Brightheart

Chapter 40

"Drink these," a Lime said once they'd gotten Brightheart's armour off and she'd sat on a bed in the healers' huge tent. The first was a little of Hŕallilk Dyp, and the second tasted disgusting. The third tasted like honey, strawberries, sunshine, and songs sung with friends. After that they told her to sleep. Brightheart dreamed of thunder and starless nights, shadows driving her into memories of the evil dragon's lair. She woke for a moment, seeing worried faces standing over her, then drifted into dreamless sleep.

Brightheart opened her eyes and blinked in the sunlight.
"Brightheart's awake," called a lady sitting next to her.
"Good job, Ilasa," replied someone else. Ilasa gave Brightheart a small piece of bread.
"Here. Go easy on it though, you haven't eaten since this time yesterday,"Ilasa said as Brightheart took and ate it.
"So I didn't dream about that strange Gamniyan, – what's her name? – Naitoshurdal?" Brightheart asked after finishing a bite.
"No, but you did dream of dark things, didn't you," Ilasa answered, and Brightheart nodded.
"The spell that hit you is a very powerful curse. If the full force of it had hit you, you'd have died. Very few have ever escaped that, so we don't know exactly how it affects survivors yet," the healer explained, "So far every one of that curse's victim's have become cheerless, troubled, and panicky. Things will startle you and you'll be exhausted, and when that happens you must think of something that makes you happy. Every day we'll give you a potion to ease the restless shadow lodged within your mind,which is the cause of the sadness. Until then, you're to stay in the Gamniyan Sector Lime so we can keep an eye on you."
"I understand," Brightheart said weakly.

Brightheart mostly slept and talked to the Starion and Rustblade for the first few days in the healers' tent. Whatever curse she'd been hit with was strong indeed, for Brightheart constantly felt tired. Her dreams often forced her into memories of killing Nightscar, but each morning she fought that with the memory of sleeping beside Tŕnjyl. When Brightheart was allowed to stand up and walk around, shadows danced in the corner of her eyes, always startling hers as if the curse that struck with had been the shadows' life curse. Loud noises took the form of dragon roars, striking fear into Brightheart's heart. Yet somehow she held onto her hope that seemed to grow stronger every day despite the strange curse. She often whispered Enya's lullaby and fiddled with Rustblade's scale when she grew nervous. More than once had Brightheart woken to see Ilasa singing the lullaby and thought she was her mother, but Ilasa looked nothing like Enya.

Brightheart wrote to her mother, telling her about the battle.
"Oh that Naitoshurdal is a real nuisance and a formidable enemy. She killed two of our knights a month ago in my time. They survived three days after being hit with the curse and passed on the fourth. They became troubled and anxious, and a shadow stole away their hope. Only they could see their shadow that caused all this, these shadows that were filled with some kind of rage," Enya replied. Brightheart wrote that she was sorry, and her mother said it would turn out alright.

"What kind of shadow is it?" Brightheart asked.
"I think there's two parts to the shadow: one is the cursed's own which is of their mind, and the other is fear which is of the heart. The mind's shadow leaves first, if it is weakened enough," the old Queen answered. After that, Brightheart slept and dreamt a little, but what she could remember was fire. She let it fade from memory as she ate. Brightheart sat in the sun while she was awake, thinking about the battle. It was two weeks ago now, and she wondered when the next would be – not out of eagerness of course – since she would be bored if they practised for months in between. Brightheart realised she hadn't known what war was about before this, but even so she'd have chosen to fight instead of watching it; she'd have chosen to stand and fight instead of running away and letting more die.

"The song you often sing, I've heard it before. Where'd you hear it?" Ilasa said, sitting beside Brightheart.
"My mother, Queen Enya, sang it to me," Brightheart answered.
"It's a pretty lullaby," the werecat Healer nodded. "Would you like to hear a story?"
"Yes please," Brightheart said. So Ilasa told a tale Tŕnjyl had told her before. It was about the constellations Angelus and Clavis, the angel and the key, and Brightheart noticed that Ilasa told it differently from Tŕnjyl's way. Afterwards, when Brightheart thought about the ways each had told the tale, she realised what the difference was. Ilasa was in awe of the Starion, constantly wondering at their power and immense knowledge of magic. Tŕnjyl knew those she talked about, and was proud of who she was, and when she told those stories it was as if she were sad that the time when Starion walked amongst humans was gone. Then Brightheart wondered what her way of telling the stories would be. She tilted her head and thought about it, then nodded when she decided she'd probably speak of the Starion as if they were close friends (which they were).

Ilasa's calming voice and presence, along with what Brightheart liked to call the 'sunshine potion' had kept the shadow at bay while Brightheart was awake. Her dreams worsened, but Ilasa said she was in control and that was just the shadow's anger at being weakened. When Brightheart had three full nights without the shadow tormenting her, she was allowed to return to her sector. It was a month since the battle.
"You're strong. I wish you luck, Brightheart," Ilasa said. She walked to the Gamniyan Sector Lilac, and was met by her friends.

"You're back! It's been forever!" Kella hugged Brightheart.
"Good to see you again," Elivra smiled.
"Jolana's been getting eager for you to get back. You should go tell her you're here," said Alecky, who'd returned three weeks before Brightheart.
"How are all of you?" Brightheart asked, and her friends answered that they were good. Then she went to find her Commander.

Brightheart had to work extra hard at training for the next few weeks, building up the strength she'd lost while in the Healers' tent. She was glad to be back with the Lilacs, and they were glad she was back as well.
"We all knew you were strong, but during the past month I think we've all doubted it. Yet you overcame the curse which few have ever done before," Jolana said quietly as she passed Brightheart while they practised.
"Nothing yet has stood in my way that I haven't overcome," Brightheart replied.

The next battle came soon, and Naitoshurdal was surprised Brightheart had survived. The were-creature nuisance of a Tarbly Gamniyan was then turned to stone and shattered with a bundle of fire-dust. Brightheart went on more attack missions, every time being silent and leaving many statues. Doriima quickly came to fear Brightheart's name, and that fear spread to the rest of the Tarbly as well. Time passed quickly and before Brightheart knew it, it was a week before her birthday.