Hestra heard the screaming. The sound of swords clashing and bodies falling. She felt the footfalls as they fell upon the stones around her. She did not feel pain, oddly enough. She knew she was struck, and she knew she ought to feel the pain of it. The white-hot, biting, unrelenting pain of it, but more than anything, she felt cold. She was very, very cold. She knew that was not a very good sign at all, medically speaking. Or was it? She was having difficulty remembering. She found it difficult to focus her thoughts. It was as though her thoughts were just below the surface of ocean waves, the images becoming unclear and distorted and floating just irritatingly beyond her reach. Her eyelids fluttered, and Hestra tried closing her eyes if only to help her focus on her thoughts. If only for a moment, yes, only for a moment. "Don't you dare!" Came the commanding voice of her companion. Hestra's eyelids fluttered open once more, and she found that her eyes couldn't quite focus, but she knew the form by the brilliant white of it. By the concern in his tone. By the coolness of his skin as she reached for him. As she did, she noticed that her hands were shaking. She felt weak, the effort it took to keep her eyes open becoming a more arduous task with every passing moment. He took her hand in his own, raising it to his lips. He pressed her hand to his face. His cheek was oddly warm and wet. Was it blood? Hestra could not tell. She could see no better than she could think. Her eyes closed once more. Astarion shook her by the shoulders. "No, no, no, no, Hestra, stay awake, darling, please. I am begging you to stay awake. Come on, sweetheart, keep those gorgeous green eyes of yours open for me." Hestra would have laughed if she had the strength to do so. There was such desperation in his voice. Surely, he knew as well as she did that she was dying. There was no helping it. She would try, though, if only for his sake. She would keep her eyes open for as long as she could. The vampire cradled her broken body, surely sullying himself with her blood. He stroked her hair and clutched her tightly in his arms. "Yes, that's my good girl, stay awake with me. The others will be here soon; they'll know what to do, they'll be able to help, you're going to be ok, please, please be okay. I need you...to be okay, Hestra, please. Please be okay. For me." Hestra was sorry that he had to bear witness to her dying. More sorry than she was to be dying herself. She wished Astarion would look away and let her die alone. The pain in his voice as he begged her to live tore her heart more deeply than the blade had. Hestra, as foggy-headed as she was, could not think of a single regret that she had. She had no regret, no debt, and had left no matters unresolved. Yes, it was undoubtedly unfortunate to have died so young; there was more she would have liked to have seen and done, but all things considered, she made her peace with dying here on the road. Her lifeblood seeped out of her with every feeble beating of her broken heart. Another foolhardy healer who would never rejoin the caravan. Hestra looked up at Astarion, gods he was beautiful. As sorry as she was to have him bear witness to her death, she was glad to see him. Even sobbing, he made a fantastic view. Hestra tried to take in the whole of his face as her vision began to fade and curl around the edges. He had a cut on his temple that he must have gotten during the scrimmage with the bandits. It trickled blood down his cheek. Her hand still rested on the side of his face, and with her shaking thumb, Hestra stroked away the blood. His face was so near to hers that his tears fell upon her face like rain. Hestra struggled to breathe, coughing blood as she made a desperate attempt to comfort him. If these were her last words, so be it; they would be well spent. "It will be alright." She murmured. Her voice just above a whisper. "you will be alright, little dove. You will find the freedom you seek." Her eyes closed for one final time, the last of her energy having been spent. "Don't go yet, dammit! I need you! You can't leave! Not yet, please, Hestra, not yet." Hestra wished for all the world that she could have stayed here with him. She wished she could have eased his pain, but she could do neither. She felt the cool sensation of his mouth as he planted kisses across her face. Her forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks, her mouth, all the way down to her neck. Hestra's last conscious thought as she felt herself drift off into nothingness was how glad she was to have died so tenderly loved.
