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"Come on Noelle! We've gotta beat the storm!" Asta yells over the wind. "I'm coming you little bug! Ugh, why does it have to be a snow storm!?" She yells back, exacerbated.
The snow was coming down hard now, and the ground was already blanketed in white. "It's so cold." Noelle shivers, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. "Why did I have to wear a skirt in winter. Ugh, I'm so stupid."
"Did you say something Noelle?"
"No!"
"Okay...jeez you don't have to yell.
"Let's just get back. The storm's becoming a blizzard."
As night began to fall, the storm only continued to harshen leaving Noelle and Asta stumbling blindly through the woods. "Hang in there! We're almost back to the hideout! I can
see it!" Asta yells.
All Noelle can do is try to keep her balance as she fights the urge to pass out. As Asta speeds up, eager to get back, Noelle begins to slow down and soon neither of them can
find the other.
"Noelle! Where are you!" Asta yells, desperately trying to find his team mate. Suddenly a scream pierced through the night.
"Noelle!" Asta races off in the direction of her voice. He reaches her just in time to see her fall into an icy lake. "Hold on! I'm coming!" Asta plunges his hands into the frigid water and grabs Noelle's arms, pulling her onto land. She takes a huge breath and starts coughing up water. "Oh thank god you're okay." He begins to relax until he sees the panic in her eyes.
"Asta, it-it hurts. I'm-I'm so cold. Please... make it stop." She's shaking uncontrollably and her clothes are already beginning to freeze. "You're going to be okay Noelle. I'll make sure of it." He picks her up bridal style and starts making his way as fast as he can in the direction of the hideout.
By the time he reaches the door, Noelle's unconscious, her hair and clothes have frozen and her breathing is very shallow. Rushing her through the doors he tries calling for his squad mates, but none reply. That's when he sees the note.
Hey losers, we had to go on a mission given to us by the Wizard King. Will be back in a few days. If you destroy the house, I'll kill ya. Your captain, Yami.
"Shit...what do I do?" Looking down at the girl in his arms, he knows he doesn't have the luxury of time. "Wait, the baths! That's it!" He rushes down to the baths and gets in, clothes and all, and holds her head above water while her body sinks into the warmth.
Just as he's warming up, Noelle awakes with a gasp and starts fighting the water. "Woah, calm down. You're in the bathing pool. You're going to be okay." She stops fighting and calms down once she realizes where she is.
"Asta? Why do I feel so cold?" She questions.
"We were caught in a blizzard and you fell into a lake. You passed out on the way here. Everyone's out on a mission and I'm pretty sure the snow is going to block out any communication so you're stuck with me. And don't worry, I'm sure you'll feel better soon. Just relax, I've got you." Asta says in a soft voice. She nods and closes her eyes.
After a while, she opens them again and looks up at him, with her lips parted slightly as if wanting to ask him something. Asta notices this and speaks.
"What is it Noelle?"
"Oh, um, could you help me to my room, I'm still feeling weak… but don't think this means anything dork."
"Sure. Anything you need."
They get up and Asta lets Noelle lean on him as they make their way to her room.
Once they get there, Noelle starts through her door but is stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Asta questions. "Yes, I'll be fine. I'm royalty after all."
She then closes the door and he heads back to his room and goes to sleep, tired after the chaos of the day.
Back in Noelle's room, she changes into warm clothes, but as she gets into bed, she can't seem to shake the chill that has settled in her. Putting on extra layers of clothes and blankets, nothing helps as she proceeds to lay shivering in her bed.
"I feel so cold and sick, why did I have to send Asta away. At least he kept me warm." She mumbled to herself. A painful, choking cough overtook her as she lay miserably in her bed, unable to fall asleep. Her chest hurts and her breathing is shaky and she wheezes on the exhale.
As the hours pass, she only begins to feel worse as she's sure she's developed a fever as she feels flushed and her brow is covered with sweat, but she still has chills and her body is continuously wracked with cold. With every breath she takes, she coughs, a sickly, wet, hacking cough that leaves her gasping for breath.
As the blizzard ravages on outside, the temperature in her room drops, furthering her discomfort, but she lacks the strength to get up and light a fire.
The night only continues to wear on and time seems to slow, as her temperature skyrockets and she can't think with the heavy fog that's taken over her mind. Tossing and turning, she prays that Asta will come and save her from her pain. "Asta...help me…" She croaks out, leading her into yet another coughing fit. Her throat is raw from it and she can barely talk, but she hopes Asta can hear her.
Delirious, she tries to get up to seek him but the second she's standing and takes a few steps, her knees fall out from underneath her and she hits the cold stone. She just manages to push the door open before succumbing to the darkness.
Thump. That's what woke Asta in the middle of the night. His first thought... Noelle!
Getting up and dressed quickly, he sprints over to her room to see her door open.
Strange, he thought, I could've sworn she closed it.
As he walks over to investigate, he's thrown into a panic when he realizes Noelle is passed out on the ground. Kneeling beside her, he shakes her gently, trying to wake her. "Noelle, Noelle can you hear me? Wake up."
After a few moments, she groans and abruptly starts coughing worse than before. Asta sits her up and rubs her back as the fit lasts minutes. Picking her up, he places her back in bed as she tries to catch her breath.
From her time on the frigid stone, her body continues to quiver violently even once under her blankets. Asta places a hand on her forehead and is alarmed at her temperature.
"I'll be right back." He says before running off. Grabbing a washcloth and filling a bucket with snow, he brings his supplies back upstairs. Folding snow into the washcloth, he places it on her head and watches her relax at the coolness that the snow brings. She tries to say something, but is stopped when she starts coughing once more. Leaning over Asta places his ear right in front of her mouth.
She whispers in a shaky voice, "Th-thank you for h-h-helping me… I f-feel so sick and weak. I've haven't b-been like this s-since I was a c-child... I almost d-died when my siblings left me out in a s-snowstorm, similar to this one... I got a very bad case of pn-pneumonia and the d-doctors said I would be prone to it again... I guess they were r-right." She begins to cough again and Asta's eyes begin to well up with tears at the sight of her pain.
"You're going to get better, I promise. And when the other's get back, they can really heal you." She nods and tries to smile but it turns into a wince, as her head begins to throb. The pain in her head begins to worsen along with vomit beginning to well up in her throat.
Weakly pushing Asta away, she manages to vomit into the trash bin. The world began to spin and tilt as she tastes a metallic flavor in her mouth. Looking in the bin, she sees blood, her blood. She vomits again and falls into darkness once more.
"Noelle!" Asta shakes her, trying to get her to respond. She doesn't. Frantic, he leans down to check her breathing. She's wheezing and her pulse in weak. I need to get her help and fast. But I can't fly a broom, I have no magic and the nearest town is hours away. How am I supposed to save her? She's really sick. Her whole competition is ghostly pale, she has a raging fever and she's now coughing up blood. This is bad, this is really bad. I just have to help her the best I can until the storm stops and I can message the squad.
Asta looks out the window at the raging storm. I hope it ends soon. For Noelle's sake. Using his hand, he brushes off a bit of blood from her mouth.
Replacing the melted snow from her forehead, he continues to monitor her condition over the next few hours. Over these hours though, he only sees her deteriorating as her chills and fever only become more ferocious. Her breathing become more like gasps, and her coughs bring blood. Tossing and turning in her fevered state, Asta's eyes never stray from her. He holds her hand, willing her to get better and for the storm to end.
By morning the storm had died down enough that he attempts to make contact with Yami. "Please work, please work" Asta whispers to himself. "Asta, what do you want? I'm busy kicking butt."
Relief flows through him and suddenly he feels tears rolling down his cheeks. In a choked voice, he replies. "S-sir, it's Noelle. She's really sick and I don't know what to do. Please, she needs help... fast."
Silence. 1, 2, 3 seconds…"We're coming." Yami says, all humor gone from his voice, and hung up.
"You're going to be okay Noelle, the others are coming." Asta says, in a quiet voice, wiping the sweat from her brow. The only reply was a small whimper of pain as Noelle coughed once more.
"Hold on a little bit longer. I promised you'd be okay and you wouldn't want to make me a liar."
1 hour, 2 hours, Asta watches the time pass by as he waits for help to come. Feeling utterly helpless to ease Noelle's pain, it takes all of his strength not to break down. I won't. I have to stay strong for Noelle. It's the least I can do for her. She takes one shaky breath after another and he keeps praying that cycle will continue. Holding her hand in his, he offers comfort for her pain. Fighting the flames threatening to consume her, his touch is what keeps her grounded. Through the pain she feels, his presence is the only thing keeping her will to fight alive.
Tik, tok, tik, tok, the passing seconds are agony for the ones waiting to be saved.
Bang! "Asta! Noelle! Where are you?" I hear Vanessa yell from downstairs. "In Noelle's room! Come quick!" Asta yells back.
Mere seconds later, Yami bursts in the door with a look in his eyes Asta had never seen before. Was it... fear? Worry? Concern? Yami's eyes darken, as he takes in the appearance of his fallen comrade. Feeling Yami's strong, reassuring presence, all of Asta's fear and guilt came bubbling to the surface and he starts crying. Slow at first, but soon it becomes a waterfall of tears pouring down his face. Unable to look Yami in the eye out of shame, he turns down his gaze and stares at the floor. A hand is placed on his head and he tenses at the touch.
"You hung in there kid. Good job." Asta turns to face his captain. Yami's face is stoic, but his eyes, his eyes, hold all of the answers. Fear, grief, guilt, pain for his sick comrade, who he should've been there to heal. But also pride for the newbie with no magic who stuck with an injured friend until help could come.
"Asta. Get some rest. We've got it from here." He says, as the rest of the team files in the room. "Mimosa?" Asta sees his friend from the Golden Dawn walk in behind Yami. "Everything's going to be okay Asta. I'll heal her." Magna puts an arm around Asta and they both head to the common room to rest and wait.
An hour goes by and all the while Asta's straining his ears, but all he can make out are snippets. "This isn't good...My magic's not enough...Noelle!...She's slipping...Hang in there kid!" Unable to take it anymore, Asta jumps from his seat and races up the stairs to her room.
There he's met with a sight he wishes he had never seen. "Hold on Noelle!" He screams.
Mimosa is desperately trying to heal Noelle, but nothing is working. Mimosa's mana is growing faint. Her brow is caked with sweat and she looks like she's on the verge of passing out.
Turning around to see Asta's horror stricken face, makes her loose focus for a second and she loses her balance and starts to fall. Watching her fall, Asta leaps and catches her before her head hits the ground. "Th-thanks, but I have to keep going." Asta helps her sit up and she once more continues to heal Noelle.
Noelle's breathing only gets weaker and weaker, until Asta can't hear them anymore. He looks at her and can't see her chest moving. No, no, this can't be happening. Not now, not to her. I promised her she'd be okay! She has to be okay! Kneeling next to Noelle, he begins shaking her softly at first but then becomes harder in his desperation.
"Wake up Noelle! Get up! This isn't funny! You can't be dead! Run away from the light! Away!"
Becoming hysterical, Yami pulls him into his embrace. "Calm down kid, calm down. Deep breaths, deep breaths." Fighting weakly against Yami's chest, Asta screams. "No, she's not dead! She's not! Mimosa save her! You said you would save her!" Mimosa's eyes well with tears as she stops her magic. "I'm sorry." She says quietly. The other Black Bulls start crying, tears silently running down their cheeks.
"No! I won't give up on her yet! I won't!" Forcing himself away from Yami, he starts doing a technique he read in an old medical book called CPR. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7…" He counts up to 30, timing his thrusts once every second. Leaning down, he gives her two rescue breaths by tilting her head all the way back and blowing air into her lungs.
"Luck! Shock her now!"
Stunned, Luck backs away, a horrified look on his face. "No! Why would I shock her! Asta, she's dead!"
"Just shock her dammit! I'm trying to save her life!" He shoots his comrade a look of absolute seriousness that none of them had seen before nor knew he was capable of. "Fine! I'll do it!" He screams, anxiety at further injuring Noelle coursing through him. Holding his hands above her heart, he releases a small amount of electricity and her body jolts with the impact.
"Breath, come on breath." Asta pleads, holding his ear right in front of her mouth. Seconds pass...Her chest rises once shakily, then twice a little smoother, and then continues to rise and fall.
This time happy tears roll down everyone's faces and Mimosa begins to heal her once more, but this time, by some miracle, her body begins to respond to the magic. Her color returns, her shivers stop, and her breathing normalizes. A few minutes later, she opens her eyes. Looking around she sees her cousin and the rest of the Black Bulls surrounding her.
"What happe-" Before she can finish, Mimosa pulls her into a hug. "Not so hard, I still hurt." She immediately lets go and relaxes and in that moment the rest of her strength leaves her and she passes out.
"Mimosa!" Noelle tries to move but is stopped by Yami. "She'll be fine. She just used too much magic trying to save you, but if you're really wondering who saved you, be sure to thank muscle head over there. Oh, and never scare me like that again or I'll have to kill you for real this time."
With that he leaves with Mimosa in his arms to carry her to one of the spare rooms.
Turning to Asta, she gives him a smile. "Thank you for whatever you did to save me."
He grins. "Oh, it was nothing. After all you would do the same for me."
"But it was. I heard you calling out for me and it gave me the will to not give up and keep fighting. You saved my life Asta. That's not something just anyone would do."
Overwhelmed with emotion, Asta starts crying. Holding Noelle close, he finally let's all his stress and fear. "Never leave me like that again. I won't be able to take it." He says, looking her in the eyes.
Seeing this the other Black Bulls quietly leave the room.
Noelle stares at him stunned by the fact that she could be wanted and loved. "You can't ever leave me either...because...because I love you!" She's shocked by the words she's just said. Did I just tell him I love him?! I mean it's true, but he'll never love me back…
"I love you too." Was his heartfelt response.
"R-Really?" She asked, terrified that this would all be a dream or some sick joke and all that was left of her frail confidence would come crashing down.
"Truly, and for some time now, I've just never had the courage to say anything."
Locking eyes they lean in for a kiss. Its soft and delicate, only lasting a second, but it's filled with more love than most people feel in a lifetime.
"I'll stay with you forever." They both say.
Curling up together, they fall asleep, with their promise still fresh in their minds.
To live out the rest of their days together.