The Winter's Sun (Bucky Soulmate Fanfiction)

Chapter 14: Hidden Forces

It wasn't the thundering sound of bark hitting bark or the echoes of the ground shaking that snapped Elysia back to the moment. No, what brought her back was something far worse. A whimper, a small and strangled whimper.

Her eyes popped open and narrowed in the direction of the keening sound. She rushed towards it, fearing the worst, completely unaware that her mother did the same. All Elysia could think about was that she had somehow injured one of her people, the thought of it incited panic in her chest.

She hadn't meant to lose control, but she had prepared for it by isolating herself, that's why she chose the forest in the first place. But even she had no idea the damage she was capable of causing. She deftly made her way through the twisted mess she had made of the forest, ducking under debris and leaping over large upturned roots.

Elysia halted in her tracks when she came across the source of the mewling.

A foal.

A young horse, who couldn't be more than a few months old, lay impaled by a branch from one of the trees she'd sent flying.

This time the resounding whimper was ripped from her lips instead of the foal's. Elysia's knees gave out when the repercussions of what she had done stared her in the face. Her hands shook as she reached out to lay a hand on its head, her heart breaking further when it let out a louder cry at the sight of her.

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry little one," Elysia's voice came out raspy as she let her tears fall down her cheeks. She had done this, lost control and hurt something precious. The foal's eyes were wide with pain and its breathing labored as apologies continued to pour out from her horrified lips.

Frigga was silent as she observed her grieving daughter. Her heart wept for her child as she watched her lean forward to place the foal's head in her lap with quivering fingers. She longed to reach out but feared she had already caused too much damage in the past day. Her daughter made it clear that she was displeased, and now was no time to provoke or startle her.

Elysia, on the other hand, continued to take no note of her mother. She stroked the foal's head in an effort to calm it, though it seemed to have little effect. Feeling helpless, Elysia did the only thing she could think of, "Lo, there do I see my father."

The animal began to quiet as her soft voice rung out and a bittersweet surge of hope rushed through her when she realized the hymn was working. "Lo, there do I see my mother, and my brothers and my sisters."

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this foal would soon bleed out. As much as she may have wanted to deny it, the harsh truth would not be ignored. So there were only two things Elysia could do. She could continue doing all she could to soothe the young one to ensure its last moments weren't full of fear and suffering, or she could let horror and self-hatred win over and stop the steady stream of words flowing from her.

But for her, there was really only one choice she could make.

"Lo, there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning. Lo, they do call me."

It was a prayer for the dead, typically meant as a warrior's send-off, but this animal had suffered by her hand and she would deliver it into the arms of the Valkryie with the highest of regards. It was the very least she could do. "They bid me take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla where thine enemies have been vanquished," Elysia's voice cracked as she continued the fight seemed to drain from the foal's eyes.

"Where the brave shall live forever," tears steadily poured down her cheeks and she choked back a vicious sob as the foal's eyelids slowly slid closed and its body stilled with its last breath. Feeling as though someone was crushing her heart in their bare hands, Elysia leaned down until her forehead nudged against that of the foal's and the last of the prayer tumbled forth in a broken whisper.