This chapter is quite short, but it sets up the next one nicely. I'm still alive and determined to get this fic finished!
I only hope people are still reading after my long hiatus! :D
*gives hugs to all who attend*
Enjoy!
The smooth ground cold against her cheek. The scent of stagnant air of an old room recently breached. The world was silent, save for the whirring of drowsiness that roared in the back of her mind. Unable to tell if the crushing darkness was the environment or her eyelids unable to peel open.
How long had it been?
Impossible to tell. But it was the first time Byleth had managed such a controlled thought through the obscurity. The clarity of mind was both a relief and a burden, memories rushing back like a flood.
Hubert. Samael. The comfort of fresh snow crunching beneath her boots and the cold that nipped at her nose. Right before she was betrayed and brought to this place.
She recalled the moment they arrived. Thales had welcomed her as he sat restrained in a cell. Samael stood by his side, eyes comatose and unreadable, staring into nothingness. What had he done to their son? Why had they taken her? She did not get answers before the sear of a needle and then the long, crushing numbness of sedation took her.
Her mouth was dry, the first real sensation in an immeasurable while. The sound of her breaths finally reached her ears along with the whine of frustration that mewled from her throat. There was no reaction from anyone else, no footsteps scurrying over to put her back under, no voice to reprimand or scathe if this was intentional. Perhaps her waking now was a mistake. An issue with the dosage? Or did they intend to give her moments of lucidity just to fuck with her?
Finally, the sedative wore off enough that rational thought gave way to fear.
Byleth struggled against her heavy body, shuffling back until the small of her back hit a wall. She gasped and leant back against it, the cool surface a welcome relief. Her eyes darted towards every corner. Nothing but shadows, illuminated by strange, dull blue lights running through the floor. Even though the sight was alien she choked out Hubert's name, a string of disbelief inside hoping he was right outside the door, ready to rush in should she need him. But no, the room stayed empty and quiet.
She recalled her wedding ring; a glimmer of hope. But why wasn't Hubert here? Surely the tracking magic would -
Byleth stilled, breath catching in her throat when she couldn't feel nor see the ring upon her finger. Had they taken it? Had they known about the magic?
More sensations began to surface as she pulled herself onto the bed with a grunt; hair stuck to her sweat-soaked forehead, the churning sickness of her stomach, the damp patch under her palm. Damp? She tried to focus her eyes on it, brushing her hand across the linen sheet until it hit a thin tube. The pain in her wrist burned at that moment and she glanced over it, dried blood streaked down her arm. She could only presume she fell from the bed, pulling out the tube in the process. Was that the sedative?
Her thoughts snapped shut as her head throbbed, and Byleth clutched her temples with her palms with a yelp. Hubert… Samael… Edelgard...
"Sothis!" she cried, voice haggard and desperate.
The headache stopped and she found she was no longer upon the bed, pain and lethargy gone. Around her was a sea of familiar and unending darkness, illuminated solely by the great throne. Her eyes followed the steps upwards only to find the seat empty. She was here again. In the all-consuming black.
"How did I-"
"Mother?" a quiet voice called to her.
She turned on her heels, the sound echoing over the punishing silence of Zaharas. Her sights fell on Samael and she gasped. His eyes, no longer hollow and white, searched her for an answer. He appeared scared, bridging the gap between them whilst eyeing the darkness as if it were a coiled snake ready to strike.
"Sam?" she said, the hairs on the back of her neck standing and she took a firm step away.
"Is this a dream? I do not remember falling asleep. It feels… real," he said, confused, brushing his hands over his clothing with a critical eye.
"Is it really you?" Byleth whispered, unable to fathom how he was here.
His attention snapped back to her. "Yes. Is this a trick? Have you not tortured me enough?"
"Believe me, it isn't a trick. What happened, where are you?" Even though he betrayed her she couldn't swallow the concern. This was Sam. Her sweet boy.
Sam's only argument was a worried side-eye. "After I fulfilled my… purpose, Thales released me from his spell and threw me in the cell next door. They left me there to rot, I have not eaten in days I…" He took a cautious step forward, a hand reaching out. "You have to believe me. I – I did not know… I tried to fight it, I fought with everything I could. But in the end, all I could do was watch. My body was not my own."
"Oh, Sam…" she whispered, trying to make sense of why he was here through the confusion and ache of her heart. She extended a hand to meet his, unable to deny her son the comfort he so sorely needed. He clung to her like a scared toddler would, holding her close as if she would vanish if he released his grip.
"You are… real," he said, a shake to his voice she had never heard before. "But if you are real then where are we?"
Before Byleth could offer an explanation a voice from the throne boomed through the quiet.
"What is the meaning of this! To rouse me from my slumber in such a belligerent manner is most rude!" Sothis cocked her head to the side, crossing her arms. She was still in the same form as the last time they met. Tall, elegant, radiant. "I – oh, I see the line has hooked more than one fish. How fascinating. First you and your child, and now this boy! Care to explain why so many seem to bear my crest now? This is becoming most uncouth."
"Who is that?" Sam said, voice low as he broke away and stood ahead of Byleth, between her and the steps.
"You," Sothis said, eyes narrowing upon Sam. "You are the one I sensed in the tomb." She then looked down to Byleth. "How could you be so careless! So blind! I warned you about this one!"
"You warned me?"
"Indeed. The buzzing in the dark, I sensed it even then. The strength and depravity of their magic is not hard to miss… Though, it is strangely silent now."
"You call that cryptic message a warning?" she snapped back, "maybe if you hadn't been so vague I wouldn't have found myself in this mess!"
"How dare you! I was blind! How does one put a feeling to words without a true picture, it is akin to guessing the painting by the colours on the palette!"
"Sothis!" she shouted, tone pleading.
"Sothis?" Samael said, eyes wide toward his mother, "You mean the goddess Sothis?"
"Do not speak of me like I am not present, boy!" Sothis chastised before her sights fell on Byleth once more.
Samael fell silent, likely coming to terms with the idea he was speaking with the goddess.
"How is he here with me?" Byleth asked.
"It seems in my eagerness to respond to your plea my powers stretched farther than I intended. Only those that share my crest may enter this realm against my behest… Well, that was once the case." Sothis walked down the steps, eyes pained, gesturing to the thick, dark expanse. "It was once beautiful here – an endless land of grace and my own design. Not this vile darkness. That was until the Agarthans trespassed with their disgusting magic. As beautiful as this realm once was, it was delicate. And now this is all that remains."
Byleth bawled a fist as Sothis sat upon steps ahead of them. "This is no time for stories. You need to help us; we are all in danger."
Sothis bent down to get a good look at Sam, her expression fading from concern to apathy as if the boy no longer had anything interesting to offer.
Sam returned her unblinking eye contact, his face an unreadable mask.
"Do not worry about the immediacy of our danger." Her attention fell back to Byleth. "Time does not exist as you know it here. Nevertheless, explain yourself. I am most displeased that you have allowed us to be entrapped in such a situation. What is this danger of which you speak?"
"The Agarthans… They found out about you and my child. They're holding me prisoner -"
"You fool," Sothis muttered. "But I expected something dire had transpired. You managed to pull me from my slumber – that is commendable in itself."
"Commendable or not we need your aid," Sam said, wide-eyed.
"Fie! You test my patience, boy." Sothis snapped.
Byleth placed a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder. "What do you mean by that? Were you sleeping?"
"Yes. I was attempting to regather my energy," she said, as if the mere thought made her lethargic, "having your soul scattered to the wind is not an easy thing to recover from."
"Can you lend me your strength as you did before?" Byleth asked.
Sothis sighed and closed her eyes in concentration for a moment. "No. You are in no state to fight. Through the drugs in our system are waning you will not have the constitution to defend yourself, regardless of my powers. There is also the risk of hurting your daughter if you attempted such a feat."
Byleth clenched a fist. How could she have let this happen? Never had she felt so utterly useless.
It seemed Sam sensed her angst, pushing his hand into her hers and holding it tight. He said no words, only looking to her with his normal blank expression.
"Even so, I can't allow them to take us," Byleth said.
"You need not worry. I will not allow it," Sothis replied. "I know how to deal with them. But it will take a lot of my energy. If not all of it."
"Thank you," Byleth said with a heavy breath, squeezing Sam's hand tighter. They would get through this. All of them. "So, what's the plan?"
I'd love to know your thoughts and / or theories! :D
Thank you for reading!