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Another flash of lightning tore through the dark sky. A young girl was briefly illuminated by the blue-white light. She looked like an angel, auburn curls flying behind her as she ran, framing her fair face like a fiery halo. Her lips were slightly parted, her breath was coming out in short gasps. Her eyes were a deep, rich gold and streaming hot tears down her soft cheeks. _______Godric watched her even after darkness reclaimed the world; his eyes did not need the light to see her. He could feel her emotions as they tumbled madly through her; grief, anger, loss, betrayal, despair. Startled, he realized that it moved him; he felt the desire to protect her, from whatever had caused this pain. He could see a face in her mind: a man, toward whom her confused flux of emotions was directed. And he felt anger stir in him. _______Who was this girl? Why did it matter to him? It had nothing to do with him. It was none of his business. Mortal affairs were so tedious, their lives so ephemeral and insignificant. _______Lightning split the inky sky again. She was closer now; barely more than a stone's throw away from where he stood, invisible to her mortal eyes. Suddenly her foot caught on a rock, and she stumbled forward with a cry of surprise. Immediately he was there, with no memory of having moved at all, and he caught her in his arms before she could fall. She screamed, and he remembered that she had not seen him; to her, he had appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her. _______She was cold, and a long way from any human shelter and company. The rain would start soon, and it would be merciless. She would not last the night in the flimsy silk garments she wore. _______She was struggling now, flailing madly but vainly in his arms, and he realized he had tightened his hold on her. He should just let her go. None of this was his problem. _______She was beautiful, for a mortal. She looked so innocent, so pure. Her smell was intriguing, unfamiliar; her hair was disheveled in a wild mess of chestnut waves around her tear-streaked face. He reached a hand up and stroked his fingers through it, marveling at its softness, at the way it sprang back into loose ringlets. _______She screamed again in her terror, and fainted against him. He stood there for a moment, startled, staring down at her limp form, unsure of how to react. It started to rain. _______She needs shelter, he reminded himself. There was a long-abandoned temple not far from here. Deftly he lifted her into his arms so he could carry her, and then he set off in the direction of the Temple of the Mad Gods.
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Jenny awoke with a start. For a moment she could not remember anything, and thought she was at home, safe, and half expected her mother to come in and wake her at any minute. And then the phantoms of memories rose up in her mind, and fear made her jerk upright, looking around in a panic. But everything was unfamiliar. She was surrounded by blank stone walls in a strange room, lying on a pile of blankets on a narrow stone slab. But she was unharmed, and seemed to be quite alone and safe in the small room. _______Relief overwhelmed her for a while, and a few tears escaped. Then she remembered that she had no idea where she was, that she was lying in a strange bed in a strange room, wearing a linen shift that was not hers. _______As she started to panic, a young man walked into the room. Instantly she went still, staring wide-eyed at the stranger. He was like no one she had ever seen before in her entire life. He was very tall and well-built, and the eyes he met her stare with were a soft blue-green. He stood proud, like a prince, his frame somewhat imposing, but his gaze was gentle, kind. He looked so young, but she sensed a sort of wild, invisible power in him, and for some reason it made her think of the wind. Her heart skipped a beat. A breeze caught at loose tendrils of her hair, though the space they were in was quite enclosed, where no breeze should be able to enter. _______"You're awake," he said, breaking into her thoughts. "You should not have been out there, with a storm like that brewing." _______"Who are you?" she breathed. "Where am I?" _______"You are in the temple of the Mad Gods. My name is Godric, and I live here and take care of the temple," he answered shortly. _______She blinked, and allowed herself to relax. "Oh. So you are a monk, then?" _______"Goodness, no," he laughed. _______She blanched and drew back a bit. "What did you do to me? Why are my clothes changed? I swear to you, sir, if you lay a hand on me--" _______"Your clothes were soaked by the time I got you here. You would have caught a chill. I had a servant change them for you." _______"Oh." She sat silent for a moment, looking away from him, somewhat abashed. "I'm sorry. Thank you for your kindness, my lord." _______He sighed. "Not lord. Just Godric." Never had he allowed anyone to call him by his name. But it felt odd to have this girl call him lord, somehow. Unfitting. _______She hesitated a moment. "My name is Jenissa, of the Raven Clan," she said at last, softly. _______Mortals and their clans, Godric thought to himself. "I have no clan, but I am honored to make your acquaintance, Jenissa." _______She nodded somewhat stiffly, still feeling apprehensive of him. He found himself wishing that she was not afraid of him, even though he knew she had some reason to be. She was a mere mortal, after all. _______"Do you have a home that I could take you to, Jenissa? Surely your family will be wondering what happened to you," he said. _______She made a face. "Yes. They--they live just to the south of the city and to the west of Shadowtree. I fear they will not be pleased to see me. I... did not have permission to be wandering as I was." _______Godric frowned. "Would it be improper for me to ask what you were doing out in the wild lands on such a night, alone?" _______To her horror, she almost started to cry again. She was shaking with unshed tears and unnamed fears. "This is all my fault. I was so stupid. I should never have left the house. I lied to them. And now--" She buried her face in her hands, sobbing. "I told my mother I was going for a walk in the garden. I told her not to worry. She believed me, because I never do anything, because I never stray. Why--" she broke off, unable to say more. _______Godric stiffened. He knew there were things she was not saying. His servants had mentioned a suspicion that someone had harmed her somehow, but they would not explain further. "What happened, Jenny? Where did you really go, that you are so ashamed to speak of it?" He could see vague hints, impressions, in her mind, of a dark room, the man whose face had been in her mind before, tangled within a chaos of different emotions. _______Abruptly her face went blank, doll-like, and her mind was closed to him. "I wish to go home now, sir," she said politely, looking at him with eyes that held nothing. She was shutting him out now. All the better, perhaps; this was not his problem. He gave her a short nod.
SmurfQueen279 · Mon Jul 12, 2010 @ 08:47pm · 0 Comments |
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