Empty

"Mama! Mama, open the door! Mama!"

The door stayed locked, and Liliana gave up trying to bust it open with a shoulder. She let out a low, frustrated snarl, and then placed a hand on the handle, sending burning heat roaring through it, biting her lip hard to prevent a whimper as white hot pain spread up her skin. There was a click as the bolt melted under the ferocious heat, and she yanked the door open, moving quickly into the room, bounding onto the bed, "Mama."

She was lying in bed, shaking, screwing up the bedcovers, thrashing around in her sleep. And screaming.

Lily instantly secured tight grips on her wrists, forcing her down into the bed, "Mama! Wake up! Mama!"

She didn't reply, shouting and yelling about something she could only guess at, writhing in the bed, and Lily had to concentrate ferociously to stop her from yanking back out of her grip, "Mama, you're dreaming! Mama! Snap out of it!" she lost grip on her wrists and managed to climb over her a bit, pinning her down by the shoulders, grabbing hold of either side of her face with difficulty, "Mama, come on! Please, Mama, come on, listen to me! Sparrow!"

The name pulled her back like nothing else would, and she jerked upright with a hoarse gasp, instantly throwing Lily to the floor, a dagger she hadn't seen forced against her throat.

Then she hesitated, "Lily?"

Lily rolled her eyes, still doubled-over, pinned by a firm arm, "Oh, the thanks I get for coming to your aid..."

Jaina immediately retreated, "Oh God, I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

"I'm sure I'll live." She replied, putting a hand to the stinging cut on her throat.

Her mother's face paled even more than it was already, and she snapped out her hand, grabbing hold of her wrist and turning it over to see her palm, "What is this?"

"Oh. That." She shot a distasteful glance at the thick, painful burn, "That was... improvisation. Must you lock your door?"

"Oh, Lil, I'm so sorry."

"Don't mention it. Though, if you could...?" she held out her hand, wincing slightly. Her mother nodded, immediately, and turned, rummaging through some things on her table before finding a health potion and passing it to her, "Here. Drink it all."

For once she did as she was told, feeling the soothing warmth flood her, giving a low sigh as the pain eased until there was not even a sliver of it. She touched the skin on her hand, glancing back up, "There. All better now. What about you."

Jaina looked at her, hesitantly, "I... I had another nightmare."

She rolled her eyes again, "You don't say. What was it this time, the Spire? Looked like a pretty bad one. Fairfax, maybe?"

"No."

"The Commandant? The banshees?"

"No."

"Then..." she looked at her for a moment, frowning, "Who?"

She looked at her. Then she shook her head, "I don't know."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know who it was."

Lily paused. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, subconsciously. Then she shook her head and sighed, pushing aside the twisted covers and settling down properly on the bed, "Tell me about it."

"I... I don't remember most of it. It's just... flashes."

"Then tell me about the flashes."

"Okay." Her mother took a deep, slow breath, preparing herself, "Okay. There... there was this girl. This young, pretty little girl. Say... eight. Nine. I don't know, I'm not good with ages."

"What did she look like."

"I... I don't know. She was... sort of... I don't know."

"Okay. Did she speak to you?"

She shook her head, frustrated, "I don't know. She was... there... in front of me... And then..." she shook her head again, this time pressing a hand to her temple, as if she was in some sort of pain, "I hid. There was fire. Screams. Blood. Everything... everything was burning. The girl was screaming. Avo, she was... she was screaming. It was like that day, that day Lucien killed me, that day back with Rose, when... when everything burned."

"Do you know the girl's name?" she asked, gently. She didn't reply, and Lily put a hand on her arm. She flinched when she realised she was ice cold, but, instead of mentioning it, she just shot a fireball towards the fireplace, the wood already in there starting up instantly into a roaring blaze. Her mother gave a small shiver when she saw it, and Lily took her chin, moving her face back to hers, firmly, "What happened next."

"I... I was running to her. I... ran to her. But I was too late. I was far too late. Everyone was gone. Everyone was dead."

"And after that?" she asked, her voice soft, soothing, her hand leaving her face to sit gently on hers.

"After that... I don't remember."

Lily looked at her for a second. "You were screaming."

She frowned, blearily, "Was I?"

"Yes. Screaming. Yelling. Something about..." she paused for a moment, replaying the memory in her head, trying to discern any sense from what had seemed like ramblings, "Something about... not her - anyone, just... not her. Does that make any sense to you?"

She shook her head, slowly, "No. Not at all."

"Do you remember anything?"

"I just remember feeling... empty. Just... nothing."

Empty. Nothing. Lily looked at her. She had talked about feeling 'empty' after Michael had been killed. After she'd lost her children. After Lucien had murdered them. She had just... closed down. Like she had so often in the Spire, like she had when she was a child, when Lucien had shot her and her sister through the heart. Just... stopped.

Lily nodded, slowly. She moved her hand up and down her mother's arm, and then shook her head, "Listen. This was just a dream."

"But, listen, there was this man, I swear there was this man, and he, he told me -"

"Mama, listen to me. It was just a dream, please, Mama, calm down. It was just a dream. Just a nightmare. There is nothing to it. There is nothing behind it. It... is just your brain. Your mind, working things out. It is not real. You know that, don't you."

"Of course I do. Of course I do. It's just..." she hesitated a moment, and then shook her head, sinking into herself a little bit, "They just... feel like they are."

"I know. I know, Mama." She paused for a moment, thinking. Then she shook her head and got to her feet. She walked over to the cupboard and pulled it open, dragging out a few more sheets and thick, soft blankets. She helped her mother into the chair beside the bed and then changed it, quickly, her eyes glimmering onto the ripped sheets, the blood covering them where she had dug her nails into her palms so hard it broke the skin. Showing a rare streak of screw-it-ness, she dumped the dirty linen on the floor, figuring she'd deal with it tomorrow.

She glanced at Jaina again, and sighed, helping her back to the bed, "You're exhausted. C'mon. Just back here."

After she was sure everything was okay, she turned back to the chair and dragged it back against the wall next to the head of the bed, throwing a duvet on it.

Jaina glanced at her, frowning, "What are you..."

She didn't look at her, instead fixing the blanket, "I'll sleep here tonight."

As she had been expecting, she immediately objected: "Lily, I don't need -"

"Your door's busted." She interrupted, firmly, "And, though I trust my crew, I do not trust Reaver." She sat down, pulling the blankets around her, "Especially now you've gone into his room at night meaning to shoot him."

Her mother had the good grace to wince, apologetically, "You know about that, huh."

"Yes. Now." She concentrated and threw out a wall of Will, dimming the fire to a gentle glow, "Shh. Try and get some sleep. I won't wake you unless I have to. Sleep in as long as you want."

There was a long silence, and then a weary shuffling as her mother finally seemed to agree and settle back down in bed, "G'night, Lily."

"Goodnight, Mama."

"Brent?"

The man finally looked up, glancing at him, "Aye?"

Greenfield hesitated, looking at him, "You alright?"

"Aye. Aye, I'm fine." The sailor went back to watching a specific part of the sea, frowning.

He paused again, and then followed his gaze, "What you lookin' at?"

"Nowt."

"You were never that good a liar. What you see."

"I jus'... I thought I saw somethin'."

Greenfield glanced at him, "Like what?" he looked back out again, shaking his head, "It's pitch black, you can't see anything."

"Aye, I know, I jus'..." Brent shook his head, almost frustrated, "I swear I saw..." he paused for a long time, and then shook his head again, "Never mind. I'm jus'... I guess I'm jus' tired."

"Y'know, you don't have to stay up here. I can handle just fine, if you wanna grab a few hours sleep."

"Nah, I'm fine. I am. I'm fine."

Greenfield sighed. Then he got to his feet, holding out a hand, "C'mon. You're exhausted, look at you. Go to bed. I'll handle the deck for now. You're no use to us dead on your feet."

Brent staggered upright, shaking his head, wearily, "A'right. A'right, fine. See yeh tomorrow."

"Yeah." He hesitated, "Brent?"

The sailor turned back, "Aye?"

"What did you see."

He paused for a moment, and then shook his head, looking confused, "It was like... a man. A cloaked... hooded man."