-White Rose-
Disclaimer: Everything in here isn't mine! It all belongs to Christopher Paolini. :)
Warning: Graphic, lots of angst, blood, and gore.
The slamming of a cell door echoed throughout the corridor, and the heavy key screeched in the lock as it was turned, subjecting the world, once more, to complete and utter darkness.
The tramping of heavy boots quickly faded away into oblivion, and soon even the slight vibrations dissipated, leaving the occupant of the room in blessed silence.
Arya Dröttningu lay motionless on the cold stone floor, curled up as if protecting herself from danger. Only a faint whisper of breath indicated that she was still alive, and involuntary shivers occasionally racked her slender body. Her skin, once so fair, was now mottled with a varied kaleidoscope of putrid colour, and her back, arms and legs were striped with scars, most of which were raw and bleeding. A shapeless piece of cloth allegedly christened a "dress" did almost nothing to hide the appalling state of her injuries.
Despite her battered exterior, Arya was still capable of coherent thought. But as the long day wore on into night, she slipped into a stupor of pain and despair, fogging her mind and leaving her in a delirious, trance-like state. Only a paper-thin wall separated her from madness as she floated in the void between reality and unconsciousness, and strange sounds, sights and smells drifted in and out of her mind.
Luring her into the clutches of insanity.
Yet Arya did not give up her hold on reason. She hung on because the whole of Alagaësia depended upon her to hide their secrets, and if she lost her mind because of simple lack of determination, it would be exactly what Durza would have wanted.
She could not bear the thought of that foul Shade taking further pleasure in her pain. If she had the power to avoid it, she would, even if it meant her death.
But it was excruciatingly hard, and the temptation to just let go, and give up, pressed against her day after day, when even unconsciousness couldn't sate the pain. It tore deep into her very soul, making her forget who she was, what she was doing, ripping apart her very identity. There were times when the floor was splattered with blood, when agonized screams of unbearable torment echoed through the dungeons, when her own fingernails gouged wounds in her skin. Times when she almost gave up.
Almost.
I must not fail.
She did not even notice when the tortured shriek of the key announced the arrival of another guard, who quietly set down a tray before turning and walking away. The door slammed shut behind him.
…
It was nearly midnight when Arya first stirred. The scarred, white moon was high in the heavens amongst cloudless skies, its unwavering light illuminating the sprawling city of Gil'ead. Somehow the moonlight even managed to enter Arya's cell, tracing a path through the air and merging into a single, glowing beam.
Arya studied it through half-closed eyes, her mind still a foggy blur, and marvelled at the way it almost seemed to dance around the cell, reflecting off the hard stone walls in mirror-bright glitters, and revealing beauty that had once been hidden. The extra light also revealed a shimmering, white corona which had definitely not been there before.
The mystery gnawed at Arya until she grew tremendously frustrated, seething with insatiable curiosity. But at last she gave up.
Slowly, laboriously, she turned her head. And the air hitched in her throat.
The moonlight glimmered and twisted around a polished silver tray, laden with stale bread, shrivelled grapes, and a flask of cold watery soup. That in itself wasn't unusual, as Arya had been consuming the likes of it for weeks. What was strange was the thing lying beside it.
A pure white rose.
…
The sun was blazing in all its brilliance up in the skies above, strong enough to penetrate the thick canopy of leaves around and above me. It limned my face, gilded my hair, and suffused me with heady warmth.
I opened my eyes.
The air was coloured a rich honey gold, dappled with ever-shifting shadows where the leaves blocked the sunlight. Every leaf was individual; coloured with varying tones of brown, lime and tender forest green, and riddled with myriads of veins. Clustered together, the effect was hypnotising; they rippled and swayed with a pattern no human, or elf, could distinguish.
The sweet trills of songbirds, the rustle of wind, quiet footfalls; those were the only things which broke the silence, yet they seemed to add to the all-pervading calm drenching the forest.
Somewhere amongst the trees, a voice started a melody, joined by another, and another, until the whole forest was ringing with the sound. Crystal clear, lilting, and extraordinarily beautiful, their voices melded together in the music of poetry, words lingering in the air long after they were sung.
And from my high vantage point, I could see the entire city, the home of the elves. It sprawled across much of Du Weldenvarden, but as it was made to compliment the trees and the plants, it was hard to make out. A banister there, a window here, the buildings grown and nurtured with the plants. It was truly the most graceful city in the land.
And as the elves ran forward to welcome me, I forgot everything that had happened, all the tortures I had endured, all the weeks of suffering and pain. I was simply happy to be there, happy to be part of their gatherings, happy to be home at last.
Everything was strangely hazy and indistinct, but what did I care? I was back home in Ellesmera, and safe.
And then, even that illusion was torn away from me.
…
Author's Note: Well, for those who don't already understand, the general layout is meant to be;
Arya's time imprisoned in Gi'lead, then a hallucination/memory, then it repeats again, and again… It's like a cycle.
As I said, stories within a story.
If you've read Brisingr, especially the chapter "Shadows of the Past", you'll know what this is about. Some of the hallucinations are mentioned in there, but some will be completely invented.
Please tell me what you think.
I'm going to update soon (hopefully), but I have a lot of stuff on at the moment, as well.
Cya!
Bookwormtiff
