Cinders in the Dark

Cold Snap

Lucinda looked at the man curiously. He was taller than her but not absurdly so, his skin was a faded brown like he hadn't seen the sun in a long time and his dark curls hung in spirals around his face. He is beautiful, was her first thought. He stared back at her with equal wonder, his doe eyes round and searching. Then he began to speak rather quickly, the words spilling out in a rush.

"I was gone. I was gone for so many years and no one could find me. I don't know where I went but you saw what I was. I was nothing and everything. So deliciously alive and yet…" He'd looked away then, the longing on his face was painful to witness. "Well anyway, you'll know what I mean. The problem is, something changed when you showed up. Whatever that man did to you, it's not right."

She mentally laughed at that, what an understatement.

"What I mean is, people can see me again. Here, now, in the past. Do you understand? We're not in your time anymore."

The panicked look on his face paired with his words had her feeling like she was underwater. She couldn't even begin to formulate a question for him. Not that she could vocalize it, she'd tried several times already. It answered her earlier question though, the flaming knight couldn't talk and it seemed neither could she. Though she was not completely on fire like he had been. She was simply smoldering, threatening to break out into flames but never reaching the flashpoint.

"The problem with that as you can imagine," He was pacing now, running a stressed hand through his curls as he did so. "You live a hundred years from now and in that future, I will never be seen again."

She was starting to see his point before he finished talking. Benjicot had fundamentally shifted the sands of time, a divergent history would now exist.

"Two versions of history cannot exist." The man threw himself on the ground, sitting with his head in his hands.

He was right to be worried but she was busy thinking about other things. If this Obyn came back when Benjicot bound her to the castle, did that mean he had intended to kill her the entire time? She supposed it made sense, how could she be the corpse queen while alive? But it infuriated her, her dear husband had always meant to kill her. Giving her the illusion of a choice was a joke. But oh what she wouldn't give to have seen the look on his face when he realized she was not dead. She was something in between now, bound to this knight of old. She was smiling, a horrible blackened thing that would strike terror into the bravest of men. Her companion, luckily, was too busy lamenting to notice.
On one hand being a half alive, half dead fire specter was not ideal. Sure, not what she imagined for herself when she was younger. On the other hand though, she wasn't an undead corpse queen helping to bring about eternal night. And that was absolutely splendid. Anything she could do to delay or prevent her damned husband from committing crimes against humanity was a win in her mind. She knew he was probably fuming, waiting around for her to show back up. She considered just staying here in the past. If her partner in this thing weren't so distressed by the situation, she might insist on it. If she went missing for a few moons, he could explain that away. But if she was gone for several years, not even the best liar could hide her disappearance. That would further serve to foil his plans.

Her companion decided to speak again saying, "We are bound now. I would like to share my name now that you know I am just a man. I hope you'll do me the same courtesy when you can." The smile he flashed her was waning. "My name is Obyn."

She knew then with certainty that he was Dornish. It only made her curiosity grow and she cursed that she could not speak directly to him. She finally took a second to glance around the room they were in. The only light source was the soft glow emanating from her skin but she knew they were under the castle. It resembled her own familiar walls more than they should, with several walls missing bricks. They were still building then. What business did the dornish have in the riverlands before the conquest? It was the question that kept nagging her as she looked around. The rumors were that Harren had started to run out of riverlands, forcing him to send for men further away. But she never in her wildest dreams thought that meant as far away as Dorne.
Thinking hard about how to warn her companion, she grew giddy. She had a unique opportunity that no one else ever would. The conquest had not happened yet and it would soon. She could see and verify parts of history that were completely lost to the shifting of time. Benjicot had been able to see Obyn at the end there but he never had before to her knowledge. Though that wasn't a guarantee as the lord was a superb liar. She resolved herself to stay in the shadows and avoid the man who cursed Obyn to this life. It wouldn't do to have that insane individual peeking into the mess of things right now or ever. All they had to do was stay alert, lay low, and find a way to communicate. She was finally free of dread for the moment, a burgeoning hope growing in her chest.
***
"The fighting has surpassed our expectations. Slowly it has crept into the Westerlands. Silverhall has been captured and House Serrett has surrendered. They are calling it the battle of "Silver Spill" for all of the disrupted silver carts dumped out."