Alanis thought letting go of her first love would be the most painful thing she would ever endure, but little did she know, the path the light goddess set before her, would be paved in heartaches beyond compare.
With her past and Berthold behind h...
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The flickering candlelight danced atop the canopy above Alanis' head. She watched the lacy pattern move with the light for several minutes before summoning the strength to move. She lifted her hand and examined the backside. The burns were gone, but how? She could clearly recall the horrible pain she felt as the light charred her skin.
"You're awake. It's about time," Faris whispered from the side of her bed. "I thought for certain that I'd have to wait till morning to check up on you."
Alanis dropped her hand as her eyes adjusted on his silhouette at her bed-side. She was surprised to see him, after everything, surprised he had made it through the ambush and Letando's Light.
"Faris," she began, her voice loud with excitement, but stopped, noticing to prince's gesture to keep her voice low.
He lowered his finger from his lips. "I had to sneak in to see how you were doing. If you make too much noise I'm afraid I'll be found out."
"Sneak in, are the guards keeping you away because of what happened?" Alanis worried if talks of Justin's supposed betrayal got to him and the others.
"Aye, I've pissed off several people. But I'm as shameless as they come. I hope my being here doesn't offend you. I just thought you deserved an apology from me, instead of hearing it from one of my guards."
She smiled feeling tears well in her eyes. It was such a relief to see him, even if he was behaving so strangely.
Alanis rose up and threw her arms around him. "Thank gods you're still alive. I thought—after everything, that the light had taken you as well. But—" she stopped, her voice quivered while she recalled the deaths of her friends. "Lysa, Benjamin, and... Justin. The rest of my them—they're gone. Dead..."
She began to sob on his shoulder, grasping at his cloak as she slipped back into that moment. In her head, she saw them die, over and over again. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop seeing it. And she felt responsible for each. They were naive to think it would be easy.
The prince pulled away, but offered enough support so she wouldn't fall forward.
"Calm down, shhh... It's alright, it was only a nightmare," Faris consoled, looking down on her with a twisted brow. "You hit your head pretty hard earlier, you don't remember that do you? Anyway, you've been out of it for a while now."
Alanis drew in a long breath while she wiped her tears on her sleeve. She then sat straight in her bed feeling an intense pain focus near the back of her head. She winced then glanced back at Faris. She had no recollection of hitting her head. Only her shoulder being shot through with an arrow, and of course the burns she suffered from calling Letando's light.
"That was no nightmare. They died, Faris. I summoned Letando's power and destroyed Larska's outer sector with it. I nearly killed myself with it. Someone's betrayed us. Benjamin thought it was Justin, but it wasn't... It was one of the dark-bleeders, a Duilonir."
