For all her years living in Ala Mhigo, Ylja had been fortunate to never step foot in the prison, either as a visitor or inmate. She imagined Rhitahtyn was to thank for that. He was the only one she'd confided in about her living arrangements before Ala Mhigo. Not even Fordola knew her whole past…
"Have you been listening?"
"What?"
Arenvald's voice tore her from her thoughts. The young Ala Mhigan had stopped in front of her, staring at her with his arms folded. She hadn't realised he'd been speaking…
"Sorry. I hadn't said anything up till now. You were just so lost in thought...well, I needed to use a different tact. Sorry if I startled you," he said while looking at the floor, reaching back to rub his neck sheepishly.
"It's alright. Zael's done the same before."
"Of course he has. Anyway, her cell's just up around the corner here. She doesn't know you're coming but...she'll likely find out as you get closer…"
"I've put this off for too long. No matter what she's done...what I've done...she's still my sister. I need to tell her that," Ylja said softly as she pushed on, giving Arenvald a sad smile as she passed. She took a deep breath as she rounded the corner…
The cell door was wide open.
"No…" Ylja charged down the hallway, Arenvald close behind while cursing under his breath. She noted the lack of guards, the way the door seemed completely undamaged. If Fordola escaped, she'd either picked the lock or stolen a key...
"What's going...by Rhalgr!" The guard's shout echoed down the hall as she knelt to examine the floor.
"Where were you? There should always be at least one guard outside this cell at all times!" Arenvald yelled. Ylja ignored their conversation in favour of looking under the bed. If there were any remnants of an escape plan they would be...a sandal?
"There...there was a situation with another prisoner. No-one else was responding…" the guard started to explain, his words becoming incoherent mumblings as Ylja brought the sandal into view.
"An unlocked door, a single misplaced sandal and conveniently absent guards," she said calmly, standing to her full, imposing height. "Tell me. How would you put these pieces together?" she asked as she turned. Her voice was calm yet forceful, her question like a sword aimed at the guards throat, waiting for a reason to strike.
"Well I...I...what are standing around for, boy! The Crow's threatening a prison guard...ack!"
The moment his eyes left her, she struck. She held him against the wall by his throat. Angling his head up so that she could look him in the eye. So he could see her wrath bearing down on him.
"I might not have known Ylja long, but she's given me no reason to doubt her instincts. You, on the other hand, all I know is that a prisoner is missing under…" Arevald gasped before placing his hand to his head.
"What...what's going on?"
"You know the Warrior of Light is able to see visions of a person's past, don't you?" Ylja asked, receiving a limited nod in response. "Well, my friend here has the same gift. I wonder, what will he see in your past. Perhaps the events of this evening? I wonder if General Aldynn would…"
"Alright! I helped them, alright! That butcher'll finally get what she deserves!"
"Where are they? Tell me before he does, otherwise you'll see what the Crow is capable of, first hand."
"They're in the waterworks! I only wish...I could see that bitch's last moments myself!"
"You have his keys?"
"Aye, right here," Arenvald said. The guard barely registered the deception before Ylja threw him into the empty cell. She heard the bed break on impact before the door swung shut. "So, what's the plan? Us against the lot of them?"
"Find Alrick, then gather some healers. I'll go on ahead."
She knew they hated her but she was still impressed by how driven they were. They weren't content with just beating her bloody and dumping her in the lake. They'd built a makeshift pier over the well out of old crates. A pier upon which she now knelt, held up by one of the men holding her by the hair. They'd even scrounged up some debris from Specula Imperatoris to drag her under, a twisted metal lump fastened to her waist by a short chain.
They'd still made sure to beat her bloody first. Couldn't have her looking too clean for her execution.
"Fordola rem Lupus, the Butcher. You have been brought here to face proper justice for your crimes against Ala Mhigo. Do you dare refute the charges against you?" the ringleader said, his voice echoing throughout the chamber.
"Hardly. If anything, I wish I could add taking your tongue to the list. At least then I wouldn't...!" Her comment earned her a swift kick in the chest. Iron assaulted her tongue as she coughed up blood. Another broken rib for her growing collection. A hand grabbed her bloodied chin, forcing her to look the ringleader in the eye.
"I see through your little game. You think angering us will make this quicker, but you're wrong. Before you die, you'll hear each and every one of your crimes laid bare so that they consume your final thoughts. Aye, it'll take a while, but I'll grant you this. You won't live to see another sunrise."
His name was Runolf and she'd killed his son. The man was from Ala Ghiri, a barman forced to serve the Imperials, no matter how much they took from him, mocked him. His son had had enough. He'd charged at her men and she reacted by cutting him down. His father tried to stop him, forced to watch, forcing her to watch, his only son die, charging her men with a tatty broom. He'd not even seen seventeen winters…
"She's coming! That bloody Cro…"
An explosion echoed through the chamber. Screaming followed only to be drowned out by the sound of twin, ceruleum slashes. She could think of only one who used that technique and waste time trying to save her…
"Well, looks like you get your bloody wish after all. May Rhalgr condemn you to the deepest hell!"
She fell forward as the piece of scrap was kicked into the well. A kick to the side knocked her into the water. She looked up, seeing men up above scatter as their attacker reached the ledge. She breathed in, trying to think of something to say with her last breath only to be yanked beneath the surface…
"Fordola!"
Light faded fast from view, the salt water stinging her eyes as the depths consumed her. She closed her eyes, ready to surrender to oblivion…
She heard something hit the water. Opening her eyes, she saw someone swimming after her. Someone following to make sure she stayed down, no doubt. She almost closed her eyes again until the figure grabbed her hand, the other now holding a familiar weapon.
"It couldn't be...she's terrified of drowning…"
She watched as Ylja grabbed the chain, pulling it taut before bringing her weapon to bear on it. She felt the shockwave of the blade's explosion, the chain no longer pulling them down. She felt Ylja's arms wrap around her before carrying her upwards. She looked up to see Ylja looking down at her. Ylja smiled at her, her eyes lighting up…
A rock fell towards them. Ylja reacted quickly, putting herself between it and Fordola. Blood clouded the water as she went limp…
"No...no, not again!"
Fury drove Fordola to grab her sister's weapon. She wasn't about to let those bastards take any more family from her. Wrapping one arm around Ylja, she swam towards the shoddy pier. She recalled their recent battles as she embedded the gunblade in one of the crates. She saw the ringleader readying another rock, glaring at him as she pulled the trigger.
The pier exploded in a hail of splinters. The ringleader flew back as she protected her sister, pain exploding across her back as new wounds opened to salt water. She surfaced with a cry, dragging Ylja to shore as the sounds of battle echoed above her.
"You...you won't leave here alive!" the ringleader bellowed, raising the stone above his head before charging them. She was in no state to fight back, yet with a shaky arm she raised the gunblade. If she was to die, at least she'd be protecting her sister this time…
The stone shattered as a shot echoed through the chamber.
"No-one's died here tonight, Runolf. Whether that changes is entirely up to you," the shooter called down. One of Ylja's friends. She collapsed as others entered the chamber, her eyes resting on her sister's still form. Darkness consumed her as she tried to reach out, the voices of their rescuers fading even as they drew closer…
"Ylja...I'm sorry…"
"You will be my legacy whether you want it or not. Unparalleled...a living weapon!"
"Fine, take her. She's too tainted by weakness to be of use to me."
"Why did my friend have to die?"
"Wriggle all you want, my little crow. Nothing escapes my web."
"I'll never go back with you...and you'll die before you ever lay hands on her!"
"I'm proud of you. I suggest you get used to hearing that."
Her body's aches were a comfort as sleep faded. A sleep tormented by visions of beatings, death and abuse, all as vivid as life itself. The pain in her arm was reassuringly her own as she touched her neck, looking for a collar she'd never worn. She breathed a sigh of relief before looking to the next bed. The gentle rise and fall of her sister's chest proved what the visions, nightmarish as they were, had promised her.
"Don't worry. She'll make a full recovery."
She'd known they weren't alone. The visions of Alrick's past had been a welcome reprieve from that of her sister. Her body protested as she sat up. The old Hrothgar sat at the foot of her bed, sword hanging from his hip while his shield rested against the wall.
"Everyone involved in your abduction is currently spending a few nights in the cells. It's hardly just, but it's better than nothing," Alrick said while shaking his head.
"Should have given them a bloody medal…" she whispered as her eyes wandered back to Ylja. They snapped back to Alrick when he chuckled. "What's so funny?"
"I know it shouldn't be but...well, I can imagine Ylja saying that regarding herself when we first met," he said. They sat in silence as his smile faded. "I can't imagine what you saw in her memories, nor would I wish it on anyone…"
"She never deserved any of it! She deserves so much better...better than me…"
"Perhaps...but she chose you."
His words were like a knife in the heart. Those three simple words spoken aloud were filled to burst with memories. Nightmares dispelled by her gentle voice. The way her eyes lit up when she saw her. The tender warmth of her arms around her...
Her hand reaching into the depths…
"You'll die before you ever lay hands on her!"
"She's always saving me…even when I don't deserve it," she finally said, her voice shaking as she clutched the blanket, letting tears fall on her bandaged hands. She didn't hear Alrick move, only made aware when his hand rested on her shoulder. She looked in his eyes, finding a warmth she'd missed for all these years.
"That's family for you. They see and bring out the best in us. And regarding last night...let me be first in saying thank you. You saved a good friend of mine, and for that I'm truly grateful. If ever you need a friendly ear, you have but to ask," he said with a warm smile. Had she found her voice, she would have tried to refuse him. A futile effort, she knew, for Alrick was not a man who would let her refuse.
"Well, I'll let you get some more rest. I'll be just down the hall," he said, giving her a final pat on the shoulder before departing.
"Alrick…"
He paused in the doorway, turning back to face her.
"Thank you for helping her. I...I'm glad someone was looking out for her."
"You're very welcome. Rest well Fordola."
Ylja's head throbbed with a dull ache. She let her eyes open slowly, wincing as they adjusted to the dim light. She reached up, feeling the bandage running around her head. She remembered water and darkness, her fear of drowning itself drowned out by a greater fear…
She felt movement at her side. She looked down to see Fordola kneeling beside her bed, resting her head on her arms as she slept. With a smile, she sat up as quietly as she could before gently resting her hand on her sister's head.
"I forgive you, my little sun. Time to wake up."
She felt Fordola awaken beneath her hand. Slowly she raised her head, looking up at her with reddened eyes. Without a word, Ylja held out her arms, an invitation her sister took without hesitation as fresh tears welled in her eyes. She held her tight, soothing her crying sister as though she were a little girl again.
The road had been long and difficult, but it had been worth it in the end. She was with family again. She was finally home.
