Darklight Chronicles

Chapter 5

Hours had passed since the death of Natalia. Alrek stood by her grave for a while to clear his mind. The moments they shared, the pain they both endured over the years, and ultimately the tragedy that they parted with. Once he collected himself he left the sight that they once cherished and wandered home. Another hour had passed before Alrek arrived at his doorstep. His hand shakily grasped the handle of the door and unlocked it before heading inside.

In the time Alrek was gone, Ravin had taken a hot bath to clean her wound up and her dirty and ruined dress was in the laundry room. Ravin had been struggling to breath since she got home but kept pushing herself to clean up and make sure there was no mess when he came home. She had written a note for him, which she left on the table just inside the door for him. Alrek looked around the room, not seeing any sign of Ravin, then noticed the note on the table. He reached down and picked it up, unfolding it and looked it over.

The note read:
"Dear Alrek,
I know you're going to be home late, so I made some food for you which is in the oven. Don't worry about your dishes I can clean them when I get up. I'm sorry for everything that happened. You're room is clean and ready for you when you go to bed. I hope you enjoy the meal and sleep well.
Love, Ravin"

The house was silent, only thing that could be heard was crackling in the hearths from the living room and upstairs in his room. Ravin had ended up falling asleep in the guest room one of Alrek's large tunics that fit her like a dress. Alrek sat the note down and let out a sigh. He was relieved that Ravin was okay. Alrek made his way to the kitchen and pulled whatever Ravin had prepared for him to eat, finished his meal then climbed the stairs to his bedchamber. Armor clanged against the floor as he pulled it from his aching body then sat into the chair beside the hearth.

Ravin had made some rosemary and butter potatoes, fresh baked bread and steak. It was still hot as if she had just made it. The sound of his armor falling to the floor didn't seem to phase her. Ravin was lost in a deep sleep as she curled up on the floor of the guest room. She was so tired and felt so weak from the fight that she didn't make it to the bed. Her wound had seeped more of her crimson blood and soaked into the tunic, staining it and her skin as she slept on the furs beneath her. Alrek warmed his cold body by the crackling fire as he stared blankly into it. The pain was still fresh in his heart. He leaned forward and held his face in his hands as he let out a muffled sob.

As Alrek sobbed into his hands, mourning his lover the house still seemed to remain quiet besides the roaring fires which, as the time passed, slowly dwindled into silence and cold. Ravin was still asleep and didn't seem to stir much in her sleep as she curled up on the floor and let out a small sigh. Alrek didn't have the energy to reignite the hearth, eventually letting them die out, just as the fire in his heart had died. Tears stained his face as the hours passed.

Hours passed and the fires had completely died, leaving chills to fill the house and trickle down Alrek's spine. A cool breeze seemed to brush through the window in his room, leaving a warm caress against his tear stained cheek. Alrek furrowed his brow and looked around in a slight panic. It felt as if someone touched him, but no one was there. The house was silent except for the occasional creak of the wood settling. A deep sigh flowed out his nose as he wiped his face and moved over to his bed. The icy chill started to bite to the bone.

Ravin rolled over onto her back, trying to get more comfortable on the floor and let out a pained whimper, her breath staggered as she felt ice cold pins and needles all over. Her eyes slowly cracked open as waiting for her vision to focus. A few minutes passed and Ravin did her best to sit up and looked around. She looked down at the blood stained tunic and let out an annoyed sigh then crawled over to a chair, gripping onto it tightly to help her stand.

Once she got on her two feet again she made her way to the door with a very wobbly stance. She felt like someone was squeezing all of the air out of her lungs which made her feel dizzy and lightheaded but she did her best to maintain her focus. She made it to the large dark oak door and gripped onto the cold steel handle as she turned it, opening the door which made a loud creaking sound. She stopped for a moment and looked around the hallway nervously then left the room. closing the door behind her. The wooden floors creaked and ached in the icy cold, the only solace being the rug lining the middle of the hall.