A Court of Silent Suffering

~𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓯𝓸𝓾𝓻~

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 　　 　　

Elara dozed lightly, her tears warming her face enough to lull her to sleep and pull her into a dream. 

The water sparkles in the sunlight, beams shooting down over the ocean as children laugh. An older one watches over them, clearly a sibling or guardian.  His black hair shimmers in the light, his tanned skin glowing with warmth. He turns back to the kids in the water, only to find them gone. The waves rise up higher, and he can see their silhouettes beneath the surface. A cry leaps from his lips as he launches towards the unruly sea. It threatens him with death as well. He reaches out for their wrists, so close yet so far before he is hauled out of the grasp of nature and onto the dry sand. His coughs don't come from the lack of air, but the irreversible fate that had just been brought down on his sisters. Arms and hands held him back as he fought to return to them, pleas forcing their way out through his lips. All the while, the silhouettes stayed to watch him, whispers beneath the surface.

He screamed.

Elara snapped her neck up, listening for another ear-splitting cry to reach her. Unfortunately, one did, though this time it was distinctly female. Elara rushed her limbs into a standing position, disregarding the dizziness that buried itself in her head. 

"MURDERERS " Elara let a high noise leave her throat at the sight of the faerie confronting her sisters. She watched as Feyre threw her knife, as she confessed to killing the wolf and as she walked out the front door. Elara stayed frozen, stuck in time between worlds.

"Feyre" Her breath trembled, along with the word. Every piece of her being was screaming, yelling at her about everything Feyre had done for her.

"Feyre" The word trembled again. She still stood, frozen in time as her sisters went to bed. As her father stretched out and fell into sleep. But as she watched the last embers of the fire die, she gathered her mind and pushed out her thoughts. Now she was watching herself from far off, just watching as she gathered her cloak into her arms, just watching as she slid Elain's old boots onto her feet, just watching as she breezed through the front door and out into the snow. 

.✦　˚

She rushed along the trails in the woods, following the footprints that were relatively fresh in the snow. This nature was unfamiliar, unruly and unkempt. It frightened Elara. She could feel the gaze of the frozen leaves on her back, hear the whispers from the dead flowers underneath the powdered floor. She didn't feel her body start to violently shake, didn't feel as her fingers and ears succumbed to frostbite, didn't feel the tears rolling down her face. She kept walking forward, keeping her eyes downcast lest she lose her guide. Soon, the trees parted to reveal a small clearing. The snow was quiet here, peaceful as it made its way to the ground. The wind was content here, pleased to swirl designs into existence every so often. 

What a nice place to give up. Her thoughts rammed back into her mind, bringing her back to her dying body. The tears came faster, stealing her breath and bringing her to her knees. The snow underneath beckoned to hold her, and she gave in, pressing herself down until there was nothing but cold. The cold held her, comforted her as she slowly gave in to death. The larger presence that had felt her for quite some time now turned, watching her elder sister's breath leave her in puffs of visible air from atop his horse. He wondered how hurt she would be if he let her youngest sister die in the woods. Just as he heard her heart near its final beat, he lashed out with his magic and brought her to him. She was frail, thin and had too many scars for her age. He placed her gently in front of her elder sibling, binding her the same as Feyre. Then, he led the white mare through the invisible opening and into the Spring Court.