Stitched Heart

Chapter 13: Cracks Of Hope

As she added more pressure as she pushed it. Hissing a bit in pain as her abdomen gave a sudden shot of pain. She wrapped an arm around her stomach but ignored it. And went back to pushing the wall. Suddenly pieces of the wall fell. Big enough for her to crawl down under and escape. She looked over to Crescent again. Doing her best to analyse the wall. He was leaning against the bars, quite uncomfortable from Gradient's point of view, so it meant she could see the wall.

There were a few cracks. But not many she reached over and pressed a hand against the wall. A piece barely moved. Still it was enough that if Crescent woke up he'd be able to notice it. So Gradient went back to staring at the hole she made in her wall. Should she exit it now? Or should she wait for Crescent to get up?

She breathed in and out... What should be her choice?

✩•̩̩*˚ Crescent ˚*•̩̩͙✩

He felt so emotional yet so numb at the same time. Hope kept him going but he had already given up. He could sense Gradient's determination. But he paid no attention to it. After all, her determination came suddenly but as it had quickly come it quickly disappeared. So he knew better than to pay attention. He could feel her shifting around. Especially as his tentacles were wrapped around her.

But at some point she tried to push them away. Crescent hesitated at first. Before tightening his tentacles and then letting go. As a warning. But the thought of not knowing what she was doing bothered him. He wanted her to be safe. Both out of worry and of logic. If she were to be hurt, it could be blamed on him. This would break the alliance his father had created. And it could make him and his family lose their spot as royalty. And royalty deaths were not welcomed.

Crescent did start opening his eyes when he felt Gradient presence come close to him again. He didn't move and did his best to stay still. Only looking to the side as Gradient pressed against the wall. But as she did that a small creek was heard. Barely audible but it moved a small space in the wall back. He felt shocked, confusion, and hope grow inside of him.

Gradient then moved away. Crescent didn't know what to do. Should he reach out to her and ask her what she was doing? Or should he trust her? Trust what she was doing. She had trusted him a while ago. And he had failed to keep him safe. Still though. She never had any intention to move away or leave him behind. But now he would find out what she was actually planning.

Yet, Gradient heard a louder creek. Then silence, and suddenly more sounds. Every once in a while it would become silent before a small sound would be heard. He then heard some nervous breathing. And shuffling. At this Crescent turned around and looked at Gradient. She was leaning down around the same level of a hole in the wall.

He stared at her in confusion. Yet he understood what she was doing. Determination filled him, but he kept quiet. He already knew his wall wasn't properly taken care of either. So it wouldn't matter if she left him behind. Still he would be extremely hungry.

She slowly exited through the hole. Everything became silent again. No more sounds, no more movement. Crescent stayed still.

Anxiety filled his heart and head. He felt suddenly colder. When his fingers touched the floor he shivered due to the coldness. He looked over at the hole Gradient had made. Gulping nervously. His throat felt tight and dry. As if something was stuck in his throat. He ignored it though. As his worries were not there. But more about being left behind. Was Gradient finally getting tired of him? Was she going to finally leave him behind? Was she done with his bullshit?

He breathed in and out weakly. Pain blossomed on his shoulder again. For some reason, it hurt horribly. He had seen that he had been stabbed. Luckily he had been able to hide it. Or at least hide it. But why did it still hurt so badly? It had been quite a few hours since he had gotten this injury. It shouldn't hurt anymore, it should bother him anymore.