Everlong

Breaking

Olly couldn't breathe. She couldn't think.

All she could feel was that horrible pounding in her head, the ribbon around her throat so tight now, so tight....

Whatever had started to pull her through the forest stopped, the invisible force gone as Olly tried to steady herself upright, the dirt and mud coating her shoes.

"Move" she told herself "You have to move. Find Ed, find anyone..."

She tried to take a step towards the path to Arrowmoor, but the ribbon suddenly started strangling her, the blood pounding in her head as she grunted a scream through gritted teeth. The drums sounded out louder now, like big bass booms in her head, stopping her from being able to move at all. Suddenly her foot slipped back, and the tightening lessened.

"What the?" Olly thought to herself, her hands still trying to pry the ribbon away enough to get a breath, the noise of the drums now less deafening. 

Again, she stepped the opposite direction, and again it loosened around her throat.

"It wants me to go back to Silverymoon?" her mind reeled, again taking steps further down the pathway, finally able to take a short satisfactory breath.

She knew she should try and signal for help, but panic had set in. Olly suspected it was Peren doing this, unsure how anything else could be taking hold of the token of her spellbond. The fear was raging underneath her skin, her heart pounding as the more and more she wandered back into the darkness, the more she felt the ribbon return to its normal position.

"It's him" she started to want to cry as she stopped, feeling now the pounding drumming sound echo in her head "What am I going to do......"

She tried to turn back now, testing the safety of the spell, but the moment her feet turned north the tightening went right back to nearly strangling her.

"Okay! Okay!" Olly gasped desperately "I won't!"

Quickly she turned, near running now in the opposite direction to get to be able to take a solid breath of air. Tears started now, the feeling of being completely trapped and alone setting into Olly's chest. She had never been this scared before, felt such fear of hopelessness...

"Ed" she cried in her mind "All I want is Ed...."

Now the glowing lights of Silverymoon illuminated the night air, bioluminescent mushrooms glowing a pretty blue underneath the ancient elven-like trees. Night activity was still abuzz in the summer air as Olly tried her best to remain calm as she passed strangers. She knew her eyes must be puffy, her face red from the stained tears that hadn't stopped flowing since she began going to the one place she dreaded. She had a feeling that if she tried to ask for assistance, tried to alert anyone, the tightening would come back in full force and kill her. She knew it, because it was what Peren would do...

Olly rounded around a few streets, feeling the drumming sound lighten as she navigated her way to the source of all her misery. It was when she passed the high noble houses did she realize where she was going.

Long ago, that midsummer night that they had met, Olly had found herself at the same garden courtyard, watching her sisters dance with everyone and feeling absolutely alone. It was here that the hot summer night made her take the first chance she could escape. It was here that his voice had found her, entranced her, seduced her heart and body, and then bound it completely to his own devices. The garden looked the same, white moonflowers and hibiscus flooding the greenery, and a dance was happening this night as Olly walked up the familiar stone steps.

It was a Midsummer's dance, townsfolk gathered as bright burning torches illuminated the square yard, posts letting the breeze faintly sway ceremonial fabric above. A table with various foods sat off to the side where participants feasted while giving out pints of sweet honey mead. It would have been beautiful, if not for the absolute fear racking Olly as she stared dead ahead at the figure waiting for her. Dancers blurred by, but Olly's focus was on the tall elf with dark black hair, his ice blue eyes staring at her with controlled fury. He looked like a tall shadow that had been waiting all night to emerge, his pale white skin contrast to the firelight around. She saw the motion of his hand beckoning her to him, Olly wanted to scream when she found her feet following his command, her body going towards him without her own control.