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You were being carried, it seemed. It wasn’t exactly comfortable. With every sinlge step, a flaming pain seared through your shoulder.
You closed your eyes, which didn’t lessen your headache. Where were you, even? The world around you seemed a mess. People were screaming: orders, spells, exclamations of pain. There was faint growling and screeching far off in the background.
You felt your consciousness slip away. ‘Carter is carrying me to safety,’ shot through your mind, before you were gone.
-
‘I need help!’ Carter yelled. The magicians of Imhotep looked up as he came into the library with you in his arms, as fast as his legs could carry him. A couple of injured hazily looked up. The youngest children, who hadn’t been allowed to fight, huddled closer to their caretaker.
Carter laid you down on one of the blankets they had haphazardly thrown into the library once Brooklyn House got attacked. ‘Anyone? Is there anyone?’
Sweat was prickling on the healers’ foreheads. The issue was clear in an instant: too many injured, too little healers.
Alright, alright, alright. Carter pulled his staff out of duat. He learned a little healing magic, everyone did. He could at least close the wound, even if he couldn’t cure it if it was already infected.
Carefully, he began to untie the rag of fabric he had wrapped around your shoulder. It wasn’t bleeding as hard as it could have, which was the strand of hope Carter held onto.
He felt his hands tremble as he picked up his wand again. ‘It’s okay, it’s okay…’ He mumbeld. He tried to whisper his spell, but his voice was trembling so much it failed. He tried to calm himself again. ‘Come now, come now…’
‘Carter…Carter?’ A magician of Imhotep tried to reach him, but your boyfriend didn’t react. He was too focussed on you.
Carter froze when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. ‘Come on, kitten…’
He burst into tears, as he hung back, against Basts’ shoulder. ‘They’re hurt!’
The goddess pulled him further away from you, so that the healer got the space to tend to your wounds. ‘They’ll be fine. They’re feisty.’
‘But…’
‘Be quiet, Carter.’ She tapped his nose, before pulling him into a hug. Carter obliged.
-
The first thing you saw was the gorgeous ceiling of the library. Carter, right next to you, yelped and tried to break free, yet was restrained by Bast, who almost literally held him back by the scruff of his neck. ‘You…’
You tried to smile, but it didn’t go so well. It made you feel like someone was manically beating on a drum inside your skull. ‘I’m…’
‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘I know what you want to say, but you’re not fine. You need to get rest, and attention, and food, and blankets...’
‘...yes.’ It sounded like a wonderful idea to get some rest right now.
‘Oh…’ Carter stretched out his hand, but didn’t dare touch you while the healer was still working. Bast pulled him against her chest again, before she rested her chin on top of his head. ‘He’s worried about you.’
You knew. ‘What… What are you doing here?’ you sputtered. ‘Aren’t you supposed to fight…’
‘You are a lot stronger than you think, kitten,’ she said, with a soft look in her eyes. ‘You lasted until the enemy was almost vanquished. I saw it when you struck that serpent before - you clearly paid close attention to my classes. Very well. I am proud.’
You smiled despite yourself. ‘Thanks.’
Carter reached out his hand again, and this time you grabbed it before he could pull it back.
‘I… I am proud of you, too,’ he muttered.
‘No,’ You managed to croak. ‘I…’ You moved your finger over his hand, because it was all you could do. All the long words you thought of got stuck in your throat.
When you looked him in the eye, you saw that Carter understood.
‘Thanks.’
‘Don’t,’ he answered, ‘It’s okay, you don’t need to thank me…’
‘But I want to.’ The healer took a step back, so that Carter could get closer to you. Bast begrudgingly let him go. ‘I was afraid.’
‘That’s so cliché.’
‘Sometimes life is a cliché!’ Carefully, he pressed a kiss to your forehead. You stuck out your hand.
‘But it’s over now.’
‘It is over for now,’ he corrected you. ‘There will be a next time, always…’
‘A next time somewhere far, far away.’ Carter kissed your forehead again, with a smile this time. ‘Right now, there is just kisses.’
Carted looked at your shoulder. He didn’t know whether you could feel it hurting or if you were too confused. Anyway, perhaps you were right. There was no use in worrying about tomorrow. There was right now, and right now there was hope on the horizon.