After a short flight, leaving a dying Einar to the mercy of an enraged colony of Night Furies, Zyrah managed to track down Ragnhild, who'd escaped the chaos in the forest. The older woman was at the edge of a grassy clifftop overlooking the expansive sea. And in a steep drop below was a small beach, with sharp boulders poking out of the dark gray sand.
Ragnhild was slumped over, her braid partially undone, blowing in the harsh sea wind. Her shoulders were shaking, indicating she had been crying.
Zyrah landed with Blueheart a small distance from a small patch of woods, Rurik and Konall not far behind. Dismounting Blueheart, holding a hand out to keep her back, Zyrah slowly approached Ragnhild, noticing her sword lay on the ground a couple of feet away, just within arm's reach.
The hunter reacted to hearing her daughter's footsteps approach her, but she felt no fear, only defeat. She didn't bother grabbing her sword for self-defense, feeling no desire to fight.
Slowly turning to face her, Ragnhild looked tired, and for the first time, Zyrah noticed the circles under her reddened gray eyes, the wrinkles, and all the marks of age, even though she was younger than Zyrah's adoptive mother.
"I'm so sorry…" Were Ragnhild's first words to her. Initially, Zyrah was speechless, not expecting an apology right off the bat. She opened her mouth to reply, but Ragnhild shook her head.
"Please… I-... I truly am… it was never supposed to turn this way. He went too far…" Distressed by the turn of events, Ragnhild began to pace around, wringing out her hands.
"He'll be gone soon," Zyrah informed her, though with no intention of reassurance. Ragnhild froze momentarily, watching her daughter, her actions dawning on her. Zyrah couldn't read the varying emotions that crossed the woman's face. Distress, solace, pain… there was even a brief smile. A deranged smile? Or one of relief?
A million conflicting emotions and feelings. She didn't know how to react. She felt her heart pounding, her chest heaving as she tried to regulate her breathing to no avail. She was dizzy, and her eyes hurt.
"If you felt trapped by him… he's no longer in control." Zyrah attempted. Ragnhild shook her head, releasing a shaky sigh.
"I… I wish it were that easy."
"What do you mean?" With trembling hands, Ragnhild struggled to find the words.
She couldn't. For years she'd hoped that if something were to separate her and Einar, the weight of guilt would be lifted from her shoulders, and for so long, it never came. And now that he was finally gone, she did not experience that relief she longed for.
For 16 years, even after giving Zyrah up, Ragnhild had been mostly successful in suppressing her true emotions, knowing Einar would criticize her for feeling that kind of loss. Not to mention, Drago had no patience for any signs of weakness, for it would be eliminated. She'd seen adult children of other hunters fighting their grief if their parent was killed in action.
Her adult life had been ruthless, unsympathetic, and cruel. The worst in humanity, all for the cause of controlling or eliminating dragons, whichever worked best.
Ragnhild never truly believed in controlling such creatures. She had a great deal of respect for their strength and power, but she herself felt powerless and too afraid to escape. Einar had been all she'd known in the outside world. How would she survive without him?
He'd taken her away from her native village on the mainland when she was no older than Zyrah was now. She never got to truly say goodbye to her parents and siblings, losing her sense of spirituality.
With Drago gone… and now Einar… she had nothing.
"If only I had the courage…" She choked out, fighting back tears, "If I had taken charge… I could've changed my fate… I could've changed yours…"
As Ragnhild poured her heart out to Zyrah, Rurik and Konall watched them, and Konall kept Blueheart calm, even though knowing the dragoness was in a state of turmoil after losing her father.
"What do you think she's saying?" Rurik asked.
"I don't know… but something tells me Ragnhild has some demons she's facing," Konall observed, rubbing Blueheart's head soothingly.
Still, near the cliff edge, Zyrah wondered what her birth mother was getting at.
"Changed fate? But the Norns define everyone's fate already; what makes you think you could change that?"
"I… I don't know… but what I do know- if I had found the courage to leave your father while escaping our little refuge, I would've brought you home with me. You would've been raised in my culture…"
"But… I wouldn't have met Blueheart," Zyrah countered, "I couldn't imagine any world without her. She, Konall, and my family… they're everything to me. Dragons mean the world." Ragnhild's demeanor shifted at sensing the doubt in Zyrah's voice.
"Wishful thinking, I suppose…" Ragnhild conceded, a tear slipping down her cheek. Gray eyes cast down in thought, she swiveled her head to face the ocean view, a longingness filling her.
"What?" Swallowing the pit in her throat, Ragnhild reached into a tiny pouch attached to her belt, pulling something shiny out.
Zyrah was astonished when she realized it was a talisman. A beautiful one at that, made of silver, decorated with tiny symbols that were unfamiliar to her. After some hesitation, Ragnhild gently took Zyrah's hand, resting the talisman and its chain in her palm, closing her fingers over it.
Zyrah watched her in wonder, unsure of what she was doing.
"It was my last birthday gift from my mother before Einar took me away. I was no older than you are now. I always kept it as a memory of home. Meant to protect its owner." Ragnhild softly explained, "I want you to have it, mother to daughter."
"Why are you doing this?" Zyrah questioned. Ragnhild chuckled a bit, brows furrowed, and more tears escaping, falling down flushed cheeks.
"I've got nothing. I don't have a purpose in life… after years of being trapped… there's only one way out of this."
"Surely- surely there's more than one!" Zyrah protested. While she didn't fully trust Ragnhild, she felt for her plight, seeing she was suffering deeply. She didn't want her to do anything rash, though something told her irrational decision-making wasn't out of the question. Ragnhild's psyche was shattering. Yet… there had to be a way to help her.
Ragnhild then wordlessly reached for her sword, pulling it from its sheath, handing it to her daughter but still keeping her hand on the handle, not quite giving it to her just yet.
Mother and daughter made eye contact, the blade extending from Zyrah's hand was now momentarily ignored as Ragnhild cupped her daughter's cheek in her hand. However, Zyrah did not fully lean into the gentle touch.
Wordlessly, Ragnhild hastily stepped forward, bringing Zyrah into a tight embrace, and upon doing so, Zyrah felt warm liquid spill onto her hand, and the distinct metallic smell of blood filled her nose. Gazing in horror, Zyrah realized Ragnhild had intentionally walked into her own sword, blood pouring out of a through-and-through wound in her abdomen. A spot Zyrah remembered was the location of Ragnhild's dragon hunter branding scar.
As soon as it happened, Ragnhild stumbled backward, getting frighteningly closer to the cliff's edge.
And behind the two, as if by instinct, Konall bolted forward, pulling Zyrah back as Ragnhild took the final step back, tipping over the edge of the cliff.
Zyrah's instinct cried out to grab Ragnhild to prevent her from falling to her death, but she was held back by Konall, saving her but sealing Ragnhild's fate.
A gut-wrenching cry sounded deep from within Zyrah as she grasped the tender moment she'd shared with her mother, who, in the blink of an eye… was gone.
She didn't even process the muffled sound of Ragnhild's body's impact on the sharp rocks below the cliff.
It was like being punched in the gut. Her heart was racing, and although her body had become numb, she trembled like a leaf. She collapsed to her knees, curling her body up as if she was protecting the now blood-soaked talisman she clutched tightly in her hands.
"No…" She hoarsely whispered. She knew Konall was holding onto her, but psychologically, she felt very alone.
She'd left her birth father for dead after he killed her own dragon's father, and now, her birth mother had taken her life after giving her the only connection she had to her heritage and bloodline. How had everything gone so deeply wrong?