It had been like this for weeks now. At first, complete and utter silence in his head, so much silence that it was almost - dare he think it — lonely. Then, in an advancing phase of paranoia, Vincent had started to feel whispers… as if threads of the curse still lingered, the barest vestiges still attached. It was impossible to tell his own thoughts, his own inner voice, from the monster that had lingered for so long. Was it a side effect? Was it borne of his own fears, a nothingness he’d forced into reality? The very suggestion made goosebumps linger on the blonde’s skin and he scratched absently at his arm.

Vince realized as the sensation spread that he was better off escaping while he still had all of his wits. He made a small gesture of pardon to the woman again, ignoring the way her voice pitched in earnest, and reached for the door. She’d survive just fine without him tampering—

The world rumbled suddenly then, the sound of a carriage careening past the window loud and uproarious. (Vince thought idly to himself in the moments of catastrophe that he hadn’t realized this room faced the outside on the far-side of the hospital…) There was a crash and some screams, the realization of which causing him to scramble for his wand, while in the very same room, Ms. Crawley toppled out of the bed. Green eyes widened.

“Ms. Crawley!” On the ground by her side in an instant, Vince didn’t even have time to think before he was hovering over her. The woman jabbered nonsense, her gaze evidently glazed over, seeing something that wasn’t there. He didn’t know what all he could do for her, face tucked into her arms and trembling as she was. He settled one cautious hand on her shoulder, cold fingers barley brushing her gown and brain tripping over any limited aid training he’d undergone, but the thoughts wouldn’t formulate. All he could hear behind a dull roar was the curse, dark laughter echoing in the base of his skull. Another crash and a scream sounded outside. Vincent moved to crowd over the woman protectively as his head whipped around to look over his shoulder; the glass to their window had been shattered.

Sparing one last glance at the petrified woman, he stood and crossed the room to lean out the window. There were flames peeking around the side of the building. Damn! Wand still in hand, Vince made to exit the room and help.

“Ms. Crawley, I’m going to send someone in! Please hang in there just a moment longer—“

Time passed quickly after that. Having found a nurse in the hall and sent her into the room to aid the toppled victim, Vince did his best to put out the flames that had flared up quickly from the runaway carriage. It had been upturned by a pothole on the cobblestones when the horses spooked. Luckily nobody was hurt, but the flames took some time to reign in. Soot and smoke covered Vince’s attire as he finally made his way back into the hospital to check that Ms. Crawley had been resettled. (Why, he wasn’t entirely sure.)

A soft knock sounded on her door before the blonde peeked around the door. He didn’t know what he was going to say exactly— but he did know now… they had more in common than he’d first realized.

---

---