Love Across Time

Open your eyes

I walked towards the entrance of the city, ready to leave as I felt my rage dissipate slowly. I felt exhausted. As if I couldn't fight anymore. I felt the adrenaline leave my body, and the pain of my wounds settling in.

As I approached the exit of the city where the people were waiting for me, a soldier ran up to me and held my shoulder tightly. His breathing was heavy and it looked like he had been running for a long time.
He then spoke to me, his tone panicked.

-"My lady! I am Epharus! Anastasios requests your presence! He is greatly injured!" His voice was breathy, and I could see the beads of sweat dripping down his forehead through his helmet.

-"Lead me to him." I simply said with a serious tone, and followed him through the city again.
We battled our way through, spearing any Persian soldiers we came across.

On our way, I noticed a Persian, perched on top of one of the houses, the string of his bow was pulled back and ready to shoot.

-"Watch out!" I shouted and ran over to climb the building, whacking the soldier with the blade of my spear, knocking him down. But as he fell, my arm was just within his shooting range, and his arrow pierced my forearm.
I let out a pained scream and took several steps back to the edge of the roof, but my foot slipped off the edge and I fell to the floor with a loud thud. Epharus ran up to me and kneeled beside me, his face painted with worry.

-"My lady! You are injured! Let me help you!" He gripped the arrow and quickly pulled it out of my arm. I let out a grunt of pain as he hooked my arm over his shoulder and lifted me up from the ground. I shook off the pain and continued following him, running through the war-torn city.

We ran for minutes, and in the distance, I saw three silhouettes. A man laying on the floor, a taller man standing beside him and a shorter man crouches beside him.
But when me and Epharus got closer, I realised who it was.
Anastasios was laying down on the floor, he was severely injured. The general was standing beside him with his spear in hand, ready to defend him. And the man sitting next to him was a fellow soldier, who was a tad bit younger than him, around his late teens or early twenties.
Upon seeing the scene, my eyes widened in fear.

-"Anastasios! My love!" I shouted and started running towards him as fast as I could. But then, I heard Epharus' voice behind me.

-"My lady! Watch out!" He shouted, but before I could do anything, I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. It was so intense I wanted to throw up and cry.
My body stumbled forward, my steps slowing down and I regurgitated some blood. I looked down and saw a spear that pierced through my stomach.
My breath quickened and it took more effort to take small steps towards Anastasios than I would like to admit.

Just as I reached Anastasios' body, I felt an arrow pierce my heart, making me fall to the floor beside him. I started crying because of how pained I am from my wounds. But I'm also crying because of another pain. The pain of losing Anastasios. I don't want to die, but I don't want him to die either, yet I don't want him to live on without me.
His bloodied hand gently tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, and slowly pulled my head towards his chest.
I positioned myself so my leg would rest on top of his, my arms clinging onto his shoulders, and my torso tilted to the side so the spear wouldn't deepen the wound any further.
I heard his voice that was barely audible, whispering in my ear;

-"In the next life, my dear, we will reunite... But in this moment, we will travel to Hades together, hand in hand... We will cross the river Styx together... And we will lay in the fields of Elisium, in each other's arms, for the rest of eternity..." His hot breath brushing against the shell of my ear, and his voice were enough to quiet me down for a moment.
I closed my eyes as we both held onto each other's bodies as tightly as we could. I then saw the kitten from yesterday laying next to us as well. I felt a wave of numbness wash over me, and I closed my eyes. I felt Anastasios' chest stop moving, and then slowly, my hearing faded. And I couldn't remember anything.
It was now pitch black and silent, the only sound present was the faint ringing in my ears. But then, I heard a familiar voice. It sounded so familiar, but the voice was muffled and it was hard to make out what it was saying. Then, I felt something hold my hand tightly. I squeezed back, but then I felt a wave of tiredness wash over me and I could barely hold on. The voice spoke again, this time I could clearly hear what it said this time.

-"come on sleepyhead, wake up. I know you can do it." It spoke, with hope and encouragement. Then, I saw a faint white light. It got bigger and brighter, and the next thing I know, it was blinding. I had to blink several times so I could see clearly.
I was in a hospital. In a hospital bed. And beside me, was a guy... He had tan skin, long black hair tied in a braid, dark eyes that gazed at me lovingly, and he was wearing a black T-shirt and grey sweatpants. I felt his hand in mine, and I felt a wave of affection flow through my body when he spoke to me.

-"that's it baby. Open your eyes. It's okay. Take your time." He whispers reassuringly, and slowly I felt some memories come back to me.

-"Anastasios?" I asked, and slowly sat up and held his hand tightly in mine.
I reached out to hug him, and we held each other in a loving embrace. Our lips met, and after a few short seconds, we pulled away.

-"Yes my love, it's me. I'm here now, you don't have to worry. You're awake and that's all that matters." He said softly and his arm wrapped around my shoulder.

-"How long was I out?" I asked, and his quiet laugh, aside from the beeps of the heart monitor, filled the room.

-"You were in a coma for three days babe. Nothing serious." He said reassuringly, and gently rubbed my arm.

I leaned my head on his shoulder, and sighed in content and relief. I was finally awake, and what made it even better was that the first person I saw was my boyfriend. The love of my life. The person who loves me the most.

(Author's note: I am terribly sorry for the late chapter. I was busy with school and horribly depressed. I was also very burnt out and struggled with writer's block. Hope you liked it tho 👍)