Alder had been in a drug-induced haze for the past five days. She was semi-
conscious of the things that went on around her. Healers came in and out of
her room, setting Healing spells on her broken arm, and the now-scar
climbing up her other arm. She fully woke for the first time in days, to
find the sun streaming in dully through the window. She swung her legs over
to the other side of the bed, and rolled herself over into a seated
position, groaning. She threw off her covers, and stood up abruptly.
Silver mist clouded her eyes as if she had just stepped into the heart of a storm, and she fell to the ground. She let the tempest clear from her eyes, and tried again. She stood up slowly and walked across her room, her red hair hanging at her shoulders, and her pristine white invalid's dress flowing past her knees. She tried the door knob, she was locked in. She slowly walked over to the mirror in her room, and took a good look at herself.
Her hair was still getting to be a brighter shade of red. The magic of using nodes had bleached her hair before, but not as much at one time. Her magical exertion of making a Gate had changed the shade of her hair, noticeably. Her eyes had also been bleached from the darker blue of the past- they now shone bright in the dull light of the window. She had a nasty scar running up one arm, and her other arm was still constricted in a cast. She turned her face away from her image and towards her window. It looked to be late afternoon, and clouds covered most of the sky. There was still some sunlight glaring through the storm clouds.
Alder heard the creaking of the door behind her, and she didn't bother to turn and see who it was. It wouldn't be Avery, how could it be? No one else held any importance to her, at the moment. The door closed behind whoever her visitor was, and she heard them sit quietly in a chair by the door.
A moment passed; silence. Her visitor would wait her out. Allow her to speak in her own time. She didn't want to talk, but she wanted the silence to be broken. And she knew, in this state, that her visitor's will would overcome her own.
"I am awake."
"That you are," came Damon's warm, masculine voice.
"Damon, you aren't gone!" Alder exclaimed, and turned to embrace her friend.
"I'm not gone, yet. I wanted to wait to see you awake before I have to leave. I wanted you to know that I am going to be sent to the front lines, in a group of mages who are going to try to break Aidan's hold on the border. But that isn't of importance, how do you feel?"
"Numb. Damon, something has changed. you're growing up."
"War makes everyone grow up faster," he said truthfully.
"Don't let it change you, Damon," she said stiffly.
"Nothing can change our friendship. I'll come back. I promise."
"I say! If you died, I'd have to track you down in the afterlife and kill you again for leaving me!"
"I'd prefer poison, please," he said seriously, and she stared incredulously at him. Then, slowly, he smiled, and she laughed.
"Damon, did I hurt you?" she asked. "Avery and I being Lifebonded, I mean." She felt as if somehow she owed him an apology, for things she couldn't control. She loved Damon so much as a friend, and she felt as if she could somehow have changed the way she was, and how she felt. She didn't want him to leave for war with things unsettled.
"No, Alder. Don't worry about it. I want you both to be happy," he said, and a smile covered his face. "You'll look so cute together," he said, smiling, inviting her to share the joke.
"If she lives," Alder replied gravely.
"The chances of saving Avery don't look good. No one can call her back. I tried, Keren and Kat both tried. The Queen herself tried to call her back, before she left. Nothing has brought even a spark of life out of her. Now, the thing is, there is a chance that your bond with her will bring her back."
"I already know this," Alder said wearily.
"Good luck, Alder," Damon said, hugging her again.
"Thank you. Good luck to you, too. Write to me, please?"
"When I can."
"Goodbye, Damon. I love you. Be safe."
"Farewell, Alder. I love you too," he said, and turned to leave her room. As he slipped out of her hospital room, Healer Gary entered.
"I see that you are awake, Alder."
"Hello, Gary," Alder said, looking him squarely in the eyes.
"You are finally in control," he said more as a statement than a question.
"As much as I can be."
"It's time, Alder. Do you wish to see Avery?"
"Yes, please."
It was dark. But then again, Avery was always consumed in a world of darkness of late. It was hard to hold onto her sanity when she hadn't changed positions in what seemed like forever. She had lost track of the days that she had been in her hospital bed at Brighton. All the time she was conscious of her surroundings was spent trying to recapture the threads of sanity holding her mind together.
It was all she could do to banish the images of Aidan and his guards that tormented her dreams and waking thoughts. Somehow, she was numb to the memories and the pain. She relived them over and over in her mind, but she didn't feel them. It was a slight relief, but in the times that she could string full thoughts together, she was afraid of the unfeeling creature she had become.
She reached a mental probe out of her mind, and she met up with a filthy blood red shield that kept her from moving and reaching out to someone with her mind. The shock of touching something so polluted with pain and blood left her mind reeling as she tried to regain control over her thought train.
Her mind seethed in another surge of terror at the unexpected sound of a door creaking open slowly on rusted hinges. All of the emotions she had been blocking out came together in one blinding mass as she lay unthinkingly in her hospital bed. With the loss of her other senses, Avery's sense of hearing was magnified tenfold, making all of the sounds seem to attack her. Footsteps plodded their way closer to her, and she heard someone sit down with an air of reluctance next to her bed.
Avery's mind finally cleared, and she remembered where she was. She was in Brighton; she was safe. She was far away from the brutal men who had raped her, safe from harm. She listened intently for sounds indicating the newcomer's intentions, but the room was silent. The silence seemed to ache with regret as it rang piercingly in her ears.
Avery felt a soft touch brush against her cold cheek. She inwardly shrank from the sensation, but relaxed a bit when she felt the small, warm hands gently caressing her skin. Her visitor traced the lines of her high cheekbones and sloping nose, finally resting their small hand on Avery's collarbone.
"Avery, it's Alder," she heard Alder mutter quietly into the endless night. She heard the pain in Alder's voice, already flailing with despair. Avery wanted so much to sooth away all of Alder's pain, to just speak with her love.
"I don't know if you can hear me. But Avery, if you can hear me, please come back," Alder whispered, desperation in her voice. "Please, Avery. I need you to come back to me; I know you can make it through the barrier. They told me that if I can't pull you back, then they will have to kill you. I couldn't live without you, Avery. I. I love you."
Avery's mind pounded with the joy of hearing Alder whisper those last three words, but then reality thrashed out at her and her hopes vanished. If Alder wasn't able to break through the barrier, they were going to kill her. If, indeed, Alder could not break the spell of paralysis, then her so called 'life' would not be worth anything. She would be driven insane in the endless darkness, silence, and lack of movement. They would be doing her a favor by ending her life.
She felt her hand lifted and placed in Alder's lap, and felt Alder clasp her hands tightly around her own. Alder's hands were warm, and suddenly she felt Alder's green Healing magic mixed with her personal ice-blue empathy slowly creeping into her veins. Alder's Healing magic eased her cramping muscles as it crept from her fingertips up to her shoulder blades. It spread out past her collar bone and extended through the rest of her body, each inch of her body regaining feeling as Alder worked. The trickle of ice-blue empathy spread all through her body, sinking deep into the very matter that made up her body.
The ice-blue magic crawled slowly up her neck, and spread over her lips gently, making them tingle. The magic progressed past her nose, and over her eyelids, filling her mind with visions of everything that Alder was projecting.
Alder was projecting pure, undying love. A feeling that she would love Avery forever, no matter what, would always be there for her. A love that radiated warmth, untainted. An intense devotion that had no restraints, no restrictions. And as these emotions were projected to her brain, her mind became so overwhelmed that she lost consciousness, and knew no more.
Avery came back into consciousness some time later, how long, she didn't know. She had no concept of time when her eyes had been closed for so long. Her hand was still placed in Alder's, and she could still feel Alder's magic pulsating through her veins, slightly dulled.
"Bright the day," she heard Alder whisper through choked tears. And slowly, Avery opened her eyes.
Alder sat quietly, staring out into the gray clouds. Tears fell down her cheeks, but she did not move to stop their flow. Her face was blotchy; she looked as if she had been crying for hours. To see Alder look so hopeless broke her heart.
"Bright the day," Avery heard her own voice croak with disuse. "But the day is not bright, unfortunately. While some of my friends take unholy pleasure in this bitter weather, I, on the other hand, consider myself sane," Avery whispered.
Alder closed her eyes, tears renewed, streaming down her cheeks. "Imagining things. This has to be a joke," Alder said, almost pleading the empty sky for answers. Avery quietly hoisted herself into a sitting position, pulling on Alder's hand, and pulling her close to Avery.
Avery cupped her hand on Alder's cheek. "Is this a joke?" she said throatily, and lowered her lips to Alder's, and enjoyed the soft, gentle kiss and blinding happiness of being reunited again.
Silver mist clouded her eyes as if she had just stepped into the heart of a storm, and she fell to the ground. She let the tempest clear from her eyes, and tried again. She stood up slowly and walked across her room, her red hair hanging at her shoulders, and her pristine white invalid's dress flowing past her knees. She tried the door knob, she was locked in. She slowly walked over to the mirror in her room, and took a good look at herself.
Her hair was still getting to be a brighter shade of red. The magic of using nodes had bleached her hair before, but not as much at one time. Her magical exertion of making a Gate had changed the shade of her hair, noticeably. Her eyes had also been bleached from the darker blue of the past- they now shone bright in the dull light of the window. She had a nasty scar running up one arm, and her other arm was still constricted in a cast. She turned her face away from her image and towards her window. It looked to be late afternoon, and clouds covered most of the sky. There was still some sunlight glaring through the storm clouds.
Alder heard the creaking of the door behind her, and she didn't bother to turn and see who it was. It wouldn't be Avery, how could it be? No one else held any importance to her, at the moment. The door closed behind whoever her visitor was, and she heard them sit quietly in a chair by the door.
A moment passed; silence. Her visitor would wait her out. Allow her to speak in her own time. She didn't want to talk, but she wanted the silence to be broken. And she knew, in this state, that her visitor's will would overcome her own.
"I am awake."
"That you are," came Damon's warm, masculine voice.
"Damon, you aren't gone!" Alder exclaimed, and turned to embrace her friend.
"I'm not gone, yet. I wanted to wait to see you awake before I have to leave. I wanted you to know that I am going to be sent to the front lines, in a group of mages who are going to try to break Aidan's hold on the border. But that isn't of importance, how do you feel?"
"Numb. Damon, something has changed. you're growing up."
"War makes everyone grow up faster," he said truthfully.
"Don't let it change you, Damon," she said stiffly.
"Nothing can change our friendship. I'll come back. I promise."
"I say! If you died, I'd have to track you down in the afterlife and kill you again for leaving me!"
"I'd prefer poison, please," he said seriously, and she stared incredulously at him. Then, slowly, he smiled, and she laughed.
"Damon, did I hurt you?" she asked. "Avery and I being Lifebonded, I mean." She felt as if somehow she owed him an apology, for things she couldn't control. She loved Damon so much as a friend, and she felt as if she could somehow have changed the way she was, and how she felt. She didn't want him to leave for war with things unsettled.
"No, Alder. Don't worry about it. I want you both to be happy," he said, and a smile covered his face. "You'll look so cute together," he said, smiling, inviting her to share the joke.
"If she lives," Alder replied gravely.
"The chances of saving Avery don't look good. No one can call her back. I tried, Keren and Kat both tried. The Queen herself tried to call her back, before she left. Nothing has brought even a spark of life out of her. Now, the thing is, there is a chance that your bond with her will bring her back."
"I already know this," Alder said wearily.
"Good luck, Alder," Damon said, hugging her again.
"Thank you. Good luck to you, too. Write to me, please?"
"When I can."
"Goodbye, Damon. I love you. Be safe."
"Farewell, Alder. I love you too," he said, and turned to leave her room. As he slipped out of her hospital room, Healer Gary entered.
"I see that you are awake, Alder."
"Hello, Gary," Alder said, looking him squarely in the eyes.
"You are finally in control," he said more as a statement than a question.
"As much as I can be."
"It's time, Alder. Do you wish to see Avery?"
"Yes, please."
It was dark. But then again, Avery was always consumed in a world of darkness of late. It was hard to hold onto her sanity when she hadn't changed positions in what seemed like forever. She had lost track of the days that she had been in her hospital bed at Brighton. All the time she was conscious of her surroundings was spent trying to recapture the threads of sanity holding her mind together.
It was all she could do to banish the images of Aidan and his guards that tormented her dreams and waking thoughts. Somehow, she was numb to the memories and the pain. She relived them over and over in her mind, but she didn't feel them. It was a slight relief, but in the times that she could string full thoughts together, she was afraid of the unfeeling creature she had become.
She reached a mental probe out of her mind, and she met up with a filthy blood red shield that kept her from moving and reaching out to someone with her mind. The shock of touching something so polluted with pain and blood left her mind reeling as she tried to regain control over her thought train.
Her mind seethed in another surge of terror at the unexpected sound of a door creaking open slowly on rusted hinges. All of the emotions she had been blocking out came together in one blinding mass as she lay unthinkingly in her hospital bed. With the loss of her other senses, Avery's sense of hearing was magnified tenfold, making all of the sounds seem to attack her. Footsteps plodded their way closer to her, and she heard someone sit down with an air of reluctance next to her bed.
Avery's mind finally cleared, and she remembered where she was. She was in Brighton; she was safe. She was far away from the brutal men who had raped her, safe from harm. She listened intently for sounds indicating the newcomer's intentions, but the room was silent. The silence seemed to ache with regret as it rang piercingly in her ears.
Avery felt a soft touch brush against her cold cheek. She inwardly shrank from the sensation, but relaxed a bit when she felt the small, warm hands gently caressing her skin. Her visitor traced the lines of her high cheekbones and sloping nose, finally resting their small hand on Avery's collarbone.
"Avery, it's Alder," she heard Alder mutter quietly into the endless night. She heard the pain in Alder's voice, already flailing with despair. Avery wanted so much to sooth away all of Alder's pain, to just speak with her love.
"I don't know if you can hear me. But Avery, if you can hear me, please come back," Alder whispered, desperation in her voice. "Please, Avery. I need you to come back to me; I know you can make it through the barrier. They told me that if I can't pull you back, then they will have to kill you. I couldn't live without you, Avery. I. I love you."
Avery's mind pounded with the joy of hearing Alder whisper those last three words, but then reality thrashed out at her and her hopes vanished. If Alder wasn't able to break through the barrier, they were going to kill her. If, indeed, Alder could not break the spell of paralysis, then her so called 'life' would not be worth anything. She would be driven insane in the endless darkness, silence, and lack of movement. They would be doing her a favor by ending her life.
She felt her hand lifted and placed in Alder's lap, and felt Alder clasp her hands tightly around her own. Alder's hands were warm, and suddenly she felt Alder's green Healing magic mixed with her personal ice-blue empathy slowly creeping into her veins. Alder's Healing magic eased her cramping muscles as it crept from her fingertips up to her shoulder blades. It spread out past her collar bone and extended through the rest of her body, each inch of her body regaining feeling as Alder worked. The trickle of ice-blue empathy spread all through her body, sinking deep into the very matter that made up her body.
The ice-blue magic crawled slowly up her neck, and spread over her lips gently, making them tingle. The magic progressed past her nose, and over her eyelids, filling her mind with visions of everything that Alder was projecting.
Alder was projecting pure, undying love. A feeling that she would love Avery forever, no matter what, would always be there for her. A love that radiated warmth, untainted. An intense devotion that had no restraints, no restrictions. And as these emotions were projected to her brain, her mind became so overwhelmed that she lost consciousness, and knew no more.
Avery came back into consciousness some time later, how long, she didn't know. She had no concept of time when her eyes had been closed for so long. Her hand was still placed in Alder's, and she could still feel Alder's magic pulsating through her veins, slightly dulled.
"Bright the day," she heard Alder whisper through choked tears. And slowly, Avery opened her eyes.
Alder sat quietly, staring out into the gray clouds. Tears fell down her cheeks, but she did not move to stop their flow. Her face was blotchy; she looked as if she had been crying for hours. To see Alder look so hopeless broke her heart.
"Bright the day," Avery heard her own voice croak with disuse. "But the day is not bright, unfortunately. While some of my friends take unholy pleasure in this bitter weather, I, on the other hand, consider myself sane," Avery whispered.
Alder closed her eyes, tears renewed, streaming down her cheeks. "Imagining things. This has to be a joke," Alder said, almost pleading the empty sky for answers. Avery quietly hoisted herself into a sitting position, pulling on Alder's hand, and pulling her close to Avery.
Avery cupped her hand on Alder's cheek. "Is this a joke?" she said throatily, and lowered her lips to Alder's, and enjoyed the soft, gentle kiss and blinding happiness of being reunited again.