set aflame, kb [disc]

14. the darkness

trigger warning: abuse and panic attacks

Elara could not remember much of her childhood. The only things she could remember, weren't the happiest of memories, or they were memories of the Little Palace.

Her time at the Little Palace wasn't horrible, per say, she had met Nina there, and would do it all over again for her. For the most part, she enjoyed her time there. She enjoyed learning more about her powers, and learning the extent of them.

One of her earliest memories took place in her home in Ravka. She couldn't remember how old she was, the memory was a bit fuzzy.

But what she could remember, was that she hated her father.

He was cruel, horrible, and she despised him.

Not only was the man horrible towards her, but also her mother. Elara adored her mother, and seeing her being treated in such ways made Elara sick to her stomach.

Her parents would argue often. Not wanting to be caught in the crossfire, she would hide. She would hide in her small bedroom closet, or in any cabinet she could find. It would be dark and small, she found the darkness and the small space comforting.

The walls of the space would muffle the noise, and only for that moment would she be slightly at peace.

But the peace she felt in there would never last too long. Nothing good lasted, anyway.

Soon enough, the door would be barged open, revealing the man she was ashamed to call her father.

Sometimes she would manage to get out before he opened the door, other times she simply accepted her fate that he would always find her no matter what, and wait.

Elara and her mother felt trapped. If they ran away together, he would somehow find them. They couldn't tell him off, in fears of what he was capable of.

And so when the opportunity to go away from home presented itself, Elara's mother insisted on her taking it.

She didn't want to leave her mother, not there with him. Her mother insisted, promising her they would find each other some day in the future.

Elara wondered when that day would come, if it was going to, that is.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧*:･ﾟ✧

After they had their fair share of tea and flavorless food that was served in the run-down tavern, they took camp in a dry gully bordered by a tangle of shrubs, and took shifts dozing on the hard rock ground while keeping watch.

They had gotten Elara to start a campfire at the center of their campsite, emitting warmth that they so very clearly needed.

Kaz explained to them the game plan. "Once the wagon stops, the tree will buy us about fifteen minutes and not much more. Move quickly. The prisoners should be hooded, but they'll be able to hear, so not a word." He met Elara's eyes while saying the last part. She shrugged. "We can't afford to arouse suspicion. For all they know, this is a routine stop, and we want to keep it that way."

As Elara waited by the others, she considered all the things that could go wrong. The prisoners could not be wearing hoods. Or the guards might have one of their own in the back. She obviously wanted this to work, but what would happen once it did? They would become captives onto their way into the Ice Court. That didn't seem very promising, either. She still preferred the latter, though.

A prison wagon began to rumble into view. It rolled past them, then came to a halt in front of the tree. She could hear the driver cursing towards the companion. The driver got out, and went to go inspect the tree.