In hindsight, her entire roaming was such a rollercoaster when it came to her own position and goals. There were points when the daughter of Gunmar drifted surprisingly far from her old beliefs. Though, for better or worse, life itself seemingly brought her back to her initial position.
Or, perhaps, she just convinced herself that everything would stay the same. After all, the woman had picked up so many things on this dishonorable road that sometimes she had troubles discerning between her true feelings and pretense.
There was a man who taught the fearsome Herald of Doom some mercy. Perhaps, he was the only one she had ever treated as a kindred soul. Maybe it was just a temporary madness, maybe there was something else entirely. It was always so difficult to find any proper reasoning behind that one situation. Probably, Barverra was simply afraid to even recognize her own thoughts regarding that man.
His name was William, Will for short. He should have been simply another one of her husbands, yet somehow ended as the only one Barbara had ever trusted with her secret willingly.
Everything regarding that person was too off from the very start - he didn't fit most of her 'secret criteria'. She had never planned to marry him to start with - Will had quite famous in the town she lived in at that time, which meant that whoever stayed near him ended attracting too much attention themself. Clearly, it was the worst possible option for someone keeping the low profile.
To be honest, the word 'famous' was not that correct to describe Will - people would expect something else after hearing that one. It was more like the man simply stood out, no matter where he went. He was in his mid-thirties and apparently once they had considered him to be an eligible groom. Unfortunately for Will, by the time when Barbara arrived in the town, most talks surrounding him were full of pity if not of sneers and jeers.
William seemed to be a rather pitiful person who managed to survive a disastrous fire but ended with a hideously disfigured face and nearly blind. It wasn't like everyone turned their backs on him (well, they said, his bride had broken the engagement), but the treatment obviously changed drastically.
Barbara had learned his story relatively early - the local gossipers had always been quite eager to feed anyone their juicy trivia. Most likely, they had added too many details - the redhead had a good idea how rumors could distort the truth to the point of no recognition. In any case, she wasn't too interested in that disabled man, though all those talks definitely had left some nasty feelings. Fleshbags were seriously too concerned about appearances at times. It always made the daughter of Gunmar sick.
Personally, she just kept with her regular lifestyle, being reasonably friendly with locals and planning some next steps. At some point, the woman expected locals to start bothering her about marriage (as being single wasn't considered normal back then), but she still hoped to prolong her personal freedom for some time. In the end, Barbara could never be sure how many limits her possible new husband could put, both willingly and unwittingly. She would prefer someone less controlling, but sometimes it was just impossible.
The redhead had talked to William several times, but it never went past initial acquaintance, so she was genuinely baffled when he approached her with a marriage proposal. After all, no one of them had even shown any kind of interest before that. At least, her - perhaps, Will had been considering something as she couldn't tell for sure.
Perhaps, someone else would just laugh at that, but somehow it felt beyond the Herald of Doom's level. Still, back then she hadn't jumped around the bush and outright told him that his suggestion was too hasty. She could proudly claim that she had mastered a convincing human reaction in the end. Though… The daughter of Gunmar had no idea how she would react to that as a troll.
"You don't know me good enough," those were her words back then. Barbara wondered if she had to use something harsher to make him give up at once, but no, that would go against her current reputation of the nice person.
"I've learned enough," he retorted firmly. "You are the only person around who doesn't care about my face".
Well, Will had obviously made a decision back then, the one he didn't plan to change, no matter what he would hear back.
Was she that obvious for that man to notice? They hadn't even talked to each other that much before!
"Well, it's a plain lie," the redhead disagreed right away. "No one shuns you because of that".
Actually, now it seemed like it was her turn to lie. The daughter of Gunmar had seen more than enough how exactly people treated the man, especially when he wasn't around.
And apparently, Will hadn't missed the nuance himself.
"They still care though - and I don't talk about those who show their disgust and repulsion openly. I may be nearly blind, but thankfully, I'm not deaf. Their voices are always full of pity. Everyone is careful with their choice of words. It's like I've stopped being myself overnight and turned into someone, no, something else. You're the only one who simply doesn't care about all of that," William's voice was full of frustration. He had definitely bottled a lot - and somehow ended letting everything out. Perhaps, Barbara somehow managed to strike the right cord or something.
The man definitely had his own pride and dignity. Somehow the daughter of Gunmar could understand and even relate to that. She had grown up in a community with different values - pity for the wounded wasn't that common there. Not to mention that trolls never cared for appearances to start with, and some even not life-threatening injuries could possibly look way more gruesome.
A part of Barbara had no idea why she was that persistent in chasing away William. The woman needed a cover and here there was that figural gift horse. The man was certainly bringing true doom upon his own head unwittingly, but why should she have cared about it? If Will wanted some years of beautiful delusion and untimely death, it was his own fault.
Still, she was hesitating - probably for the first time since the start of her journey. Later the redhead came up with the reason for that doubt - she simply had seen herself in Will - someone stuck in a weakened body, never truly belonging, not even allowed to save own dignity. The only difference was that she had chosen that kind of life herself. Though... Had her misery started with the life among fleshbags? Was it actually that different before meeting with the witches when her regular life was basically destroyed to the smithereens after that accursed Killahead Bridge battle?
She had given up in the end, agreeing to that ridiculous proposal. At least, the woman had a chance to do it on her own terms. Barbara had been honest about her feelings with the crippled man from the very start - she clearly stated that she would never fall in love with him. Surprisingly, William hadn't expected any love from her himself. How had he responded back then? Oh yes - "Just allowing me to be a bit selfish is more than enough."
Without any doubt, it had ended as the weirdest relationship in her life. They both were clearly using each other for whatever reason, and it satisfied both parties. What could be the proper name for something like that? The daughter of Gunmar had not even the slightest idea. Co-dependence, perhaps? Will clearly loved her, but kept true to his word and never demanded anything equal in return. As for Barbara, well, she had come to respect him and his way of thinking. Somehow, Will had turned into a good friend, probably even reaching family territory.
Was it that surprising that she hesitated to end everything once ten years had passed? Their time together dragged into the eleventh and twelfth years. Not that her wavering had no repercussions, quite the contrary, some rumors were starting to creep through the town as people were pointing out that the redhead hadn't changed a bit since her arrival. Barbara was definitely breaking her one-place limit. What was the point of risking that much? The right thing would be ending Will's life (wasn't he miserable in any case?), covering it as an accident, and then moving out.
The daughter of Gunmar had done it so many times before, it shouldn't have been that difficult…
Yet…
It turned out to be impossible - probably she had gone crazy by that point, who knew?
The redhead planned to simply disappear without saying goodbye, consequences and complications to be damned. Leaving no loose ends had always been her rule, but at that moment it simply didn't matter. There could be some search parties, but she planned to start a new life as far as possible - after all, fleshbag still had troubles with traveling huge distances back then.
That night she was back to her true body, perfectly blending with shadows. Well, poor William would never be able to see her sneaking out in any case.
He had heard though, taking her by surprise when the female troll had nearly reached the door.
"Where are you going?" his tone was calm and unsuspecting. It would be so easy to find some excuse to fool him. Yet the fearsome daughter of Gunmar simply gave in, admitting that she needed to go.
"You sound unusual tonight," Will pointed out casually. Well, he was relying on his hearing more, but even without that her voice actually sounded way too different when she was her true self. It was quite a miracle that he managed to recognize it at all.
And…
"I'm not a human," Barbara blurted all of sudden. Why had she told that? Was it because William catching her had basically sealed his fate?
His response was something the daughter of Gunmar would never expect.
"I see... Well, makes a lot of sense".
There wasn't even a hint of surprise in his tone, as if he had expected something like that from the very start.
His wife, on the other hand, was left speechless for a while.
"Have you known all the time?" she asked in the end, her voice betraying her and showing utter bewilderment.
Will sighed:
"More like suspected... You were sneaking occasionally at night and clearly didn't want me to notice. Besides, you clearly have some different values and morals. You were hiding those around others, yet with me, you were brutally honest in showing your true thoughts…"
Barverra froze - he was right, she was quite relaxed with him, especially when they were arguing about different sides of human society. Well, the woman made sure there were no obvious stupid mistakes like admitting not being one of the fleshbags, but something had clearly slipped.
"Not to mention…" the man continued, as if not noticing her current state. "Well, back when we met, I was on the verge of breaking. You were like my personal fairy or angel..."
Barbara couldn't help chuckling at the irony. Fairy? Her?
"You'd never call me that if you were able to see me right now," she pointed out seriously. "Though..."
She took his hand and placed it on the top of her head as a sudden idea crossed her mind. Touch was another sense Will relied upon a lot. And well, that one alone would give a good idea how far from a human being the daughter of Gunmar was.
The man ran his hand through her hair with some confusion until he had stopped, stumbling upon a horn.
"Not that much of an angel, eh?" Barbara asked bitterly. One way or other, she had enjoyed her time with the mutilated man and now she couldn't even leave without creating at least one disgusting memory for herself. Why couldn't she just go away, pretending to be that fairy, that fruit of his delusion? At least, with that, they both could part ways and keep their time together as a memory unsullied with the fact that she was a troll.
Fleshbags were always afraid of her kind - every time anyone saw her true form, they screamed and tried to run away. Well, it was not like she had ever given them that kind of luxury - they were on the spot when calling her a monster. But, maybe at least one part of her was never able to get rid of one elementary question 'why?'
Her father explained it simply back when Barverra was just a tiny whelp. Fleshbags were weak and inferior, they were meant as prey to start with, so it was pretty instinctive for them to flee from a predator. That was the truth, what was the point in stupid denial?
And Will would definitely run as well - no matter how pathetic that attempt would be. It was natural to cling to your life when encountering a monstrosity. Their roles were predestined from the very start. There could be only one end, no matter how the daughter of Gunmar wished to avoid that outcome. There was no escape from the rules of nature.
Yet…
"No one said that fairies cannot have horns," her husband shrugged with a smile, chasing away all the dark thoughts with one phrase. That pause that felt like an eternity in Barbara's mind was no longer than a second in reality.
He was not afraid. And it wasn't some fake bravado to save his life.
"There are not only horns!" she raised her voice unwillingly, not understanding her own feelings - only a moment ago she didn't want him to be scared, but now was not able to accept the lack of fear.
"I bet it is still not as hideous looking as my face," Will retorted dismissively and then added quietly: "You allowed me to be selfish when I asked you to become my wife. You obviously didn't want that marriage at first. Before you appeared I was close to breaking down. You've saved me from that. It doesn't matter if the entire world thinks of you as a monster or devil or whatever - you'll still be my angel".
It was quite ironic - through all of the years of her life not even one life being had treated her like that. Even Gumm-Gumms, her own tribe, only saw a merciless monster, and Barverra herself was totally sure that it was normal to be one. Her witch friends most likely also viewed her as some dangerous creature, albeit one possible to get along with as they were being of magic themselves.
Yet now there stood the man stripped of his sight, who was apparently able to see something else. Something beyond the terrible Herald of Doom. He was obviously deluding himself - appearance aside, she had possessed more than enough baggage to earn herself the title of monstrosity.
If William knew, he would never tell something like that.
"I'm not as kind as you think," she gave up and told him everything, starting from her father and ending with her previous husband. Even though she tried to keep it brief it still ended as a long story - in the midst of it they both took a seat and when she finished, the sky had already started to lighten. It would be quite difficult to escape as a troll in a broad daylight, yet it was as if the daughter of Gunmar had stopped bothering altogether.
William was listening attentively, sometimes asking about some names or confusing parts, but never attempting to stop that confession. It was difficult to tell what was going on in his head. Perhaps, the man was also crazy. Who in their right mind would talk to a monster?
"That was a long journey, that's for sure," Will said once Barbara finished. "I think I need to apologize to you though..."
"Apologize? For what?" the female troll raised her eyebrows in slight confusion. She expected fear or disgust or at least disappointment, not this.
"I'm sorry for not noticing how lonely you have been all this time. Probably, I've fallen for your strong facade. I've just kept depending on you, basically showering you with my worries and troubles, yet you have never truly relied on me. You probably think that it's alright to shoulder everything alone. Maybe your kind believes that as well, but it's not true... It's pretty natural to share your burden with someone else. That's what close people are meant for," Will suddenly stopped and then added with a sigh: "Haven't you felt any relief after telling me everything?"
"Perhaps," she answered begrudgingly. It was still awkward to admit aloud that her husband was right. Besides, her confession still hadn't changed a thing - the daughter of Gunmar would need to leave, but only after dealing with the loose ends.
It would be so easy to break Will's neck and hopefully, she would be able to do it swiftly enough to grant him a peaceful and painless death. Hadn't the man deserved at least that after all the years?
"Are you going to kill me?" William asked indifferently as if it was a trivial question about the weather. Was he always that good at reading her? Without any doubt, it seemed that the man understood his inhuman wife better than anyone else.
Yet...
"No," her firm answer surprised even Barbara herself, but after giving it some thought she got even more sure. Something had definitely changed, maybe even way earlier than she had noticed.
"I see, blades grow dull without use," the female muttered hardly audibly. Was it bad or good? Well, who could say for sure?
"Even though I may tell your secret to the world?" her husband inquired seriously, addressing her doubts once again.
"You won't. I trust you," that was the only certain thing Barverra could believe at the moment, even if it went against all of her personal rules. "And, please, just don't give up without me around. I haven't spared your life for you committing suicide tomorrow."
She didn't want the last phrase to sound friendly, yet it still ended containing too much warmth and worry.
They parted ways peacefully the next night. Will promised Barbara to learn how to live without her support but asked her to at least try to find someone she could truly trust.
Perhaps, if there were more people like him in her life, she would move on from her past entirely. Unfortunately, as years passed he had remained the only one...
The life with William had definitely brought a drastic change - now Barbara wasn't that dead set on murdering her unfortunate life partners before parting ways with them. Of course, it was different when she got exposed, but the redhead had become quite skillful in blending, so keeping her secret turned out to be a piece of cake eventually. Her life had come to some proper balanced state where supernatural was nearly inexistent.
And then the past just needed to remind about itself in the ugliest manner, making her sway in the other direction once again.
Barbara's husband at that time was an archeologist and a professor named Ethan. As for her, she was his assistant back then. It was just another one of the jobs she picked up on a whim during her roaming even though she enjoyed working as a doctor the most.
At the first glance, it seemed to be just another one of boring and trivial periods. The woman didn't mind those as they usually brought no troubles. Ethan was absent-minded and workaholic, so it made him quite a great choice for a temporal life partner, not to mention that he was capable of providing decent living conditions.
Besides, the professor specialized in pre-written human history, which involved a lot of digging around and exploring the caves. Barbara would be very hypocritical if she tried to claim that she actually disliked being underground - it was her natural habitat, after all, and even in the human guise, the woman felt some tranquility in dark and damp spaces.
Her husband's nearly unhealthy obsession with caverns and excavation wasn't a thing she had ever questioned. Her understanding of the human world had been quite impeccable by that point. Wasn't that just some scientific ambition to make a huge discovery or something? Well, perhaps, Ethan went too far at times, but it was still not that far from expected. Apparently, everyone else thought the same, especially when the absentminded professor kept digging as if possessed even after everyone else had gone to rest. It happened pretty regularly and people joked a lot about it. However, it was more like quirky rather than creepy, so sometimes a colleague or two gave the man a hand. Barbara herself was not an exception to the rule as she enjoyed the digging process as well, though for a different reason.
It was just another one of those times with everybody finishing and going to rest, while the professor remained and kept working without paying any attention to his surroundings. Barbara stayed as well, glancing at her husband occasionally. Nothing suggested that anything huge would happen.
And then she just needed to excavate that rock.
Any human being would just think of it as some peculiar stone, most likely the relic of some mysterious civilization. Any troll, on the other hand, would recognize it at once.
The fragment of Killahead Bridge, the one that was broken after the Gunmar's banishment. The woman could distinguish a part of a bigger ornament that used to decorate the gate to the Darklands. Not to mention that even in the human form she could feel the humming of magic inside her finding.
It brought back so many memories. Hadn't she argued with Bular centuries ago that it would be impossible to gather all the pieces? Now she had gotten one even without actively searching. That was definitely the whole another level of luck, but, honestly, the daughter of Gunmar had no idea what to do now.
The finding was too unexpected. Some centuries ago, it could be the cause for a huge celebration, but at the moment, the redhead felt genuinely lost. Could this piece be of any use?
Should she have tried to look for the rest as it wasn't like there was any time limit? With her lifespan, the daughter of Gunmar could afford something like that, but wouldn't all the efforts be akin to shooting while blindfolded? To make such search possible and efficient there should have been some link to troll world and at least vague clues where Deya's allies had hidden the fragments of the bridge. That would require a developed network and preferably some manpower. Besides…
What was the point of considering any of that? The Herald of Doom would have no allies in her quest to free her father. Only Bular would be genuinely interested, but looking for him was essentially as difficult as finding more fragments.
Perhaps, just putting the piece back to the place where it had been before was the only sound decision. Why not simply pretending that nothing happened? Letting history take its own course without the Herald of Doom's involvement? Yes, that would count as a betrayal. However, her current lifestyle where she essentially had done nothing to get her father free was already an act of treachery.
"What's that?" Ethan's voice behind Barbara's shoulder broke her reverie at once. Just great - he was the last person she wished to see right now. It wasn't like the professor would ever ignore a peculiar relic.
"Just a stone," she tried to fake disinterest, hoping that the man wouldn't notice any ornaments. "I've thought it was a part of something, but apparently my eyes fooled me. I need some rest, I guess."
Whatever decision she was going to make, making the fragment of Killahead Bridge a part of her husband's 'big discovery' was never in her plans to start with. Something like that should never have fallen into a fleshbag's hands.
"Really?" the professor suddenly drawled in a totally uncharacteristic manner. His usual tone was overexcited and friendly, yet now he sounded eerily cold.
Barbara hadn't been called the Herald of Doom for nothing. Even being out of real battles for multiple decades hadn't taken away her instincts from her. The danger and bloodlust were too obvious here to let Ethan still stay behind her back.
The woman had a strong suspicion regarding her husband right now and when she turned around, it only got confirmed.
Ethan's eyes were glowing yellow and red. The redhead definitely had seen that before - back during the times, when the witch Morgana made an alliance with Gunmar the Black. One of her gifts was changelings - trolls twisted by magic and given an ability to change their form willingly into the one of a fleshbag.
Barbara was genuinely surprised at how good her husband had been at pretending. It was way better than her own acting skills as she wasn't able to hide her true emotions all the time. The changeling, on the other hand, was simply splendid in that. Right now his face looked ruthless and even sadistic - a true antithesis of his usual pleasant and relaxed demeanor. Most likely, that was his true self, the one he had been hiding through all of the years.
"Give the fragment to me. Now," Ethan barked in a commanding tone, not bothering with playing his assumed role anymore.
Well, probably the woman had judged too fast and overestimated his blending skill. He lost his patience too easily when he could find at least a dozen plausible-sounding excuses to get hold of the part of Killahead Bridge without raising any suspicion. That was a surprisingly amateurish mistake.
Any human would be already nervous and panicking because of an eerie change in the professor's attitude, but Barbara kept her cool, thinking about all the possibilities. That impure most likely believed in his own dominance at the moment, which couldn't be further from the truth. With only two of them in the cave, the daughter of Gunmar had the freedom to act whatever she wished. She had a vial with the antimagic potion with her too. That would allow her to return to her true form at any time. The woman could feel the coolness of it, dangling from a cord, under her clothes. Actually, the woman could use it any second if she decided on that, yet now she wanted to get some information from the changeling first.
If Ethan lost his patience so fast, he would likely blabber something important. Barverra knew that type good enough. Someone silent and aloof would be way worse.
There were so many important questions to answer, and the Herald of Doom didn't plan to go away without any proper information. It had been her first real link to the troll world after so many years.
Where did the impure's loyalties lie? Of course, Morgana was his master, but would that one be still on the same side as Gunmar after his imprisonment? After all, the Skullcrusher himself never wanted to let the truce last for more than needed. It was safe to assume that the Pale Lady was the same.
Was Ethan looking for the fragments of the Killahead bridge? His work certainly allowed many opportunities for that. On the other hand, he could possibly look for some other troll relic while finding this one was unexpected for him as well.
"It's just a stone," Barbara repeated firmly. She didn't plan to give her finding to anyone. Especially not to an impure.
Apparently, her stubbornness worked as a perfect provocation as the changeling had lost any semblance of control he still possessed. With a flash of light, he changed into his true form, probably in an attempt to scare and intimidate his wife. Barbara barely refrained from a chuckle or a snide remark. He wasn't such a big or buff troll apparently, definitely belonging to one of the non-warrior tribes. Three eyes, barely a head above his human height, with smallish horns… Yes, his appearance was enough to scare some human female, but threatening a fellow member of his kind was simply out of the question. First changelings definitely looked more impressive as Morgana had handpicked the best assassins for that. Most likely, impures were not in the best situation right now too.
Ethan only kept confirming her theories as he continued making foolish mistakes. Not reading the mood -everyone with some semblance of strategic thinking would have noticed that the opponent wasn't scared a long time ago. Lowering the defense too fast. Letting emotions control all the actions. The changeling was obviously a pathetic fighter.
The impure hadn't noticed her skepticism and took out a knife. Well, it was the right time to stop fooling around herself. Even a not-that-impressive troll could turn out quite dangerous if underestimated.
Barbara crushed the vial just in time as the changeling tried to tackle her. Instead, he got a powerful kick to his gut and hit the wall of the cave. Barverra didn't go easy on him at all as she was quite pissed. Attacking her could put anyone on her blacklist.
Now it was a troll versus troll, which was more or less equal terms. Well, it would be if Ethan was proficient in battle, but his strong point obviously lay somewhere else.
Apparently, he wasn't that good at quick thinking as well. For someone with a professor's degree, Ethan turned out to be surprisingly slow. Perhaps, he was only capable of getting the academic knowledge, but not anything that could have practical use.
Barbara's sudden transformation took the changeling by surprise and somehow reduced him to the shivering mess.
"Who are you? Are you with the Order?" he asked with a slight panic in his voice.
So he was also quite a coward if the unforeseen resistance shook him up that much. On the other hand, those seemingly innocent questions nearly made Barverra explode from rage. She hadn't felt that offended in centuries. She was supposed to be pretty infamous, during her father's rule everyone recognized the Herald of Doom as soon as she appeared. How could it be possible that any troll had no idea who the daughter of Gunmar was? Who would ever think that after some centuries that would change so drastically? Was that impure too young or something?
"I don't know any Order," Barverra growled with a glare. "I'm by myself".
She realized too late that by 'Order' the impure could mean some kind of organization he belonged to. But wouldn't that mean that he took the Herald of Doom for one of his despicable kind? That changeling was certainly only good at getting on her nerves with his unplanned offensive statements.
She lowered her guard momentary, and Ethan had clearly noticed it as he jumped at her with a vicious howl. Unfortunately for him, the difference between their levels was not something that could be closed only because the opponent was careless for a second. The attack was surprisingly pathetic - Barverra didn't even try hard to snatch the knife from the impure's hand. Her next move was a pure reflex as she broke off the changeling's neck, making him explode into the cloud of dust.
The daughter of Gunmar hadn't planned the last one - there was more use in the alive impure. Now she had lost even that source of information.
The female watched silently as the dust was falling down. Impures were certainly quite pitiful creatures. In the troll culture, stone remains left after death held great importance. The heroes and prominent figures usually got theirs put somewhere high where everyone could get a good look. Putting back a shattered statue was a vital part of grieving for family and friends. And, of course, scattering remains around was the biggest offense and dishonor one could do to an enemy. The stone statue was the proof of existence, something that remained for future generations to see even after some centuries had passed after death.
Yet changelings had lost even that part of their honor and pride. As their bodies held too much magic they were not able to keep the form after death and just exploded leaving no memory or sign.
Was she actually pitying impures? No, she clicked her tongue in sudden irritation. Ethan had no need to die actually. If he had just tried to talk instead of attacking, Barverra would have spared his life. There were high chances that they were on the same side in the end.
Instead, she had the current situation with no information about the Killahead Bridge and how changelings fitted into everything, the literal disappearance of her current husband, which would be a true pain to cover, and, most likely, an immediate need to move somewhere else just in case. It seemed that life didn't plan to become easier for her...
Barbara had been considering the search for another changeling for a while. All that encounter and the fragment she had found had shaken her convictions a lot. Wasn't fate itself signaling her that she had to return to her own world? Finding what was going on with impure and probably making some kind of deal sounded like a nice start. Later she could also look for Bular if her reckless half-brother was still alive.
The daughter of Gunmar changed her mind at the last second - depending on changelings simply didn't sit well with her. It had a lot to do with their principles, or rather the lack of those. Gunmar may have been considered a tyrant, but he still had his own sense of honor and had never broken promises. The same was true for Barverra. So impure, who would betray without a minute thought had always seemed like a dubious ally.
In the end, Barbara decided to leave everything to a lucky chance. She had a fragment of the Killahead Bridge now, so anyone who worked on restoring it would need to find her eventually. With that, the woman would at least be able to join on her own terms.
She expected it to happen soon enough, but days, months, and even years were passing without anyone approaching her regarding the rock she owned, despite all the clues the redhead deliberately left everywhere she settled...