| Subject: More things to say that I hope will b better than this, but u guys wont read if its longer will you? |
Author:
Namün
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Date Posted: 17:18:18 01/03/03 Fri
Namün was tired. Maybe not cold anymore, but still tired. And guilty as well. No matter what situation their relationship was in, and even she wasn’t sure of exactly what it was, she had still betrayed him.
I have to tell him, she thought. I have to find him, and apologise. And even if he finishes it- at least I won’t be lying to him. And things can’t get any worse than they are already.
Harion was right about that. And he was right about something else as well. I have to stay away from Madjael. For now at least. He just complicates things. For both of us. It’s better off if I don’t try to find him.
The door to Aragorn’s room was open slightly, and a breeze stirred inside. Normally, that meant he was still awake, working. However late it was, time seemed to have no meaning for the king. He would stay up as long as it took to fulfil his duty, even while she slept in the bed next door. She smiled to herself at memories of stirring in the middle of the night when he pulled her into his arms, trying not to wake her from her dreams. Even if he didn’t love her, he had treated her as well as he could. He deserved her apology.
"Aragorn, I’m…"
But the words died on her lips. The room was empty. Empty but for the girl lying asleep in the bed. She stared at her, black eyes showing no emotion, before turning and running from the room. Back to the servants quarters, where she belonged. Where she would always belong.
*****
The oppressive heat of summer hung in the air, tainting everything with a feeling of lethargy. Namün was barefoot, the warmth of the earth caressing her toes, even where the sun no longer touched the ground. As a soft twilight began to blanket the city, she turned into an alley, treading carefully to avoid hurting her soles on sharp cobblestones.
Three men appeared, surrounded her. Looking up into the unshaven face of the tallest, she felt the first pangs of fear. She stepped back, tried to run, but he grabbed and threw her back into a wall. She hit her head. Sharp pain shot through her body and she lay still for a moment, spots on her vision.
Before she could rise again, someone was behind her, pinning her to the ground. In the dim light, she could see another man blocking the entrance to the alley. She screamed, but no one answered.
Another man stood over her. Terrified now, and knowing what was to come, she hit out with her legs, kicking every part of him that she could reach. The force of it stung her bare soles, but they were like flies dashing against his powerful body. He grasped both her ankles, holding them down.
"That’s enough now, little girl," he told her with a grin, "Just hold still and it won’t hurt- much anyway."
His smile was cruel, and as soon as he released her, she lashed out again, desparately.
"I said that was enough!" he growled. A knife flashed down and across her chest before she had time to blink. She gasped, numb.
But only numb for a moment. And then the pain was there, fiercer than anything she could have imagined. Blood welled immediately from the gash and stained her clothes crimson. It burned. Stones dug sharply into her back, and her head throbbed insistently, in time with the fevered drumming of her heart. She was going to die…
*****
…she woke up, breathing heavily. It had felt so real, too real. There had been nightmares before of course, but none so vivid. It had almost been as if she had been there again, seeing, hearing, feeling.
But it’s ok, I’m safe. It was only a dream. None of it was real.
So why does it feel like it ?
Over in the other bed, Kirya suddenly gave a tiny scream, thrashing wildly against the sheets. Namün leapt up and ran to her, gently shaking her awake.
"Kirya, it’s just a dream. Wake up. Wake up!"
Her friend stared at her in fear, then slowly relaxed as the tension drained from her and her sobs lessenned.
"You too?" she asked, touching Namün’s cheek with a hand that was still shaking. Her fingers came away wet. Until then, Namün hadn’t even noticed that she’d been crying. She nodded confirmation.
"Was it… ?"
"Yes. Can we not talk about it."
"If you like."
Kirya rose and went to the window, peering outside. Her gloom seemed to have passed already. Kirya was like that- she seemed to push all emotions aside with ease. It could be very disconcerting.
"We’re late. It’ll be dawn soon."
"Late? But it’s still dark."
"Winter you see," the maid turned to look at her in amusement. "Are you telling me you haven’t been up before first light at all this winter? He’s spoiling you."
Namün looked down to hide new tears that threatened, but Kirya breezed on without noticing.
"Anyway, are you going to get up. There’s snow outside- had you noticed? We’ll have lots to do today."
"Yes, I had noticed the snow," she said dryly, thinking back to last night. It reminded her of something else. "And no, I can’t. I’m supposed to see Lady Aryante about something."
About what? What’s so important it can’t wait, or be done by somebody else?
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