Nightmares. Funny, how one never gets used to them. They never used to plague Stefen's sleep, but now.... Now, everytime he closed his eyes as he held onto Vanyel, he saw a girl with strawberry gold hair, long and curly, raising her eyes to a rainy sky and crying out something horrible, before waking up with his own cry.
Maybe that's why he found himself here at the Bardic hall so late, playing for long spaces of time. But tonight, he was feeling dizzy...too dizzy to be from just normal long playing. And the more he thought about it as his fingers went through the motions (he knew Shadow Lover by heart, he didn't even have to think about the fingers anymore), Stefen discovered that it was happening more frequently. With every passing night he let himself sleep, the girl became more clear to him in the dream. More clear in her appearance, actions and personality, and it was beginning to seriously bother him.
Of course Stefen hadn't told Vanyel, that would be like inviting the Herald-Mage to drag him to the Healers and worry his beautiful head about it. And Stefen did not think Vanyel needed anymore silver in his glossy black hair.
The music was benign to meld together, and Stef couldn't decipher his notes from the other bards he was playing with in the stifling Hall. It sounded...jangled and disconcerting. He paused, wiping his face off with his hand before continuing. Gods, it was hot in here.... No one else seemed to noticed, or if they did, hid it better then Stefen could.
It began quietly enough, a soft cry, growing into quiet weeping with each passing note. Stefen looked around hazily through blurred eyes. No one else could hear it apparently, since no one else was reacting. But how could they not hear it? It was -all- around the hall now.
'Gods,' he thought, 'am I going insane?' First the dizzy spells, the headaches, no appetite, the odd dreams, and now hearing a woman crying? That no one else could hear. "Wait, stop for a moment..." he said. Or try to. At that moment some god who had no mercy for him at the moment decided to make the hall spin out of control and Stefen felt himself fall, and heard from far away, "Someone call Herald-Mage Vanyel and a Healer!"
And all through it, the woman was still sobbing out heart wrenching cries, begging without words, from somewhere in the back of Stefen's conscience. Or lack thereof.
****
The page ran as quick as he could to the white stoned room where Herald-Mage Vanyel and Herald -Mage Savil were in conference. Without waiting for proper entrance, he burst inside, red faced and out of breath. The two Heralds looked at him, eyebrows raised in almost unison.
"Yes?" Savil said a little acidly after a few moments of the page's huffing.
"Milord...Milady...I do apologize for interrupting, but Bard Stefen....he...f-fainted while playing at the Hall.....Two other pages took him to the Healer's building..."
The page trailed off, but as soon he got to the part of Stef being taken to the Healer's, Vanyel was up and grabbing his cloak, and out the door before another word was spoken. Savil stood up at a more leisurely pace- about half a second after Vanyel- and followed him out into the semi-chilly evening air.
The page stood there for a moment or two and then quickly began running after them, catching up to Van after a few more paces. "Just follow me, I know what healer he has as well."
Vanyel had faced plenty in his life. Crazed Mages, monsters that had to be from the nine pits of hell, losing 'Lendal.... But what new enemy could be hurting his new love now? It scared him more than being on the front line at the Borders, he thought.
Maybe that's why he found himself here at the Bardic hall so late, playing for long spaces of time. But tonight, he was feeling dizzy...too dizzy to be from just normal long playing. And the more he thought about it as his fingers went through the motions (he knew Shadow Lover by heart, he didn't even have to think about the fingers anymore), Stefen discovered that it was happening more frequently. With every passing night he let himself sleep, the girl became more clear to him in the dream. More clear in her appearance, actions and personality, and it was beginning to seriously bother him.
Of course Stefen hadn't told Vanyel, that would be like inviting the Herald-Mage to drag him to the Healers and worry his beautiful head about it. And Stefen did not think Vanyel needed anymore silver in his glossy black hair.
The music was benign to meld together, and Stef couldn't decipher his notes from the other bards he was playing with in the stifling Hall. It sounded...jangled and disconcerting. He paused, wiping his face off with his hand before continuing. Gods, it was hot in here.... No one else seemed to noticed, or if they did, hid it better then Stefen could.
It began quietly enough, a soft cry, growing into quiet weeping with each passing note. Stefen looked around hazily through blurred eyes. No one else could hear it apparently, since no one else was reacting. But how could they not hear it? It was -all- around the hall now.
'Gods,' he thought, 'am I going insane?' First the dizzy spells, the headaches, no appetite, the odd dreams, and now hearing a woman crying? That no one else could hear. "Wait, stop for a moment..." he said. Or try to. At that moment some god who had no mercy for him at the moment decided to make the hall spin out of control and Stefen felt himself fall, and heard from far away, "Someone call Herald-Mage Vanyel and a Healer!"
And all through it, the woman was still sobbing out heart wrenching cries, begging without words, from somewhere in the back of Stefen's conscience. Or lack thereof.
****
The page ran as quick as he could to the white stoned room where Herald-Mage Vanyel and Herald -Mage Savil were in conference. Without waiting for proper entrance, he burst inside, red faced and out of breath. The two Heralds looked at him, eyebrows raised in almost unison.
"Yes?" Savil said a little acidly after a few moments of the page's huffing.
"Milord...Milady...I do apologize for interrupting, but Bard Stefen....he...f-fainted while playing at the Hall.....Two other pages took him to the Healer's building..."
The page trailed off, but as soon he got to the part of Stef being taken to the Healer's, Vanyel was up and grabbing his cloak, and out the door before another word was spoken. Savil stood up at a more leisurely pace- about half a second after Vanyel- and followed him out into the semi-chilly evening air.
The page stood there for a moment or two and then quickly began running after them, catching up to Van after a few more paces. "Just follow me, I know what healer he has as well."
Vanyel had faced plenty in his life. Crazed Mages, monsters that had to be from the nine pits of hell, losing 'Lendal.... But what new enemy could be hurting his new love now? It scared him more than being on the front line at the Borders, he thought.