Last Memories

First Half

      Time seemed to have stopped all around me. The feeling of my heart pounding beat by beat resounded in my ears like a drum; there was so much happening all at once that I almost forgot why I was here. My head turned to look behind me and I notice a shocked woman standing there, hands over her mouth in a silent gasp. She wasn't hurt, and for some reason just by knowing that I felt relief. It was as if I was relieved that I was hurt and not her. I turn my head back to the front and notice a man no bigger than myself holding a gun up. It was smoking; it had just been used. My mind clicked - that's why I felt a searing pain in my chest. I came to the realization that I must have been trying to save this woman. My body was beginning to collapse from the impact of the shot to my chest, and I could feel my life force slowly leave me. My mind went blank, and I found myself in a room full of pictures - my memories. I could see myself as a cheerful child, happily laughing in my mother's warm and tender love. I remember my father, a strong yet gentle man, who always knew how to make me smile. The memories flashed forwards and I began to relive my life at the time that I had finally become an adult. The joy that my parents expressed at my newfound independence as well as how proud they were to have raised me. I had recently been hired as the guard for the richest family in town.

        Another flash forward in time led me to my first meet with the woman I saved. She was compassionate and caring, somewhat like an angel. I was charged to become her personal guard after her father had caught me practicing close combat with my brothers. The man originally had eyes on my oldest brother, but changed his mind saying that a female guard would be better for his daughter. Of course I took the job; at the time I didn't think too much about it other than the fact that I was going to be protecting a girl from a rich family. Being from a family of poverty, I thought that this girl would be snobby and selfish, like a stereotypical rich girl. To my surprise, she greeted me with a genuine smile and introduced herself to me. I couldn't hide my shock, and I could remember hearing her angelic laugh for the first time. I truly believed that at that moment I felt like I could die for this person, so drawn to her natural beauty that I couldn't resist. Rather, I think I never truly tried. We had hit it off like good friends; she would take me everywhere with her and it would feel like I was hanging out with a best friend. It eventually grew to something a bit more, where she would ask me to stay the night in her room with her to keep her company. Her father never really suspected anything, but the two of us had become really close. I think the correct term would be "friends with benefits?"

         I was reeled forwards through more of my memories and ended up at the time where she and I truly fell in love. It was on a summer night, about two years into my job as her guard; she and I were together at a beach party her father hosted to find her a suitor to be married to. I could tell she wasn't interested in any of the men her father had her meet. She threw glances at me every time one of them got too close to her, and I would head over and save her from that situation. Eventually, her father allowed her to hang out at the beach to catch her breath after meeting all ten of her potential suitors.
"Ha... I really don't get why Father needs me to think so soon about this," I recall her saying out loud once we were alone. I huffed in amusement, and she gave me a cute pout-y face. I laughed.
"Relax, Milady," I tried my best to become serious again, proving myself with a kiss on her hand. As I lifted my head, I noticed that she was blushing shyly. I gave her a smirk and she had come close to me, wrapping her arms around my neck.
"Why should I relax now?" she said to me coyly. I placed my arms around her hips, thinking nothing of it. We had always acted like this naturally for being so close to one another. I hummed in amusement when she shyly looked away when I did that, keeping her arms around me.
"Cause you're with me?" I asked smugly. I always liked to tease her on occasion; she was cute when she was flustered. I leaned my face close to hers, touching her forehead in a gentle manner. Teasing aside, I knew that she was stressed from the party so I wanted her to unwind and relax. She locked eyes with me, appreciation projected in her passionate brown eyes. And that was when she leaned closer and kissed me tenderly. I didn't back away and I returned it in fervor. It was quite a while until we broke apart to catch our breaths. It wasn't the same after that night.

         Once again, I was taken to another part of my memories - when her family started becoming the targets of bounties. It all happened so fast that I couldn't believe it until she was the only one left surviving from all the carnage. Servants and relatives alike were not spare from the chaos. It was the work of two extremely skilled killers, so her protection became my main priority. I took her hand and mine and ran to our back garden to hide. I remember her sobbing from the loss of all the people she knew, clinging to me and muttering "Don't leave me" like a wishful mantra. My heart was beating fast from the adrenaline and my mind was racing with ways to protect her from all of the chaos. None of those ideas ever got to work; one of the men found us and cornered us at a private waterfall her family owned. As her guard, I stood in front of her, determined to protect her at all costs. And that memory led me back to my present situation. I crashed onto the ground unceremoniously and sensed that she had run to my side, placing pressure on my chest. I felt her tears drop onto my face. A distant sound caught the her attention for a moment, and she looked over towards the man in fear. After a little while, her face relaxed. She looked down at me and held pressure to my chest like before. I could feel her body shaking; she was scared and I could tell that.

           "Please, please, please stay with me," I heard her murmur, voice shaking from her sobs. I tried to say something to console her, but my voice wouldn't come. I could only slowly raise my hand to her face, brushing away her tears with my thumb. She took my hand and held it at her cheek, trying her best to smile back in appreciation. It was getting harder to breath and my vision was starting to go black. With the last of the strength I had, I pulled myself up to kiss her one last time. I tried to keep it tender, tasting the mix of her tears with the metallic taste of my blood. I felt her kiss me back with the same tenderness. I smiled into our kiss, and fell back down, no longer able to keep conscious. I remember my vision fading to a pitch black, and the last thing I could hear was her screaming my name in pain.