Anielica

Elena

She was dreaming. She was just on the edge of waking, if she opened her eyes she would be fully awake. But she kept her eyes firmly closed, and clutched onto the remainders of her dreams. She was dreaming of Geralt.
He looked like he did in the vision Iola had shown her: Thick, curly black hair, eyes sparkling under his long lashes, making it impossible to see their colour. His mouth turning up in a mischievous smile as he dodged his way out of her reach, making her chase him. He threw her teasing smiles over his shoulder as he paced away from her, egging her on. She reached out her arms as she followed him, her fingers itching to touch him. Every time she got close, he spun away from her laughing. She would have played this game forever, but the dream was starting to slip.
Reluctantly, she said a mental goodbye to the black haired Geralt in her dreams and opened her eyes. She was suddenly excited to see her own waking, white haired Geralt. She reached her hands out in the space next to her but it was empty. She sat up and searched the room to find it too was empty. He must have gone out. He's probably gone to see Nenneke and have his questions answered. What if he's left you? A cold, dark feeling slivered up her spine. She shook the thought away. No, he wouldn't have. He's just gone out.

She dressed herself quickly in a long cream gown, not bothering with the white corset that had been left with it. She didn't need it.
She stood in front of the floor length looking glass and tried her best to arrange her messy hair; brown locks twisting wildly about her face. What she needed was a brush, she thought as she smiled resignedly at her reflection. Giving up on her hair, she left the room in search of Geralt.
A nervous feeling twisting in her abdomen at the thought of him. She placed a hand over where she felt the tinge, and told herself to calm down. She started to walk a little quicker, her footsteps echoing loudly through the halls, her head turning hoping to find someone who would take her to where she needed to be.

She hadn't been walking the corridors for long but she knew she had gotten herself lost, the anxious feeling in her tummy growing more and more troublesome. She stopped, bit her bottom lip nervously, and looked around. She was just about to turn back around when Nenneke came around the corner. "Nenneke!" Elena gushed, the relief evident in her voice, as she quickly rushed towards her, grateful for her presence. Her feeling of calm only lasted a short moment as she realised Nenneke was troubled, her expression grim. Elena was suddenly afraid. Something was wrong.
"Nenneke?" Elena said softly, her eyes in line with the woman's brown ones. Nenneke gave a sigh and placed a hand on the side of Elena's face. Her touch was warm and comforting, she leaned her head into it.
"He's gone child," Nenneke said softly.
Yes, he is. The cold feeling crawling through her veins.
"When will he be back?" Elena asked, her heart was beginning to beat harder in her chest. She could feel the blood pulse in her fingertips.
"He won't be," Nenneke said just as softly, her expression crumbling into one of sadness.

Elena looked at Nenneke for a long time. She had heard her but the words weren't making any sense. He can't be gone. Not forever.
She didn't believe it, her head shaking in disbelief. "No," she said in a strangled voice.
Her heartbeat was deafening in her ears, drowning out whatever Nenneke was trying to say to her. It didn't matter. She had to find him. A thought filled her mind, filling her with hope. Roach! He wouldn't have left without Roach. Suddenly, she took off down the hall, Nenneke's anxious shouts echoing after her.
Elena was too fast for her, she wouldn't be able to catch her. She pulled up her skirts and ran as fast she could, trusting her feet to take her to where she needed to be.

Once she reached the garden she knew she was almost there. The stables were just outside.
She ran into the stables at full speed, startling the young girl who was mucking out a stall. Elena panted heavily as she searched the stalls. She found her horse first, and then a small dappled grey one, then a large, robust black one. But the rest of the stalls were empty. Roach wasn't here.
Elena heard the short cry that came from her and felt all hope leave, her legs giving out from under her. Her head spun, as her lungs were trying and failing to suck in the oxygen they so desperately needed. She thought she was going to be sick.
He's gone. He's really gone.
Something dark and cold was clawing at her heart, ripping a hole through her chest. She doubled over, curling herself around the pain, trying to escape it. But there was no escape.
He had left her.
The thought hitting her with another blow of pain. She shut her eyes and tried to block it out. She couldn't feel her body anymore. She felt nothing but darkness and emptiness that was spreading hungrily, eating her up.

She felt a strange sensation of floating and opened her eyes to see anxious expressions looking down at her. They had lifted off the ground and were carrying her out of the stables. "She's choking! There's something stuck in her throat!" One cried.
"No there isn't. She's been making those sounds for a while. I think she's crying."
"It's horrible."
Im crying? Elena could suddenly hear the strangled, sobs that were coming from her mouth. They were right, it sounded terrifying. 
She shut her eyes and tried to shut out the sounds and the reason for them.
She welcomed the darkness with opened arms, it numbed the fire she felt in her chest, she imagined how charred and blackened she must be. She felt something soft under her and she opened her eyes to find they had put her into bed. Nenneke was looking down at her, her mouth moving oddly. She was speaking but Elena couldn't hear her. She shut her eyes again and blocked them out.

The pain suddenly swelled like a wave inside her, pulling her deeper and deeper down into the blackness. She didn't try and fight it. She let it sweep her away, taking her somewhere that drowned out the pain and fire, where she wouldn't resurface.