Her Last Breathe

    The war had been ongoing for a long time now...leading up to this climatic battle on the grounds surrounding a long forgotten castle in Great Britain, which had been serving as a base of sorts. The night before the grounds had been stormed by more of the rebels than anyone could count.

    Natalia had lost track of her friends a while ago, caught in the middle of the fight she could only aim, shoot and dodge.

    Out of nowhere, a rebel appeared in front of her. She couldn't reach for her gun fast enough; he was too quick for her. He thrust a dagger into her abdomen; a small squeak escaped her lips, her gun falling to the ground, moments before she did.

    A blonde man saw her fall from the corner of his eye, forgetting what he was doing, forgetting the battle that raged around him, he ran to her aid, calling for help as he knelt at her side, gathering his love into his arms. He focused on the man who had stabbed her as he tried to get lost in the battle around him, but he did not escape Jasper's attention. Jasper shot the man before looking back down at the broken girl in his arms.

    Natalia lay in Jasper's arms, bleeding profusely. Everything registering very slowly...she had been stabbed, she was dying. She looked up at Jasper, her Jasper, and smiled weakly. He was her soul mate; she loved him with every bone in her body. The only thoughts that were going through her mind were those of him, she didn't want to hurt him.

    “I love you, Jasper…” Natalia whispered, “It…It’ll be okay….I….p-promise.”

    “No….Natalia.” he breathed.

    Natalia found it was becoming harder and harder to breath, but still she thought of the blonde staring down at her. Staying with her put him in danger, at any minute an enemy could notice his distraction and take advantage of it...killing him.

    "Go...away," She gasped. The pain was too much and briefly she regretted not taking that medical course.

    "I'm not leaving you," He growled, all sense and reason gone as he watched the life drain from her body. Where were the battle medics? Why weren't they here already?

    Natalia thought of all the games they had played, during their stays at the agency. The first time her friend Anya discovered Britney Spears which started an obsession that would last for years. How Aidan and Aaron had bought her a cell phone that zapped the user, everyone heard her screams that day. She remembered how the lake looked when it was frozen over, and the ice crystals that hung from roofs in the nearby village. The gentle snow falling on the trees of the Ancient Forest. Jasper's salty tears fell onto Natalia's chest and face. She didn’t want to see him in pain like this. It hurt her much more than any other pain she was currently experiencing.

    "Please Jasper ...don't cry..."

    Jasper stared at her for a moment, wiping at the tears she didn't realize were falling down her own face. He stood with her still in her arms, attempting to make his way off the grounds so he could get her to the hospital.

    Natalia's life was flashing before her eyes...she remembered when she first saw Jasper, on the train. Their many arguments and their first kiss. Just the other day Jasper had asked her to marry him. …And now….now she never would. She knew there was no hope for her; she was going to die before the night was over. She didn't want there to be no hope for Jasper, however. She desperately wanted him to have a good life, a happy life. She wanted him to live and be happy, she wanted him to love and be loved.

    Natalia watched Jasper close his eyes for a moment as he ducked through the trees, in hopes that this wasn’t real. The action hurt her; she made a feeble attempt to brush the tears away from his face. He stopped for a moment in the shelter of a large tree near the lake and kissed her cheek. He was growing weak himself and was finding it difficult to hold her. She could feel herself growing weaker, she could barely breath now. She struggled to gain just one breath….just one…

    "I love you." Natalia felt her last breath leave her, she watched Jasper fade into darkness.

    “Natalia! Natalia! Don’t leave me! Natalia…” Jasper called in a pitiful moan, tears streaming down his face as she didn't answer.

    He didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind him as he craddled her lifeless body in his arms. As he kissed her cold lips one last time, a voice sounded out from the darkness.

    "Tragic love."

    A bang resounded throughout the wood but no one was there to hear it over the sounds of the surrounding battle.

    And the blonde, who felt he had already lost everything he held dear to him, lost the last thing he thought he could hold onto. He lost his life.