.FAVTAS.(🔞)

《Chapter 57》Her Year-One's Goal (22)

"Everyone stand back!"

Helena shouted above the loud noises of a descending commotion just seconds before Alexander and her hit the cobblestones.

Her eyes squinched tightly shut. Not just to block out the unidentified particles of whatever Warin had blown into the air, but to brace herself for the slamming fall. Prior to the final impact, as soon as she felt one of Alexander's palms behind her head, pressing her face to his chest, her hands released his shoulders to ensnare his nape. Simultaneously, she burrowed herself deeper into his hard contours. A desperate attempt on her part, to reduce the anticipated smacking trauma to her body and head when struck the cobblestone.

During those terrifying several seconds before the fall, she didn't expect to two things to occur.

One, in her resignation and suspenseful dread, she didn't expect the man to pull a swift counter maneuver to put himself underneath her just before they hit the cobblestone.

Two, after hitting the ground, she didn't expect him to roll with her - putting her underneath him.

But he did both of these unpredictable things.

It stunned her, if only for three breaths.

Because after that, other concurrent happenings had seized her attention.

She felt the earth underneath rumbled and reverberated.

Without her sight, she heard scrambling boots thudding against the cobbled ground in a hurry to go somewhere. They were accompanied by shouting of galvanised voices amidst the scene of a descending chaos joined by thunderclaps of hooves. The latter slowly fading into a distance.

A pursuit? She prayed it were so.

In the next few seconds, she laid still on the cobblestones feeling a little disoriented from the violent body-slamming fall. On top of her, Alexander also didn't moved as he continued to hold her body tightly to him. So tight, it hurt more than a trifle.

In those critical seconds, as she tried to gather herself mentally, she felt a jabbing pain in her back, "Your majesty--"

"Are you alright...?" Alexander asked at the same time in a strained voice over her head. Instant pain, sharp and intense, shot up his shoulders' blades when he flexed his back's muscles trying to lift his head to look down at Helena. The pain throbbed excruciatingly. He fought back a curse concluding that he'd sustained some injuries from the impact of the fall.

No, Helena wasn't alright. She felt persistent ache to her back from lying on the quiver. It exacerbated by his full weight on top of her. She didn't hesitate to tell him so.

In response to her voiced grievance, he swiftly drew back, propping himself up on his hand underneath her nape to get up. He halted when he saw her still had her eyes closed. Worried, he said, "Open your eyes--"

Instead of complying, her hands on his nape flew to cover his eyes as she shouted urgent warning at him, "Keep your eyes close if you don't want to go blind--"

He chuckled briskly in response, albeit let her be as he sat them up. In no time, she sat in between his knelt knees. Her palms still covering his eyes, while his hands held her thin wrists. This image amused him, so he tugged gently at her hands as he good-humouredly ordered, "All right, my eyes are tightly shut. Now let go--"

"My queen, are you all right?--"
"Your majesty, are you alright--"
"My lady, are you all right?"

Three people spoke at the same time; Ruth, Valery and Avery.

The first and the last came from a good distance to her far right, both followed her screamed warning, it seemed.

But Valery's voice from her left sounded very close. It was fretful and laden with deep concern. Of course, it was directed at Alexander, Helena thought this as she shouted, "Countess get back if you don't want to go permanently blind!" I refuse to be blamed for your blindness in front of these eyewitnesses, she thought after warning Valery.