The Orb And The Onslaught {COMPLETE}

srenosirP dnA tneserP ,tsaP

   Florence was ready to question his words when he swished his cloak dramatically and disappeared. She should have been used to it and just let it slide, but this time she was more infuriated than ever.

   The rebels and the prisoners alike, were all staring wide-eyed at the spot where the stranger had disappeared. Florence was sure none of them knew magik was real, never mind actually seeing it first-hand.

   Cyan soon snapped out of it and instantly began questioning Florence about the man, though she couldn't tell her much except that it would probably be best to heed his words. Cyan had already threatened to bring Blackford to its knees, burning it down wouldn't be such a bad idea. 

     Florence just couldn't stop her mind from focusing on the last thing the stranger had said; about it being particularly beneficial to her, and what he might have meant by that. There was always some air of mystery with the man, but Florence got the feeling this was too important to leave up to chance. He wanted them to burn Blackford and somewhere along the lines they'd somehow understand how she came into it. She hated having so many unanswered questions but just as it was with the cats, she had to accept it, for now. 

    Since Cyan wasn't getting the answers she needed either, she began to coordinate the treatment and feeding of the ex-prisoners. She wanted to know everything about them and in turn she'd find a way for them to contact their families. She wanted to do everything in her power to make them feel as comfortable and safe as possible.

   Cyan was a force of nature, her eyes were alight and her soul was on fire, she was born to do this and Florence was happy to watch it happen. She was truly a leader and though she hadn't said it aloud, Florence knew she was about to take on the whole Domain- and Florence had the wonderful feeling she'd win. 

    Florence pushed her queries about the strange man out of her head and tried to help where she could; bandaging sores and trying to bring out the laughter in the children and the two teenage prisoners. They eventually managed a few smiles, it was small but it was a start, they may be scarred for a while but the young were resilient.

    It was the older prisoners who would find it harder, when she did her rounds she saw an elderly couple huddled together while a handful of rebels looked after them. She saw a few other adults who didn't seem to be faring much better, she didn't know how they'd cope or if they actually would. But they would have Cyan's help for as long as they needed it and that made it all just a fraction better. 

    They soon spread the treatment throughout the other rooms in the building so they had more space. But despite having more rooms to use, whenever Florence turned around to treat someone else, she found the woman in shackles still keeping close to her. 

    Florence smiled softly and gestured for her to sit down on an ornate chair. "Let's do something useful here and see about getting these things off of you."

Florence reached for the shackles and the woman flinched back. "It's alright," Florence pulled her hands back and held them up defensively. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." 

    But despite Florence's reassurances, the woman still looked scared and held her hands out of reach. Florence could clearly see deep scar tissue and bruises beneath the cuffs. She felt her anger flare up but she tried to hide it from the woman, she needed her to feel safe, not worried that Florence was about to explode. 

Florence tried a different tactic, "My name is Florence, we weren't properly introduced... do you know your name?" 

     Some of the other prisoners had been too confused and had retreated too far into themselves to remember who they were or where they were from. The woman began moving her lips in response but no sound came out, at first. Florence was patient, she didn't push her to speak or do anything she didn't want to do. Florence was about to call out for some assistance with the shackles when she caught a sound.