─── ❝She was expensive,
like the piece of velvet she was wearing,
but she demanded his heart,
not his money❞
or
─── in which he finds his crow in the most unfortunate t...
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chapter seventeen,the fluttering and hammering
WITH A SHARP GRUNT, Lavender finally opened her eyes for her brain to start panicking that she was gazing into the familiar wood with only one eye open. Her body was numb and stiff, but she managed to push her fingers into a fist, letting herself know she was alive. Everything was slightly moving and she couldn't decipher if it was her mind playing tricks or if she was on a ship.
Quickly, her brain flashed her images of what happened before she ended up here – those soldiers dead and that's it. How she got in here or what happened to the others – she didn't know. The woman forced herself to breathe in deeply throughout her clogged nose, the action causing her dry throat to ache. At this point, she wasn't a stranger to pain and this numbness was oddly soothing her, making her feel as if she was already dead.
Turning her head, her neck painfully popped, but she was met with the familiar room on the ship she has once been. Only in the place where she used to sit, Jesper was sleeping, his lanky figure twisted in the most uncomfortable ways – dozed off.
Tears welled at the corner of her eyes, causing the wounded one to sting. The relief of seeing her brother was out of this world – afterlife or not, she was glad to see him again. Lavender extended her hand just enough to reach his knee, gently pushing it with the ends of her fingertips, making the guy snap his head up too quickly that he almost fell down.
"Vi?" He gasped, rubbing his eyes as he uncrossed his legs and leaned forwards to see that his sister was awake. The sleepy expression quickly was changed by the crooked grin that she has missed so much. A sigh left his lips as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently between his palms, pressing it to his forehead.
"Jes, don't tell me you are about to cry," she croaked out only to receive a chuckle from her brother as he raised his head to reveal his teary eyes.
Jesper shook his head, almost speechless, thanking each and every Saint and other deities for this moment. The guilt didn't fade away as she still got hurt because of him, but the knowledge, that she was awake and she won't leave this world without a fight – soothed him. What would have he done without her?
"I thought I lost you," he whispered, making a lump get stuck in her throat.
Lavender has never seen Jesper like this. He was always smiling, always making jokes, and always positive even when he was talking about his lost mother. Now, he was sitting, holding onto her as if she was his hope, tears running down his cheeks as worry drew lines on his forehead. There were no words to describe how much he loved her and how much she loved him as well.
"Jes," she whispered, not knowing if she will still pull through, but the sight of her brother's sadness was a really decent reason to keep on fighting. "I am here."
