Magic and Gold

23: Impressive

Perspective of Alix

When my senses came back, I was standing on a quiet street next to a confused Key and Copper, who was holding Guin. She looked even worse than before and was now sweating profusely. She was out cold. I looked up and down the street. There were no guards. No Iaan. How had we gotten here?

I looked up at the house next to us and stepped back in disbelief. "We're here," I said quietly. "This is my house."

"What?" Copper asked. "She brought us here? How the hell—?" He looked down at the unconscious Guin. "How is she going to get up there? It's a ladder."

"I know that," I said, huffing. "Give her to me. I'll handle it. Go up, it's the fourth up. There'll be a girl in there, she's my sister." Copper eased Guin into my arms again. She looked so fragile and weak I worried about worsening her bruises.

"Are you sure?" Key asked nervously. "I could help, I just don't know how. You can't carry her and climb a ladder. You need two hands."

"It's fine. I can do it. Just go." Copper was already up the ladder but Key hesitated before heading up after him.

I held her with my hand slung across her back, her head resting on my chest. I shook her slightly, trying to rouse her, but she stayed knocked out. This would not be easy. I gritted my teeth and put my foot on the first rung. My hand went along the side of the ladder, shimmying up the side instead of holding onto the rungs. I only had one hand to pull up with while my feet balanced on the rungs.

Guin was heavy, but I moved as quickly as I could. I had to use core strength to not fall back, but I managed up to the second floor without taking a break. I was panting, sore with the amount of energy I had exerted carrying two. I stopped for a moment, pressing up against the ladder.

I looked at Guin's head on my chest and grew determined. This was not for me. Guin had been strong for so long, and this was my turn to carry us both. She had brought us here, and I would finish what she started. Through thick and thin, I would be strong as she had always been. I would endure, because in my mind there was no other choice but to do anything to save her.

I kept climbing. My hand grew weak and sweaty, but there was no way to switch hands. I tried to climb faster, but my strength was waning. My foot hit a rung and slipped before I caught myself, just in time. I hung with one hand for a moment before I placed my foot back on the rungs.

I was so close. It was too late to give up, I only had a few more rungs. I could see Key wrapping her ponytail around her finger in nervousness at the top. She was watching. Copper was probably watching. I had to do this. There was no choice. My legs were burning, my lungs were burning, and most of all, my hands were on fire. But I pulled our weight, up and up.

A little further.

A little more.

So close.

Finally, I felt a hand grasp my wrist and help pull me up. I collapsed on the floor of my room, gasping heavily. My lungs felt like they could not get enough air. My whole body felt a literal weight lifted as I lay next to Guin. She was still unresponsive. I looked over at her and felt the world start turning again. She was here. She was safe now, and even if she was broken, that didn't mean she couldn't be fixed. "Water?" I said in between pants.