A/N: This chapter parallels chapter 8 in Starlight and Notebook's "Karma: Deformity Is A Curse." Thanks for the help, S&N! Enjoy!
Opening eyes to the firelight, blinking
in its glory, I'm
drawn to her, the mongrel princess;
A face I've thought about,
Dreamt about.
Outside…
(My voice is a whisper in her mind.)
It's raining outside, frigid water
sliding over my skin, like ice,
Like Ecl, but not as desperate—
The mongrel comes, surprised to see me; she's
stammering, trying to shape thoughts into words
But I beat her in her game
Falcon?
Mongrel?
Or the girl that made you fall?
"Crazy," I want to tell her, but my eyes stays blank.
Looking sadly at her
Pretty face, pink eyes,
I hadn't meant to push her into the dark
Ecl has never hurt me
(Never kept me captive),
like her.
Rain drenching her, she's sinking to her knees in fear
of falling again
Look at me,
And my emotionless eyes,
I'm feeling my temper rise
and Karma only shakes her head
(Subtly)
She can't look me in the eye
She can't bear to fall--
Afraid
Glaring at her I shove all sympathy aside
"Look at me."
My words are harsh, my tone is not—
How can she fear me, like everyone else?
She is the one feared among her people.
But me, crazy,
mongrel, bred to hate myself,
a falcon, a raven, fallen from the sky
Seeing Karma's fear
(In her eyes, she is still terrified)
grips my stomach, I can't let go.
Reaching out with long-dead compassion,
bitter Mara never smiles, but I'm
Resolving to help her—
an ally—
Because I know she has
a greater role to play
In Anheleh.
Explaining to her
to bind her magic;
she finally looks up and listens.
(Dance
with Acelan, little mongrel.)
Bind and never break
(The bond between)
Madness is the music
To which I dance.