Embers of Sun and Flame (Fuegoleon Vermillion x OC)

Chapter 53 Will you marry me?

Piercing. Throbbing. Warm. Pain. Just pain. All around, or perhaps just radiating from elsewhere and spreading throughout her body. Regardless, Solara cracked open her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Its white, sterile surface greeted her in the dimly lit room.

Must I keep doing this...? Though... this is the second time I've gotten-, actually getting this hurt in the course of one year, twice, is too much.... But... It's done. The evaluation... is done...

She let her gaze wander around, while moving her fingers, and toes, arms... legs... They all are moving... That's good. That's-, that's good.

She drew her lungs full of air, as much as she dared, and moved her arms a bit more under the covers, pleased that she was able to move. Even if it hurt. Even if she wanted to stay still. But at that moment, the pain told her that she was alive. The pain, told her that she had fulfilled her promise.

"So, you're awake," a voice, that she recognized, said through the soft light.

She turned her head towards the sound, and saw Mereo at the doorway, leaning against the doorframe.

"Barely, but yeah..." she spoke with a quiet voice, one that was fragile and broken, fluttering across the empty space of the room.

The vermillion haired woman sighed, and began making her way across the floor with slow steps, gazing to the floor on her way. "He was worried about you," she said with a whisper upon reaching the bed. Her eyes shifted to the side of the room for a moment, making Solara follow her gaze.

But she couldn't see quite where Mereo was looking at, so she had to prop herself up, even if only in the slightest. And as she did so, she saw a made-up bed at the side of the room, Fuegoleon sleeping on it, wearing a frown. His form was anything but peaceful as it laid there, curled around himself. There were dark circles around his eyes, and his hair... It wasn't a downright mess, but it was far less polished than usually; a few individual strands sticking out from here and there.

Her arms began to shake, partially from fatigue, and partially from the emotion that washed over her. A numbing sensation, far worse than what already existed within her, coursed through her and a lump rose to her throat. And she could feel a bubbling, burning sensation collecting behind her eyes.

"I-," she swallowed, shaking her head as she lowered back down. "How long has it-"

"Two days."

"I... see..."

Seconds ticked away in the still air, as Solara stared at the ceiling, and Mereo stared blankly ahead of herself. There was, and wasn't, anything to say. The words that were to be said, were hidden, shrouded under the numb sensation. And the words that weren't needed to be said, were hanging over them as a blanket.

"I'm glad that... you're good. But I'm not the one you should be speaking to."

Solara nodded to her, knowing that she was supposed to talk to Fue, instead of Mereo, even if she didn't know what to tell him. But she hoped, that the words would find her.

Mereo nodded as well, before she turned around to leave. But her gaze turned to the side, making her take a few steps closer to Fuegoleon's bed, and raise her foot a few inches off the ground. She stood still for a fraction of a second, as if to contemplate whether or not to kick the bed. But in the end, she placed her foot back on the ground, and instead leaned down, placing her hand onto his foot. She shook him slightly, but even the gentle motion was enough to make him jolt awake.

His eyes shot wide open, and to Mereo, who was still bending forward, over his legs, and looked at him with a soft, blank, expression. He quirked an eyebrow, but there was a veil of implore and desperation pulled over him; him and the dark circles around his eyes. 'Can I not sleep?' He seemed to ask from her. But as Mereo's eyes shifted slightly to the side, towards Solara's bed, his gaze turned as well.