The Timing of the Loss of a Love

Chapter Two

Something warm against her frigid skin startled her awake. Her eyes did not want to follow her will to see. Her whole body was stiff, and very cold. Her eyes felt frozen shut. Her fear attempted to take over her, but as she tried to scream she realized she could not mover her lips.

Any attempts she made to free herself of her silent, and blind state was made to no avail. She was being lifted into the air by a large mass of heat. The cold gnawed on her exposed face, and she had no choice but to be dragged away by the unknow heat source.

Her weight was shifted so that now her face was pressed deep into the mysterious heat. She had gathered that someone, or something, was carrying her. To where she could only guess. She didn't have the slightest idea of who would be taking her anywhere. And why was she so cold?...

A man she decided finally, a man was carrying her. When her face was pressed against him he was not covered in fur, but cloth so he was not an animal. But where was he taking her? Her limbs were still frozen, and no noise had come from him except his deep breathing.

A loud creaking sound pulled her from her deep thought and her weight was shifted drastically. She feared for a moment that he would drop her, but he did not. The cold subsided and the wind ceased to blow. The soft crunch of snow under his feet was replaced with echoing thuds, as he walked across the wood floor.

Soon she was lying on a soft, plush surface and she could hardly feel the cold, wet garments leaving her body, as darkness clouded her brain...

----

She woke slowly, coming from a deep sleep. Her eye lids lifted heavily, allowing her sight at last. The light from the room however, forced her eyes closed once again. Only for a moment though, her curiosity willed her to see. When she opened her eyes again she finally registered where she was, and all the confusion from earlier fled from her foggy mind.

She was lying on the small couch in her parlor. She turned her head only slightly before crying out with pain. Her whole body ached. Thankful for the ability to make noise again, she moved her head back to its previous, painless position.

There was movement across the room as soon as the sound had escaper her lips. Eramif was at her side at once. Looking down at her with only mild worry, he smiled sweetly.

"I'm glad you're finally awake."

She tried to respond, but her voice would not allow her to form her words.

"Don't try to speak," he said quickly, "It will take a while for your voice to fully return to you." Her confused expression urged him to go on. "You passed out in the garden, I found you nearly a half an hour after you left the house. You hadn't returned when I'd expected and so I went looking for you." He paused a moment before continuing his story. "I was afraid you may have contracted frostbite... But you have not, don't worry... Since you were breathing in such cold air for so long your throat will be very raw for a few days."

He looked down at her lovingly. He pulled a chair over to the couch and sat next to her. "Do you feel much tension in your head?" he asked gently. She shook her head only slightly due to the tension in all the rest of her body. She guessed he thought that maybe a blow to her head would have caused her to pass out.

"Well that's good." He said with the same soft voice. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while before she slipped back into a deep sleep.