Abscond
by SMYGO4EVA
Sakura didn't tell them why it happened – only that it happened. That such panicked dread, such sadness, such visceral horror, and such encroaching self-loathing enveloped her once again.
Flashes of darkened rooms, bloodshot eyes, and a stitched-together limbless ragdoll, crawling worms left her immobile, stuck, and hollow, fear gripping her heart in a vice, tightly, tightly, tightly until she collapsed onto the kitchen floor, clutching her head.
Saber rushed to her side, kneeling down, clutching the young woman's arm gently as Sakura squeezed her eyes shut.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" she cried, tears flowing down her face, the air caught in her throat. Saber pulled her off the floor, holding the young woman in her arms, her back close to her chest, pulling her onto her feet, never letting her go for even one moment.
"Sakura, whatever happened, it's not your fault, there's no need to apologize." The King of Knights reassured her, her voice firm but hushed. "You've been hurt, you've been brutalized, and the memories never really go away, no matter how much we dislike it. What you can do now is to remember that you are here, you survived, and you're not filthy."
Sakura's ragged breathing and hiccupping sobs slowly subsided, her shoulders shaking. Saber still held on. "Y-you really mean that? I-I'm not filthy, dirty, unclean?"
Saber nodded, resting her chin on Sakura's shoulder. "Yes, I do. Know this: you're not alone. No one will ever hurt you again - I promise you."
Taking a few breaths, wiping the tears off her face, Sakura nodded. Breathing in, breathing out, her vision cleared. She saw that she was here, in the kitchen, with Saber holding her close, and she was safe.
She turned herself around and then hugged Saber. "Thank you, Saber," she whispered, burying her face in Saber's shoulder; in turn Saber kept her arms around Sakura.