She cried out in anguish as the precious bundle shattered into a thousand glittering shards, the pieces skittering to the floor, falling through the cracks, rolling away irretrievably.
"No..no…" she sobbed, falling to her knees, desperately scrabbling at the tiny innumerable pieces in vain.
The small room had erupted into chaos, with every other ragged patron also diving to the filthy floor in search of whatever priceless cargo had been lost, as a dozen armed men also swarmed in from every entrance. Rough hands hauled her to her feet, and she struck wildly at them whether it was Borias or some zealous scavenger or one of the men intent on killing her. She didn't care. Her only chance at bringing her son back had just exploded like a galaxy of irretrievable fragments, far flung beyond hope of regaining. Against her will it seemed, her own traitorous feet carried her over the splintering window sill and into the half frozen waters below, the remains of the ragged bundle still grasped desperately in her arms. She swam numbly under the weight of her drenched clothing, with arrows humming by her, still hampered by her irredeemable load. She pushed herself weakly to her feet when she reached the shore, beginning a stumbling run over the frosted terrain. The painstakingly wrapped crimson swaddling, dripping briny water as she limped on deadened legs, blind, insensate, until she collapsed. She almost didn't hear the horses' hooves until they were close enough to trample her and still she didn't move.
He was dead. Her child, her son, the only thing left to her, and he was gone. She'd failed. He was dead. She wanted only to join him.
A single rider circled her a few times, his horse's hooves pawing inches from her huddled form. She could hear other horses, other men, murmuring just under the fierce wind. The horse closest her pawed the earth a little snorting as its rider dismounted, boots approaching through the frozen grass.
"What are you doing?"
She heard it from not far to her left, indignant, heavily accented.
The man approaching didn't answer, simply knelt at her side, one calloused hand seeking her chin, tilting it so their eyes met. Borias.
Her numbed fingers released the remains of the crimson swaddling, letting it fall into the snow. Finsh it. She implored him with her eyes. Just finish it…
Gently, he wrapped a strong arm around her, pulling her upright, gathering her into his arms. Something in her broke, the numbness receding at the feel of being wrapped so protectively in the familiar arms, his cloak enfolding her, the smell of leather of horses...the numbness making way for indescribable pain as she grasped desperately at his cloak, his dark braids, the father of her child…