Whispers from Ash

In her darkness, she heard footsteps and heavy breath, but paid no mind to the armored man, even as he took a few steps forward. She merely lifted her face upward, her veil of lace falling over her like a shroud, one hand lifted as butterflies flitted about, perching on her finger and shoulders.

"The Bride of the Giant," the Knight spoke, and she turned her head in his direction, listening as he knelt, the heavy stench of sweat and battle filling her nose. "Are you the one who owns the Glass Eyes? The ones that see things beyond normal vision?"

She hummed and dropped her hand, chains rattling. "You ask many questions, Dear Knight," she said, smooth voice wispy and quiet. "But I am the one you seek." She paused. "Rise."

He did so and she turned to face him, tilting her head. "So you are the one to slay the Giant. You have defeated your enemy, why have you come to me?" curiosity filled her chest like water, threatening to spill over, and she waited for his answer. Company was not common here in her chamber, for few could sneak past the Giant. Few could sneak past her Warden.

The Knight hummed. "I came of my own curiosity, but I admit I had expectations of a reward-- I have heard tales that if the Giant falls, his Bride will bestow her blessing upon the victor."

She smiled softly, heart falling, spreading her hands and hearing the drag of chains on the stone through the ashes. "Your legends speak false rumors. I have nothing to give," she said, voice flat in her disappointment. "Whoever finds my lost Eyes finds them-- they are no longer in my possession."

The clank of armor and footsteps approached until the Knight stood in front of her, at the base of the steps. "These eyes, Milady?"

She reached out and hands pressed into her own, heat radiating through leather gloves to warm her icy fingers, and then vanished, leaving two small orbs in her palms. Taking them, she turned away, pulling off her blindfold, and carefully fit the glass orbs into her empty sockets. She held her eyes closed before blinking them open and gazed at her chambers.

Ash fell like snow in the stone room, piling at the edges and drifting across the floor. Light fell through the single window like soft fabric draping across the room, no more than a slit in the wall, and she saw butterflies fluttering about. The deep blue of their pulsing wings mesmerizing.

She tore her gaze away, turned her head toward the one who brought her vision, and stared for a moment at the armored knight, bearing the insignia of the Divine Dragon inscribed on the chest of his breastplate. His face was hidden by his helmet, but serious eyes gazed out at her, deep brown and burning with fire.

She smiled and faced him again. "My thanks, Shining One," she said, the title fitting of this knight, glowing in the dim light from the window, and lifted a hand to let a butterfly land, pulsing its small wings. "I wish I had something to give you..." she smiled wider at the prospect of a prize, and interested to see what he would say, "my eyes, perhaps?"

"Oh, no, Milady," he said, and something in her chest rose, "I would not steal your sight after you've only gotten it back."

"Then might I know the name of the adventurer who slew Kayha the Giant, my captor?" her curiosity and interest thrummed just beneath her skin. Who was this Knight who came, returning her Eyes, and still asked for nothing?

The man slowly removed his helmet to reveal a straight face, olive-toned with locks of dark brown hair pulled tight against his head in a braided fashion. "Connor," he said, his dark eyes flashing. "Might I have the honor of knowing yours?"

She laughed lightly, for the first time in many years. "What a lovely name for a lovely knight." She hummed and glanced at the butterflies before smiling gently at him. "I am called Whispers."