Having had the Cruciatus Curse cast upon him, Faustus knew this was only a fraction of the pain that the curse could summon - but pain was pain: simple, raw and unyielding. He heard Marie shout his name from somewhere in the distance, felt someone seize his arms to hold him down, but his vision had gone black. Whether his eyes had rolled to the back of head, or if he had simply lost vision, he did not know. The heat searing through the middle of his chest was only the beginning. It felt as if every bone were being snapped in his body, and he could do nothing to stop it.

Eventually - thankfully, mercifully - it did, but everything continued to stay black. The pain was gone, and he was free to drift off as he had wanted to before the curse had wrought havoc on him. Something slipped into his hand and held tight. Something warm and soft; someone else's hand that he didn't want to let go no matter what. The hand held on tight to him, and Faustus responded in kind. Whether he was still dreaming or not, he didn't care.

When his eyes fluttered open, he saw the owner of the hand - Marie - and a small smile twitched at his lips. She had been muttering something to herself while watching him. Whether it was an incantation or merely something to herself, he didn't know, but he wished she would continue. She looked so lovely when she spoke. Even more so when her features weren't pinched with worry. Faustus stared at her, momentarily confused before it all came back to him. "I'm so sorry, darling." He must have given her such a fright, screaming like he had. He remembered her crying out his name, remembered the distress that had coated every syllable as she talked with her co-workers.

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