While Delyth is in the midst of having a heated discussion with the guards regarding whether or not the actions they could take against a woman who showed up unannounced at the gate demanding to see the king and considering her a possible threat, Silas shows up behind her.

"Dame Delyth, can you be excused for a second? I would like to bring something to your attention."

"I understand that no one should be overlooked when it comes to the King's life but at least question her first before you put her head on a pike," she bites at them. They are so quick to kill a person that could have innocent intentions just for the safety of a King who would kill an innocent if they so much as looked at him wrong.

"But-"

"Do as she says," Silas commands and waves them off dismissively. He wants to spend time with her even if it is a meaningless walk that is filled with silence. Her presence can get him out of a bad mood or quiet murderous train of thoughts.

"I want no action to be taken against her until I approve it." She ignores the glares she received from them. They were of little importance to her when she had the King's ear.

"Did you know that over 500 years ago, the Casteron bloodline and the fairies and warlocks from Swuybia worked together amicably? We were of use to each other. I must admit that pride and ego lead to the downfall of that Alliance. However, there was and will always be enmity between us and the witches of Naelund. I wish I could say I wish it wasn't that way but they were a horrible nation."

Delyth slowly turns her head to look at him. Horrible people they were not. If the stories she heard were right, it was the Casteron family that saw them as nothing but threats and blamed them for everything that went wrong in the world. If the rain were to fall a bit too hard, his family blamed them for it. Century after century they have lost many wonderful people in Naelund because of the Casterons' unreasonable hatred.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. It was the Battle of the Final Rests. They flooded the nation in blood. The scarcity in water to bathe or drink was devastating. Hearing the cries of our villagers, eventually, King Richart Casteron proposed a truce with them. All was well when the sky was covered in black. We all lost everyone except Segar Casteron who had an affair with Émilienne Penteau that went beyond being friends." Delyth's entire body freezes in its spot when she hears the name.

"Émilienne Penteau?" The name comes out in a whisper.

"Yes. I reckon you've heard stories about her, yes?" Silas deems, mistaking immobility as anything but dread. He wouldn't put it past the Varusan to whisper Émilienne's name, given their fear of the impending doom that is to come if Obitus is to appear in the nation.

"Yes," she dips her head once.

"Her trust in Segar Casteron resulted in her death." He gestures to Émilienne's head—that they somehow managed to preserve as if she was killed yesterday—hanging on a wall.

Delyth pressed her lips together to suppress the gasp. She has walked almost every hall of the Lardel Castle but she somehow missed it. "He killed her."

He hums, confirming her assumption. "She was the most powerful witch in the Udriles Kingdom which is why we're not concerned about Obitus. When I find him, I will kill him. The minimal damage he's done is nothing in comparison to what Varusa has suffered those years ago. He's alone in this world anyway to ever explore the extent in his capabilities. He is not a threat."

Silas is right. She is alone. She has never explored her powers on her own with any intent. Any damage she has caused was accidentally. She has spent her entire life, hiding her powers for the sake of the safety of her and others around her. If her great great great great great great grandmother was the biggest century in the Kingdom five centuries ago then what made her think she could ever be able to take down Silas, that too without help.

"If that is all, my lord, I have-" she begins to bow, so she can quickly take her leave but he holds her hand and lifts her to stand straight.

"I did say I have something to bring to your attention. This wasn't the only thing. Come." He leads her to the depth of the dungeons. She comes to a halt when Silas does. Upon his command, the guard removes the board covering the window to prohibit the light from shining through.

"When I sent for Naelund to be burnt to ask, my men found they were incapable of being burnt, so they brought them here. I refuse them sunlight because I consider them plants. If they are allowed sunlight, then their powers will grow and of course, we can't have that," Silas states.

Delyth's attention is drawn to the girl who sits in the corner with her back turned to them. Her hair and clothes are unkempt as though it hasn't been combed in years. Understandably so, if this is where they have been for the past five years. Their hair is the least of their worries. She cranes her head a little when she sees a slight movement of her wrist. Her eyes widen a little and her hopes are raised when she sees the girl refracting the light coming from the window. Delyth eyes Silas, glad by his oblivion.

"What are they still doing here?" she asks.

At the sound of her voice, the girl spins around fast and both their jaws drop. Neither is expecting to see the other. Ever. Both had assumed the other was dead, not that it would matter because they stopped being friends when they were ten and three.

It was Delyth's first murder. Lucile Mallet. The mother of her former best friend, Aurore, was killed when Delyth hugged her when she came to her crying after being cast aside by the other kids. Distress is a powerful emotion and her shadows used Lucile as an outlet and she died as an outcome. That day broke their friendship. Aurore never forgave her.

"Do something! Tell your shadows to bring her back. Please, Odessa." The one and three year old cried and pleaded with her best friend as she bent over her mother's still body and tried to shake her awake.

Odessa shook her head, frantically. "I can't. I don't know how. I'm really sorry, Aurore."

"I hate you! You're a monster! You killed my mother! I hate you!" Aurore screamed at her, a river of tears running down her eyes and dripping from her chin.

"I'm so so sorry, Aurore. I didn't mean to-"

"I never want to speak to you again. You're not my friend anymore. I hate you!" Not knowing what to do but knowing she could never remedy the situation and bring back Aurore's mother, she ran home to her mother. Since then, the doors have locked. No one left and no one entered.

Well, Delyth didn't anyway.

"I thought they could be of use to me but they have been uncooperative. Food nor freedom sways them, so I might just kill them and end their suffering. Guard, close the window." Silas turns on his heels to return to his study. Delyth, still in shock, stares back at Aurore and at the others who look half dead. Silas is right to bar the windows because if given too much, they would have escaped days after their capture.

Aurore can manipulate light. With the flick of her wrist and the twirl of her fingers, she could use the sun's rays to burn through the cell and break them free.

Despite the look of hatred burning in Aurore's eyes, Delyth vows to bring freedom to her people, even by darkness.

Delyth had taken many strolls around the Castle to avoid sleeping. The woman that the guard had considered a threat, turned out to be a beggar that was pleading with an audience with the King to feed the poor. Delyth took it upon herself to have the cooks make plentiful amounts of food to feed the beggars that night. Even then, as she feels her body shutting down on her, she refused to succumb to it. It is the fear of suffering the torture the Naelund dead will put her through.

And she is right.

She is surrounded by the usual void of darkness until she is pulled by her arm. The person's grip is way too tight for her liking but when has the dead ever been gentle with her. "It is time. She is waiting."

"Who?" She asks the hissing sound of the shadow but they offer no response. "Can you tell me who you're bringing me to?"

"No." Is the one syllable response and they throw her to her knees, almost falling on her face.

"Hello, my child." Delyth looks up at the sound of the voice. The shadow solidifies itself to a person and her eyes widen for the unth time that day.

"Émilienne Penteau. H-how is this possible?" Her surroundings change to her home back in Naelund. It is Émilienne's way of putting her at ease.

"That is impertinent. You need to leave Varusa, Odessa. Nothing good ever comes from seeking revenge. Your story doesn't end in victory. It ends in theirs but your death. Leave. Rebuild our home and our legacy." Her black hair with grey streaks flow behind her as well as the shadows that don't seem to leave her, even in death.

"I can't. Not after everything they took from me. There has to be an end to them. And I would sacrifice myself to make that come true."

Émilienne sighs, her lip turning up. "I had a feeling you would say that. I still hope you consider it because you and that Tiarnan boy could have a great future together. You can either have revenge or a happy ending with a husband and kids, You can't have both but I digress."

Delyth ignores her advice regarding choices she should make for her future because she could have both. She is proof of it. She is close to getting the revenge she needs and Tiarnan is still by her side. Everything will be alright. She can have it all. "If I'm being honest, you're in no shape to take Silas Casteron. Contrary to me, your anger, your pain is your only advantage. But you need more. I can't teach you everything because you will learn them along the way. First, I will show you how to sleep peacefully. It's like you're creating a plane which divides you from the dead. They can't reach you there. Hold my hand."

She placed her warm hands into Émilienne's cold ones. "Build a bridge that separates you from the dead. In order to do that, you have to push them away from getting in. It will take a lot of your energy because believe me, they will try and you will fail. At first."

And fail she did. Many times. Even in her dream state she grows more tired by the second. She should be resting yet here she is with her great great great great great great grandmother working all the energy and strength from her. Thankfully, she does manage to build the plane that divides her from the dead and sleep has been something she looks forward to every night since then.

28/05/23

Au revoir...

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