Alone in the Dark

Little Birds

"Lady Lyana" A voice pulled her from her half-asleep reverie and she turned to look at King Caelur as he walked up to her, giving her a soft smile. "It is late."

She nodded slowly and bit her lip. "I'm afraid of sleep, my mind gives me the same nightmares that Shiar has if I rest too soon after healing him. And I've seen enough of those dark alleys and evils in the last couple weeks to be full of them for the rest of my life."

"Do they stay with you? The memories and dreams of others?" Caelur asked softly, his expression tender.

Lyana let out a slow breath and shook her head as she forced herself to shake off the cobwebs of her thoughts. "Sometimes, the deeper I search and the more often I go, it lingers. I still feel a connection with Nerini, like I could stand on the docks and point to where she was across the bay, I think. But I was practicing with her for a couple months. I was trying to look into her mind in different ways and built a connection with her that isn't like what I've felt with anyone else. Already I can feel the residue of Emeltra fading. Already, I feel like the evil I saw in her. It couldn't possibly have been that bad. With Shiar it's hard, he's always been more connected to me, so it's easier to get lost inside there, confuse his world with mine."

Caelur nodded slowly, frowning and looking out the window for a long while before murmuring. "Is he going to be alright? If he recovers?"

"Will he recover, you mean?" She shrugged helplessly, chewing on her bottom lip before finding an answer to give him. "He's hazy, and he's just now letting go of his biological need to be around that woman. But he let go, I just don't if he'll be the exact same as before. He has fallen very far, very quickly, and his body has a long way to come back."

"What did she want from him?" Caelur asked finally and looked to Lyana, though neither one of them knew the answer. "Why did she target him?"

"Power. I guess. Control. She loved the feeling of having complete command over someone, breaking every connection they had and having them prostrate in adoration for her, both physically and in their soul." Lyana shuddered at the memories that she did know.

There was still a great deal that she had not found in the woman's mind, so many facets and motivations that made it more complicated than one specific plot or reason. Emeltra had wanted someone to love her and yet wanted so much more. The woman had believed herself invincible, because of this talent she had with men.

Caelur nodded again. They had run over those thoughts and feelings a thousand times before, it seemed. Finally, the King looked to her with a pained expression. "I feel lost. Your brother has been at my side for as long as I can remember. I've always felt that he was the infallible one out of all of us, and I can't even begin to understand everything that happened, and how vulnerable we all are or how easy it was to lose him."

"I know." Lyana said softly, shivering and looking up to him for a long moment, then back out the window as she answered. "It really is a tough lesson to realize just how fallible the strongest of us are."
"And how strong we all are too." Caelur let out a breath, reaching out to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her close to him, giving her a gentle squeeze. "As needed as Shiar is, we have all demonstrated to ourselves and everyone else that we can carry the burden if required. You've proven that you are strong enough on your own to save anyone's life."

Lyana blushed, but hugged him back tightly. They clung to one another for the moment with the familiarity of siblings. They had both always been so dependent on Shiar to have the answers or solution. All their lives he had been around, calming their fears and helping them win their battles. They had both proven they could be strong for Shiar, but it didn't seem as empowering as one would assume.

It made her feel as lost as Caelur was.

"Do you think it was done on purpose? Or was she just a chance, an unseen force in the big game? It just seems odd that Shiar was attacked within the same time Lord Kannein disappeared." Lyana leaned against him, relaxing in his embrace, trying to work through the worry of things she didn't understand.

Caelur shook his head, looking down to her. "I don't know. I've been trying to figure that out myself. Either way, it has given us quite the stumbling block, though they don't seem to be capitalizing on it."

"Unless they're using it for something else." Lyana frowned and looked out into the harbour as if trying to see across the water. "Maybe there's something else they want more, that we don't yet see."

"We could get caught up in what-ifs and maybes till we drove ourselves crazy, little bird." He said gently, offering her a smile. "All we can do is our best to fight our own game and change theirs."

Lyana frowned at his words, but finally inclined her head in agreement. There were so many unknowns that there was no reassurance in any of their theories. After a few more moments of watching the water, they separated and took themselves to bed.

Perhaps the morning would have better news.