Luella woke with a start, expecting to see her old childhood home again where her father waited. The nightmare never made any sense but he haunts her every night without fail and the only way she can escape from it is to follow the familiar path home, bathed in the gentle light of the evening sun. She exhaled in relief as she was greeted by the hardwood ceiling of an inn. The room she was in was unfamiliar but that itself is not so strange. She was used to spending the night wherever she could on her travels. And as her heartbeat calmed, snapshots of images flooded her mind. There were a lot of drinking and dancing and warmth and laughter. And Luella couldn't help but want to stay in that world just a little bit longer. Who knows when she'll forget again.

A touch startled Luella from her stupor and her hand instinctively reached to grab her sword which would have been by her bedside in easy reach until she realize who the arm, littered with small scars belonged to. Gingerly so as to not wake her, Luella laced her fingers with her slumbering lover to anchor herself to this moment in time while her lover's warmth and presence soothed her battered spirit. She didn't think it would ever happen but in a few short weeks, Calia became her world and her only reason for living. Luella couldn't imagine where would she be right now if they didn't meet. She doubt she could've survived the ordeals that was thrown her way because of something she didn't even ask for. Afterall, she had always been weak and a coward.

"Useless girl! I should've drowned you in the trough when you were born!"

"You're worthless! No man would even look at you because you're a half elf!"

"You're not my child! You're an abomination!"

There's a reason Luella hated the silence because when it's quiet enough, she can hear her father scream a variation of those words at her, her subconscious tormenting her even when she's awake. She's so very tired but Calia, by the Gods, made her want to be more, to be better. Calia made her feel as if she deserved to live and thats why she's fighting. She'll fight the High Ones or the Nehrimese or anything in her way for Calia.

Turning onto her side, Luella reach out to touch the woman she'd come to love so deeply and listen to her breathe softly in the silence of the morning. She took her time, gently tracing Calia's brow, her eyes, her nose,the tattoo on her cheek, her lips then her jaw in an attempt to memorize them again. She has a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that she wont survive the battle ahead but regardless of what will happen next in this war, at least she will have this one moment. This one moment of peace that she'll remember until her last breath... even if in the end it was all a lie.

A/N: If anyone is reading this, I would appreciate any advice/tips to help me get back into writing. See ya.