The TwiceBorn

The Substance Within Silence

"...and you shall sing to me a deeper song..."--Gibran

Islinn abruptly opened her eyes and found that the squalid little room hadn’t been a nightmare after all.  Slowly she stretched and the bite and pull of her scars were as familiar to her as breathing.  The night before she’d stayed up as long as she could keep her eyes open to watch the Hynti drift up and down the fire line.

Her eyes had grown heavier and heavier as she tracked the slow movement back and forth.  A few times her chin had dropped to her chest and she’d quickly sat up, determined to be awake when Alora returned.

But she’d been sleeping when the first shout went up.  Alarmed, she’d leaned out the hole that served as a window for the tiny room and looked up the street towards the fireline.  It took her a few moments to realize that everybody had started shouting. 

She had quietly watched the final shamble of the Hynti as they melted into the treeline, shadow upon shadow.  And she’d watched the moon rise.  And the stars come out. Small flares of fire against the dark coal of the night. 

Where was Alora?

Islinn had shied from the direct thought and continued to gaze out into the night.  The aloof Alora who had ridden into town and dealt with people was one that left her bewildered.

And the wild, half-crazed Alora who battled her demons and saw Islinn’s beliefs as nothing but fuel for her fires…was an Alora that frightened her badly.

But the Alora that held her.  Touched her.  And asked for her forgiveness for things she’d done…that was the Alora she loved.

And though she had thought about her feelings on the surface, always vaguely appalled and horrified, her realization came silently this time. As calm and full as the moon, it rose in her as she watched the glow peek over the horizon.

 Calm and resolute, she knew she loved Alora more than whatever it was either one of them were meant to be. And there were days she’d silently admit only to herself that she thought one of the cruelest tricks Brede could pull was to simply let her keep living but now…now…she felt she had a reason to.

Her realization didn’t feel as steadfast in the early morning as she wrapped her arms around herself and limped over to the window to look out.  The town below her was slowly coming to life and she watched as peasants and hawkers wandered hesitantly out into the streets and squinted in the daylight.  The balefires were silent.  Lazy smoke drifted in tendrils towards the still morning sky.  The Hynti were gone as though they’d never existed to begin with.

Where was Alora?

The thought that she might have been left there occurred to her.  The muscles in her strained and achey back kicked up another notch. No,that wasn’t possible. If Alora was going to dump her somewhere, it would be somewhere safer than Lochedge.  Which brought her around to her next disturbing thought. 

What if something had happened to Alora?

Once that would have been reason for celebration on her part.  Joyful thanks given to Brede and that sense of doing what was right.  What was good.  There would be huge celebrations and JoHan would have hugged all of them, his beard unable to hide the huge smile on his face.

Islinn was stunned by the wave of emotion that moved over her.  The intensity of it caused her back to tighten and a painful lump formed in her throat. Once, all of it might have been for her vision of JoHan and righteousness but now it was for Alora, who she simply wanted with her.  Right then and right there.

She wanted to see Alora come through the door.  And she wanted to watch her run a hand through her restless black hair and laugh about something,anything.  She wanted to hear about where ever she went and whatever she did.  But most of all, she simply wanted. 

A light knock on the door startled her.  Islinn breathed a sigh of relief.  Darius hadn’t shown up with the promised coin  and she'd been dreading the moment when she would have to tell Alora that it hadn’t arrived.  Still though, she hesitated as she walked over to the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me,open the door.”

With shaking hands, Islinn pulled the door open.  At the sight of Alora, her stoic composure broke. Llike a lost child whose suddenly been found, all she could do was simply hold her arms out.  The fact of how frightened she’d been there alone was driven home to her as she clung to Alora and struggled not to cry.

“I’m right here.  I’m here.”  Alora murmured  and if Islinn hadn’t of known better, she’d of thought the woman was close to tears herself. After a few moments, Islinn stepped back. Her nose wrinkled.

“You stink.”

Alora chuckled but Islinn sensed the effort behind it.  Alora looked…different.  Physically, she was covered from head to toe with dirt and her skin had a dull,oily sheen to it but it was her expression that brought a sudden pain to Islinn’s heart.

Alora’s eyes had a stunned,glassy look to them and a certain familiarity that Islinn was well-acquainted with.  It was a look that she’d worn on her face from time to time.  Here was someone trying to come to terms with something because if they didn’t whatever it was had the power to drive them beyond madness.   Cautiously, Islinn took Alora’s hand and led her over to the rumpled bed and sat her down.

The fact Alora allowed her to do this frightened her even more.

“Alora?  Are you all right?”

Her voice was soft, questioning.  Alora nodded but Islinn saw in the woman’s eyes, a bottomless well of desolation and despair.  And she sensed that even if Alora told her what had happened it would be beyond her capability to understand it.  Some great mystery that involved the strange blood that beat in Alora’s body and her link to what lived in shadow.  But Islinn didn’t need to know what it was to see its effects.

And that sense of wanting came back to her now, but it was a different kind of want, deeper and more powerful.  The want slowly coalesced into need.  A fierce need to comfort and sooth this strange girl and whatever troubled her and had taken that arrogant glow from her face.  

 “Come here.”  Islinn whispered as she moved back on the bed and settled herself against the patched and broken wall.  She opened her arms and Alora came to her, trembling and dark-eyed with exhaustion.  Islinn held her and pretended not to hear the sound of Alora’s quiet sobs against her neck.