The Girl Who Stopped Time

Half Mortal

After my tears had dried Atlas finally released me from his hold and went back into his room and grabbed a shirt. He rather painfully slipped on a plain white T-shirt, then came back out to me. Shutting the door behind him.

"You can go now Gilah, I've got her." He says as he wraps his arm around my waist, balancing me on my one good leg. "Thank you for taking care of her wounds."

"It was my pleasure." She gives me a smile, then adjusts Aggie on her back. "I need to take this one to bed. I'll come check on you later, Avi." She says then turns and walks down the hall, disappearing into the darkness.

Floating particles of dust whirl up into the air. They're kicked up by her footsteps and spiral into a million different directions. Few grains make their way into my nose and I let out a less then attractive sneeze. Followed by another... and another.

Atlas chuckles next to me and I turn my head up to him, playfully glaring at him for laughing at me.

"You okay there?" He asks laughing harder than before.

I slap his chest, and dramatically gasp at him. "It's not my fault this place is dusty." I say and pull away from his arm, only for him to tighten it more around my waist.

"Okay, okay I'm sorry. These halls do need a little bit of cleaning." He admits.

"A little?" I'm probably over stepping my bounds now, but talking with him is just so easy.

"Maybe more than a little." He says, surprising me with his playful tone. "Let's go somewhere more comfortable to talk and heal, yeah?" Then he starts to help me limp down the hall, traveling in the opposite direction Gilah went.

"Why not just go in your room?" My mouth spews out before I can stop it.

He stops walking and looks down at me, his face serious and his musky brown eyes piercing through my own.

"I think we both know why that would be a bad idea, sweetheart."

I feel my heart jump up into my throat as his eyebrow raises, waiting for my reply. I open my mouth waiting for anything to come out but all I can give is a slight cough and nod of my head.

His hand gives my hip a squeeze and then we are walking down the hall again.

The stone on either side of us varies in grays and blacks as we make our way through the corridors. I try to keep as much pressure off my leg as possible but I find my leg still throbbing and my shoulder isn't much better. I can tell Atlas is trying really hard not to hurt me, which is very much appreciated but I don't know how much longer I can walk for. My energy is completely depleted.

Luckily, I don't have to walk for much longer because the hall opens up to the main corridor or I guess you could call it a living room of some sorts. The beautiful grand piano sits in the middle of the room in all of its glory and the golden chandelier sits above it, glistening with bright luminescent light. Seeming reflect off of any surface that it can take hold of.

Atlas walks me in further and sets me on the larger of the two couches that sit next to the ivory instrument. He kneels down in front of me and lifts my hurt leg up into his arms. Cradling it with a tenderness I haven't seen from him before. He caresses the bandage, soothing the waters before they become waves.

He starts to unwrap the binding around it, which makes me instantly reach out my hand to stop him. At the moment with it wrapped I can still feel the ghostly pain so I can't imagine what it might feel like if the pressure is taken away.

Atlas takes my hand from around his wrist and wraps his own around it. Squeezing it reassuringly. "It's okay, it will only hurt for a second. I'm just going to heal your leg for now, I don't have enough energy to heal your shoulder yet." He tells me. The warmth of his hand seems to cloud my senses as the familiar tingles course through my body. Pushing electricity through my veins.