Wither Skulls

Chapter Twenty

Jessie's POV

I coughed as a guard hit me hard in the stomach with his armored foot, blood hitting the andestite floor. One thought was going through my mind. Dying like this. I was supposed to be some kind of legend, and here I am, a scabbing wither-bite on my arm, getting beaten down by four guards with spears. Yeah, some legend I am. Maybe I should have stayed a nobody, things might have turned out differently. Then again, I never would have gotten closer to Lukas or Petra. Especially Petra. I let out a scream as a spear hurtles towards my chest, aiming for a killing blow, when a bright light fills the tunnel, and an explosive blow sends stone bricks flying everywhere. I gasp for my breath as something takes out the guards, only seeing a blur of white, and small bits of orange. I let my head fall limp against the floor, letting whatever was taking out the guards do its work, and then maybe struggle to my feet.

Chapter Twenty- Under Your Wings

I heard Olivia stifle a gasp, but I couldn't see what was making her do so, that is, until it moved right in front of me. My eyes widened, my hands shook, and I felt tears slipping from my eyes once again. "Jessie? Are you okay?" The girl asked, holding out a pale palm to me. I shook my head a few times, trying to figure out if I was even seeing this right. Hesitantly I took her hand-up, wobbling on my feet and almost falling over. "Whoa, hey its okay." She says soothingly. Finally I take her in, every single facial feature from her sparkling brown eyes, to her flaming red hair. I felt my hand moving towards her face, but at the same time I didn't think I was really controlling it. My fingers traced over her freckles, making her head tilt to the side in confusion. Finally, I found words and was able to speak. "I guess you really don't give up then huh?"

Her lips grew into a smirk, and slowly into a smile, which turned into a laugh that I wished I got to hear more often. As she finished her laugh, she wiped my cheeks from the fresh tears cascading down. "Yeah. I'm just glad I got here in time." She murmured, brushing a lock of my raven hair away from my eyes. I wasn't sure how to react to how she was acting. It was beyond strange, but she was doing it anyway. It felt weird to have all her attention directed at me, like, all of it. Her eyes never left mine once since she helped me off the ground, her arms never left their embrace around my shoulders to keep me balanced. It was like she was afraid to let me go. More tears flood my eyes and in a flash I'm hugging her, needing to be able to feel her, to know she's actually in front of me and my bite isn't sending me into some weird hallucination. But when her arms wrap around me once again, her head resting on top of mine, I knew she was here. Somehow, by some miracle, she was back, and I was safe again.

"Its gonna be okay. We're gonna get you that cure, defeat Wither Jerk and save the day like we always do." She whispers, wrapping a soft, almost silky, sheet around me. I opened my eyes to find that it wasn't a sheet that she had enclosed us in, but wings. Immaculate white wings with untouched feathers that seemed to be as soft as I imagined a cloud would be. I pulled away, struggling to stay standing. "You have wings?" I question, my voice still small even with her standing in front of me. Her smile was undeniably cute, the way she moved her new wings without even have to watch them, the way she seemed to glow- all of it made her all that more perfectly amazing. And I think for once she saw right through me, when her smile dropped, and her eyes shone through her normal cocky mannor to show a seriousness, one that was saved for moments that needed it.

"Did you mean it?" She whispers, looking all too conflicted for my liking. Mean what? I couldn't help but wonder, but of course, with my latest symptom, everything slipped from my lips. "That I couldn't do this without you?" I question, realizing I hadn't said that out loud to her once. Her head shakes softly, looking down at the ground momentarily before our eyes connected again. "Did you really mean it when you said that you loved me?" She asks, her voice breaking on the last word. I couldn't meet her eyes, this was my worst fear, her finding out before I told her the way I wanted to. Rejection, fear, hatred. That's what came next wasn't it? Thats how I always woke up, when I realized that telling her was just a big stupid way to ruin our friendship. I guess me dodging the question was answer enough, for as she reached up with a single gloved hand, I almost flinched away. Her armor had been picked up by Lukas, but by the looks of all the guards she had just taken out I guessed she didn't need it anymore. As her hand rested under my chin, lifting it up so that I had no where else to look but directly into her eyes, I realized that the tunnels, the others, everything else but her and I were blocked by a wall of feathers. "Jessie, I could not be more honored than to be loved by someone like you." She says, making my heart sink momentarily. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

As I waited for the strange reply to continue, I felt a weird tingling sensation going through my arm, starting around the scabbing bite and moving ever so slowly through my arm. But I barely noticed it as she took a semi-step forward, leaving almost no space between us but a sliver of air. "And I am proud to say that I love you too, Jessie, my hero." She whispers the last part, and I felt like my chest was about to explode with how fast my heart was beating. The tingling feeling started to spread towards my chest and I found it hard to breathe, not that it was easy before the tingling. I felt it spreading to my eyes, but I could still see in fragments, like I was trying to look through a broken piece of glass. "Jessie?" Petra questioned, fear evident as I felt myself slipping backwards.

The last thing I could remember was being sheilded from hitting the ground by her wings, and her screaming, trying to get my attention. Other voice tried to make their way in, but I couldn't hear then. Only Petra's screams mumbled their way through. As my vision slowly turned into purple shards, unable to see anything anymore, the tingling now shocking my entire body, I heard one thing, on thing that made me hope that this wasn't the end. "No. I can't lose you. You're the one person I loved most." It was in Petra's voice that I heard those words before I copletly blocked out and was seemingly dead to the world.

......

What? You thought it would all be sunshine and daisies? I am showing my evil side with the end of this story, I know it now, but hey, the end is close but things can still end happily if I don't go full out super villain on this. Anyway, hope yo y'all enjoyed this fluffy chapter, and I'll update again soon!

-Fox

PS: may or may not have been listening to piano remixes as I wrote this.