Chapter 3: Nearly Lost
Merrill's entire body felt rather dirty.
They had been traveling down and around the cave for nearly six hours. The air was thick and stale, with the exception of the occasional small breeze that crept through the cracks of the walls, but those were so few and far between. There was already a thin layer of sweat on her exposed skin, and parts of her clothing were soaked with perspiration as well as blood. Dirt and grime clung to the bottom of her feet and on the palms of her hands. It had become near impossible for her to keep her wounds clean. Her companions didn't look much better.
They had been attacked by several spiderlings, a few giant spiders and one queen as they explored the cave. Hawke and Fenris had been in the forefront of these battles. Their bodies were laced with superficial cuts, varying in size and depth; luckily they had not taken any serious damage. Merrill and Varric tried to keep their distance and supported their two companions whenever they could. Both Hawke and Fenris were nearly drenched in spider blood and guts, Fenris more so than Hawke. Merrill couldn't help but notice that much of the blood had dried on Fenris's hair. Parts of his once bone-white hair were now a dull brown, due to blotches of dry blood and dirt that caked large portions of it. It was an odd sight to her, though she did not fully understand why. Perhaps it was because he almost appeared to be a completely different person; he just looked like a fellow elf, a stranger, one that knew nothing of her history with her clan, or with blood magic, and didn't completely despise her…if only that were true.
Creators, where was her mind heading off to? This had to be from exhaustion.
They soon came across evidence of a small campsite. Hawke and Fenris made their way ahead and inspected the site.
"The ashes are still warm," Fenris placed a hand just above the blackened wood.
"Meaning they couldn't have gotten too far from here," Hawke continued to inspect the area around the site. He noted the amount of makeshift seats that were created with large flat stones. "Looks to me that there are about seven of them."
"Why would they go this far in just to hide?" Merrill questioned. She was truly curious.
She really hoped the bandits hadn't traveled that much further in, because despite what the men would say if asked, both Hawke and Fenris looked as though they needed to rest. The spiderlings and giant spiders had not been difficult to kill, but there numbers had given them a bit of an advantage. Even only having had supported from the sidelines, after about the fourth wave of spiders her mana had nearly been completely drained by the end of the battle. This gave her some clue as to how physically drained Hawke and Fenris had to be feeling at the moment.
"Looks like they were doing more than just hiding, Daisy," Varric crouched down and picked up a few coins and small gems that were tucked in nook between a flat stone seat and floor. "Greedy bandits," Varric muttered as he placed his findings in his coat pocket. Hawke laughed at the sight.
"And a greedy Dwarf as well!" Hawked chuckled. "Although, I guess I'm no better," Hawke rubbed his chin in thought. "That does explain why all those treasure chests were empty. Well, no matter now. Remind me to turn out their pockets once we find them; they certainly owe me for this trip."
"Robbing bandits now, are we?" Fenris looked to Hawke with a slight smile on his face.
"It isn't robbing, Fenris. I'm merely taking my payment," Hawke returned the smile and then continued. "Plus, that wasn't their treasure to begin with. If anything, the treasure belonged to the spiderlings, and I killed them, so now the treasure is rightfully mine- so there."
"Ah, the logic of Serah Hawke," Varric said as he stood up. "You should probably leave that part out of your report when you head back to Aveline. I'm not sure how she feels about robbing robbers."
"Payment, Varric!" Hawke crossed his arms. "Though I'm sure Aveline wouldn't care that much about the integrity of the bandits' finances, I don't plan on telling her. I don't need her coming up with excuses not to pay me my full coin. Like last time."
"If I recall correctly, a perfectly good caravan was burnt in the crossfire," Fenris sent a look to Merrill.
"…sorry about that…again." Merrill rubbed her arms and looked down. Fenris never seemed to miss an opportunity to bring up her past mistakes.
"That's ok, Daisy."
"I don't see why it had to come out of our pay. When you're fighting hordes of mabari and bandits some things are bound to be destroyed. A large cart in the middle of the road is no exception," Hawke defended her.
"We should really be moving if we plan on catching these bandits before sun down." Fenris began to make his way around the corner. The three other companions soon followed.
They found their way into a large cavern; parts of the ceiling and walls had crumbled to the floor. The room would had been a dead end if it were not for the man sized hole on the furthest wall. A soft orange glow escaped from the hole, filling the once dark room with an orange mist. A thin smoky atmosphere settled on the ground near and around the hole. The cave itself had been a bit warm through their travels up to this point, but this room was much warmer and the air felt heavy and thick.
Merrill watched as her companions came to a halt in the middle of the room. She glanced at her companions' faces; Fenris and Varric only seemed a bit fatigued and perhaps even a little annoyed about the prospect of entering the Deep Roads. Hawke was the only one visibly upset. His brows were drawn closely and his mouth had twisted in irritation. She knew Hawke especially hated dealing with darkspawn after having lost his younger brother during the blight.
"Ah, the entrance to the Deep Roads," Fenris said.
"And not a bandit in sight," Varric commented.
"Bloody bandits!" Hawke kicked a stray rock. "Why on earth would they risk their lives in the Deep Roads for treasure? A lot of good that coin will do you in the stomach of an ogre, bloody idiots."
"…So…are we going to go in, Hawke?" She asked nervously.
"We have to unfortunately," Hawke crossed his arms and turned to look at Merrill. "This is your first time entering the Deep Roads, isn't it, Merrill?" She nodded. "I'm not going to lie; it will more than likely be an unpleasant experience. Just stay close to us. I won't allow any of the darkspawn to take you."
"Take me?" She asked.
"Broodmothers," Fenris simply stated.
"I haven't personally seen one myself, but I rather not risk it," Hawke continued. His tone made her feel a bit uneasy. She wasn't used to him being serious for this long. "If you start to feel afraid, it's ok for you to hold on to me; latch on to one of my big strong arms and think of flowers, puppies or kittens." Now that was more like the Hawke she was used to. She smiled lightly.
"Thank you, Hawke." She really did appreciate that Hawke would be so concerned for her, but it did make her feel a bit weak; although admittedly, she was very nervous about entering the Deep Roads. The Deep Roads were where the darkspawn resided, after all. And while she had fought and killed darkspawn in the past, most recently with Hawke on their travels through the Wounded Coast, they had been few in number; not many darkspawn had left the Deep Roads after the end of the blight. She was unsure of what to expect once they entered the Deep Roads.
"Oh, Hawke. Always the terrible flirt, even when he is covered in spider guts, blood, dirt, and sweat; not to mention smells like darkspawn shit." Varric commented playfully.
"What's this? Jealous that you are not currently receiving my attention, Varric?" Hawke smirked.
"Hawke, you know I have my beloved Bianca."
"Ah yes, how could anyone possibly forget," Hawke rolled his eyes.
Hawke had then proceeded to walk towards the hole. The opening was large enough that two averaged sized men could fit through side by side. He inspected its stability, making sure that the entrance would not collapse after they had gone through. He stuck his upper body through and saw that the opening did indeed lead to the Deep Roads, straight onto a long road of a Thaig, one he was unfamiliar with. He pulled himself back into the room, and then faced his companions.
"Varric and I will take the lead, Fenris you take the rear, and Merrill stay in the middle." Everyone had nodded in agreement. "Speak up if you hear or see anything, because we cannot afford to be ambushed." Hawked paused for a moment and placed a hand on his chin in thought. "How are we looking on supplies?"
"Last time we checked, we were all out of healing potions." Fenris stated.
"I only have one Lyrium potion left, and my mana is regenerating, but still fairly low." Merrill said.
"Save that potion, Merrill," Hawke ordered. "Use it only as a last resort. If your magic runs low during battle and you see that we have everything under control, it is ok to stand back and regenerate." Merrill nodded. Hawke then turned and made his way back to the opening. "We are only going to travel, at the most, two hours in. If we don't find any of the bandits or if we have taken too much damage, we're done. We're done and we head back and report to Aveline. Anyone has any concerns?" Hawke took their silence as a 'no'. "Good. Let's go."
Hawke entered the opening and dropped down to the floor of the Thaig. Merrill and the others soon followed.
Once Merrill entered the Thaig fully, she was struck by a tremendous amount of heat. It didn't take long for a new layer of sweat to form under the old. She could feel the liquid already running down her neck and back underneath her clothing. It was making her quite uncomfortable.
"Oh, Creators," she whispered, though loud enough to be heard.
"Oh, Creators is right! Varric, how could the dwarves live in this?" Hawke wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
"T'ch, I could think of a few ways," Varric joked. "But in all seriousness, I don't think this place has always been this hot," he pointed to the cracks in the wall that were seeping a small amount of bright, thick orange liquid, "it seems Mother Nature has been breaking through over the centuries."
"Looks like we should avoid contact with the walls then," Fenris stated.
"You don't have to tell me twice," Hawke sighed and quickened his pace down the long path. "Maker, it feels like my family jewels are melting off."
"Why would you bring your family's jewels to the Deep Roads? Aren't you afraid you might lose them, or a darkspawn might steal them away?" Merrill asked sincerely. Fenris let out a low groan of annoyance behind her.
"Hawke, not in front of Daisy," Varric reprimanded.
"Yes, yes, I forgot. I should really know better by now," Hawke then continued, "but to answer one of your questions, Merrill, I would never allow a darkspawn anywhere near my family jewels, that I'm certain of."
They continued to make their way down the broken beaten road in silence. The thaig reeked of darkspawn, though they had yet to see one, either living or dead. Merrill kept her ears open for any sounds that may suggest that a potential enemy may be lurking. She noted that the thaig was eerily silent with the exception of their own light footsteps; a rhythmic sound of rubber soles of boots and sweaty feet meeting hot stony ground.
Twenty minutes had passed, and still no bandits or darkspawn in sight. They had made their way through several corridors and two large stone rooms that had contained nothing but empty chests and a couple of ancient skeletal remains. Merrill had a hard time figuring out if that were a good sign or a bad sign. It wasn't as if she looked forward to fighting darkspawn, or even bandits for that matter, she was just beginning to feel anxious due to the wait and uncertainty.
They had soon found themselves on a wide stone bridge. Parts of the bridge looked unstable; there were large cracks along the floor and walls of the bridge, while some portions were completely broken off, revealing a sea of molten rocks below. Merrill snuck a peek at the miles of hot orange sea, despite her better judgment; the sight made her feel slightly faint. She stopped walking abruptly when she saw that Hawke had raised a hand up for them to halt.
"There are bodies up ahead," Hawke stated and then carefully and silently walked towards the bloody bodies. He knelt down and inspected the mangled corpses; there were several large gashes across their stomachs and bite marks on their neck and face. "I think we've found our bandits," Hawke began to check their pockets; among several coins and trinkets of low value were letters and a map. "Aveline would want to see this," Hawke then pocketed everything he found.
"The bodies look fresh," Fenris gave Hawke a concerned look. "Whatever has done this is still close by. We should be on our guard."
"Agreed," Hawke stood up. "Hopefully we can make it out of here without a fight."
They were soon about to make their way back off the bridge and out of the Deep Roads, when a loud ear shattering shriek was heard in the distance, followed by the sounds of a series of heavy armored boots running towards them from both ends of the bridge.
"Curse my luck!" Hawked shouted as he removed his blades from his back. "Look alive!" They all readied their weapons.
Merrill heard her heart beating rapidly in her ears, nearly drowning out the shrieks and shouts from the approaching darkspawn. She almost lost her grip on her staff when the first horde came into sight. Hawke and Varric turned to deal with the darkspawn flanking them, leaving her and Fenris to guard the front. She begun to walk towards the horde, ready to release her tempest spell, when a strong hand suddenly gripped one of her shoulders and roughly yanked her back.
"Keep behind me, witch!" Fenris's voice was strong and stern.
"But you'll be alone up there! What if-" she winced when she felt his grip tighten.
"You were ordered to stay in the middle," Fenris pulled her close to face him. "And I don't need you in my way."
He shoved her back violently, releasing her to fight the oncoming darkspawn.
Merrill watched in silence as Fenris ran forward, his large sword in hand; ready to slice anything in his path. She remained in the spot he had left her, but continued to charge her tempest spell as before. She may not catch the bulk of the darkspawn in the back of the horde as she had planned, but she could certainly help stun and damage the ones near the front for Fenris to finish off.
Varric released a hail of arrows as Hawke bounced from darkspawn to darkspawn, slicing throats and limbs with his twin blades. The number of darkspawn never seemed to falter; for every one that fell, two more would appear.
"They… just… don't give up!" Hawke shouted in between breaths. His stamina was nearly gone and his speed was decreasing. His eyes widened when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in one of his upper arms. Before he turned completely, his dagger ready to slice the throat of whatever had injured him, Varric's arrow flew past his eyes and entered the skull of the hurlock who had an inch of its blade imbedded in Hawke's arm.
"Another one for Bianca!" Varric shouted as he readied another arrow. "You should really watch your back, Hawke. Wouldn't want you full of more holes than Orlesian cheese."
"That's…a…bit hard to do at the moment," Hawke said as he fought off several genlocks. "I really hope Merrill and Fenris are doing better than us. We can sure use their support right about now," Hawke muttered to Varric, though he was unsure if he was heard. He then crossed blades with another hurlock. The pause in his movement allowed him to feel the bridge shaking beneath his feet. Hawke was surprised that he hadn't noticed that before. He gasped when he realized why the bridge was shaking so much.
"…Maker, please not that."
Merrill screamed when a shriek charged at her. She had been providing cover for Fenris when a group of genlocks caught his attention, allowing a lone shriek to sneak past him and charge towards her. She held her staff in an attempt to block any oncoming attacks, but the shriek had been much too fast for her; the tip of its blade entered her abdomen. She screamed in pain and pushed herself off the blade. She quickly brought the sharp end of her staff up, slashing the shriek across the chest, stunning it enough for her to throw a bolt, killing it. She sighed and turned her attention back to Fenris.
He was nearly on his knees.
Fenris was surrounded by genlocks and hurlocks. Merrill noted that he was panting heavily and his swordsmanship seemed sloppy; it was obvious to her that his stamina was completely drained. She attempted to rush forward towards him, prepared to unleash a few powerful bolts with the last of her mana, when suddenly her vision became distorted and the world around her seemed to be moving all at once; she lost her footing and fell onto her chest. The fall forced the air out of her lungs, and for a moment, it felt as if she had forgotten how to breathe. Merrill attempted to push herself up, but paused when she felt strong vibrations beneath her hands and knees.
"Why is-" she was cut off by a loud, terrifying roar. There was a sudden tightening in her stomach.
Her head shot up when she heard Fenris cursing loudly. He seemed to be finishing off the genlocks and hurlocks that had ambushed him. His sword sliced cleanly through the darkspawns' bloodied, rusted armor with the force of his remaining strength. All of the darkspawn had fallen at his feet. He then pierced the chest of a dead hurlock lying on the ground and leaned his tired body against his sword; slowly he tried to catch his breath. Merrill removed her eyes from Fenris and looked further behind him when she spotted something moving in the distance. It was then she saw a large, fearsome ogre charging towards Fenris with remarkable speed. Fenris had been so preoccupied fighting the large mob, and now resting, that he hadn't noticed the ground shaking nor the deep, loud roar. Merrill stood up with a sudden burst of energy and bolted towards Fenris.
"Fenris!" Merrill screamed as she ran towards him. Fenris raised his head to look at her, still leaning on his sword, panting heavily. She was much too far away to cast any spells. "There's an ogr-"
"I told you to keep back, witc-" Fenris's shout was cut off when a large, heavy hand slammed against his shoulder, causing him to land on the ground head then chest first, cracking the floor beneath his body. Fenris straggled to get up, blood dripped from his nose and mouth, and one of his arms hung limp. The ogre balled its fists and unleashed as series of powerful punches crushing Fenris's body to the ground. The sounds of iron fists meeting bones and flesh filled the air.
Merrill had never stopped running.
"I will not allow this to go on!" Merrill struck the ogre with spirit bolt once she was in range, causing it to cease its assault.
The ogre was disoriented for just a moment; a moment long enough for her to charge and throw a fireball. The flames did not seem to faze the ogre. Instead it turned to face her and let out a mighty roar. It crouched down and aimed it's horns at her direction. Merrill bit her lip to calm herself; she parted her feet, readying herself to dodge the inevitable charge.
The charge was much faster than she had anticipated. She dodged the attack a little too late. She landed on the ground and winced in pain; a sharp tip, whether it was the horn or simply part of the ogre's armor, had connected with her arm, slicing layers of her clothing and flesh. She held her arm tightly in an attempt to reduce the pain; blood seeped from the wound, covering her fingers. A loud thump caught her attention, as well as the sounds of crumbling rocks and grunting. She quickly scanned the area for the source and found the ogre near one of the broken ledges of the bridge, attempting to regain its composure. The stone around the ogre had been weakened from the impact of its charge meeting the ledge.
Instinctively, Merrill drew the life essences from her bloody arm and began to cast Paralyzing Hemorrhage. The spell managed to have an effect on the ogre, but she knew it would only be for a short time; ogres could not stay paralyzed for long. She quickly aimed a stone fist at the cracking ledge.
"May the Dread Wolf take you!" She released the spell, shattering the stone around the ogre's feet. The ogre remained frozen as the ground below him crumbled, and then soon disappeared. She watched in relief as the monstrous creature fell into the molten, orange sea. She sat there in silence for a moment and sighed softly.
The moment did not last long; she suddenly remembered her injured ally.
"Fenris!" Merrill jumped to her feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in her arm and the soreness in her joints, and ran towards where his body lay. She let out a loud cry when his bloody frame came into view. She knelt beside him, frightened, confused, and unsure of what to do. She was afraid to touch him, but she needed to check if he was still alive. She placed her fingers gently on the artery on his neck, closed her eyes, and counted.
It was faint.
She hadn't noticed how quiet it had gotten until she heard footsteps rushing towards her direction. She didn't raise her head to meet the eyes of her other companions.
"…Hawke," Merrill's voice was soft, low, and carried so much sadness. Tears flowed down her cheeks and dripped to the hot ground. "…I was too late."
"Maker, this cannot be happening." Hawke dropped to his knees beside Merrill. His eyes never left Fenris's mangled body.
"…He's…he's still breathing," Merrill said quietly, "…a-and he has a pulse."
"I'm afraid that's not going to last for long, Daisy." Varric attempted to keep composed, but Merrill could see that his fists were balled tightly and his posture was oddly stiff. "Sodding Elf," Varric whispered to himself and looked away from the scene.
"…This is…just like Carver." Hawke spoke those words silently.
Merrill watched Hawke from the corner of her eye. His shoulders were hunched and limp, his eyes were glazed, and he seemed to be lost in a memory. She looked away and allowed him some privacy and turned her sad gaze back to Fenris. Her attention was jolted back to Hawke when she heard his fist connecting with the hard stone ground.
"Damn it!" Hawke shouted. Tears were now streaming down his cheeks. "I knew I should not have come down here without Anders! I should have just…just…" Hawke could not finish.
His words were like a sharp, burning dagger to her heart; the amount of pain and guilt she felt was immense, because she knew that it was true. If Anders were here instead of her, this would not have happened. She couldn't heal like him, or protect, all she could do was destroy and drain the life essence of others, like a disgusting parasite. Fenris had been absolutely right. She was useless; and no matter how much she trained, studied, and researched, she could never change that.
…And then it came to her like a sudden spark.
"I think I can save him."
Hawke and Varric looked at her, puzzled by her statement.
"Daisy?"
"Merrill, what do you mean?" Hawke placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. "You're not a healer, and blood magic cannot be used to heal." Hawke sounded as though he was trying to talk her out of some sort of delusion…and perhaps he was right to do so.
"I-I know," she glanced at Fenris once more, and then turned back to Hawke. "But I know a spell that could strengthen his body and it could sustain him long enough till we see a healer. It may even help his body repair itself!"
"Blood magic?" Hawke asked sternly.
"Yes, it's blood magic."
Hawke seemed unsure. He looked to Varric for an opinion.
"Hawke, if it means saving his life, what do we have to lose?" Varric crossed his arms and continued. "We're hours away from the surface. There's no way the Elf will last that long. I'm surprised he's even breathing now."
Hawke took in Varric's words and sighed.
"Go ahead, Merrill."
"Right," Merrill said. She relaxed her body and inhaled slowly, attempting to feel the magic flowing inside of her. She nested her hands on her lap and closed her eyes; her body was exhausted, the adrenaline she felt during battle had faded, and the pool of mana within her was completely depleted. She exhaled and opened her eyes.
This spell would require much more mana than she had.
"…Merrill, is something the matter?" Hawke asked softly. He seemed puzzled by her silent meditation.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry, Hawke," Merrill began to search her pockets as Hawke continued to watch her carefully. "I just need to drink a lyrium potion first."
"You still have that last potion?" Hawke seemed surprised.
Merrill nodded before drinking her lyrium potion.
"Merrill, I'm shocked that you managed to save that potion even when faced with an ogre," Hawke smiled weakly at her, though his face and voice remained defeated. "You're a wonderful girl, Merrill."
Merrill was perplexed by his last statement. Unsure of how to respond, she simply returned the weak smile and turned her attention to Fenris.
'If only that were true, Hawke,' she thought to herself.
She then scooted closer to Fenris, pulled her dagger out, and aimed her wrist above his mouth. She tried to remember the steps for this particular spell, mouthing the writings in the tome as she remembered it. She drew her dagger close to her wrist and held her breath as she was about to cut. She jumped when Hawke grabbed her wrist firmly.
"Wait," Hawke's hand remained on her wrist. He was looking down, seemingly trying to find his words. "Whatever happens, no one is to know about this," Hawke words were serious. "Especially Fenris, if he survives."
"Yes, Hawke," Merrill nodded.
Hawke released her wrist and allowed her to continue. She quickly sliced open a wound and allowed the blood to drip into Fenris's mouth. Hawke was visibly disturbed by the sight. Varric seemed indifferent. Merrill whispered unfamiliar ancient words; her blood began to glow and seemly moved on its own accord. The stray drops that had missed its target crawled up and entered Fenris's opened mouth. Fenris's body began to react. His fingers twitched, and there was a slight spasm in his limbs, his breathing could now be heard. They all watched and waited in silence till Fenris's body relaxed.
"He doesn't look any better, but he is breathing, at least." Varric stated.
"Was…was it wise to pour your blood into his mouth?" Hawke seemed to still be recovering from what he had just seen. "I mean he is unconscious. He could have chocked."
"It's ok, Hawke. The blood should find its way and fuse." Merrill sheathed her dagger, and then went to check Fenris's pulse once more.
"Merrill, please don't say stuff like that," Hawke shivered a bit. "You could not have made that sound any creepier."
"Sorry," Merrill removed her fingers from Fenris's neck. "His pulse and breathing seems to be more stable now."
"Only time will tell whether or not he'll survive," Varric crouched down and inspected Fenris. He sighed before continuing. "How do you want to do this, Hawke?"
"Maker, I don't know." Hawke pitched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I'm not even sure if we should even move him."
"Well, it's not like we can leave him here," Varric stated.
"I know that!" Hawke snapped. He rubbed his neck and sighed loudly. "Sorry, Varric. Look, I have some rope that I had been planning to use on one the bandits. We're going to carefully lift Fenris up and I'm going to piggyback him all the way back to Kirkwall. Use the rope and tie him to my back, I can't afford to risk him falling and making his injuries worse."
"Right," Varric seemed unsure of the plan, but he knew well that their options were quite limited.
Varric slid his hands carefully underneath Fenris's neck and thigh. Hawke handed Merrill the rope and moved to help Varric; he too slid his hands underneath Fenris, attempting to keep his body leveled, limiting as much unnecessary movement as possible, as they slowly positioned him vertically. Once Fenris was at a safe angle, Hawke quickly and steadily slipped in front of his unconscious body and pulled him onto his back, wrapping Fenris's legs around his waist.
Merrill flinched at the sight of Fenris's broken body weakly slumped onto Hawke's back.
"Merrill, the rope!"
"Oh, sorry!" Merrill rushed over, loosening the knot on the rope. Varric and her secured Fenris tightly to Hawke's back. When they had finished, they both pulled back and inspected their work.
"Ok, we're going to head back to Kirkwall. There will be no stopping. We're just going to go straight there. Varric, scout up ahead, but don't go too far. Merrill, stay beside me." Hawke began to walk towards the exit before he had even finished his orders. Varric and Merrill quickly took their positions.
Merrill watched her feet as they steadily made their way off the bridge. She felt much calmer than before; Fenris condition seemed to have stabilized though he was still far from well. There was still a high chance he may not make it all the way back to Kirkwall.
A small whimper escaped her lips.
Hawke glanced at her direction when he heard her cry. He stared helplessly at her for a brief moment, before he spoke up.
"Merrill, this isn't your fault," Hawke's words seemed so sincere. "You've done the best you could."
If only she could believe them.
She closed her eyes and sighed.
Creators give her strength.
I would like to thank my beta, Hatsepsut! I've learned much! =^-^=
