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Estella let out a melodious chortle—it had been a while since she'd done that, and the sound reminded her of just how much she longed to have Aries by her side again. Glancing at Rue, they made eye contact. Rue was kind, and she shared what she could, but Estella didn't really need the bag to sleep. She'd spent nights in freezing woods before without shelter, surviving worse. Still, the worry was unmistakable in Rue's eyes, even with Estella sitting protectively beside her.
"Why can't you sleep?" Estella asked, her voice soft but not pressing.
Rue hesitated, her lips parting and closing again as if unsure whether she should speak at all. Estella didn't pressure her, simply turned her gaze upward to the endless black sky, ears still alert for danger even while offering comfort.
Finally, Rue responded in a whisper, "My... my mother would constantly sing me to sleep... I can't sleep without a song now." She paused before nervously asking, "W-What about your mother?"
Estella recognized the deflection. Rue was trying to shift attention away from her own vulnerability, and though Estella understood it, she didn't have much to give in return. Memories of her family were like shadows in her mind, locked away behind a wall she couldn't tear down. "Who knows?... My brain sealed away every memory of them after they died," she replied plainly.
Rue frowned at the response, perhaps regretting her question, but Estella's tone didn't carry bitterness—it was a simple fact.
The night continued in silence, heavy with unspoken thoughts. Estella's mind remained blank until, suddenly, a gentle tune began echoing through her memory. Her father's voice—husky, tender—returned from the void. He was singing.
She remembered the cradle song, eerie and haunting, that used to break her heart even when she was too young to understand the words. Now that she could recall the lyrics, she understood why her mother had hated it so much.
Glancing at Rue, whose eyes were still wide open though heavy with sleep, Estella asked softly, "You want me to sing?" Rue's head bobbed excitedly, like a child who'd just been offered her favorite treat, and Estella couldn't help but give a faint smile at her eagerness.
Taking a deep breath, Estella tried to summon the first words. In her mind, her father appeared with his toothiest grin, and she imagined the two of them singing together as she began to hum the melody.
Are you, are you, coming to the tree?
Where they strung up a man, they say murdered three...
Her voice was gentle, haunting, carried by memory more than emotion. As she sang, she peeked at Rue, who was finally drifting off, lulled by the chilling lullaby.
Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be,