The Archman

Chapter 36 - A Stringent Examination

The faded white door pulls away from its frame slowly, its opener clearly not in an urgent state. Eira holds her breath and clings to one of her wrists with her other hand. The Archman stands by with his typical idle stillness, though he keeps a cursory hand hovering beside the rapier on his hip.

The door creaks open to reveal Glynis, a woman of a striking resemblance to Eira. One feature which they clearly don't share, however, are the dark rings beneath Glynis's eyes, the product of many sleepless nights accumulating over several weeks.

Glynis's tired eyes suddenly widen with a cataclysmic shock. She raises a hand to cover her mouth, a gesture which had been vicariously handed down to Eira. A cacophony of confusion, solace, and disbelief wracks her mercilessly. She isn't sure whether or not she is beginning to hallucinate from the many hours of lost sleep. It seems far too miraculous to have her abducted daughter suddenly appear on her doorstep like this.

"Eira...?" Glynis speaks barely above a hush. Not able to rely upon her visual senses to accurately portray reality, Glynis steps forwards and reaches a quivering hand outwards, fully ready to have it pass through her daughter as though she were made of air and light.

Eira reaches out a consoling hand and takes her mother's palm in her own, holding her gently. An immense relief washes over Glynis as she steps forward and pulls Eira in towards her, hugging her daughter with unabashed closeness.

Eira can feel weeks of anxiety and dread melt off of her mother, evaporating into the air around them. Glynis's embrace has a nearly crushing force behind it, but her frail stature prevents her from causing any real discomfort.

"I...I thought..." Glynis's voice can hardly keep itself together. Her breathing hitches as she starts to cry with overwhelming joy.

"It's good to see you, mother." Eira returns the embrace whole-heartedly, feeling tears welling up in her eyes as well.

Glynis wipes the drops of liquid worry from her eyes, only now taking notice of the Archman's presence. She is surprised that she was able to overlook him so easily given his large frame and height, but Eira's presence takes priority over every other thing in existence.

Glynis pulls away from Eira slowly, but keeps a hand connected to her forearm. She turns to the Archman, who has yet to move from his spot or change expressions.

"I don't believe we've met..." Glynis wipes the last bits of moisture from her eyes as she speaks. "Were you the one who rescued my daughter?"

"Not exactly." The Archman says with a dry tone.

Glynis pauses, her confusion starting to return in modicum increments. She looks between Eira and the Archman, spotting the collar around Eira's neck, and the chain connected to it resting firmly in the Archman's grip.

"Are you..." Glynis holds Eira's arm tighter, slowly pulling her away from the Archman. She surveys the Archman's monolithic appearance, only now starting to notice his eclectic features; red eyes, silver hair, and an aura which saps the strength from those who observe him.

"You..." She pieces together who is standing before her, and more importantly, who is standing behind her daughter. Her shock returns almost full-force, along with a fresh sense of distress and uneasiness.

"That's him, isn't it?! What is he doing here?!" Glynis looks back and forth between Eira and the Archman with a confounded desperation.

"It's complicated..." Eira tries to explain, though she doesn't even know how to begin.

"Why...why has..." Glynis grapples with the circumstances she'd found herself in, her bewilderment quickly turning into a defensive rage.

"I'm here to see your husband." The Archman responds calmly, not reacting at all to Glynis's flustered state, which is growing more malicious by the second.