No dreams pervaded the protective veil of unconsciousness that kept Ally under its thrall, well beyond the fierce claws of pain that raked her mercilessly. Vaguely, she was aware of a piercing in the tender flesh of her wrists...and thinks she struggled, but couldn't be quite sure. The blur of existence served only to keep her breathing for the hope that she could see Gules just one last time. Then she'd be happy to give up to oblivion, well beyond the mortal coil where pain could never reach her again. Surely there was only so much one could endure before the breath of Tunare fled her lips and she could at last find peace, right?
Just once more, that's all she asked. "Once more? No ... no, there will be no more." Came the soft rasp of voice, like the crinkling of aged parchment or the crackling of a dying fire. There would be no escape from this voice as it echoed through every corner of her mind, shrivelling her resolve as she tried to close herself to the invasion. This was not the first time.
"No, please... leave me alone." Tortured whispers seemed to bounce throughout her mind and was overshadowed by horrible, malicious laughter, rasping from some unseen throat that seemed to be behind her, to her left or right ... it was everywhere. It struck through her mind with torturous glee until her inner self pressed useless hands to her ears futilely, as if that would stop the sound from permeating her brain. The demonic pleasure that edged through Ally's consciousness cut her like a blade, slowly piercing the tender membranes to reach her weakest point.
"There will be no more, little druid ... silly child of Kelethin ... your beloved ranger is dead. I saw to that myself." An image swirled up to replace the comforting darkness with the bright beauty of the Twilight sea. The spectrum of colors swam up before her inner eye, framing a place she knew and loved so well. There, she saw a flash of bright mail as Gules splashed up the embankment to climb and the top of the hill. His mouth formed her name, crying out in agony as he searched the empty islands for her. Tears streamed in hot torrents over her cinnamon speckled cheeks, but she couldn't shut herself away from images from playing over her inner eye. Ally opened her mouth to cry out to him, or to call up one of Tunare's gifts, but the moment the magic swelled in her blood the pain began anew and pierced her already tortured mind. The world began to swirl, bright crimson threads poisoning the waters and spreading into a pool of ichor to nourish the land she loved so much.
He staggered, dark eyes swinging down towards the arrow that had somehow pierced the enchanted knit of steel rings spread over his wide span of chest, seemingly surprised that such a thing could happen. Still, he pressed on, crying her name from bloodied lips as another struck him in the meat of his shoulder, spinning him on his already unsteady feet. Gules found support in one of the trees, dragging a long, bloodied hand print in the bark as he tried to fill his lungs with air rather than the blood that took up the precious space. Pushing off the tree, he clawed through the space of air and stumbled to the next with his face set in grim determination. Nothing would stop him from finding her ... he refused to believe he could be stopped ... However the unseen assailant struck again and the arrows head burrowing deeply into his muscled thigh and finally her husband toppled to the ground to feed the earth with his life, lips working soundlessly as he defied the world. Her name was the last breath that rattled from his broken body and the light she'd depended on faded from his eyes.
"So you see, little druid ... there will be no ' once more', not ever again." Her chest burned as she reached for him, searching for the spiritual tether that kept them bound tightly together. It had to be a lie, a horrible and cruel lie. The ties that bind unravelled with confusion, desperation clouding her senses as once more the terrible cackling came again. That precious connection severed, it withered, atrophied in her spectral hands as she clenched them futilely only to watch as the cord crumbled. A fetid wind blew, rushing against her like the Seer's hot breath her as spirit sank, dejected as she murmured a soft mantra, trying to cleanse her mind of the images. Unfortunately, the sight of her husband's death was burned on the undersides of her eyelids, and would be there every moment she dared try to push it away.
"Lies.." The word became a chant between broken sobs as she refused to believe her hero could be felled by anything short of an unholy miracle. Somewhere, fresh blood poured down her arms in crimson rivulets, pooling in the crevices formed by flesh and wood. Awareness slowly ebbed into her consciousness as she twisted against her binds and felt the pain startle her back into reality. Opening her eyes to slits, sunlight danced over her ginger lashes to explode into tiny bulbs balancing on their pointed edges. Glistening through her tears, the blinding brilliance was blinked away and she was met with the sight of treetops. Tall, angular pines stretched their evergreen fingers towards a pale blue sky, streaked with feathery wisps of clouds meandering along the lazy cerulean path. Cracked lips parted, stinging as she stretched them over a single word until she could taste the coppery flavor of her own blood. "Lies .."
The word seemed to stir someone nearby and footsteps moved closer, heavily thudding over the hard packed soil of the forest floor. Grass crunched as the footsteps neared and a shadow spilled over her reclining form and took a moment to tug at the coils of burlap rope biting painfully into her tender skin. After making sure she hadn't loosened the binds, the guard leaned over and very gently, tested the integrity of the arrow burrowed in the wood through her slender wrists. Even the slight vibration in the shaft of the arrow made her tense, hissing through her clenched teeth and squeezing her eyes shut. "Forgive me for that.." The apology in his voice was genuine, and Ally nodded slightly to acknowledge his sincerity. "What is it you said earlier? I heard you say something."
Her empty stomach rebelled and she had to swallow back the wave of nausea before she tried to answer, eyes flickering open to focus on the face hovering over hers. The elf's face was well worn, weathered features severe with a scar streaking over his left eye and another forming a starburst pattern on the opposite cheek. Both gleamed whitely against his richly tanned skin, roughened by years under the sun until it was bark etched with sharp elven features. His hair hung over his brow in lank, sandy blonde locks that was grizzled by time and experience, cropped short over his pointed ears and kept well out of his dark amber eyes. Ally grimaced again, the ache still throbbing in her head as she stretched her lips over words painfully to answer his questioning gaze. "Water... please. I asked for water." Sandy blonde locks swung as his head dipped and he disappeared from her gaze.
Barely able to move, Ally found the moment to test her bonds when the guard left, thick burlap ropes held her tightly inside of a hollowed log. The ancient spirit of the wood had long since returned to Tunare, but she could feel it's age in the near steel petrification. The interior was painstakingly carved and sanded until it was smooth as glass, and she could feel etched runes lining the edges of the logs interior that rubbed against her stretched arms. Startling realization made her jerk painfully against the bonds, rewarding her with a new wash of pain that churned her already sensitive stomach. Her prison was a Druid's coffin!
Approaching voices stilled her movements, though her breath came in painfully quick bursts and her heart fluttered like a caged butterfly. Once again, the weathered guard bent over her to test her restraints, frowning into her winces apologetically. As he rose, he murmured to a second guard some curt orders and his footsteps led him out of earshot. What replaced the gentle guard was a harder face of chiseled features. Cold blue eyes that matched the sky and gleamed with a predatory hunger flashed down towards her in a blatant leer, spanning the length of her prone figure with a half smirk. Pulling the stopper on a small flask, he touched it to her lips and seemed to take an unnatural pleasure to the sound of her satisfied sigh. When not nearly enough liquid had cooled the burning dryness in her throat, he pulled the flask away and poured the rest onto a small washcloth. Ally only closed her eyes, withdrawing into herself to spare the humiliation she was bound to find at his hands.
She found solace in a peaceful memory, bound not by ropes and pain, but by the strength in a pair of strong arms. Her eyes were closed as her head rested against a strong chest, etched with scars and steeled by battle worship. Here, the bloodlust was quiet and all there was to hear was the steady drum of his heartbeat under her ear coupled with the constant working of his breath resounding like bellows. Calloused fingers were tangled in her dark crimson hair, thumb tenderly stroking the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck while he rested his cheek against the top of her head. The feeling of it was so real, she could almost feel the sting of new tears finding its way to the surface, and never felt the damp rag as the guard took his time cleaning the blood and grime from her arms. Vaguely, she was aware he was moving the rag over her face and bathing her chapped lips with the cool water, but her mind was far, far away. It was another cool set of lips that touched over hers, tenderly feather light as calloused fingertips trailed lightly over her upturned cheek. Dark eyes were infinitely gentle, reverent as he soaked in the feel of her satin cheek with cool fingers. His smile was so heart-achingly beautiful, she couldn't wait until he did it again.
That is, until a jolt rocked her body against the bonds, making her tender flesh scream with the pain and her emerald eyes flew open. The blurred world centered on a pair of dark eyes, gleaming wickedly as he glared off at the guard who had been bathing her with the washcloth and realized that the rag lay dormant, saturated with blood both old and new, at the cleft of her bosom. For the heartbeat it took for her to tear her eyes from the dark ones that looked so familiar, she gave a small groan and let her eyes flutter closed again, the tears renewing trails down her cheeks. Vallon plucked the rag from her, careful not to make contact with her skin and tossed it away, the deep timbre of his voice barking a reprimand to the hard looking guard that she cared not to hear. The misery washed in to sting her eyes with a fresh torrent of tears as the infamous leader of the Ivy Order bent over her, scrutinizing her wounds and bonds much like the gentler guard did, but there was no apology in his eyes when she looked up at him and winced from the pain.
Wordlessly, he nodded and his shadow pulled away from her coffin to be replaced by one more slender, slightly taller in her elongated state with the breeze flowing through the scraggly, grizzled mane. The milky whiteness of her blind eyes unerringly found Ally's, registering the blatant fear in their widened emerald depths. "No ... no ... " Her voice sounded tiny, plaintively whining as she started to renew her struggle, ropes burning skin and new rivulets of her blood pulsing down her arms as she tried to get away. The jaggedly sharp smile washed her with the Seer's fetid breath as she pressed her hand over the fluttering of her heart and dug the spindle fingers into her soft skin, starting her torture all over again. Most of Vallon's order turned well away from the sound of her agonized screams.
Through it all, a spark of connection flickered to life in her mind, giving her the gift of hope and steeling her against the Seer's lies.
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