AN: Hm…still very little reviews…maybe I should work on better summaries…or my story is just uninteresting to the few…oh well! *grins* Yeah, this is what I like to call a 'filler chapter', where nothing major happens, but I think they are relative to the character and/or explains a little, maybe not really important, section of the story more. It's just what I do…don't ask me why.
Chapter Two: Out of the Fog
Laelaps licked her hand and slowly she arose from sleep. She was again in her room, alone except for her faithful dog. Her body still felt drained, but her soul felt lighter and that was enough to lift her from bed. Pulling on a coarse brown tunic that despite its texture kept her amazingly cool in the desert air, and placing her crest on her forehead she walked across the room to where there was already food and drink placed on the small table for her. But her usually good appetite had left her and she gave most of it to Laelaps who happily took it.
She couldn't really get a clear focus on what had happened last night, like her rape it was all a blur, bits and pieces thrown together. But there was a definite change about her, so she knew it must have been successful. Tiamra would tell her later that it was all too common to not remember the exact images of a waking dream. Eventually Rae Lawen was visited by the medicine women who inspected her, deemed her fit and well of mind, and then left her again as quickly as they had come. After they had left, Rae Lawen wandered out of her room, located in one of the front levels of the Fortress, with Laelaps padding faithfully along her beside her.
Her mind wasn't in a fog like she thought it would be, on the contrary, it was clearer than she could remember it being in some time. A wonder. Even the sunshine looked clearer to her and the happiness in Laelaps's bark as she raced down the grounds to where the young maidens were enjoying some free time. Laelaps had certainly become a quick favorite among the Gerudo girls and women and that made Rae Lawen very pleased. Leaning against one of the walls under the protection of the cool shade was a dark hair Gerudo woman, not much younger than her.
She was a Black Gerudo, one of the children born to the Nation who retained part of their father's looks despite the Ritual of Purification their mother's had done to purge their womb of such things. It happened more often than people realized, only that the dazzling red hair caught the attention first. Rae Lawen herself was a White Gerudo, expected you ignored her half Hylian heritage for the moment which gave her lighter skin to begin with. Her brown hair, the usual judge of whether one was white or black, was pulled back loosely, not having cared much to do anything about it this morning. Omphale saw her coming and smirked, her mood restricting her to produce even a false smile. Rae Lawen didn't think anything of it though for she knew it was just Omphale's way.
"You look well rested," Omphale shrugged and brushed a bit of her raven dark hair off her bare, unadorned forehead. Much to her own personal humiliation, Omphale had not successfully completed the Training Ground on her first venture. Rae Lawen often thought that this was a main source of the enormous chip on Omphale's shoulder, if nothing else. The fact that she herself had completed the Ground not only on her fist attempt, but without proper training (which Rae Lawen still swore, though now out of modesty, was luck), she often wondered why Omphale would talk to her at all.
"I am, but you look like you've had a tough one," Rae Lawen leaned against the wall too and watched the younger maidens play their games. Together, the two of them, one known as black and one known as white, though neither of that was of notice or importance in Gerudo society, had found a common bond and grew a companionship from that. Omphale was sarcastic and bitter most of the time. When Rae Lawen was feeling more like herself (as few of times as that had happened during her coming to the Fortress), she greatly irritated Omphale. Rae Lawen had the habit of being friendly and kind and even goofy when it struck her, which was always feeble behavior to Omphale. Omphale found her more agreeable when she was in a bitter, reclusive mood, which for most of the time Rae Lawen was. Omphale, though she always pretended to take the least bit of interest in everything, thought that the two personalities were not of the same mind.
"You try sleeping in a room with three other giggling girls and try not to have a 'tough one'," Omphale snorted and watched the younger girls playing as well. Rae Lawen, should she have her way, could have burst into song for the first time in months, but knew she must keep it to herself less she wanted to be alone again.
"What do they have to be so happy about, right Omphale?" Rae Lawen picked off a stray strand of her tunic and threw them into the wind. It hung in the air for a moment before falling away across the yard.
"You certainly are in a mood today," the girl raised an eyebrow curiously, for a moment forgetting how she was supposed to be uninterested in everything.
"I guess I am," Rae Lawen was on the verge of hugging Omphale ecstatically, but held it in.
"Short of words too," Omphale replied simply.
"You're one to talk!" Rae Lawen shot back with a half-smile. "You say less than," she paused and knew she didn't have the right energy to argue. Any other time she would have, but not today and she thought it was surprising that Omphale wasn't more taken aback at her obvious change, for it should have been clear as day on her face. "Oh, never mind! Aren't you supposed to be with Vesta learning your herb lore?" Rae Lawen gave up on her and Omphale stiffened and crossed her arms.
"Don't remind me Lawen. I'd rather sit through another of Hestia's lectures on childbearing than about some stupid plant that grows out in the middle of nowhere," and she said this very bitterly. All she was interested in doing was taking her place among her sisters with her initiation on the Ground. Her failure of it before had rested with her heavily, causing her to build more emotional barriers around herself and indeed she was as threatening as a thorny rose. Rae Lawen, on the other hand, had always found herb lore intriguing since her mother began to teach her when she was young. She knew what plants could cure a stomachache to kill a man. She shook her head and lifted herself from the wall.
"Like it or not you'd better go before Tiamra gets on you and she won't be as easy as Vesta and you know it," Rae Lawen lectured Omphale herself, feeling the need to since she was older.
"And what are you going to be doing?" Omphale glowered, accepting that she was indeed going to have to go.
"I'll probably go back to my room and get Laelaps some water. Now go," she pointed a finger toward the nearest door and Omphale sulked away, grumbling the whole time.
Rae Lawen returned to her room and lay blissfully on her bed, Laelaps on the end. She was whole again. She didn't know how, but she didn't care. In fact, the feelings of shame and self-loathing were nothing more than memories to her, which she couldn't put into words. She was just happy again.