A couple of nights later, Ava and Loki lay in bed, wrapped in each other's arms. They had just gone for a walk through the palace and outside in the garden and watched the sunset. Ava had been lucky so far, she hadn't had anymore of her bad memories pop up in her dreams and she hoped it would stay that way.
After reading they both fell asleep. Ava quickly fell into her dreams of her life on Earth. She dreamed of so many things that she had forgotten.
Ava hid in the cave, a small fire an blanket the only things keeping her warm. She had just used her power to escape her bonds and throw the angry villagers who had been intent on killing her...no matter how much she insisted she wasn't a witch. "I should just get as far from here as possible and hide in the woods." She spoke to herself. "Stay away from everyone."
Over the next few weeks, Ava traveled as far and as deep into the wilderness of the unexplored "New World" as she dared. One day, as she traveled, she heard someone crying...it sounded like a child. She followed the sound and sure enough, found a young girl, she couldn't have been more than five years old, sitting by the bank of a river and crying.
Ava cautiously approached the girl. "Are you alright?" She asked.
The little girl looked up at her. It was then that Ava noticed that the girl was covered in soot and her clothes had spots where they looked like they had been charred. There was also a fresh burn covering half of her face. "They burned my house down." She said through her tears. "They said my mommy was a witch and that she should burn...and that I should burn with her...but my mommy wasn't a witch."
Ava's heart ached for the girl.
"Mommy made sure that I got out...but she didn't get out."
Tears stung at Ava's eyes. The people of these villages claimed to be seeking out and destroying evil, but it seemed that they were the evil ones. Without giving it a thought, Ava scooped the girl into her arms and held her. "Everything will be alright. You're safe now...I'll take care of you." She promised the girl. "What is your name?"
"Emily." The girl answered. "What's yours?"
"Ava."
They sat there like that for a while and then Ava remembered the burn on Emily's face. "We had better take are o that burn." She said. She grabbed a cloth from a bag she carried and dipped it in the river and gently washed Emily's face. She then found an aloe plant and broke open the leaves, using the liquid inside to coat the burn. "This should help it feel better."
"It does feel good." Emily replied.
Ava found more cloth in her bag and used it to cover the burn. "There. That should help it heal up."
"Thank you, Ava." Emily said.
Ava reached a hand out and gently caressed the unburned side of her face. "You are most welcome." She replied with a soft smile.
Over the next few months, Ava and Emily traveled through the woods until they came to a small cabin. After inspecting it, they discovered that it was abandoned and had been for quite some time. "This could be our home." Ava said.
"I like it." Emily agreed.
Over the next few days, Ava and Emily made the cabin into their home. They cleaned and polished every inch, dusted every nook and cranny. They even dressed it up a bit by adding flowers to it. They spent the next five years, living happily and peacefully in the cabin. They were entirely self-sufficient. They had a garden to grow their vegetables, an apple tree, and they had become skilled hunters for their meat. Emily had taken to calling Ava her mother, as she had adopted her.
One day, Ava was out working in the garden while Emily was gathering some apples from the trees on the other side of the cabin. After a few minutes, Emily came running into the garden. "Mama?" She asked, her voice timid and frightened.
"What is it, my little dove?" Ava asked.
"I heard voices out in the woods on the other side of the house." Emily answered.
A bad feeling instantly invaded Ava's heart. She took Emily inside and they went to the small kitchen. Ava moved a rug and lifted up a couple of loose floor boards. "Get in there and don't come out until I tell you to." She told Emily, kissing her forehead.
Emily nodded and hopped inside. Ava then replaced the floorboards and the rug. Then she went outside to investigate. Two men emerged from the woods that surrounded the cabin. They turned and looked at her. "Well, what have we here?" One of the men said.
"It looks like a girl, all on her own." The other replied.
"I must warn you, if you intend me any harm, it will not go well for you." Ava cautioned them.
The men looked her small frame up and down and laughed. "And what can you possibly do to us?" One of the men asked.
"You really don't want to find out." Ava answered.
The two men then began to stalk towards her. Ava lifted he hand and flicked it, causing the men to fly backwards and into a large tree behind them. They looked up at her, stunned into silence for a moment. Then one of them cried out, "Witch!" They then turned and ran back from whence they came. Ava knew that they were going to go get more men and be back.
She ran into the house and got Emily. "Pack a few things in your bag and we have to get out of here." Ava told her.
"What's going on, Mama?" Emily asked.
"Those men will be back and we have to get out of here before they come back."
Emily nodded and went and grabbed some things. She and Ava packed up a few clothe, some food, and their bows and arrows. Then they were on their way, running away again. Over the next few weeks, they had been hiding in caves. They survived on wild berries an anything that they could hunt. The nights were slowly growing colder as winter approached.
Emily cuddled with Ava for warmth and comfort. They had a fire going and a quilt that they had grabbed wrapped around them. After resting for the night, they woke and started moving again. After several hours of travel, Emily looked to Ava. "Mama?" She asked, her voice sounding weak.
"What is it?" Ava asked, looking at her adopted daughter.
"I don't feel so well." Emily answered.
Ava looked the child up and down. Her face was pale and her blue eyes that usually sparkled, were dim. Ava placed a kiss on her forehead. "You're burning up." She scooped Emily up in her arms and carried her until she found another cave for them to hide in. She wrapped Emily in the quilt and started a fire.
Emily started coughing. Ava grabbed the water that she carried and helped Emily sip it. After a few moments, Emily stopped her coughing and a tire look came over her face. "I feel sleepy, Mama."
"Close your eyes an rest, my little dove." Ava told her. "Rest will help you feel better."
Emily nodded an closed her eyes. "Will you stay with me, Mama?"
"Of course." Ava replied, her voice soothing.
Soon Emily was sound asleep, her breathing a rhythmic wheezing. Ava doused a cloth in cool water and dabbed it on Emily's face and neck. Ava looked over Emily's face. The left side of her face was scared from the burn she'd received five years earlier and the right side of her face was beautiful and unmarred. The left corner of her mouth was pulled down in a permanent frown. Her beautiful blond hair didn't grown in one patch that was on the left side of her head.
Over the next two days, Ava stayed by Emily's side, trying to nurse her back to health, but the poor child only got worse. Her skin grew ashen and her couching got worse and worse. She could barely breathe. Ava did everything she could for Emily, but nothing seemed to work. Emily rested her head on Ava's shoulder. Ava stroke her hair and kissed the top of her head.
"Mama?" Emily asked, weakly.
"Yes, my little dove?"
"I..." She began but then started coughing, this time blood started to come with the coughs.
Ava held Emily in a sitting position. She dabbed the cool wet rag on the back of her neck and hoped that she could get her to stop coughing. After a few moments, Emily finally stopped coughing. Ava helped he drink some water.
"I'm really...glad...I met...you." Emily told Ava. "I love...you...Mama."
Ava smiled at her. "I love you, too, my little dove. I am so happy that you came to me. Now get some rest so you can get better." Ava replied, kissing the top of her head.
"I'm not...going to...get better." Emily replied.
"Don' talk like that." Ava chided gently.
"Mama...it's okay." Emily replied. "I...I know...and...I am...ready...I...love you...Mama."
"And I love you, my little dove." Ava said, fighting back tears.
Emily gave her a soft smile and then closed her eyes and breathed her last breath.
Ava then allowed the tears to freely flow down her face as she cradled the body of the young girl in her arms. She kissed Emily's forehead and cheeks and stroked her hair. She spent the next several hours crying and cursing the heavens and every deity she had ever worshiped during her long life.
"Curse you!" Ava cried up at the heavens. "Curse every single one of you! She was just a girl! She had no reason to die! I turn my back on all of you!"
Ava cried until she had exhausted herself and she fell asleep still holding Emily's cold and lifeless body. The next day, she did what she could to give Emily a proper burial. She spent the next several days mourning her loss. "I'll never let anyone in again." Ava vowed to herself. "I only lose them and am left hurting and they never last long."
Ava opened her eyes and found herself in bed next to Loki. She felt the hot tears streaming down her face. She suddenly felt confined in the bed. She threw the covers off of her and ran from the room and out onto terrace. She collapsed on the floor at the edge, leaning her back on the railing.
"Ava, my love, what's wrong?" Loki asked, coming out and kneeling next to her. His hands were stroking her face.
Ava couldn't bring herself to speak. She felt like there was a giant hole in her chest and it ached so badly. She flung herself into his arms and allowed sobs to overtake her. As she cried, Ava remembered Emily's death as if she were reliving it over and over again.
Loki stroked Ava's hair and rubbed soothing circles in her back. "My love, what is wrong? Was it another bad memory?" He asked.
Ava allowed Loki's presence and voice calm her. She still cried a little, but she was now able to speak. "It started off...I was running after having been...accused and almost executed for being a witch." She explained.
"What?" Loki asked.
"The mortals...they accused me of being a witch...they have gone through times where they...worship magic and others...where they fear and loath...it." Ava tried her best to explain. "They tried to burn me alive."
"That's terrible. No wonder you're so upset."
"That's not why." Ava replied. "That...was the beginning...of the dream/memory."
"Then what was it?" Loki asked.
"While I was...fleeing...I found a little girl...she was badly burned...her mother had been killed by being burned...she made sure the girl could get out...her name was Emily...the girl that is...I took care of her...for the next five years...she even called me Mama...I loved her like...she was my own child...for five years...we lived peacefully...undisturbed by anyone...then two men came...with the intent to harm us...I had to use my power...and throw them back...they ran to get help...and Emily and I had to run...and while...we...were...running...Emily got...sick..." Ava told Loki, but as she got closer to the end, she could see Emily's face as she had died.
"She didn't make it, did she?" Loki asked, already knowing the answer.
Ava nodded. "Later...I was walking through the woods and I ended up tripping...and kitting my head and knocking myself out...it caused me to forget...I forgot Emily...Emma...Jacob...everyone who I had cared about while on Earth...before that point."
"And now you're remembering them all." Loki said, still holding her.
"It was awful...Loki." She said. "I did everything I could...but she still didn't make it...it wasn't enough...and I loved her...I cared for her...as if she were mine."
Loki stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. "It's alright." He told her. "Everything is going to be fine."
"I feel...like I'm...reliving it...over again."
"I know." Loki replied. He sat down and leaned back against the railing, pulling Ava with him. He held her and soothed her as she cried and mourned the loss of the girl all over again. Eventually she cried until she exhausted herself and fell asleep in his arms.
Loki kissed the top of her head. He stood, scooping her up, and carried her back into the bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and covered her in the blankets. He decided to try and use his magic to create a better set of dreams for her. He climbed in the bed beside her and pulled her into his arms. He wanted to do whatever her could to help her through this and he hoped his magic would do the trick.
