I Didn't Think You'd Notice:

Untitled Part 1

Sharp-tongued rejections were something Tanner was not fully accustomed to and apparently they did not go-over well with his ill-temperament. Unfortunately, it took Anna far longer to register that fact than it should have; given her previous interactions with the Queen's Rangers. Anna had spurned his romantic advances a few times before at the tavern. However, this time he became violent.

The scuffle had been more intense than the brunette had expected. One moment she was being wrestled to the ground, the next, she was fumbling for his gun. Unfortunately, Anna isn't fast enough on the draw. Tanner anticipated the move and in the batting of an eye, his gun is pressed against her. Before she can so much as react there is a thundering pop, which, resounded through the maze of trees and rang with a frightening intensity through her ears.

An incredible heat embeds its way into her lower abdomen as the musket-ball buries itself deep within the tissue. It takes a few moments for the thrum of adrenaline to wear off so that Anna can assess her wounds. Her hand immediately flies to the fresh injury, where her fingers become inked with crimson. In the span of one horrible moment, Anna comes to comprehend what had just happened. "Y.... y... you shot me." Anna grumbles.

"You attacked me. I was defending myself." Comes his sharp reply. It doesn't matter that he is purposefully twisting the truth. Tanner observes his handiwork without an ounce of sympathy etched into his cruel hues. Instead, he turns to another ranger who had heard the shot. As they disappear, she could hear them discussing justifiable excuses for inflicting harm upon her.

She closes her eyes against the incredible surge of agony stealing through her veins. When Anna is finally able to see through a sheen of tears, she finds herself abandoned. Accompanied only by the conspiratorial whispering breeze and the steady rush of the Sound.

The brunette desperately strives to pick herself up off the ground. However, with every slight movement, the pain is amplified. There is no way she could get to help. At least not in her present condition. This would be where she'd die if no one would find her.

Anna nuzzles her face into what little grass the icy tendrils of winter had failed to choke out of existence. The very same chill sinks into her bones like a deep frost, snatching all warmth; save for the pool of scarlet liquid sliding between her trembling fingers. Derelict curls of brown stray across her face, standing in stark contrast to the ghastly nearly ashen hue of her skin.

In spite of her best efforts to remain alert and conscious, the darkness swoops in. Resisting the tug of exhaustion is futile. Her tear encrusted lashes become heavy, weighted down with the same hopelessness stealing into her soul.

Anna knows naught what time it is when the sound of shuffling boot-steps finally fills her ears. Subconsciously the brunette curls onto her uninjured side in an attempt to protect herself from further abuse.

"You need to wake up because I can't do this without you."
Edmund's voice is all-encompassing and smooth like honey. His words drift over her like a carefully placed blanket. Anna had thought no one would miss her. Yet, here he was... urging her to live, to bring him purpose. Surely, Hewlett's presence must be borne of a dream. Or perhaps, it was an apparition of sorts. "E... Edmund." Her hushed, groggy, and hollow voice cuts-off.

Anna strains comply. If only she could force her eyes to open. Yet, none of her efforts seem great enough to yield the results that her beloved Major requested. Her fingers twitch slightly, indicating that she is fighting to return to him. She is weak, far too much so to move much more than she already had.

Stay with me. Speak to me. Major? Don't leave me. Don't leave me now or ever. Don't let me die. I love you. Her mind quietly beckons.