiance, then back at her friend. "Oscar…are you really talking to me, or am I imagining things?"
The lance knight shrugged. "Who knows? The goddess is capable of many things. Maybe I am here, maybe I'm not. No one can say for sure. I could be a figment of your imagination, created from your loneliness."
She nodded, understanding his answer, then she grabbed his hand and started to walk towards the light. "Come on."
Oscar showed no resistance, but he frowned. "Astrid…even if you pull me towards it, if I can't see the light myself, I won't be able to follow you."
She didn't want to hear that. She didn't want Oscar to be alone because he had protected her on the battlefield. She wanted him to come back with her. "It's worth a try, isn't it?" she asked, nearly at the ball of blinding white.
Oscar didn't answer, but followed.
She felt the sensation of going back. Somewhere, she lost the feel of Oscar's hand and wondered if he was going back to his own body or remaining in the dark place. As much as she didn't want it to be so, the latter of the two seemed more likely.
A few seconds later, there she was again, staring through her horrible, blurry vision- her right eye still not seeing anything. Slowly, careful not to move her head this time, she peered around the room, wondering where she was. The blue and orange haired men had gone, leaving her to be alone.
At least it seemed that way.
From next to her, she heard quick, labored breathing and guessed that Oscar was lying somewhere close by. Without thinking, she bolted into an upright sitting position. Her head exploded in pain, and a small cry escaped her mouth as she grabbed it in both hands. It felt as though her skull were splitting in two, her one good eye starting to lose its surroundings. For a moment, she expected to wake up back in the dark world, but she remained.
The agony died away, but slowly. Astrid had to fight to remain conscious. She considered giving up the struggle, so that she could be with Oscar again, where, oddly, she felt safer. However, she wasn't sure if she would go back to that world, or simply die, so she tried to hang on as long as possible.
After a few solid minutes, she regained control over her head, willing her vision to return and the pain to go away. Slowly, she looked over next to her, remembering why she had sat up in the first place.
In a small sleeping bag next to her was the motionless form of Oscar. His eyelids flickered as though he was fighting to wake up, and his face was drenched in sweat. Someone had taken his armor off and pulled the sleeping bag down so that his chest was exposed, almost completely wrapped in blood-soaked bandages. His chest heaved up and down with every painful breath he took.
Astrid watched him, hoping for some sort of awareness. However, there was none. He hadn't come back with her, despite her efforts.
The bow knight sighed deeply, looking back down at her own body. Someone had changed her into a shirt, and she vaguely wondered who. Her right arm was wrapped in a thick bandage, as well as her stomach. Though it was buried in the sleeping bag she was in, her left leg felt as though it had been covered too.
Curiously, she put her hand to her right eye, wondering why she couldn't see through it. Skin met gauze and she realized that it had been bandaged as well. The strips of white cloth seemed to go around her head multiple times as she traced it with her fingertips gently. When she reached the back of her head, her vision throbbed slightly and she remembered what Oscar had told her- that someone had hit her there.
For a few minutes, she simply sat, wondering what she had missed during her sleep and what was going to happen next. The tent flap opened, which caught her attention. In came Rolf, hauling a bucket of water behind him. He had his back to her, so the archer hadn't noticed that she was awake yet.
A small, chilly breeze filtered into the room, and Astrid shivered. Winter didn't seem to be too far off. How long was I out for?
Rolf turned around and stopped moving abruptly when he saw her. For a second, their eyes met, neither of them not quite sure what to say. After a moment, however, the boy's eyes narrowed. "Astrid?" he said weakly, seeming to be unsure of himself. The bow knight nodded. It hurt, but she was a little afraid to try talking at the moment. The archer simply stared at her a moment longer before he did something that she hadn't expected.
He began to cry.
First, there were small tears, running down the sides of his cheeks slowly. Then, they grew before his face looked like the sight of a massive storm. He walked tentatively over to her and kneeled at her side. The next thing Astrid knew, she was locked in his embrace. "Rolf…?" she managed, slightly startled by the gesture.
The boy didn't answer for awhile, but when he did, his voice was choked with tears. "I-I thought that you…Oh, Astrid, I'm so glad you're alright!"
The bow knight had no idea how to respond, so she simply hugged him back, slowly re-teaching her arms how to move.
(Some Weeks Later)
It took days, almost a week for Astrid to stand and start to walk. Rolf was with her every step of the way, and Gatrie was always willing to help. She had spent a good amount of time with her arm over the knight's shoulder, relying on him to take on her weight until she was sure she could handle herself. Rolf stood nearby, encouraging her.
After she had shifted back to her own feet, which took about a week and a half, the archer held her hand, always going where she did. If she ever lost her balance and fell (which seemed to be happening quite often), he would help her up.
She had found out, courtesy of Rhys, that she had a huge head injury and that her eye had suffered a bit of trauma. The priest had stated quite plainly that she was going to be okay, but he wasn't sure about her eyesight. This worried Astrid quite a bit, because she was essentially an archer. She needed to be able to see well.
That was why she was practicing. She wanted to ensure her place in the Greil Mercenaries, even if she did have a handicap in battle. Rolf helped her, trying to find a way to hold a bow and be able to shoot straight with the new blind spot she had. In order to simulate the effect, he would close his right eye or cover it with a piece of a cloth like hers was.
Makalov was also working with her, trying to find new maneuvers on their horses so that she could move quickly and never be caught off guard if someone came up on her right side. Her stomach had been injured though, so they had to be gentle. Mostly, the sword knight would show her what to do so that when she got back to full strength, she'd be able to mimic him.
Aside from her stomach and eye, her legs had been sliced open from her hip to her knee, severely hindering her movement. She walked with a deep limp, causing her to fall sometimes, her stamina being depleted quickly. Her right arm had also been hurt, but thankfully, all she had to do with it in a battle was draw back her bowstring. If it had been her left, she would have had some trouble.
All of the mercenaries were extremely supportive, each trying to mentor her in some way, or help out where they could. She helped Mist cook for breakfast and lunch, and watched Tormod play chase with Sothe- which almost always ended up with Rolf on the ground in some odd and extremely painful position, unsuspectingly pounced on from behind.
Though despite as much as Rhys told her to go mind her own business and get on with her life, Astrid spent every night in the medical tent, her prayers becoming more and more fervent for Oscar to awaken as days turned to a few weeks. Rolf sometimes stayed with her. The boy was always so energetic during the day, that it was very disquieting to see him silently staring at his oldest brother.
Sometimes, he cried. But most of the time, he simply watched, waiting for the lance knight to come around.
Boyd was oddly absent. He always spent all day with Oscar, practicing his ax man ship at night. It seemed that the fighter couldn't sleep, and the few times that Astrid saw him, it pained her to see that the circles under his eyes were getting deeper and more profound with each passing day.
She knew that in some way, it was all her fault. Though Oscar had told her not to, she couldn't help but blame herself in some way. If she hadn't gotten knocked off her horse that day, then none of this wouldn't have happened. If she hadn't had been such a weak fighter…
She wanted to get stronger.
She had decided to ignore the letter her parents had sent her, at least for now. If Triddon came to find her, then let him come. She would tell him outright that she wasn't going home until the war ended, whether she saw that day or not. She had to be strong and fight- for herself as well as Oscar, who was obviously incapacitated.
Rhys had said that until the lance knight woke up, he wouldn't be able to tell if the green haired man would be able to fight or not. This put a lot of strain on everyone.
They all knew that that could have easily been them in the sleeping bag, fighting for life.
Oscar was their brother, and no one had really noticed until the prospect of him being gone came to light.
Astrid sat there next to him, the wind whipping wildly at the trees outside the tent. She didn't dare fall asleep, not for awhile yet. The other night she had, and had woken up to find that Oscar had stopped breathing. She pounded on his chest until he started again, his gasp of air bringing her relief.
But now, his breathing was more even. Every night, he seemed to get stronger. His body was finally winning the battle.
Come on Oscar… she thought to herself. Wake up. I know you can do it. Please.
Hours passed, and the night became colder.
Astrid felt her eyelids grow heavy. She blinked, and the lamp had gone out. Wondering what had happened, she blew gently, trying to revive the flame. Then she noticed that the wick was completely burned away. Only then did she figure that she must have fallen asleep.
The tent was eerily quiet, and for a moment, she couldn't figure out why.
Then, she heard a deep rasping gasp. Oscar's breathing had stopped for a moment. However, he seemed to have recovered.
Then, all fell silent again.
Astrid listened intently, her heart thumping madly in her chest. Oscar couldn't die. He just COULDN'T. What would Rolf and Boyd do? What would she do, knowing it had been her fault?
She crawled over to the lance knight's sleeping bag, preparing herself to shake him until he started breathing again.
However, another rasping gasp stopped her. His breaths after that came quick and irregularly. Silently, she dug through the belongings of the tent and found another lamp. She lit it, setting it by the sleeping bag.
Astrid froze as she saw her friend's face. Oscar's eyes were open, their green color wide and uncertain in the gloom. He had an odd look on his face as each breath became more restricted and harsh.
He had woken up.
Astrid swore her heart had stopped for a moment. Oscar wasn't looking at her, his eyes traveling wildly. She had never seen them before, nor had she realized how beautiful they were.
For a moment there was silence as she fought to find the right words. What should I say? That I'm sorry? That I'm glad he's okay? That every thing's going to be alright from now on?
"You're awake…" she finally managed weakly.
Oscar jumped, despite lying down. His eyes traveled wildly. Until they rested on her. She felt her chest constrict as the brilliant green orbs locked in a gaze with her amber ones. "Astrid? Is that you?" he asked, not blinking.
She nodded, tears starting to form. Now she understood how Rolf had felt. "Yes, yes, it's me."
He nodded. "It hurts to squint…I can't see well with my eyes open…You're like a blob." His words ran together, oddly blending into a confusing jumble.
Astrid had trouble deciphering what he had said, but she smiled all the same. "It's okay now. You're among friends." She bended down, gently placing an arm under the small of his back, just as he had in the battle before. She softly pulled him into a sitting position. He didn't resist, but he flinched several times, as though he were in pain. She gently pulled him into an embrace and started crying full pelt, her face on his bare shoulder. The bandage over her eye became soaked but she didn't car.
He hugged her back, his arms resting on her. "Astrid…are you okay?" he asked, his voice rasping and his breath becoming more even as he gained control over his body.
"Shhh…" she told him, hugging slightly tighter. "You're okay now. The dark world you were in is gone. Everyone's here for you."
Oscar's breathing froze. "You mean that wasn't a dream?" he asked, his voice hardly a whisper.
Astrid had no answer, so she remained silent.
For awhile, they stayed that way.
And she hugged the man that had nearly died to save her life.
Author's note: Ack. I think this was BY FAR the hardest chapter to write. While all of this is going on, Ike and his other senior officers are searching the forest. Anyway, let me explain something. The part with the dark world is based on a true story. One morning, when it came time to wake up, I couldn't. I was conscious of my surroundings, and I kept seeing myself wake up to horrible scenarios, and I lived through all of them. Finally, I woke up and could hear stuff, but I couldn't open my eyes. I was talking, but I didn't know if anyone could hear me. It was FREAKY. So anyway, that was what I was thinking about. I'm sorry if it was poorly written. I think Astrid was a little OOC, but then again, she did have a concussion the size of Australia. Thanks for reading!