Neledh || ONC 2023

Chapter 5 | Eira

"A what?!"

Eira had to have heard it wrong, what was a vampire and what had it to do with her.

"A vampire, you're immortal and drink blood to keep your body functioning. Don't ask me the specifics, I won't know the answer. Just write everything down and I'll get them to someone who does know."

They sat down again and slowly unwrapped Eira's bandages covering her chest and shoulder, the wounds she had received in battle were luckily still closed despite her moving around.

"Can you tell me your and your companion's names? It will be easier to talk to each other that way. And you can call me whatever you want, it won't really matter to me anyway."

Eira's hands had fallen on Nadine's shoulder for anything, anything, to ground her.

The person had unwrapped the bandages covering her chest and their fingers flitted over the wounds. Touching, testing how they were healing.

Their touch was cool and if Eira hadn't known better, she would believe the person had a healing touch.

"You don't have to speak if you don't want to, just know it will be just the two of us till she wakes up. And I have no idea how long that will take. If you stay silent the whole time, it will get pretty lonely."

Her bandages were once more present on her skin. The person stood up from the bed and went to a chest hidden within the shadows of the room. A moment later they had several shirts in their hands which were given to Eira.

"See which one fits best, the rest I will put back. Oh and pick something out for your partner, for when she wakes up."

They turned around to give Eira some privacy, though it mattered little. They had already dressed her wounds and saw the many scars littering her once pristine skin.

"Her name is Nadine."

The person twirled around, their loose shirt and pants revealing toned muscles without a scar insight.

"I am Eira Thyradottir."

-

Eira had been confined to her bed for another week before Themis let her walk around the room. All that time her meals had been prepared out of sight and brought to her.

But now that was over, and Eira was determined to help in the kitchen. At least she wanted to know what Themis was putting in her food. It tasted unlike anything she had ever encountered before.

"Was that wine you just poured on the meat?"

Themis was doing wonders in the kitchen, and Eira was getting a little bit self-conscious about the fact she was just standing there without making any contribution.

"Nope."

It did look like wine though, Eira carefully dipped her finger into the red fluid to taste it.

"It's blood."

Eira spit out whatever she hadn't swallowed yet.

"You need it to survive. You can drink it and act like it's water, which apparently is the best way to get all the good parts into your system. But the transition usuallygoes better for your brain when it's also used ij the rest of your diet."

Eira was still trying to get rid of the taste that was lingering in her mouth.

"It has been present on every meal I brought you. How else did you think you were still alive and miraculously healed?"

She hadn't thought about it, that was the problem. Themis had told her from the moment she had woken up that vampires drank blood. So she, as a vampire, did too.

-

It had been a month and Nadine was still asleep. Eira had gotten back her previous strength, and was on her way to surpass human physique.

"You need to get out of the house more. We're in the middle of the woods no one is going to see you, if that's what you're afraid of."

Eira ignored Themis and continued to lift the small tree into the air.

"Ignoring me won't help and neither will staying stuck to Nadine's bed. She won't wake up faster if you never leave."

-

Cold water trickled down Eira's neck into her clothes. She searched around for a blanket to continue sleeping, but found nothing.

She was up and standing with a knife in her hand before she realised she was outside. The snow under the tree showing were she had lain moments prior.

A note was left, saying she should go and see how the people in Rouen were doing. Or otherwise should go and see Nadine's parents. Themis would look after Nadine and make sure she was safe.

The scream that left Eira made birds fly up in the entire forest.

-

Rouen was almost rebuild already, as a year had already passed since it was burned to the ground. The cathedral once more standing proud in the middle of town.

Eira had disguised her appearance. Her once blond hair was now black from coal dust and much shorter than she had ever kept it before.

Her long hair was once a sign of her capabilities as a warrior, now it showed her disgrace.

The weapons she had cared for her whole life had been left in the village she had died in. The new ones were good, but could never be the same. Though they wouldn't betray her identity to the captain and Anders.

It didn't take long for Eira to realise it wouldn't have mattered anyway. There was no one left to recognise her for the weapons she wielded.

She didn't stay longer than absolutely necessary, which was the time it took for her to run as fast and far away as she could.

-

The forest was big and steep, too incomprehensible for a formally mere human to fathom.

Eira wandered in it for months without ever encountering anyone that could be Nadine's family. On the other hand, the part of the forest she could wander in was not the original edge.

The villages hadn't been the only homes to be burned.

She did stumble upon a clearing that showed signs of being frequently visited. But there too was no one left, apart from some flowers courageously blooming among the ashes.

-

March 14, 2023