And so he remained for the next few days.
Tucked, unmoving, and really barely breathing. Alice was worried, Vivic wasn't.
"Viv, he's looking pale."
"I wouldn't worry 'bout it."
"Viv, his skin's ice."
"Slushy ice?"
"Viv, I don't feel a pulse!"
"I wouldn't-"
"Vivic for the love of god!" Alice paced. For while Sieg was steadily becoming a houseplant, she'd been turning more human than she'd been in years...her nails were growing. "I mean you said it yourself, he's not immortal anymore—this isn't normal."
That gave Vivic pause and he frowned. "Too true, too true that, but hm...I don't know. Normal tends to do backflips and twists when it comes to the young prince, Licé. So yes, I wouldn't worry about it."
Alice was already fighting a losing battle for Vivic's attention against a jumbo snicker's, but she also wanted to be alone with Sieg so she let it go. When a week started nearing with him in the same position as Tuesday, Alice decided enough was enough. She'd been reading at his side as she'd been doing for the past few days when her ears suddenly stopped picking up his pulse.
She went straight for Carlisle's office then, barreling through his things like a bull in shop full of fine china. When she finally found the AED nestled at the top most drawer, she'd drawn attention to herself.
She passed by a frowning Jasper, a smirking Edward, and a drooling Emmett straight for Sieg's room; she ripped his shirt apart with such force, all the buttons said fuck it.
His head lolled to the side like a rag doll and taking in his pale, finished appearance, she choked a sob. It became harder when she put an ear to his chest and didn't hear his ticker, then she straightened up and there on his rib was a wound looking all stitched. He must've gotten it months ago When they'd met, but here it was...green as if new. It was there that she heard his heart all faint.
"Fuck that. If you think you're getting out of your protection detail so easy even for a second..." She started unfurling the AED. She slapped a pad to his upper right quadrant and the other to his rib—to a spot just under the wound, you see. Then she counted.
One, two, three, shock
Nothing.
One, two, three—shock.
One, two, three...shock.
"GET UP!" she screamed, blurry eyed. "Get up, get up, get up."
One, two, three—shock, shock, shock.
His eyes jerked open mid through the third and the shock at seeing that hint of life in his grey eyes delayed her reaction time. By the time she shook herself and stopped the machine, Sieg looked like he'd been hit by lightning.
"Why do you keep trying to kill me?!" He exclaimed.
But Alice heard nothing, she lunged at him for a embrace and only when she could literally feel the thunder of his heart in her ears did she let go. "You're alright. You're alright, I thought you were—you're alright."
And fearing that she could see that he wasn't, Sieg faked himself a smirk and kissed her forehead. "I am life, Chickadee, when I die—the whole world will come with me. Of course I'm fine."
He returned to bed though and so he stayed for another three days, Frail like a centenarian on his last leg. On the fourth day, Alice dreamt this dream of a circus; dreamt a magician sawing Sieg in two and realizing that blood was dripping from the sides. On the magician's finger she saw a ring, one she recognized so well, she woke with its name at her lips.
"Niles."
