ᴄʜᴇᴍɪᴄᴀʟ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ - ᴀʟʙᴇᴅᴏ x ᴏᴄ

Chapter 23 - A Saving Embrace

Now playing:
Always Forever - Cults
0:01 ❍─────── 3:43
↻ ⊲ Ⅱ ⊳ ↺

Their voices had grown nearer, each time calling out her name and expecting an answer back. She couldn't answer in her deep sleep, no matter how badly she wanted to respond to the alchemist and Captain's calls. There were three of them she remembered hearing; Albedo, Kaeya, and Sister Rosaria, whose name she only picked up through their rapid chatter when they discovered her.

"There! She's right there! Rosaria, can you get up there?" Kaeya shouted, suddenly closer than expected.

Three pairs of footsteps raced closer, thumping against the Earth and sending heavy vibrations through her. All of their hands had been on her in an instant, checking for a pulse and for life. Little did they know, while she could not move with her body shut down, she could hear them.

"Damn, it's been a full day of searching," Rosaria muttered, likely backing away with the sound of the snow crunching.

Someone hauled her off of the ground, carrying her in their arms. Albedo's scent washed over her, and she wished she could smile to let him know she was there. He moved with her firmly in his arms, the sensation sickening to her stomach.

Albedo's voice was rough and strained with worry. "We have to get back, and quick. I don't know how long she'll hang on for..."

"Right, you lead the way." Kaeya sounded gentler than usual. She could imagine his icy blue gaze was softened with emotion, something that felt truly impossible from the charismatic charmer.

Melanie wasn't sure how long they carried her for, but the run only made her ache more. She pulled herself from her unconsciousness to remain focused on what was happening around her. While she still couldn't open her eyes with her failing strength, she was able to let out a low groan of pain.

Albedo's movement faltered at the sound. A harsh sound suggested he stopped moving and was joined by the other Knights. "You heard that?" He asked the others, sounding uncertain about his own ears.

The cold snow could be felt on her back again, soaking into her shirt, then someone lifted her up to put her arms through sleeve holes.

"Don't you need that?" Rosaria asked in her monotone voice. "I'm not carrying you back if you freeze."

Melanie imagined the knowing look on Albedo's face through the surrounding silence. He rarely felt the cold; that was one thing he acknowledged often. She knew he spent most of his days trying to understand the ways of humans; how to love, how to understand emotions powerful enough to confuse the mind, and how to live outside of the chalk. He wanted to understand the world.

Albedo's hands were bare, she noticed, when his fingers traced over the skin of her shoulder before covering it with the sleeve. He made sure she was covered when he picked her up, beginning to walk again. Faint shivers rippled through his arms, likely more from fear than cold.

"How long do you think she was freezing for?" Kaeya asked quietly. "She was sitting pretty close to that seelie court."

"Looked like it did little to help. Her tear stains are noticeable," Rosaria noted. Her voice came from the other side of Albedo. From this, she guessed the other Knights were hugging his sides, Albedo walking in the middle.

Albedo was quiet for a while, as if hesitant to answer. "Too long..." he murmured. "It could have been hours. It could have been all day and night. She's ice cold, hypothermic, and facing a badly damaged shoulder."

"Do you know why she fled?"

"I'm afraid to know."

Silence crept into the group. The sound of crunching snow shifted to the crumbling of gravel and dirt underneath their feet. The wind faded and a glowing warmth surrounded her. Albedo came to a halt. She could imagine his worried teal gaze looking down.