thief (of my heart)

-XVI-

The burst of the explosion pushed Jongin away from Jisoo, sending him flying into the air. Jisoo, too, was pushed away from the knight, hurtling towards the river. She felt weightless for a moment before crashing into the cold water, the impact knocking the air out of her lungs.

Jisoo tried to swim back up to the surface but the pain in her chest was excruciating. She knew she was bleeding heavily and was losing her strength quickly. The water around her was turning red, she didn't have much time left. If she didn't make it to the shore soon, she would drown.

Just then, she heard a voice calling out her name. It was Jennie's voice. She turned her head towards the sound and saw her swimming towards her. She was struggling since she didn't have a lot of experience in swimming but she didn't give up.

Jisoo's heart swelled with love and pride for her. She knew she was risking her life to save her just like she did for her before. She tried to reach out to her but her arms felt like lead. She couldn't move them.

Jennie finally reached her and quickly pulled her up. She took a firm hold on her. "I guess I found you first." She flashed her a strained smile that made Jisoo's heart flutter. The princess pulled her towards her and started to swim to the shore.

Jisoo could feel herself slipping away. Her vision was fading and her breathing was becoming shallower. She managed to turn her head towards Jennie and whispered, "I love you."

Jennie's eyes widened with shock and sadness because her tone sounded like a goodbye. She squeezed her hand tightly. "Yeah, I know. That's why you need to hang on okay? I'm here."

Jisoo smiled weakly and closed her eyes. That's when Trojan neighed and bumped against Jennie. The latter quickly hoisted Jisoo onto the saddle and jumped behind her. She clambered onto the horse's back, her arms tightly wrapped around Jisoo's waist. She urged the horse forward, its powerful legs churning through the water as they made their way towards the riverbank.

Jennie's hands trembled as she gently lowered Jisoo onto the ground, Luca jumped off her shoulder and looked at the barely conscious woman worriedly. The princess' breath came in short gasps as she checked her pulse. When she felt the reassuring beat of her heart, she let out a shuddering sigh of relief.

She threw her arms around her, her body shaking with sobs as she held her close. "Y-You need to stay awake, please." She whispered, tears streaming down her face. "I need you, Jisoo. I can't do this without you."

Jisoo coughed, feeling her strength fading. Yet with Jennie clutched and shivering on top of her, it shot adrenaline through her body and forced her to stay conscious. Jennie leaned over her. "What do I do? How do I stop the bleeding?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"Get the grey bag from Trojan..." Jisoo managed to mumble weakly. "You need to remove the bullet from my chest..."

Jennie rummaged through the bag and only found dry food, water and a bottle of rice wine they received from the last village they passed through, along with handmade paper made from the inner bark of mulberry trees, also from the village. She frowned in disappointment, wishing they had medical supplies for Jisoo's wound. If only Chaeyoung was here, she would know how to treat her wound...

"We only have rice wine and some paper." She said, holding up the bottle.

Jisoo chuckled weakly. "Looks like we'll have to make do with what we have... Give me a swig of that wine, it might help with the pain."

Jennie held the bottle up as Jisoo took a gulp and winced at the burn of the alcohol. "Not bad..." She groaned.

"What now?"

"Use one of the sharp bolts from your crossbow to remove the bullet. It's the only way to stop the bleeding..." Jisoo's breathing was laboured but she managed to gasp out.