First Glance and Queen's Archer backstory, some part only.
A Place to Return To
Xyanthe stirred in her sleep, awakened by the warm scent of chamomile and the soft, melancholic tune someone hummed close by. Her eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the soft candlelight that bathed the room in a golden hue.
She sat up slowly, her muscles aching as if she had fought a war in her dreams. Perhaps she had. Her gaze drifted toward the figure seated at the edge of the bed, her back turned.
"Carol?" Xyanthe croaked, voice hoarse and fragile.
The woman turned. Hair damp and messy from the rain, cheeks flushed from crying, but those eyes—those soft, familiar eyes—held the same kindness Xyanthe remembered from lifetimes ago.
"You came back," Xyanthe whispered, more to herself than to the woman. "You found me."
Carol hesitated, as though unsure if she was allowed to move closer. Then, slowly, she reached out and brushed a strand of hair from Xyanthe's face. "You remember?"
Xyanthe let out a shaky laugh, the sound breaking like glass in her throat. "How could I forget? That life, that town, your smile—"
She trailed off, the memories crashing in waves. A cottage nestled by the sea. Carol's laughter over sun-drenched afternoons. The quiet way they loved each other when the world wasn't watching.
Tears welled in her eyes, and Carol leaned forward, pressing her forehead against Xyanthe's.
"I looked for you," Carol whispered. "In books, in dreams, in every face that passed me by."
"You always find me," Xyanthe murmured.
They stayed like that, the silence speaking volumes. Lifetimes had passed, names had changed, but something had always remained—the thread that bound their souls.
And now, after centuries of searching and waiting, they were here.
Together.
At last, Carol smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling. "Welcome home."
Again, you've been warned.
