Katrielle and the Onyx Gryphon

Untitled Part 2

Alexander pinched Katrielle's nose shut, placing his lips against hers and breathing for her twice. As he did so, he noticed that Katrielle's lips were... rather soft. No, he couldn't think about that now... keep going! "Breathe for me, Katrielle," he said softly, unzipping the front of her dress as far as he could, which was to the lower end of her sternum, thankfully, and interlocked his hands, placing them on Katrielle's chest. He began compressing rhythmically. "Come on, Katrielle," he muttered. "Come on, sweetheart!" He adjusted her head, tilting it back a bit further as he continued to coax her lungs. He pressed on her chest again. "Come on Katrielle... don't do this..." He began to think with his hands; he had to keep going. He had to!

Breathe... compressions... breathe... compressions...

Alexander's gaze was hyper-fixated now, as though Katrielle was the only real thing in the world. It had now been five minutes... but Katrielle's condition was improving. The color had returned to her skin, and her body had warmed. His lungs felt as though they were on fire, and his muscles ached. As he compressed her chest again, he could only gasp out, "Please... please... please..." He paused, placing his cheek over her mouth and his hand on her neck. Katrielle's heart was now beating, but her chest still wasn't rising. Alexander focused on breathing, stroking her cheek encouragingly as she silently willed her beautiful eyes to open. After about a minute of helping Katrielle breathe, she took a small gasp of air and began breathing on her own again.
Alexander turned to Ernest. "She's back," he rasped, running a hand through his now sweaty black hair. "She's unconscious... but she's alive." He gently picked her up, carrying her inside. A somewhat less frantic Ernest showed Alexander to Katrielle's bedroom, and Alex placed Katrielle on her bed gently.
"I'll be back," said Ernest. "She- she'll want tea when she wakes up... r- right?"

"Call a doctor while you're at it, will you?"
"Right!"

As Ernest was away making tea and calling a physician, Katrielle's feet gave a slight jerk as she let out a gasp.
"Katrielle?" Alex shook her shoulders gently. "Darling, can you open your eyes for me?"
Katrielle groaned as her eyes opened.
"Do you know where you are?"
"Home..." she muttered weakly.
"Stay awake for me... I can't take any chances, alright? There's a doctor coming, but you need to keep your eyes... Katrielle!" He stroked her cheek gently. "Stay with me, stay with me..." He smiled. "Just focus on breathing, alright? Look at me... and breathe."
"I'm... cold..." she whimpered.
Alexander covered her up and smiled, gently holding her hand and sitting on a chair next to her bed as Katriele let out a soft hum, smiling weakly.
About five minutes later, the doctor showed up. "If you don't mind," he said, opening his bag, "I need the room."
"Of course," said Alexander, heading back downstairs.
"You look like you've been ridden hard and put away soaking. I prescribe a large glass of wine and a good night's sleep."
"You're the expert," Alexander replied as he headed downstairs.

"Oh!" Ernest said as he nearly bumped into Alexander while holding tea-things on a large plate. "S-sorry!"
"No need to apologize; this situation has us all rattled. Save the tea... the doctor needs the room to himself. I, meanwhile, need a large glass of wine." He chuckled. "Doctor's orders."
"Well, I guess he's the medical professional! Got some really nice red somewhere..."
Alexander tiredly plopped himself in a stuffy armchair and groaned. He didn't expect a reward, but he certainly expected to be sore in the morning! He'd spent damn near ten bloody minutes reviving Katrielle, and before that, he'd been trying to help her stay awake; carrying her, even! Oh, she wasn't heavy... quite the opposite, in fact. But Alexander had been in this situation for what, two... three hours? It was worth the effort, he decided, but he knew his body would not forgive him for this. "No good deed goes unpunished," he thought. "Bloody Hell..."

When he received his wine, he drank it at a pace that was more than a sip at a time, but less than a quaff. He looked at his pocketwatch, and... shite... it was two in the morning! He groaned, willing himself to stay awake. Thankfully, the doctor left soon with a nod, and Ernest, after several minutes, returned to Alex after having given Katrielle her tea.
"She says you can sleep in the guest room," he said, smiling. "She wants a word in the morning."
Alexander could only nod as he finished his wine, trudging up to the guest room and closing the door, not even bothering to take off his jacket. He collapsed onto the bed, and instantly left the waking world for the night.