It'd been hours. The cold had long since passed the point of stinging her skin, the snow didn't even melt as it landed on her cheeks blurring her vision. Numb, on the surface and far below, the very core of her being was numb. It would've been nothing to calm the storm around her, only a thought and she could be warm. Yet there was no spark left in her to kindle the heat within her veins. The pain was driving her, reminding her that only hours had passed since her beloved's last breath was stolen from his lips without recompense. The young daughter they cherished, also gone. The numbness of her skin, the burning of her fingers and toes as the arctic chill settled into her bones was the only thing reminding her that she was still breathing. The wind around her seemed to wail, mourning in kind to her own emotions. Though for now there was no time for tears, or screaming or even thinking about the ache of her loss. Just a little further. She would get to town, get a bed for the night and then she'd let the tears fall burying herself in a large bottle of mead. Tonight, I will mourn. Tomorrow I will make a plan so that never again will those I love be taken from me. Never again. She once again mustered the strength to take a step, then another, then another. Already she knew who'd been responsible, it wasn't even a question. The moment her beloved's breath ceased began the countdown for when his executioner would feel her wrath. She didn't yet possess the power but she would learn, honing her skill until the day when she could look Orinth in the eye and watch his life force fade. Her steps picked up speed, yes, she would have vengeance, however long it took. There was no one to hold her back anymore, to calm her, to tell her to find the joy in life. She was utterly alone and she would take everyone Orinth had ever loved from him, then she'd give him the peace of death that he had been cruel enough to deny her not once but four times over. Four times he'd ended the lives of those unlucky enough to be loved by her. Now, there was nothing in her left capable of love. At that moment she decided, I will never love again, I will rage and be death to Orinth and all those who serve him. Just then the small town came into view, promising warmth and reception.
Upon reaching the town, she got a room for the night and asked to have the soup and mead she'd ordered brought to her room. As she began to thaw, she let the tears fall. She wept late into the night waking late morning and departing the town for another, she had to put more distance between herself and Orinth, lest he get word and come for her, not to kill her but to torture her further. She'd heard word of a city several weeks travel where there was rumored to be a practitioner of magic and for a price would train others to hone their abilities. Hesia would make her home there, she would learn and she'd never fall prey to Orinth again. Instead she'd become his executioner, no matter how long it took. She'd only just begun to understand what her powers were capable of and with training, she knew she could become deadly.
