River of Bones

Dew dropped grass

Duke Witherbrigg's POV.

I knelt down with her on the cold cobblestone floor. She rocked on her knees, clawing at her face with the pads of her fingers, mouth moving to form words but no voice to say them.

Her once fiery eyes that burned with rage and fear In the pasts encounters now settle for the dusty cold cobblestone floor. Dull and dead with the shadows of her past passing through them in an endless nightmare.

"Hey....Mayu", I whisper, leaning in closer than I already was, "Whatever you're seeing is no longer real. Come back"

I nudge her shoulder with my hand and within an instant a pained fearful expression flashed across her face. Immediately My hand retreated back, away from her, Away from her devastated mind

All at once Alla's instructions came back to me. The instructions she whispered to me when I first stumbled upon the Lady's Terrified state.

If it's a good day then your touch won't send her into a greater harrowing experience. If it is a Bad day then all you can do is speak to her, for hours on end until your voice pulls her back to you, to us.

I settled down into a more comfortable position as I readied my voice for it's upcoming Gossip and Story-time session. I nearly felt like a noble woman as I reached far back into my memory from this mornings gossip the servants were all buzzing about with.

I cleared my throat, accidentally making Mayu wince

"Hey Mayu", I begin, "Do you remember Jacob Kalbacker,The bakers boy?", I chuckle to myself although the quiet laugh was suppose to carry the sound of joy it was void of any

"From what I hear he has entangled two expecting noble women in a difficult situation in which he has to choose one of them to be his bride by this time next week, so the wedding can take place the following week"

I pause out of habit but when no response, no chuckles or laughs come my way I have to fight back a sigh before continuing on.

"You won't believe who the two women are too! It so happens that they are the prized twin daughters of the proud Count Kalastor", My eyes shift to Lady Mayu's. The damage-less clawing ceased as her expression began to soften. The small changes in her condition give me what I need to continue this small insignificant piece of gossip that held great importance among the servants and noble women.

"Just imagine the Count's face when he learned of his daughters pregnancies and with the Bakers boy!", I laugh, I laugh a genuine laugh that's filled with a sense of joy and hope.

Mayu's POV.

I'm in a dark room, an abyss. A cold calm settles in me, a familiarity despite the pain that racked my body and the numbness settled in my limbs that were sticky with both sweat and blood.

My eyes are open but there's nothing to see. Just the dark black that engulfed me in it's soothing warmth. The warmth that I'm all too familiar with. I sigh, causing a sharp yet dull stinging in my throat.
Ah...that's right..they poured mixtures of acidic liquids down my throat in hopes I become mute..that is until I continued to beg for mercy and an end

My eyes flutter shut, not that it makes much of a difference in what I see.
Two hours. I have two hours to myself before they start back up again. A throbbing in my head began to fade in as my senses slowly came back to me...I begin to count, recount the damage done to my barely seven year old body. Blunt trauma to my head, broken wrist, bruised legs with minor scrapes, bruised ribs, acidically burnt throat with minor damage to vocals, lacerations to my back...not deep enough to be fatal or cause noticeable scarring, and an enormous amount of mental trauma and abuse.
I nearly chuckle at the amount of trouble the damned Emperor is going through for-