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LET ME DOWN GENTLY
THE WORLD WAS DARK, AND ANYA HOPED SHE WOULDN'T DREAM.
The nights she could consider good were those which left no memory behind. It was a relief to wake up in the morning without any remembered dreams. They only ever brought pain.
Sometimes, nightmares would haunt her even after she woke up from them in cold sweat. Mirages of familiar faces would replay in her mind in a loop all night. Sometimes, the face tormenting her belonged to the Darkling. Other times, it was her father's. If it was the latter, she'd wake up with a gasp instead of a cry. She'd spent hours sitting still, with silent tears streaming down her face as though she was still a child. And, just like in the days of her childhood, she never once called for help. Her pain was a selfish thing, demanding loneliness and attention, filling her with shame and grief.
And so, that night Anya went to sleep hoping to be blessed with oblivion in the morning.
Nobody listened to her prayers.
She saw her brother's back in the dream again. They were running through a forest, but whether from something or towards it, she did not know. He was far, far ahead, getting more distant with each passing second. Anya's legs felt heavy as though made of lead. She tried to call out his name, but what came out of her mouth was only a gurgling noise. She was choking. Her lungs were filled with something, and with each breath, she drowned. Terrified, Anya looked down only to see that all this time, what had been slowing her movements was dark, barely transparent running water. She was running upstream of a river made of blood. Anya's breath quickened and her bare feet were slipping on the stones. Her legs were going to give out. The dark expanse would swallow her whole.
The last attempt at a scream was laced with blood. A child's voice tore through the world, and it belonged to her, and the taste of red iron spilling from her mouth was carried with it. That was when Rodion finally heard her, but the relief of seeing her brother's approaching figure didn't last. The last thing she registered was a shout of her name. Then, the world drowned in red.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
Anya did not go back to sleep after night terrors jolted her awake. The dreams about Rodion were always the most cruel. He was her greatest curse.
Alina was the first person Anya saw once she finally gathered herself enough to join everyone else on deck. The Starkov girl was helping around with ropes and sails, and Mal was permamently glued to her side. At first Anya was shaken by the general mobilization, but things cleared themselves up as soon as the other girl greeted her.
"Hello," Alina said with a bright smile suited for a sunborn. She waved at Anya and the hasty moves of the crew immediately made sense.
"Good morning." Anya nodded towards Alina's hand. "I'll be honest, after the tears you shed yesterday, I didn't expect to see you willfully wearing these scales anytime soon."
