Born of Blood

Chapter 30

Her attack from Apollo continued to violently control the thoughts and actions her mind was slowly trying to process, pulling her from the very moments in time she would have been present and forcing her to re-live it through her minds eye with no way to call for help. She could feel her vision blur as she fell backwards into the folds of her brain, the fog of memories coating her tongue and the taste of blood blooming as a fragrant wine in her mouth. She could smell those orange blossoms, she could hear the lock of the door scream as the rusty latch was turned to open in that dark, dark, room. The creek of the door as he pushed it with so little of his strength, the way his shoes stumbled and scraped against the rocks she lay on, the smell of alcohol slithering it's way around her cowering body, Scarlet could feel the fear claw its way from her abdomen and up her throat.

Merula knocked against her shoulder accidentally, and the young woman gasped. Her vision snapped from its blur and she felt her soul return to the present moment and settle in her chest. The smell of orange blossoms slowly dissipated from the room, and Merula couldn't figure out where it had come from, there had been no one walking by to carry that scent, and it clung to the air like fog, thick and sickening. She stared at the door for a moment longer, straining her ears to see if she had missed the sounds of an incoming visitor, but it was silent. It was still early in the large pack house, she was certain they still had time to prepare before anyone woke up. Turning back, Merula couldn't help but notice the new tremble that had begun in Scarlets shoulders, her wet hair shook lightly with the force of her newfound fear and Merula felt sorrow bloom in her chest.

She had spoken to her softly for so long, and worked so methodically on her hair, she felt victorious as she slowly melted from her stiff state and relaxed under Merulas touch. It had been a few seconds in time for a strangers smell to enter their room and she was back to a frightened girl. She didn't want to draw attention to it, she stifled her sigh and brought her comb back through Scarlets hair.

"It was my mother's, she passed it down to me as I intend to pass it down to my family."

She began speaking softly to the young woman in hopes of helping her return to the state they had just managed to achieve. She continued to tell the tale of how her father gave it to her mother as a gift when they discovered they were mates, to show his intention of a long and happy life together filled with happy children they could bless with this item too. Her father had passed when Merula was a child, and her mother a few years after that, so she was the sole beneficiary to their heirloom. She loved it with all her heart, and it brought back her most peaceful memories of her mother's rich leather and spruce scent as she combed through her hair to braid it in intricate designs before she left for training. She wanted to ask Scarlet if she would like a braid, but she didn't want to push the poor girl with the unknown, especially as Merula was still a stranger to her.

"Your hair is finished, and very beautiful might I add." Scarlet snapped back from her memories, all to aware to the muted feeling of her wet hair hanging down her back despite the blanket she wore protecting her from the water.

It was longer than she remembered.

She nodded her thanks, and tightened her grip on the warm fabric that felt so snug and comforting against her back and shoulders. She could remember the feeling of the thin and worn sheet she owned in Malkún, and what it felt like to lay on her children's sized mattress where the coils dug into her back and ribs. That window in her room that let in so much cold air in the winter season, the smell of the dusty attic she resided in. The blanket that covered her nude body felt very warm, and she felt scared to take comfort in it, was it bad that she enjoyed having it wrapped around her shoulders? Should she not feel secure in it, should she return it? It wasn't hers, and she felt a deep discomfort settle in her stomach as she approached a situation she hadn't come to before, no one in Malkún had ever given her anything. She didn't know how to behave in this instance, and the longer her mind mulled over what her next step should be the more anxious she became.