THE HEIRESS

Deep End (D)

-DRACO POV-

How could I have said no to any of her requests while she was looking at me like that? Her eyes always had a spark in them. They were round and beautiful when she talked to me and in that second I would have given her anything. When I had entered the infirmary and saw her in her bed, so pale and fragile, holding herself together...I knew I had to get her out of there. I wanted her eyes to have that spark back as strong as usual.

''What about your brother?'' I asked her as I walked away from the infirmary. She closed her eyes and rested her head against my chest.

''It's okay, he only wakes up if you use force on him,'' she mumbled.

How heartbreakingly soft she was at that moment. I had seen the various potions scattered around her bedside table, surely making her as pliant as she was now. Would she forget this interaction as well as the others? I had to know.

''What do you remember?'' I asked. I passed a corner and she clung onto me more. I tried not to embrace her touch as something warm and pleasant but I couldn't help it. Having her in my arms felt more right than anything else at the moment. Having her in my arms safe and sound and breathing.

''I fell into the water...then a whole lot of fire and darkness...'' she uttered.

I sighed. So she didn't remember.

Maybe there was nothing to remember. Maybe seeing her..outside of her body...maybe it was an illusion. I certainly hadn't heard of anything like that ever before. I had been the only one to see her so surely it must've been my imagination running wild in a moment of sheer panic for her life.

I shook my head to shake these thoughts away.

''Where do you want to go?'' I asked. She opened her eyes at me again and I clenched my jaw. Even like this - tired, all color gone from her face, her hair a mess - even like this she was insanely stunning.

''I want to see the stars, please'' she said earnestly, her voice gentle and exhausted.

If her big and round eyes hadn't already killed me then the way she asked me, the small 'please' at the end of her words, sure did.

''Okay,'' was all I could manage again, my words feeling hoarse. I usually put more bite behind every word I spoke but not right now. Not with her.

The infirmary wasn't far from the astronomy tower and walking up the steps with her was as easy as it was to do so alone. Next time I saw her I should probably make her eat more, even if I had to use threats to do so.

''Can you stand?'' I asked her once we reached the top. She nodded at me and I softly let her down, her naked feet touching the cold ground. I still held onto her as he balanced herself and she didn't push me away. Somehow she never did, no matter how rough I was with her.

''Thank you,'' she smiled at me before blinking up to the stars. It was truly a significant night, the stars and the snow building a perfect scenery yet couldn't tear my gaze away from her.

''I was close to never seeing them again, wasn't I?'' she asked as she took a few wobbly steps ahead. I followed her and as she leaned against the walls of the tower, her gaze never shifting from the sky, I noticed how she was still shivering. I took off my robe and laid it around her shoulders and she said nothing about it but I could see the corners of her mouth curl up.

''You were more than close, I believe. Got a good scare out of us,'' I said as I leaned against the wall, close to her. My eyes didn't shift to the sky though, they stayed on her. She was more beautiful than the stars could ever be anyways.