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A Broken Soul On Mended Wings

Prologue

By Nick ThompsonPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
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Alina's POV

When Alina arrived, the first thing she saw was the doctors were still working on Bryce, rushing to save his life. Only, they seemed to be more frantic, as if they were losing him instead of saving him. The very thought of this made Alina's worry soar to unheard-of heights. The doctors were moving as fast humanly possible, and it seemed as though they were beginning to lose hope. She soon became aware of her cousin Edward sitting next to her. He took notice of her awakening. Giving her a look of pity, Edward let out a small sigh.

"You've finally awakened. I fear the doctors aren't optimistic. They say it is highly unlikely he survives, and if he does pull through, it'll be on sheer will," Edward said.

Alina couldn't respond because to respond would be to accept that he wouldn't survive, and that was not something she could accept. She couldn't give up hope just yet. Even in situations, Alina wouldn't lose hope. Something her grandfather instilled in her. It was ridiculous how much Cyrus was rubbing off on her. To her horror, the doctors' pace began to slow, and soon they backed away from the boy's body slowly. One of them turned to her,

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry. We did everything we could. The extent of his wounds was great. His time is short; go to him, give him comfort in his final moments," the doctor said.

Alina rushed to Bryce's side. His body was covered in scars, and now he would have more. The worst of them were three long cuts that ran the length of his chest. A fresh stream of tears sprung from her eyes, falling onto his chest. He looked as if he was at peace. As if every care he had just vanished. His chest was rising and falling slowly with each ragged breath. As his breathing became more labored, she realized that she'd have to take this moment in. This would be the last time she saw him alive, and in his condition, he could die at any second. She was unaware of the eyes of every doctor the watched her as she took his hand, and if she was aware, she was too concerned with Bryce to care. In an attempt to make herself feel better, she laid her head on his chest, hoping the sound of his breath would help. Unfortunately enough, it did not. Instead, it brought a fresh wave of sadness and tear, let out through a sob. A sob. She hadn't cried since the death of her parents. While she cried and mourned at the death of her parents, she never sobbed.

She could feel his breath fading, getting weaker with each passing minute. His fate was sealed, and it was all her fault. He chose to stay and fight for her. It was because of her he was here, and now he was going to die. Alina began to sob uncontrollably. Just as his breath was about to leave his body, she felt something squeeze her hand lightly. She snapped her head up, desperately holding onto the hope that he was still alive. As she looked up, her eyes were met with his.

Bryce's POV

The first thing he saw when he woke up was her eyes. They were filled with tears. He must've died and came back, or almost died...again. Bryce tried to sit up, but only his head was responsive. Alina had her hand on his chest, keeping him from moving. Despite her size Alina was strong.

"Rest." Her voice was soft yet firm.

"Hi you," His voice was almost inaudible, but he knew she heard him.

"Hi, you," her voice was just as inaudible as his was. Bryce watched as a smile slowly spread across her face. The smile was short lived as Alina broke down in tears mumbling. "I thought I lost you."

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time, and I doubt it will be the last." Bryce unknowingly made the situation worse. He didn't realize until after he saw a fresh stream of tears well up in her eyes.

"Do you find my turmoil amusing, Bryce?" Alina asked impatiently.

"Maybe a little," He joked back. In response to this, she lightly swatted his chest right where the biggest of his wounds was, and now they were locked in an intense starring contest. He knew she was fuming because of how easily he brushed aside his recent near death experience, but he didn't care too much. She would be smiling within moments. Almost on cue, she broke into a small smile. He couldn't help but smile back. During this time, no one spoke. They shared a content silence. Then she looked away and blushed.

"I read the letter you sent me from before the battle."

"Go on..." Bryce prompted her to continue; his heart had left the building when she spoke. He had forgotten all about the letter while he was fighting. Suddenly the silence became awkward and tense. "How could I have been so stupid?" Bryce chided himself. Just great, he had to profess his love to the queen of all people. It didn't matter that they were both twelve years old or that her older cousin Edward told him it could never work out. His head was practically swimming with all the insecurities that came along with rejection when she kissed him. Several emotions ran through his mind before overwhelming joy took over. It was nothing more than a peck, and it was over before Bryce could figure out what was happening.

"If you couldn't tell, I feel the same," as a nervous smile spread across her lips.

In the next few days, Bryce was walking around the hospital, and by the week's end, he was discharged into Alina's care. During the days that followed, Bryce spent as much time as possible with Alina. Between ducking his family, Alina's responsibilities as queen, and his appointments with the doctors, it was hard to see her.

Alina's responsibilities had been more time consuming since the end of the Great War, and it made it hard for them to have moments like the ones they shared before the war, moments like the one they were having. For as long as he could remember, they had lunch on the balcony in the royal chambers once a week. This was the first lunch they shared in weeks.

"Bryce, you cannot avoid them forever. At some point, you will have to speak to them. They are your family" Alina had been pestering Bryce to speak with his family almost immediately after he was released from the hospital. But he had no intention of seeing them right now. Choosing to avoid the topic, He elected to speak about the food.

"So the food is excellent today, isn't it amazing?" One look at Alina let him know she wasn't going to let this go so easily.

"Bryce, please..." she was rather persistent of this topic, and he couldn't figure out why. He could feel her eyes on him, but he knew he couldn't meet them.

"Alina, look at the sky. The sun is starting to set."

"Bryce..."

"Look at me, please." Meeting her gaze, he knew that he wasn't going to get out of this without having a discussion.

"Alina, I'm not ready to see them, especially not my mom. She doesn't know that I've been discharged, and the second she finds out, she's going to drag me back home." Bryce had been trying to avoid talking about this because he didn't want to think about having to leave this place or leaving Alina. It was just as he told her. He just wasn't ready for that.

He watched Alina as her eyes fluttered from him to her food, almost as if she was thinking of something. As if to confirm his thoughts, a small smile found its way onto her face.

"Seeing as she does not yet know you are discharged, I do not see the harm in telling her that you will be well enough to travel within the week. Do you?" said Alina.

He returned the smile, but he was filled with sadness, knowing that after the week's end, he'd never see her again. But he couldn't focus on that now he had one more week to spend time with her.

"What's the worst that could happen?" He joked.

literature
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About the Creator

Nick Thompson

Just another struggling college student with his head in the clouds...

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