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Realistic or Modern Night’s Embrace | Private |

that sounds fantastic to me! i love the idea of him sending her away because the drama from it will be so rich. it will definitely cause for rose to become more cold and distant herself. i am thinking that will drive her even deeper into the black market, maybe even taking over the role the emory used to play before he would disappear to Avrune (without the use of all of the sentries and such, building her own reputation) which follows her around.

the sad drama is definitely going to hurt my heart, but it will be even sweeter when they eventually reunite!! and you are completely okay! i am glad you were able to build off of it more c: ))

Rose raised her eyebrows at the snort that he let out, almost surprised with his reaction to her. Yet it quickly faded back into concern as the other male shrugged, causing himself even more pain. “Emory!” She scolded softly,” You know you shouldn’t be moving and yet you continue to.” She would pinch his arm if he weren’t already in enough pain. She refused to add onto it even in the slightest. She seemed to relax once more as they continued to speak on Merewin. “I think Viola would be the one to have a heart attack if you were to die. Of course that would be after I sobbed for days on end.” She did her best to lighten the mood again with a joke.

A squeal left her as she was pulled onto the bed beside the young lord. It was clear that she hadn’t expected the movement. She planned on giving him as much space as was necessary for him to be comfort. She didn’t argue though, knowing Emory would only insist that she stay by his side. Despite the extra heat that radiated from his body, she found a comfort laying beside him that she had experienced before. She shifted to get a bit more comfortable. She let her eyes fall shut for a few moments. This was the first time that she allowed her mind to wrap around what had happened. Some tears pricked back in her eyes, but she was quick to blink them away. There was no need for her to cry now, especially since it seemed he was stable enough.

Her eyes snapped open as the words she didn’t know if he would ever speak left his lips. She tilted her head to meet his gaze, a smile slowly spreading across her face. “I love you too, Emory.” She confessed. Despite declaring it before he left, this was the first time it had been said in conversation. She blinked as he pressed another kiss to her forehead, shifting to be somewhat closer to him. “You get some rest as well, please.” She mumbled. Another yawn was quick to follow her words. Her eyes finally fell shut completely. She was out within a matter of minutes, her body completely relaxed in his grip. It was clear that she trusted him fully. The reassurance that he loved her helped with it even more.
 
(Emory is gonna be so mad at her for going against his wishes! But it'll be great though when they do reunite, even if he will be pissed at her like... 95% of the time and not letting her get close to him out of frustration that she got deeper into the mess that he was trying to pull her out of, eventually he'll thaw out again toward her because he can't help it, being the big softy that he is for her on the inside though at that point it would be hidden really deep since he'll be trying to convince himself to hate her if only for her safety. But also planning for him to become a pretty decent magic user with fire as that'll be the only way he probably won't end up like... dying terribly, he'll be a mercenary for hire and using his new alias... which I need to think of. He'll become pretty popular with the native people of Avrune... even if he'll be desperately trying not to, poor guy... gonna be suffering from success lol

But yeah, lots of sad drama is probably gonna come, looking forward to being like "Why? Why did I come up with this!?" ;u;

Man, I'm getting so excited for planning for this I even found a new face claim for Emory after the time skip since he'll have to change up his appearance so he won't be recognized immediately... even if it was a pain searching for a similar enough image to the original one for him, he'll just shave off his beard and cut his hair down, and his eyes will be losing vibrancy as he grows more and more weak from being blasted with fire magic before even getting treated or really knowing whatever is going on with him currently, so even after gaining control over it, the coloration will never return to the bright gold it once was.)
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Emory took in a quiet breath, his heart speeding up slightly in his chest at her words. She loved him too, ah, such a feeling to flood him from head to toe. It was a different warmth, comforting and soothing that settled within him, the man turning his head to look at her as she had shifted closer to him. The faintest of smiles had crossed his lips as she had fallen asleep, adoration filling his eyes as he watched her. Eventually, judging by her breathing as it slowed, she had fallen asleep and with it... he was the only one still conscious within the room. His smile had faded then, pain rattling in his chest as he turned his head away, the wet cloth having slipped from his forehead, bringing with it much needed relief. As much as he knew Rose was doing her best, the wetness of the cloth stung, the water feeling like acid upon his skin. His eyes closed as he breathed in sharply through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, repeating the deep breaths until the pain could be blocked out and numbed. Eventually, after a few minutes, the pain had been pushed to the back of his mind, although it was certainly enough to take his breath away, at the very least it had been enough for Emory himself to eventually fall deep into unconsciousness.
...​
The door to house had opened quietly, a head peaking in through the slight crack as Ludovic stared into the darkness. It was midnight, and with it the darkness of the skies would provide ample covering if they were to leave now to head to Freycrest. The sentry did find the whole situation to be foolish, reckless, and truly the most hare-brained idea to ever be put into practice... but it was upon him to protect Rose. If he didn't, Emory would have his hide. Peering into the darkness, his eyes squinted, although his nose certainly wrinkled at the stench. He still couldn't get used to the smell of Emory's injury, even if ones nose would become blind to it over time, it truly did still smell of burning flesh, even if the medicine had mostly overpowered it. He could hear the man's breathing, rattling and shaking, a horrid sound that was grating to his ears. If he didn't know any better, he would have assumed the young lord was already on death's door, but he would keep that to himself for now.

He silently slipped into the room, his silent steps slinking closer and closer to the bedside as he eventually reached out and ever so lightly tapped Rose upon her shoulder, he didn't wish to startle her awake, but he certainly didn't want to wake Emory either, however the man cringe at the warmth seeming to radiate outward from Emory. That wasn't the usual warmth of human's body, certainly not. Or was his mind playing tricks on him? His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he mulled it over, however he quickly gave up on it. The whole situation was out of his depth, only knowing how to act and protect, not figure out what that cursed magic had done to the young lord. He'd never seen such an affliction upon anyone before, and knowing that Rose was attempting to charge right into the location that had felled the man just made Ludovic glare at the woman from his spot in the dark. He would had been almost admiring her if he personally thought this plan was foolish, Leofstan should've known better than to agree to anything like this. And why involve him?
 
i can already tell that the moment they reunite is going to be sweet and actually kind of funny because emory will be so upset rose went against his wishes and she is just going to be like, you literally left me lol it isn’t like i was going to stop. her confidence is also going to be through the roof and i am planning on having her somewhat shift away from always wearing dresses to wearing suits when she deals with affairs from the black market, especially when she ends up finding emory again.

i love that idea! and the new faceclaim does look really similar to the original which is incredible c: the idea just hit me earlier yesterday and i was like, oh this is good. i am really excited for it too lmao it is one of those things that you want to skip ahead for, but you know you need to build up to it more))

Rose shifted as she felt the nudging on her shoulder, a soft frown crossing her features as she slowly opened her eyes. The room was dark and she quickly realized that it must’ve been well into the night. She didn’t expect to sleep as late as she had. She knew that she was exhausted from the day before, but it was worse than she had expected. She slowly shifted to face the person who woke her. She could tell that it was Ludovic even in the darkness. There was something about the way the sentry carried himself that made him easily recognizable. She gave him a slight nod as a way of saying she would be outside in a moment. She turned her head to look back to Emory. It brought her some peace of mind to know that he was sleeping. She closed her eyes for a moment, mentally reassuring herself that this was her best course of action. She then carefully removed herself from his grasp.

She made her way from the house, her own footsteps silent as she got through the door. As soon as Ludovic was with her, she made her way back to the horse she had ridden the day before. She lightly placed her hand on its neck. She felt terrible that she was pushing the animal in the way that she was. She only hoped that the day of rest had been enough for it. She turned to face the sentry then. “I am aware Leofstan pushed for you to come with me. I told him that I didn’t expect for anyone to. I know this is a reckless action that could potentially lead to me getting killed. I just need to find some answers for Emory and my father’s sake.” She explained in a quieter tone.

She carefully mounted the horse, putting her feet in the spurs. Her legs ached at the familiar action, though she quickly pushed any negative thoughts clear from her kind. “You do not have to accompany me the entire way Ludovic. I would never ask for you to. If you would rather stay at a distance and have me meet with you one I finish my investigation, we can set a point for that. Emory will not have your head that way and no one will know what occurred.” She offered the suggestion. She would much rather have him do so, especially since she wanted to get her explorations done as quickly as she possibly can. She wouldn’t want to be away from Emory for too long if she could help it.

She glanced towards the cloudless sky, the moon and stars shimmering above them. The air of the night was cold. She could see the mist from her breath while she spoke. There was a certain dampness in the air that she could only associate with sprint. It would’ve made her smile if the circumstances had been any different. She hadn’t a clue as to how long Emory would take to heal, if he ever would. She wanted to be by his side for as much of it as she could. She took the reins in her hands. Without waiting for another word, she spurred the horse off in the direction of Freycrest.
 
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(Their reunion might be difficult if only because of the mental state Emory will be in, maybe bittersweet at best and complicated at worst since he's gonna be treating her like an enemy to force himself to not be tempted into going anywhere with her, knowing fully well if he doesn't he'll crumble in his resolve. He'll be missing her terribly for the time he'll be gone, and considering she was the only person to really drag the good out in him. Without her influence especially for a few years being on his own, he'll completely fall into severely bad habits an relapse into his trauma days/habits again... which isn't gonna be good at all lmao

But true though! Looking forward to when we get there eventually c: )

Ludovic followed Rose as she had left the young lord's side, although he'd not spoken a single word in response to her, allowing her to speak without interruption. The sentry had climbed up onto the horse his brother had rode earlier, noting that the beast had tossed its head a bit in protest which made the man release an irritated huff. Of course, any other signs of displeasure wouldn't be able to be seen too well, although his dark eyes narrowed at her, finally resulting in the man shaking his head. He refused. Freycrest was not an area that would be safe for her to go ahead by her own without someone at her side. "Lord May ended up like that because no one was at his side. No. Your hard-headedness will only go so far with me. I'm not Leofstan."

The most words he ever had spoken to her, and it was to harshly scold her. He certainly was not like his gentle brother, and he wasn't someone that acknowledged Rose just yet either. Certainly not the most friendliest of the sentries, but at the very least he had her best interest at heart... though he could have been far nicer and polite with his words. As soon as Rose begun to take off in the direction of Freycrest, Ludovic was swift to follow, the sentry forcing his horse to go a bit faster to lead the way, overtaking Rose as his eyes remained trained ahead. He knew the way quite well, and it was far more likely that if an attack was to occur, it would be from either the front or the sides. Even if it would be difficult to even so much as block it, at the very least he would be the primary target. His silence was unbreakable, the only sound that gracing the air between them was the sound of both of the horse's hooves as they kicked up the dirt on the path.

As midnight would pass into eventually would be dawn of the next day, oddly enough despite it previously being cloudless and clear during the night, unlike a typical spring morning, the sun could not be seen. In fact, the skies were an oppressive, overcast gray, with the morning sun's light being unable to pierce the thick gray sheet. The air was cold, frigidly so as if winter had suddenly overtaken the spring weather, and ahead the oddest thing was where the rolling gold fields would perhaps continue, miles of snow and ice stretched before them with buildings covered in icy incasing. Not a single bird could be heard, nor any signs of life. The air was dead, and Freycrest itself was a ghost town. Upon, the abandoned town coming into view, Ludovic pulled on the reigns, his eyes narrowing at the heap of snow that seemed to have increased since the last time he'd been there. Although it wasn't new to his eyes, from how high the snow and ice had grown, the horses would not be able to travel through. They would have to go on foot, similar to when Emory had investigated days prior.

Sliding from his saddle, Ludovic had landed upon his feet on the dirt path that was still available for him to stand on, his hand resting upon the heavily breathing horse he had pushed a bit too hard, passing by the exhausted animal as he stopped before the thick snow and looked over to Rose. It was here he would allow her to lead the investigation, although he planned on being right behind her, obviously ignoring her wishes for him to allow her to go on ahead and meet back at a certain point. From where he stood, there was abandoned, ice encased houses, and not a single soul in sight. Ever so faintly, the smell of rotting food and flesh could be caught upon the breeze, but the corpse smell was puzzling due to there being no bodies to be found within the houses or the barracks. The only place that hadn't been thoroughly investigated was the major's office due to the sentries having to withdraw quickly because of Emory being struck down, and the building in question was just had snow incased as the others, with a thin sheen of ice that had grown upon the door. The office itself was toward the very far end of Freycrest, a once beautiful structure before the town had turned into the icy tomb it was now.
 
awww :c they both are gonna have a ton to heal from together after this all lmao same here!!))

Rose hadn’t expected the harshness of Ludovic’s words, but it did bring a smile to her face. She had been able to tell her clearly didn’t want to be the person accompanying her on this trip. It wasn’t as if she blamed him. Freycrest was not safe, she was well aware of that. She just needed to find some answers. The way in which the sentry scolded her was what she would’ve expected out of Emory if he had found out about he plans. She didn’t respond to him though as she just focused on the long journey that was ahead of them. She longed to be back by Emory’s side, curled into him while she slept the day away. She despised not being with him at all times, but her curiosity had gotten the best of her in this case. Now she only hoped that it wouldn’t lead to something she couldn’t recover from.

She allowed for Ludovic to lead the way to the town, pulling her reins back to allow him to overtake her. She glanced up at the sky as the rode closer towards the town. Confusion hit her when she notified the way the sun faded. The moment that it was covered by the clouds, the cold air hit her. It was almost like a shock to her system. She let out a puff of breath that could clearly be seen in front of her. This was odd, not in a good way either. She glanced to Ludovic as she pulled her horse to a stop near his. She was freezing by that point. The tunic was thin and the cloak wasn’t enough to keep her warm. Despite her body telling her that she needed to turn back and get warmer, she ignored it. She also forced herself to not show just how cold she was. The only thing she did was pull the cloak back around her as it had been pulled away while she was riding earlier.

She began to walk down the path that would lead them towards the building. Her steps were light and careful, eyes constantly glancing around them. The smell of the rotting flesh was the first to hit her nose. It immediately wrinkled at the smell while she withheld a gag. Something was truly wrong here and she did not like it. The abandonment of the town sent a chill down her spine. She wondered if her father had been informed of what occurred here. It would be something that much of the country’s generals should know by this point. She moved towards the first building, keeping her eyes peeled for anything. She looked around the exteriors of them before she would move inside.

She did each building as such, making sure she didn’t make too much noise or change anything. She repeated this action until they had gotten to the major’s building. Her hands had gone numb to the exposure in the cold air by that point, as had her body. She placed her hand carefully on the door, moving to pull it. It didn’t budge the first couple of yanks, a frown coming to her face. She let go of the hand as she looked around. She soon spotted a decently sized rock. She moved towards it, swiftly picking it up with her hand. She traced the exterior of the day with her free hand, finding exactly where she would need to hit. She then struck it. The noise wasn’t something that she wanted, but it worked enough to get the ice off. She dropped the rock before she moved to open the door once more. This time it opened with ease. She stepped inside with cautious eyes.
 
Ludovic lingered behind Rose as she moved through Freycrest, the man's footsteps finally being able to make some sort of sound as the snow and ice crunched underneath his footsteps. The icy chill of the town bothered him, sinking icy tendrils into his flesh and into his bones. It truly was a cold that could linger and drag one down into its icy embrace. As trained as he was to withstand discomfort, Ludovic couldn't help the faint spasms of shivers that would go through his body, his jaw clenching tightly as to not promote the chattering of teeth, dark eyes glowering from underneath a shrouded cowl as his senses were working overtime, searching for anything that may so much as make a single sound. Of course, there would be nothing to alert him, certainly not yet, but that didn't put him at ease. It instead made it so much more worse for himself as his attention turned to the woman before him, eyeing her with a slight inclination toward his own heated annoyance. But, it was necessary at least to her for investigation, so he would not protest.

As Rose had struck the icy barrier shielding the front door of the mayor's office, Ludovic's back had turned to her to stare out at the village frozen in an icy slumber. Still, despite the sound of the rock striking the door, nothing dared stirred. There was no inclination that they were to be attacked, though it merely felt as if the very village itself was holding its breath, until finally Rose had broken through the thin ice and the door would give way with an ominous dragging upon its hinges as the door revealed what it concealed, prompting Ludovic to turn around and come up behind Rose to peer at the interior, he too beginning to scan for any danger.

The inside of the major's office was silent, still. Documents that had once seemed like it would have been sealed away in neat stacks upon the top of an icy desk were strewn upon the floor. The floor sported a plush rug, a bear's fur that had since been thickly encased with frost, deep singes in the wooden floor underneath told of flames that licked at the wood, permanently scarring it. The walls too were sealed behind a thin icy shell, with a portrait of the mayor's face having been singed away, but in place of the face itself was what appeared to be a crudely made mask. The mask sported impressive, thick horns protruding from the forehead, a humanoid face drawn down in what would be a frozen scream as the air around it seemed to be particularly unforgiving in its icy grip. A suspicious idol indeed, and it sent shivers up Ludovic's spine, speaking in a barely heard whisper, "Azeya protect us." It wasn't often that Ludovic would beseech the aid of the gods, but certainly something felt incredibly wrong. Too wrong for him to put into words.

To the right of the desecrated portrait, a door had slowly creaked open, bringing with it a fresh wave of rotten, burned flesh to assault their noses. The smell made Ludovic's stomach twist, yet the man's focus was not upon it, no it was upon the collapsed body upon the floor. What seemed to be the remains of a man was upon the floor in a fetal position, his mouth permanently agape in a silent scream as if he spent his last moments crying out in agony. His half-rotted eyes were collapsed within his burned skull, the flesh of his body was gray and cracked, the cracks having long since split open and what was the color of dying embers revealing itself underneath, all too eerily similar to Emory's injury which made Ludovic's throat tighten as he hesitantly stepped around Rose, putting himself in between the dead body, however it didn't seem inclined to move... at least not just yet.

From his position, he saw more bodies, what had been soldiers that were laying in positions as if they were reaching out for an unknown foe, mouths agape in silent battle cries, their armor melted to their flesh. It truly was nightmarish the more he looked, although his eyes soon shifted to what appeared to be a paper that had been written on, although certainly not in the mayor's handwriting.

Suffer divine judgement.
​
The message caused Ludovic to scowl. Clearly whoever had done this seemed to have quite the ego, although even then perhaps they were a maniac? He knew little of the people of Avrune, so the message seemed to be threatening enough as it is. Did they think themselves gods of some sort? Perhaps. Though, perhaps one would be fooled to think that they were that of a higher power if granted the ability to do horrendous things such as this with the aid of magic. His eyes shifted to the ominous mask hanging over the mayor's portrait, his arms crossing his chest. Perhaps if they destroyed that, the bitter cold would go away? But... then again the mask could be a trap, an all too obvious trap.
 
Rose stayed in the doorway for a few moments, eyes glancing around the room. She was shocked at the state that it was in, though it seemed as if this was one of the main targets in the attack on the village. She slowly stepped inside, her steps careful and calculated. She didn’t want to hit anything other than the ground. She paused as the smell of flesh that had bothered her earlier grew strong. It was as though she had been struck in the face by it. She gagged, bringing a hand up to cover her nose and mouth for a few moments. She hadn’t smelt something as terrible as that before. It reminded her all too much of the smell that protruded from Emory’s wounds. It was only then that the door creaked open to reveal the bodies.

Despite Ludovic stepping in front of her, she could clearly see what remained of them. “Oh gods,” She whispered in horror. She hadn’t seen such a sight before, nor did she ever want to again. It was terrible, despicable. Her mind began to race in multiple directions as she tried to find some justification for the sick person that did this. Nothing came to her though. It only caused an increase in worry. If they could do this to the major, what would they do to my father? The thought was forefront on her mind. This display of the people of Avrune was not the best first impression. She slowly turned her gaze from the bodies to the portrait. Some confusion hit her as she saw the mask.


She carefully stepped around the sentry, moving forward to look at the papers scattered on the ground. She found herself continuously glancing towards the mask. There was something so intriguing about it, making her feel as though she wanted to grab it. She knew better than to listen to her urges. She knelled beside some of the papers as she dropped her hand from her face. The smell overcame her, but she fought through it as she began to pick them up. “Help me look through these papers. They must’ve wanted something from him.” She glanced towards the door once again, grimacing at the thought of the pain they went through in their final moments.

She hurried to grab as many of the papers as she could, organizing them as she did. It was clear she didn’t trust the building that they were in, nor should she have any reason to. This attack seemed to be unprompted. Her body shook some while she continued to work. The combination of the cold and the smell were truly starting to get to her, making her feel a bit light-headed. She wouldn’t stop though, especially since they had gotten this far. It didn’t seem like Emory and the sentries had explored this area before he had gotten attacked. She could tell by the expression on Ludovic’s face when they stepped inside.

She paused for a few moments to gaze at the mask once more. “Is it just me or do you feel like you need to grab that mask? I feel as though I am being pulled towards it.” She confessed quietly. She turned her gaze to look at the sentry that accompanied her.
 
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Ludovic's expression remained uncomfortable as the cold continued to bite into his flesh, hearing Rose beginning to pick up scattered documents. He followed suit, his hands although gloved did little to stop his fingers from trembling as he picked up some of the scattered papers. However, one particular paper had grabbed his attention, his eyebrows furrowing as he picked it up, reading over the document. Half of it was in characters he couldn't read, perhaps Avrune's written language? What appeared to be a royal crest had clearly left its mark upon the parchment, though the more he stared at the document in question, the strange characters seemed to shift upon the page which made him flinch, dropping the document to the floor in surprise as the lettering had finally settled in place... forming Erista characters, enable Ludovic to read. That in itself made the man at a lost for words, was it perhaps enchanted to be able to be read?

Cautiously, the man picked up the paper again, his dark eyes scanning over the words, eyebrows furrowing as confusion flooded through him, "But this is..." A trade agreement? Did that mean that Avrune had intended to perhaps start trading with the town? However, that was all he could make of the first half, as it seemed like a politely worded letter to request contact... but the latter half of the letter was burned, illegible and perhaps never to be recovered. A deep frown crossed his face as he handed Rose the letter, "I think you should look at this." Did negotiations fall through to cause this destruction? Or perhaps was there even an ambassador? His eyes shifted among the room they were standing in, however nothing stood out to him to give any clues. But, the sinister message demanding "Suffer divine judgement" clearly wasn't the same handwriting as the one of the more official, singed document. The man exhaled an annoyed breath, attention being caught by Rose as she had pointed out the mask which made Ludovic visibly grimace.

"No, if anything I want to stay away from it." He didn't trust it, as the icy chill seemed to be even more so strong around it. But, perhaps Ludovic was being a bit too cautious. The man frowned as he looked over to Rose, his eyebrows furrowing as he grumbled, "...But, I suppose it's worth approaching." Destroying it would be best in his opinion. He'd much rather not have something that seemed to be dangerous still existing. So, with hesitation in every step, the man had approached the mask in question, his hands reaching out hesitantly toward it. The iciness that washed over him chilled him even further, as the frozen current coiled down his arms, through his skin as his teeth chattered, body trembling from the sheer cold washing over him. And then.. his gloves made contact with the smooth wood of the mask, fingers curling around it as he slowly lifted it.

The first thing he noticed was the mask was overwhelmingly heavy. Although it appeared light, the straining of his muscles begged to differ. A grunt escaped him as he pulled the mask away from the portrait, though flinching as the wind from the door behind them, leading outside suddenly had picked up. The howl of the wind began to fill the enclosed space as Ludovic had hastily put the mask on the floor, quickly stepping back from it as he immediately took out his sword, goosebumps flowing over his skin as his body was now truly trembling as if he was expecting something to happen... but oddly enough, the wind had died down as soon as the mask was placed upon the floor, eerie silence settling upon the village once more as if nothing had occurred. Nonetheless, Ludovic felt a tension within the air, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as he felt an unexplained, all-consuming terror. Something was approaching, and he didn't know where it was coming from, nor could he hear anything yet.

His behavior would no doubt be seen as odd, as the sentry's eyes were darting around wildly, like that of a cornered animal's. The mask in question didn't move, nor did it seem to give any indication that it did anything at all aside from the intense wind, but the tension in the atmosphere was growing thicker. "Lady Barclay," He spoke her name harshly, "We need to get out of here." From the tension in his own voice, something was bothering the man, whatever he was sensing clearly driving the man mad, as now he was turning to look outside, pointing his sword at seemingly nothing, his breathing coming in quickened breaths as if panicking.
 
Rose glanced to the sentry that was next to her as he paused on one particular document. She tried to keep her focus on her own task, working to gather as much of the documents as she could. She rolled them as much as she could before she turned her gaze to look around them. There wasn’t much that she could find that would work to store them. It caused for a wave of frustration to overcome her. She ended up just shoving the rolled documents as far into her pocket as she possibility could. She planned on putting them in the saddlebag once they returned to their horses. It was only then that she turned to look towards the sentry once again. She raised a brow at the way in which he dropped the document.

She quickly moved to his side when he called her over. Confusion was clear on her expression as she read through it. “If they were meant to trade, what happened?” She whispered. The situation made no sense to her anymore. It did make her worry grow though. There was no telling what could happen now. “Let us make sure to bring that paper back to the safe house. I want to see if I can compare it with anything else I’ve picked up. There has to be an answer for this all.” She was becoming more determined the more confused she got. She could only hope this would lead them to getting a solution for Emory, or at least a solution for this problem.

She watched as Ludovic moved towards the mask. She had kneeled back down to continue gathering what papers she could. She paused as the wind immediately began to gush into the building. It stirred the few remaining papers on the ground. Her cape moved from where it had been wrapped around her, blowing completely from her shoulders. She cursed as she moved to grab it. Her body was shaking from the cold, the wind making things much worse. She held tightly onto the papers that were still in her hands while her body shook. The smell from the other room grew worse with the increase in wind. She ducked her head down some, waiting for it to finish.

Her breath was heavy, chest moving rapidly as she tried to catch her breath when the wind calmed. She couldn’t understand the feeling that overcame her in that moment. The tension in the air was enough to choke her. It felt as though some was standing on her chest. Her eyes couldn’t leave the mask though. “We will as soon as I destroy that retched thing.” She spoke in a firm tone. She hadn’t a clue as to why she felt so drawn to it. The way that the wind reacted when the mask was lifted from its position must’ve been what caused for the town to turn the way that it did. At least, that was where her mind had focused.

She stood fully, wrapping the cloak around herself. She took as deep of a breath as she could before she moved into the putrid smelling room that held the corpses of the guards. Her eyes moved rapidly until she found a sword. It was damaged and deformed, but it would have to do. She quickly grabbed it before rushing from the room. She allowed the breath to release them. “Ludovic, I suggest that you begin to run back to the horses while I do this.” She glanced behind her to the sentry. Offering an odd smile to him, she turned her gaze back to the mask. She lifted the sword above her head before she brought it down rapidly, strongly against the mask that sat on the floor in front of her. She struck it a few times until it cracked.
 
Ludovic's head turned, the sentry's eyes narrowing as he spoke, panic ringing within his tone, "No, don't!" The sentry's body moved, to perhaps grab a hold of Rose, as if to drag her away from the mask, the sound of the sword ringing within his ears as she brought it against the wood of the mask until... it cracked. A cold chill ran down his spine as soon as the crack echoed within the silence, and soon the sickening sound of flesh ripping apart could be heard as Ludovic's torso parted from his middle, the sentry's body torn in a clean, even slice as an eerie humming had filled the chilly air. It echoed within the walls, the floor rumbling as it appeared like the cold winds whipped upward in a violent flurry as snow coiled, rising upward as long, twisted antlers began to emerge from deep within the snow and ice.

The beast's breathing filled the very firmament, a head slowly emerging, then the shoulders, and finally the torso and arms. It was a twisted beast, its face resembling the mask as it parted its gaping maw in a horrid cry, one that caused the foundation of the mayor's house to shake rapidly. Fresh blood, Ludovic's blood had coated the monster's humanoid hand, the the monster dragging itself further from underneath the dense snow and ice as it towered above the house, baring rows of sharp, twisted fangs as it reached forward, grabbing the deceased sentry with a clawed hand, dangling the piece of flesh above its maw, a long, black tongue rolling from its mouth as soon the torso would be dropped within the beast's maw, the jaws closing together with a resounding snap.

"Well, well, well... what do we have here?" A voice, a mere whisper had spoken, echoing from all directions. However, there was not a single soul to be seen, merely the monster that seemed to be gorging itself on Ludovic's body, a figure gradually beginning to show itself... although seeing whoever it was couldn't be determined for the figure was concealed from head to toe in a thick, long cloak that concealed the head and face of the individual. The figure had approached the beast, laying a gloved hand on the creature's skin, skin that seemed eerily similar to that of the corpses that lay about Freycrest. "It seems like a little mouse was growing far too curious for their own good? Not that I expected anything different from such... regressed minds." The figure's eyes peered at Rose, curiosity almost within the depths of the mage's eyes, "Hm. Though, perhaps my pet seemed not too pleased at being woken up. He's grown quite hungry, you see?" A mockery it seemed of polite speech as whoever this individual was had disregarded the death of the sentry with a mere explanation of the horrid monster being a simple 'pet'.
 
Rose froze after the mask cracked, seemingly shaken out of a trance. Ever since she stepped into the room she felt as though she needed to be near the mask, as though she was required to. It was one of the reasons that she had urged Ludovic forward to touch it. She hadn’t a clue as to why the urge had been so strong. She felt as though she couldn’t ignore it. But after she broke the mask she didn’t feel it any longer. She blinked a few times, shaking her head lightly as she let the sword fall out of her hands and to the floor in front of her. There was a pounding in her temples as the beginning of a migraine was forming. She raised a hand lightly to rub at her eyes for a few moments. Confusion was clear on her expression as she turned her head to the sentry.



It was then that she saw the horrifying scene unfold before her. Her mouth parted at the sight almost unable to believe it. She reached a hand forward, but stopped her movements as the creature began to pull itself from the ground. Her eyes followed it slowly. Every single thing that happened reminded her of something that she would see in a nightmare. She wanted to take a few steps back, to run, but her feet wouldn’t move. Her brain urged for her to go. She didn’t know if it was just her shock or something else. Fear was clear in his eyes as she glanced around her. The body of the sentry was still in front of her, at least until the beast grabbed part of it. She could feel bile beginning to rise in her throat, but she did her best to swallow it down.



Her chest heaved as she stared at the cloaked figure came forward. It took her a few moments to find the words to respond. “I-I do not mean for any harm.” Her words were stuttered, scared. The thought then crossed her mind. I am going to have to tell Leofstan and Emory. I am not going to be able to hide this from them. She became painfully aware of the tears that were falling down her cheeks then. She didn’t recall when she started crying. She could only assume that it began after Ludovic was slaughtered. “T-That mask. When I stepped into the building, I felt drawn to it. I-It was like it w-wanted me to destroy it.” She tried to explain, though she doubted this man would want to hear it. She didn’t think she would be getting out of this alive. “I didn’t have control over my actions.” She looked down to her feet then. Blood from the sentry’s body had pooled near her feet and splattered on the clothes she wore.
 
The hooded figure tilted its head at her, the woman who was so utterly terrified. Although, it couldn't be seen, a grin was slowly crossing his face. "Well of course you would, that was the intention." He cooed as the beast had turned its horrifying head toward him, lovingly stroking the creature's gray flesh as it bubbled and wrinkled underneath his gloved hand, an eerie sight to behold as the area where the mage was petting slowly pushed upward the sentry's face, as if assimilated into the beast's body. It was a collection of bodies, all lovingly fed to an adorable creature in the mage's eyes. "After all, how is my precious pet supposed to grow, hmm?" Raising a hand, the mage flicked a wrist as the mask slowly rose from the floor, floating above the ground as it eventually had gently rested in the mage's hands, the edges of the man's eyes crinkling in the telltale signs of a smile as he hummed an eerily cheerful song as the creature beside him continued to chew upon the lower half of Ludovic's body.

"Though, I had been hoping that man earlier would have joined my lovely pet. Was it perhaps a few weeks ago? Perhaps a few days?" The mage grew disinterested with the train of thought, though no doubt referring to Emory as a faint glow had been emitted from his hands, flowing into the mask as the broken wood slowly fused together, repairing itself as if the sword hadn't pierced it. He turned it over in his hands, satisfied with his handiwork as he had looked toward where Rose still remained, his heavy boots crunching within the snow as he approached the pitiful fool. After all, she seemed absolutely petrified, how delightful. Ah, what was he saying earlier? Oh yes, the man that managed to escape. He wondered, just where was he? After being blasted with magic fire from one of his puppets, the mage did wonder if he was still alive. Non-magical creatures as these natives of Erista had the most interesting reactions to being suddenly infused with magic, he wondered how much pain he was in.

"Ah, yes. That man earlier, I do wonder where he is. I don't suppose you know, do you? You non-magic creatures are so... unpredictable when infused with the slightest arcane element." The man now stepped across the threshold, raising the mask back toward the ruined portrait as if he were talking to her like an old friend. Clearly, the mage certainly felt like he wasn't in danger. It wasn't as if she would escape without him allowing her to, his pet was guarding the entrance with skin bubbling and wrinkling to assimilate the new body it had devoured. His eyes slid back to Rose, glowing with an odd light to them as he could be seen closer, "Did you see my little experiments in that room over there?" He pointed to the corpses, frozen in expressions of torment, "Unfortunately, they proved to be... disappointing in results."
 
Rose kept her eyes on the cloaked man, unable to get her thoughts in order. Everything seemed to be rushing at her all at once. She regretted not having listened to the sentry before. Wait, did Ludovic ask her to stop? The recent events before she broke the mask seemed to be so hazy. It was as if she had experienced them decades ago. This caused her brow to furrow with some confusion. She tried to clear that from her mind, though it was the only thing that would stick. She tilted her head slightly at his words. “Why was I the one drawn to it then and not the man that I was with?” She inquired carefully. She almost didn’t want to know the response to that question. She couldn’t have imagined if she ended up killed in the same way Ludovic had been. She wished to go back in time to tell herself not to go to Freycrest. Her curiosity caused for this disaster to occur and she doubted she would ever forgive herself, if she was to go free.

She reached a shaky hand up to wipe at the tears that were fresh on her cheeks. Her eyes were beginning to sting from the long exposure to the cold and the salty tears. She was becoming increasingly aware of just how cold she was. Her hands had gone numb and her body had a shake to it. It could be written off from shock, but she knew that the cold air had more to do with it. She pulled the cloak tightly around herself in a desperate attempt to try and gain more warmth. She had looked back down to her feet while doing so. That was until she heard the mention of the man. She immediately knew that the mage was talking about Emory. She didn’t allow any reaction to show though. She assumed it would be certain death if Emory’s hideaway was to be discovered. She couldn’t risk that.

“I unfortunately do not. I am not from here. I am from the capital. I was passing through.” She explained, her voice slowly coming under control. She lifted her gaze to watch the man once again. He seemed rather nonchalant about the entire situation. It made bile rise in her throat once more. This time she wasn’t able to contain it. She leaned over to her side as what little contents were in her stomach emptied. She coughed as she finished, her breath very heavy. Her head felt as though it was beginning to spin. “I-I did.” Her voice was a bit weaker then. She stood upright slowly. She did her best to not allow any other ailments show. She didn’t trust this man nor did she trust the creature that was waiting outside. “What do you mean by unpredictability when infused with arcane elements?” She asked curiously. She hoped it might give her some answers about Emory.
 
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A chuckle left the man's lips at her question, an ignorant question indeed that reeked of these people's lack of knowledge. How pitiful these people were indeed. Why waste time trying to establish connections with them? They're all so... lacking. Lacking and disappointing, he didn't understand what his own people were thinking. Perhaps they've gone mad themselves? Curiosity and greed perhaps controlled their actions, desiring trade with undesirable savages. The thought made the mage's previous mood sour, a bitter taste soon claiming the man's tongue as he gazed upon the pitiful specimen. Yes, his duty, his purpose here was to prevent these people from coming into contact with his own, or perhaps mold them into perfected forms of themselves - whether mindless pawns, magically-infused, or preferably deceased. He knew well enough, he could never return to his own homeland, otherwise he'd invite certain doom upon himself, so why not allow himself to enjoy the chaos he bred while it lasted? Even if one could say there was no purpose to his evil actions, he would argue on the contrary. Experimentation brought with it knowledge, knowledge that he hungered for, leaving him starving for more no matter how much one would suffer.

She shivered before him, a pitiful being that was suffering the chill of cold. Hmm, perhaps if I lock her here, would she die? Well, that was without a doubt a certainty, for she was not dressed in clothes that would protect against the wintery tundra he'd created. Besides, why would he waste this opportunity to amuse himself with a swift death? No, he had something far more interesting to entertain himself with, and his smile grew behind his cloak, heavy with the weight of the material as his heavy boots creaked against the wood, approaching the shivering creature before him. His eyes looked down upon the woman with a raised eyebrow, her claim about coming from the capital, followed by an unfortunate vomiting which made the man exhale sharply, an annoyed expression crossing his face. That certainly wasn't pleasant, but perhaps fear was pushing this specimen to show signs of stress? A gloved hand came to rub the mage's chin as he tilted his head back, considering it. Well, it wasn't uncommon for one to feel ill if unused to enchantments, a single touch of magic was disorientating and left unpredictable effects. It seemed however that this woman didn't seem to be exhibiting much more than signs of distress, which the mage had to count his blessings that it was this much. He'd hate to have to have a new subject die so soon.

At her question, the right question... oh how the mage felt his heart swell as his arms suddenly spread wide, his glowing eyes jubilant, "Oh? Oh? Finally one of you savages ask the right question!" The mage spun upon his heel, his boots stepping in the thick blood of the slain sentry, trailing bloodied footprints against the wooden floor as he approached Rose, crouching down before her as the man's face, mostly covered still peered at her with excitement in his glowing eyes, eyes which glowed with a violet hue, an unusual color for certain. "However, as much as I would like to give you a definitive answer... there is none, except one certainty that I've observed." He raised a hand, magical flame sparking to life within the gloved hand, dancing upon his gloved fingertips, "Torment, agony, rejection of the magical element in most cases, as you savages are so very, very frail. From what I've observed in my little experiment, your bodies are quick to reject it, falling ill and eventually... dying." His hand closed tightly upon the magic flame he'd sparked to life, extinguishing the magic as he opened his palm once more as if to show her that the fire was gone.

"All of my experiments resulted in unfortunate death, or the subject melting into a fleshy soup! How disappointing it seems that you poor, poor fools cannot support a single glimmer of magic in your poor, wretched bodies. Why, it almost brings a tear to my eye." The mage stood up, tilting his head as he peered down at Rose, "Now, if by chance one is able to accept the magic, why I would almost say that would make one more enlightened! Yes, yes, enlightened like myself and my wonderful people!" The mage laughed, a crazed, maniacal sound as he stepped away from Rose, approaching his pet which had ceased eating and now was gazing hungrily at the woman upon the wood floor, "Oh, what a wondrous dream that would be! You poor savages would be able to open your minds to the wonders of our world! To understand the arcane! So much potential remains untapped that it feels... it feels.." The man stopped before his pet, his hand reaching forward to stroke the coiling skin of the monster. "Oh... it feels so very, very wasteful. Your pathetic, disgustingly wasteful lives. There is no justice to allow your people to live, no justice in it at all."

"But, 'it's not fair', or 'oh, where is your humanity'?" The madman chuckled, turning his head to Rose, "If one is ignorant to the wrongness of their existence, unable to achieve perfection - it doesn't need to exist! It's a mercy! A mercy, I say!" The winds seemed to pick up, a howl upon the wintery breeze as the mage's cloak whipped around him, "But come, I tire of talking. Let us play a game, you and I! It's been quite some time since my pet could get in some exercise, so I'd like to give you a chance to run, after all it doesn't matter if I slaughter you now or later! Eventually, this wretched land will be wiped away and my people could stop wallowing in their foolishness!" A gloved hand had gripped the edge of the thick clothes covering the man's jaw, lowering it until a broad, twisted smile could be seen, "I'll give you... let's see... till you reach that building over there to flee!" He pointed with a gloved hand to an abandoned house near the exit of Freycrest. "See? See? A fair deal. But afterward, my pet will hunt you. After all, it still hungers, isn't that right my little spark?" He cooed affectionately at the monster at his side, stroking gloved fingers over its mottled, disgusting skin. The mage seemed to be giving Rose a chance to run, to escape. After all, the mage wanted entertainment, something interesting to occupy his mind rather than disappointing results from the natives of Erista.
 
Rose was quiet as the mage approached her, not able to find it in herself to speak. She knew that was from her fear in this situation. She couldn’t believe the joy that he emitted once she asked the last question. She almost wanted to laugh as he labeled them to be ‘savages’. It certainly was not the case. She wondered if all people of Avrune acted like this, though she doubted it was true. The trade agreement suggested that their leaders wanted to open up to Erista. Perhaps that was why the mage was here. He seemed to have such a distaste for her country. His words brought her pain, though she hoped that Emory might be different. The man hadn’t died just yet and was doing better when she left. It seemed as though each of these ‘subjects’, per say, died quick deaths. She now could only hoped she would arrive back to a living man.

She slowly rose back to her feet, waiting a moment to allow her gaze to clear. She walked carefully around the pool of blood that came from the poor sentry that accompanied her. She then stepped back through the doorway of the house. Her eyes fell upon the mage and the creature, watching them both for a few seconds. Her steps were slow at first, almost as if she was trying to gather herself while she moved. She then managed to jog before moving into a sprint.

She ran as fast as her feet would carry her. The scenery seemed to flash by around her while she did. It wasn’t fast enough though. Her disorientation from early was catching up to her in the worst possible way and she as though she were about to faint. Yet she pushed through it as much as she could. She wasn’t prepared to die. She needed to get back to Emory, to get back and send word out about what was happening. If she could reach her father and the people of Avrune, maybe they would do something about this wretched mage. She managed to return to where the horses were waiting. Her heart dropped as she realized she didn’t have enough time to tie the reins of the horse that brought.

She glanced behind her then, fear growing. She quickly climbed up onto the saddle of the poor horse that she had pushed so hard these past few days. With a sharp whip of the reins and a light kick, the horse sped off faster than it ever had. This brought her great relief. She didn’t know how fast the creature was, but she hoped it would stop when it saw the abandoned horse and take that instead of her. She also hadn’t a clue if it would try to track her down. She was afraid to go directly back to the hideaway, but she needed to. There was a lot of unfortunate news she had to deliver. Her body was shaking as she rode. She didn’t know if it was the after effects of being so cold or if it was something else. Her head was still spinning enough that it made her want to fall off of the horse’s saddle. She pushed through it though as they were soon free some the icy grave and back on the long road to the hideaway.

She didn’t stop once on the trip back, no matter how much her legs and body begged her to. She couldn’t risk it. Her stomach was beginning to ache from the lack of food. Eating was the last thing on her mind. It was dark by the time she pulled the horse to a stop in front of the hideaway. While she felt terrible for the animal, her fear for the situation surrounding her was much greater. She carefully slid off of the saddle, eyes wide as she glanced around her to make sure nothing had followed her all the way back her. After all, the journey was long and she doubted that the creature would follow her for that long. There were other animals it could hunt surrounding the icy tundra that was now Freycrest.

She made her way slowly towards the house on shaky legs, her body swaying some as she did. She managed to get to the door and pull it open. It was only when she stepped inside that her head began to spin worse than it had before. Her skin was rather pale, still cool to the touch. The blood was clear to see on her clothes. She paused halfway in her steps towards Emory’s bed as her ears began to ring. Her vision blurred as she glanced around her. Slowly the effects from everything that occurred that day were catching up to her. Her eyes rolled back and she fell to the floor in a thump, having fainted.
 
The man hummed a cheerful tune as Rose had ran past. He could hear her fast heartbeat and the terror that flowed off such a primitive life made the man's smile grow larger. The sound of her footsteps within the snow echoed within his ears as the beast had turned, a low and rumbling growl causing the ground to begin to shake. "Not yet." He whispered, feeling his pet's impatience beginning to grow as the monster had crouched within the snow, borrowed flesh cracking and splintering with each carefully coiled movement. His cheerful tune began to slow as he turned on his heel, seeing the woman where she and her deceased companion had left their horses, it was only when the poor fool had settled upon the horse's back did the mage grin as he spoke, "Now."

Snow blinded him as his dearest pet had lunged forward, roars leaving the creature's maw as it barreled toward Rose's retreating figure, although much to the mage's expectations, she had left the other horse behind in which case his dearest pet had attacked the sacrificed animal, ripping the wailing creature apart in a fluffy of blood and innards which made the man sigh in exasperation. "Well, well. Looks like she escaped... for now." His heavy footfall caused the icy ground to crunch underneath him as he approached the creature dining upon the deceased animal, a frown crossing his lips as he tilted his head to the side, "Perhaps I had made you a bit too... gluttonous. A glaring oversight indeed, but at least now I know." His hand reached out to the creature's side, feeling it once again swell underneath his fingers, the horse it had absorbed beginning to assimilate within the misshapen creature's body, "But, this makes things a little bit entertaining! The prey had escaped to see another day, another day to extend this beautiful hunt!" He laughed joyously, stepping past the creature as he stood on the main road, gazing off to where Rose had rushed off too, a pleasant smile upon his face as he hummed, "...More importantly, she gave me a direction to go in. Well done, pitiful savage. I was getting tired of all this ice and snow."
...​
Emory was furious. It wasn't often that the man could possibly get to a point of desiring to slaughter his own sentries, but this was an exception. Despite the agony he was in, what he hated most of all was when he was explicitly lied to. And Leofstan seemed determined to make the man's temper flare to life. As of now, Emory was glaring down at the shivering sentry, the man's hand being pulled behind his back by another sentry as his expression was twisted with pain. "Tighter." The order had left Emory's lips as the man let out a sharp exhale, a soft pop being able to be heard as sweat was pouring down his face, flaring Emory's temper even more. Even if Rose had assured him that she was merely leaving to get supplies, she shouldn't have been gone this long and Leofstan seemed very silent about the whole ordeal which immediately made the man realize there was something that was wrong. Of course, if the man was furious now, what had happened when Rose finally arrived was another level that he'd never thought he would reach.

"You refuse... to tell me still?" His voice strained, although certainly sounding better from when Rose had first found him, the man currently sitting upward in his bed, leaning forward to peer down at Leofstan who stubbornly remained silent, the sentry's eyes remaining downcast, lips pursed tightly - accompanied with an aggravating clench to the sentry's jaw. Anger fanned up further within Emory's chest as he opened his mouth to order the sentry currently pinning Leofstan to the ground to perhaps break the man's arm when the door slammed open, causing the lord's head to snap up, golden eyes widening and face paling at the blood he saw on her clothes. Blood.

"Rose!" He exclaimed, his throat quaking with panic as she had collapsed to the floor, the world seeming as if it grew dark. No. No. No. The panicked word echoed in Emory's head as without much regard for his own health, had stood to his feet, pain immediately flaring through his body and causing the man to collapse upon his hand and knees, the world beginning to spin as he could hear the sentries around them exclaiming in panic at his current state. But, he didn't care. The man approached Rose, his body trembling with terror as he grabbed hold of her, drawing her to his burning body, his breathing quick as the panic swelled, his good hand coming to rest upon her face. Cold. No. no... please no. He could feel his throat tighten, drawing her closer to him as his eyes felt as if they were burning, "Rose.. Rose!" His teeth bared, raising his head to the one sentry who now was looking as if he'd seen a ghost - Leofstan.

"You... outside... Now." Hesitation was the sentry's first reaction, "B-but-"
"NOW!" Emory's voice snapped, the room feeling a tad bit hotter from the furious exclamation as Leofstan's gaze turned to the floor, bowing as he clutched his arm that the sentry had been holding, retreating out the door to inevitably await punishment. The man seethed as he lowered his gaze down to Rose, his voice trembling, "Tend to Lady Barclay." Ignoring the agony, ignoring how scathing the air felt as he breathed in, Emory had struggled to his feet as a sentry had rushed over to pick up Rose, bringing her into a connecting room to tend to her as Emory approached the nearest sentry, "Weapon." He demanded, the sentry looking away, his lips pursing in discomfort as he handed over to Emory a sheathed sword, though whispering, "Lord May, you're not in any condition to be moving-"

"I didn't ask for your opinion." The angry words responded back as the weakened man had staggered outside, anger being his sole fuel for his own body as the door slammed shut, the hinges protesting with a creaking sound causing the sentries inside to flinch. This was certainly not a good sign.
...​
A sentry remained at Rose's side, a woman in particular who had changed out her clothes for a fresh pair, having set aside the corset that Rose had been wearing for quite awhile and had given her a looser pair of spare clothing in return, if only for her comfort. Of course, the spare room was identical to the main room where Emory was supposed to be resting, but she had been given orders specifically to prevent Rose from leaving the room until she was fully recovered. Ever dutiful, the sentry was seated on a chair which was currently pulled to Rose's side, a fresh bowl of rationed fruit having been secured in the time that the woman had been unconscious, explicitly been given orders to have Rose eat when she would wake. Though, these orders were given from Emory himself, the woman had to admit... she was certainly terrified of his current state. As weak as the man had been, it seemed alone like the young lord was operating on rage, and it made her stomach twist with anxiety.
 
Rose’s eyes slowly began to open, her head feeling as though someone smacked it multiple times. Her vision was initially blurry, causing for her to close her eyes again for a few moments. She couldn’t recall a time where she had felt like this. It had never been this bad, even in her worst days of illness. A gentle groan escaped her lips as she shifted in the bed. Her body ached in protest while she did so. She reopened her eyes once more then, blinking to clear her vision. She didn’t recognize the ceiling that she stared up at immediately, brow furrowing until realization hit her. That was when everything began to come back to her mind. She quickly sat up, letting out a soft gasp at the discomfort she felt in doing so. Her eyes grew wider. Emory. The lord’s name was the first thing that was on her mind. Certainly he must now that she twisted the truth and went to Freycrest. But that was the least of her worries.

She turned to gaze to look around her, only spotting the sentry beside her then. “Where is Emory?” She asked in a somewhat panicked tone. She moved to swing her legs to the edge of the bed. “We must leave now. We are no longer safe here. He is not safe here.” Her words were rushed, but it was clear that she meant them. She hoped that they could move the young lord back to the manor or somewhere else. She wouldn’t be surprised if the mage had followed after her. The distance between Freycrest and the hideaway helped them, but it wouldn’t hold forever. “I know who hurt Emory and what he is capable of. We must leave.” She clearly meant each words that she said.

She slowly got herself into a standing position. Her body was completely fatigued and was fighting against everything that she was insisting on doing. Her skin was still rather pale, though she did feel warmer. “How long have I been unconscious?” She inquired. She was hoping that it hadn’t been too long. She placed a hand on her waist to dig into her pockets until she realized that the papers were no longer there. Her eyes widened as she finally turned her gaze to look down at herself. The clothes were clearly new. “I need to know where you put the clothes I was wearing. There were important papers in the pockets of those trousers. One will be partly burnt. I need to see that paper immediately.” She ordered. She didn’t care for her own well-being and that was easily showing the longer that she readjusted.

“There is a mage and a creature in Freycrest. The mage was the one who hurt Emory. He spoke as though he does it as an experiment,” She paused as the painful memory came back to the forefront of her mind. “He slaughtered Ludovic and then let me go as if I were a mouse and he the cat chasing me. I managed to escape, but he is certainly following me. We must write to the address in Avrune that the burnt letter came from to inform them of what is occurring. They are the only ones who might be able to stop this. We also must move back to the manor. The distance between here and Freycrest can only hold for so long. If he arrives, I—“ She broke off into a light coughing fit. Her throat felt dry from the cold air she had breathed in for an extended period of time.

She bowed her head for a few moments afterwards, bringing her hand up to rub at her face. Everything in her was telling her to lay back down, to curl up and go back to sleep. She hated that she had lied to Emory, but she never expected for it to turn this way. She had only wanted to help the young lord in every way that she could. She only hoped that he would understand that she had his best interest at heart. She slowly lifted her eyes to look back at the sentry. “Please, please go tell him what I have told you. Tell him how sorry I am for lying to him. I-I had only wanted to help him.” Her voice was growing quieter as tears stunt her eyes. They quickly began to fall down her cheeks. She reached a shaky hand up to rub at them.

Her stomach let out a grumble in protest then. She finally realized what time had passed since she last ate a single thing. She sniffed lightly before noticing the fruit. She knew that it must’ve been placed here for her to have. After all, Emory seemed to always have her best interest in heart. She reached a shaking hand out to grab an apple. Despite the hunger she felt, it took her a while to lift it to her lips and take a bite. The memories from earlier were burning in her mind, particularly Ludovic’s death. It was enough to make her want to vomit once more. She shook her head to try and clear it as she finally took a bite of the fruit. Dark bags were clear underneath her eyes then. She truly looked miserable.
 
The sentry was silent as Rose's panicked words spilled out like a torrent, silent and immobile. The woman's eyes shifted behind her, looking at the closed door as her fingers curled tightly within her pant's leg, eyes closing as she drew in a breath, fearful and shaky and released it. Rose's report was disturbing at best, and certainly every reason for alarm to be cast within the kingdom and the lands further beyond. "..Lady Barclay," She begun hesitantly, her lips turning down in a sharp frown as she looked upon the frail woman before her, "...We know that Ludovic is dead. We assumed so when he didn't return with you." The news certainly didn't seem to go over too well with a certain Leofstan, even if the man was currently being punished, causing the woman's expression to twist with sympathy as she inclined her head to Rose, polite and sincere.

"Unfortunately, I fear any words may not have much of an effect on Lord May. He is... enraged." Her tone quivered, shaking her head as she peered at Rose, eyebrows furrowing as she seemed far more miserable now that she was awake, "But, I will see what I can do. For now, please rest Lady Barclay." The woman had stood from the chair, bowing politely to Rose as she turned on her heel, footsteps echoing upon the wooden floors as her eyebrows furrowed, a grim set to her jaw soon following. Mages in this land? And a creature as well... Her hand grasped the door, pulling it open and upon her doing so, a wave of heat had flowed out from the other room, carrying with it the nauseating smell of burning flesh and illness that seemed to have intensified since Rose had last been at the hideaway. The waves of heat was enough to sink into skin, almost scathing as the sentry visibly flinched, her eyes dropping to the floor, the door creaking shut behind her, stopping the flow of most of the heat for now, only wisps of heat could be felt from the crack underneath the door.
...​
"How is she?" The sentry flinched, her back straightening up rigid as she looked to the man hunched over on the bed in the far corner, the heat radiating off from the man's skin was sweltering, though he didn't seem to notice. In fact, the skin that was normal didn't seem to produce any sweat, but the bandages once again were afresh with his blood, crimson splotches leaking through white coverings as the man's exhales only seemed to bring more heat into the air. The woman wet her lips, bowing to him, "Lady Barclay has just awakened. She is... physically whole, if not weakened from her travels." The woman paused, hearing Emory shift upon his bed, the creaking of the bed echoed eerily in the silence as she could hear his uneven footsteps approaching her, limping no doubt. Her nose was filled with the smell of his flesh again, though blood tainted it, making her stomach churn as he spoke quietly, "And? From what little I could hear, there's clearly something more."

The sentry closed her eyes, nodding her head though she flinched at Emory's hand coming underneath her chin, the heat flaring from his skin causing her to peer up at the golden eyes which seemed to be flickering in coloration, like flames dancing within the golden depths. His face was splattered with dried blood, the skin around his eyes tightening with a coldness - a madness that sent fear down her spine. She'd not seen Emory in such an enraged state in so many years, she had forgotten what this man really was. A devil. A demon. A monster. For all the gentleness that Rose had brought out in the young lord, she could not see anything remaining, his frantic state earlier having seemed to drop the man into a heavy pit of rage that made the woman tremble from head to toe. If Emory didn't like her answer, she would suffer dearly for infuriating him.

A nervous swallow followed as she lowered her gaze, lips trembling as she said, "She had confirmed what we know from documents she had within her clothes when she arrived. Avrune had been reaching out to Erista to establish trade, a rogue mage had assaulted Freycrest and now a beast is coming in our direction with the mage in question. We do not have much time to linger here, Lord May. We must flee, inform the kingdom and Avrune to hopefully avert this threat." She paused, looking up at Emory's stone-cold face, adding in hesitation, "Lady Barclay also added that this mage is the one who potentially could have... done this to you, Lord May. It's... a experiment." Emory's expression grew colder, a stiffening to his jaw and a narrowing of his eyes, only for the faintest twitch of a smile to cross his lips, "A experiment, you say?"

Emory watched as the woman nodded her head, sweat beading down the sides of her face as to confirm what she had spoken, "Yes, Lord May. We must flee, quickly. We do not have time to linger." Emory's head tilted to one side, then tilted to the other. Ah, he really couldn't think straight, he was furious. Anger flowed like molten lava through his veins, choking him and making him nearly drown in it. He was to be an experiment, a test for someone to once again poke and prod, to be yet again a puppet, a toy, a beaten dog to beg for his life, to roll over and hope that life would not leave his body. It infuriated him that he would be thrown into this position, a position he didn't want. And more than that, he was furious that Rose had lied to him, deceived him. Yes, she brought back information, but at what cost? One of his sentries dead, and her nearly having died as well. Was he to simply sit back, bite his tongue and pretend he was alright with her putting herself in danger? No, he would not do such a thing.

His eyes shifted upward to the door where Rose was resting, the red hot anger subsiding ever so slightly. Rose... He closed his eyes and shook his head, looking down to the sentry as he commanded, "Take her first to the manor. Make sure she is protected with every single sentry you can spare. I don't want her escaping, understand?" If she would not stay where he would protect her, he would simply have to take matters into his own hands. He turned away from the sentry, retreating to his bed as it creaked underneath his weight, the woman hesitating as she asked, "And.. what of you, Lord May?" The man's eyes narrowed, looking up to the sentry as he said, "I gave you orders. Fulfill them, now."
 
Rose lifted her gaze as the sentry began to respond to her ramblings. Her heart seemed to tighten in her chest as she heard that Emory was enraged. She didn’t expect anything less from him at the moment. She had lied to him and she wished she hadn’t. She was sure that a great deal of pain could’ve been avoided if she hadn’t been so stubborn. Who knew? Maybe she could’ve been curled up next to Emory once again right now, not worrying about the disaster she caused. She parted her lips to respond, but couldn’t find the proper words to do so. There was nothing that she could say at the current moment in time to make any of this better. She would just have to sit in what she had done. She resorted to just nodding, believing it a better response to the sentry than anything else she could’ve done.

Her eyes followed the woman as she opened the door and left the room. The smell wasn’t anything that she hadn’t smelt while she was in Erista. It didn’t bother her one bit. The one thing that did was the wave of hot air that came rushing into the room. A frown quickly came to her face. She feared that Emory might’ve fallen into his condition more. The chilling words of the mage were quick to come back to the forefront of her mind. What if this was the last she would see if Emory? Could this truly be his demise? She could feel the familiar stinging of tears in her eyes once again. No matter how hard she tried to push them away, they kept returning. It wasn’t long until they were streaming quickly down her cheeks, her shoulders beginning to tremble as she held back her gentle sobs.

She brought both of her arms up to her stomach. The apple that was in her hand fell to the floor as she clutched herself. It all was far too much for her. She never wanted to be involved in such terrible affairs. She truly regretted everything. She regretted dragging Leofstan and Ludovic into this. She regretted lying to the man she loved. She regretted her stubbornness in needing to always find an answer to situations beyond her control. She could feel her legs begin to shake beneath her. She had enough sense to take a seat back on the bed. There wasn’t a reason for her to collapse once again. It was only then that she felt the aches to her right side from her fainting spell earlier.

She took a few deep breaths as she lifted a shaking hand to wipe at her face. Her breath was rather uneven still and fatigue was dragging her down. It felt as though everything was hitting her at the same time. She knew she wasn’t well enough to handle it, especially with her recent illness. She felt a fool. She slowly shifted to lay down fully, allowing her eyes to settle on the ceiling. She closed them for a few moments in order to try to calm herself more. While she was grateful for her tears having slowed, there was nothing that could tame the pit in her stomach. She couldn’t find it in herself to reach out and grab some more fruit to eat. She worried that she wouldn’t be able to keep it down. She was also terrified of trying to sleep now, knowing that her dreams would be littered with the memories from Erista.

She allowed for her eyes to reopen then. Her head titled to look towards the door. She yearned to stand and speak with Emory. She wanted to try to explain why she had done what she did. She feared it might only might the situation worse though. The sentry had been clear with her order to rest for the time being. And for the first time in her life, she planned on following exactly what was said to her. She shifted to lay on her side, a gasp of pain escaping her as she did. She forced through it, knowing that it would only ground her more. She kept her gaze on the door though, only hoping that this moment wouldn’t get worse.
 
"But, Lord May-" The woman began, her eyes shifting to the door where Rose was being held and turning to look at the hunched over Emory, her hands clasping in front of her, a nervous movement. "I-If I may be so bold-"
"No, you may not. I gave you orders, did I not?"
"But, do you wish to see Lady Barclay?"
"Did I say I wanted to?"
"No but-"

"Then why are you asking me such a question?" The question came out harsh, heat flowing past his lips as he stared at the trembling woman. She lowered her gaze, lips pressing in a tight line, eyebrows furrowing as if trying to come up with an answer that wouldn't further prod at Emory's currently inflated temper. Her lips trembled, only for her to close her eyes, causing Emory to raise an eyebrow. "Well? Speak." More heat flowed past his lips, causing the soft skin to be seared. Ah, how it burned, it charred such vulnerable flesh. But, it didn't matter how much agony he was feeling, his anger was clouding his judgement, ripping his thoughts into pits of molten rage. His hands clenched into fists, nail digging into sweltering palms, his breath quickening as the air only sought to burn down his throat, but he was quickly growing used to the painful sensation. The pain, oh the pain was nothing. He could withstand it, if this were to be an experiment, he would have to succeed and live, to thrive despite the agony. He must, and he will.

"...This may be the last chance for you to see Lady Barclay." Her voice was hesitant, trembling as the man could only bark out a rough bit of laughter, bitterness swelling in his chest as his hand slammed down upon the nightstand near his bedside, the wooden trembling underneath the strength of his blow, causing the sentry to flinch. His teeth bared, golden eyes blazing with rage, more heat flowing past cracked lips, "Are you implying that I will die? Me?!" His tone was scathing, trembling with rage as the sentry backed up, shaking her head rapidly as Emory's eyes glared daggers at the woman, "Well? Will you not answer my question? Or are you to remain silent?!"

"O-of course not, Lord May! B-but, she... she might desire to see you before she is to be escorted back." The sentry lowered her eyes to the floor, "...And you mustn't ignore your condition is not stable, Lord May. How long is your body going to last? How worse is your condition going to become? Surely, even you know the truth in my words." She lifted her head, a stubbornness set to her chin as her eyes flashed indignantly, meeting Emory's eyes, "You are not acting like yourself, Lord May. Please, I do not bear you any ill will, but please listen." Emory's expression tensed, his eyes lowering to the floor as a cough rattled through his body, tasting blood upon his tongue, bitterness flaring within his heart as he shifted his position on the bed, resting his back against the wall, examining the left side of his ruined body. Blood soaked through the bandages, his blood, tainted with a dark flow that certainly was not what he'd seen before. It was sickly, corrupted and disgusting.

"...Very well." The words slipped from his lips, his eyes closing as he rested his head against the wooden wall. As much anger was flowing through him, part of him truly did want to see Rose again. Although, he wouldn't want her to see him like this; the wretched fool that he'd become. To think I thought myself deserving of her, if only for a second. Hah... Perhaps this is my punishment after all? His golden eyes shifted listlessly over patterns within the wood surface of the nightstand his fist was still resting on, listening as the sentry's footsteps retreated to the room, the soft click of the door echoing in the silence.
...​
"Lady Barclay," The sentry opened the door, peering inside at Rose, though her expression twisted in sympathy at seeing her laying upon the bed, "Lord May says he desires to see you." She hesitated and added, "Though, we were given orders to escort you back to the manor immediately afterward." She knew it perhaps was not seen as the best possible news, after all, Emory seemed to have no inclination of including himself in such orders. The sentry certainly didn't know what he was up to, nor could the woman claim she knew what was going on through the man's mind, as irrational as he was acting in this current moment in time. Perhaps his panic on seeing Rose in the state she had been caused the man to be lashing out at anything and anyone, perhaps even he was blaming himself for the situation. All seemed like convenient excuses, excuses that the sentry didn't even know what was real or not. Regardless, the sticky heat seemed to flow harsher within the room as she held the door open for Rose, her discomfort as plain as day upon the sentry's face as she looked at Emory who seemed more interested in staring at the nightstand, certainly not looking his best and clearly not in the best mood.
 
Rose lifted her head from where it lay on the pillow as the door creaked open and the sentry stepped back inside. She had been hopeful that Emory might’ve been the one to come see her, but she should’ve known better. The comment about the young lord wanting to see her didn’t help her relax any. She was sure that he had a plan to scold her for her actions, which she would sit quietly and take. She slowly pushed herself back into a sitting position, nodding her head. “Very well.” Her words were quiet, voice cracking. She cleared her throat gently as she forced herself to stand. She reached a hand up to rub at her eyes once again, though she knew there would be nothing she could do to remove the redness that had overcome the white of her eyes. The only thing that would help would be proper sleep. She had no plans on sleeping anytime soon, not unless her body physically forced her to.

She allowed her hand to fall to her side as she began to make her way from the room. The heat only grew to be worse as she stepped through the doorway. Her eyes immediately fell on Emory sitting on the blood. Concern rose in her chest as she noticed the red now on the bandages. She couldn’t help but think that this was all her fault. She paused her steps halfway towards the bed, forcing her gaze to her feet. There was a lump in her throat that she couldn’t force away. “I—“ She broke off, biting down on her bottom lip. She forced herself to take a deep breath at an attempt in composure. “I am so very sorry Emory.” The apology was simple as she slowly began to make her way towards the chair that she resided in just a day prior. She took a seat once she had gotten to it, her body relaxing more as she did so.

The heat was the worst being close to him. It was something she would force herself to handle though. “You have every right o be upset with me— no, furious with me for what I have done. I do not blame you for it.” She continued, her voice gravelly from the dryness in her throat. “I never expected for it to turn this way. I had only wished to help you. I thought that by going to Erista, I would’ve found an answer as to how to help you. I could’ve never predicted for any of this to happen. Ludovic—“ She had to break off one more as the lump seemed to grown more. She reached a hand up to hold over her mouth for a few moments. She allowed it to fall back into her lap then, clasping her hands to her. It gave her something to focus on. It was only then that she looked directly at the man sitting in front of her.

“I am the only person to blame for this. It was entirely my idea. Ludovic’s blood is on my hands and whatever occurs after I am to leave will be on my hands as well. I only ask that you don’t do anything rash because of your anger towards me. You are in no condition to handle more harm to yourself. The mage does not care for anyone. He is ruthless and mad. I don’t think I can handle knowing that your blood might end up on my hands as well.” She was forcing herself to continue speaking, though it was clear she was on the verge of crying once again. “I don’t mean you any disrespect in my words. I only beg for you to allow yourself to stay safe. Please know that I only have your best interest at heart.” Her words grew softer then. Her hand’s grip grew tighter, knuckles white.

The light in the room showed just how terrible she looked. Her skin was still pale from earlier. While it grew to be warmer, it was still cooler than it should be. The bags beneath her eyes told of her exhaustion. The green irises didn’t shine in the way they used to. She almost seemed traumatized from everything that occurred, though she knew it was her own doing.
 
Emory's hand clenched tighter on reflex as soon as he heard Rose's footsteps. Her steps seemed far too loud within the silence of the room, far too loud to his ears, far too loud for him to stand. Teeth grinded together as she approached him, although he had been about to tell her not to draw too close, a reflex of fearing for her own safety. He didn't know what was happening to him, how much further it would go, nor his thoughts... oh his thoughts were so very muddled. It really was getting harder for him to think, each coherent thought being disrupted before it could focus on it, whether his emotions would override it, or the pain would draw his attention from completing it. A heavy sigh left his lips, causing him to visibly flinch at the heat. It was unbearable, the agony continued to build, to scorch his own insides and these sensations only seemed to multiply as Rose had settled beside his bed, in the chair that had been untouched since she had left, since she had put himself in danger where he could not reach her. His ears picked up the sentry's footsteps, the woman slowly leaving the room to give the two privacy; and then they were alone.

A headache thrummed within his head, piercing through any emotions he could feel as the man placed his unwounded hand to his head, feeling the headache building as Rose began to apologize. Her apology did little to cool the anger boiling within him, but he had yet to look directly at her. His throat felt as if it were closing, his rage building as he spoke, "Enough." The single command was cold, brittle as she had reached her final words, causing the man to finally look at her. And what he saw, it nearly made his heart break. She looked like a shell of herself, traumatized and broken, skin losing a healthy glow, deep bags underneath her green eyes that usually would shine in a way that both mystified and enchanted him... she was broken, and it was his fault that he didn't keep her safe. If only he'd not gotten struck, if only he'd been more careful she would have never went to Freycrest. She would have never been exposed to anything such as this... and she wouldn't have to look upon him, to see him as the monster he was turning out to be.

He hesitantly raised a hand, the hand that was coiled upon the nightstand and reached toward her, his fingers twitching as he nearly allowed the fingertips to touch her face... but he fell short. His expression twisted with disgust, ripping his hand back to himself as the heat would follow it, gazing down at his heated skin with such self-loathing, such self-hatred as he chuckled, his laugh bitter and angry. "...I nearly lost you." He spoke those three words, allowing pain and venom to coil around the sentence as his hand clenched into a tight fist, "Rose... I nearly lost you. You!" The sentence repeated, more anguished as his anger boiled and crackled within his being, slowly simmering into agony as the light of his golden eyes seemed to pale, raising his head to look at her. "Do you have any idea how I felt when I saw you collapse, to see blood on you?! Do you have any idea-" His breath quickened within his chest, as if reliving the anguish anew, the panic, the all consuming fear of thinking that she was lost to him forever.

His teeth gritted, lowering his eyes to his lap, sucking in a sharp breath as the air served only to scald his insides. "You say you have my best interest at heart... but know that losing you forever is one thing that I cannot live with, especially when it was my duty alone. It was not yours to investigate Freycrest, it was not yours to try and put yourself in danger. Do not say it was in my best interest, Rose." His fingers curled into his pants legs, nails biting into the fabric as tears sprung to his eyes, though he tried his hardest to fight them back, they fell down his cheeks, burning his skin as his voice trembled with the anguish, the pain, "...What am I to do if you had died? If I had lost you forever? Is that in my best interest? To entertain the thought of you dying, to vanish to somewhere that I cannot follow?" He shook his head, finally raising his gaze to meet her own, tears now streaming relentlessly down the young lord's face.

"Rose... I cannot save you from death! As much as I wish that I could, I can't. And I don't want to live in this world if you're not in it!" His expression turned more anguished as his plea was quick to follow, "So please... please don't lie to me. Don't ever do that, especially when your life is at risk. Am I not worthy of your trust? Am I not worthy of protecting you? Answer me!" Emory truly didn't allow himself to get this emotional, never before had the man felt the emotional turmoil he felt now. Never had someone been of such worth that he would feel so much pain over the thought of them dying, but Rose... oh Rose was everything to him. Everything. This world, his power, nothing meant anything without her in it.
 
Rose allowed her gaze to fall down to her lap once she heard the harshness in his statement. He had never spoken to her in such a way before. It was as though he was commanding one of his sentries to stop speaking. Her hands twisted together more, forcing herself to focus on that instead of the tears pooling in her eyes. This new side to Emory scared her. She didn’t know how to react to it, though she was aware that this must’ve been what everyone talked about before. This Emory must’ve been the one who slaughtered his family without a second thought, that did the biddings of those in the Black Market. She hoped that she would never see this side to him as she worked ever so hard to bring out the best in the young lord. But this was her fault and her fault only. She brought forth the worst in him and there was nothing she could do to help it subside.

She flinched as his words grew colder, his tone raising. Her breathing quickened and she no longer could keep the tears from falling down her cheeks. They flowed quickly once again. Her body trembled as she did so. “I never meant for what happened to occur. There was this mask in the major’s office on the burnt portrait. I had no control over my actions. It was as though I was bewitched when I broke it. T-Then Ludovic—“ She broke off, her words almost a whisper. She almost felt as though she was a child again, being scolded for sneaking off to the village without any escort. She forced herself to lift her gaze then. Shock filled her when she noticed the tears that were streaming down Emory’s face. It only made the pit in her stomach grow. She was the source of his anguish. It truly was all her fault.

“I just wanted to be able to help you. I thought that there might’ve been clues to a remedy in Freycrest as that was where you had gotten hurt. I was wrong, I know it.” She tried to force her voice to grow stronger, but it was still far too weak. She wished to reach out to him, to grab his hand. She worries that he might push her away if he tried though. She didn’t want to overstep the boundaries that he set, especially not after what she had done. She slowly shook her head then. “No, it is not in your best interest. I do not plan to do something as that again, nor did I ever want to deceive you. I love you dearly Emory. It hurts me to see you in this amount of pain. I know it is no excuse and I do not deserve to try to bargain with you over it.” She was resorting back to the rambling that she had always done before. It was her one space of comfort.

“You are worthy of that and so much more. I was a fool Emory. I know that now. Apologies will never be enough to gain your forgiveness or to gain your trust back. It will not bring Ludovic back from the dead, nor those poor men who were burnt to a crisp. It will not erase what I have witnessed and what I have done. I just wish for you to know that you are worthy of enough. You are worthy of my trust, of my love. You are worthy enough to keep living without the fear that has been pressed into you from childhood.” Her voice was beginning to crack the more she spoke. She broke off into a gentle cough, turning her head away from him while she did so. Her vision blurred for a few moments after she finished. She had to take a few moments to gather herself before she looked back to him again.

“I am sorry.” She repeated quietly. It was then that she decided it might be alright for her to grab his hand. She shifted the chair slightly closer, reaching out her own trembling hand to carefully take Emory’s good one. The heat radiating off of his skin was rather uncomfortable. Her first instinct was to pull away from her, but she fought against it. There was no reason for her to do such a thing. Her own skin was much cooler than it normally was. “A-Are you alright though? Other than the mental anguish I have caused you? You have bled through your bandages. Someone should change them.” Her eyes fell to the blood soaked cloth. The red wasn’t the same that it had been before. It seemed darker, almost dirty in a way. It worried her deeply. “The mage spoke that other men he had done similar things to burnt alive quickly. The men that had been burnt in the other room, they received the same that you did. I-I had hoped that you would be alright as you have been alive much longer than they. You are burning up though and the blood on your bandages…” She trailed off, not knowing how to continue.
 
Harsh breaths left him as he watched her, though her words did little to soothe him.. her tears made the man slowly deflate until he sat hunched before her, exhaustion plaguing his eyes, the fires of his anger smoldering and flickering within him. He was scaring her, what a pathetic monster he was. Another bitter bit of laughter left his lips, shaking his head again as she continued to speak, allowing her to ramble on as if that would be able to give him some peace. It didn't, not like it usually would. And she would apologize again, causing his hands to tighten into fists as he whispered, "Stop apologizing." He should be apologizing to her, for acting like this, for being who he was. She deserved better, and he... was he even on death's door yet? No, but it certainly felt like it.

His head was pounding, all energy feeling as if it had been spent as she had reached out to touch his hand, his golden eyes watching her hesitant movements. The coolness of her touch made him feel sick to his stomach. His lips pressing in a tense, stressed line as he thought, No... please.. He raised his left hand involuntarily, terror of her cool touch reminding him all too much of a corpse's chill, though before he could bring his other hand to touch hers, he had stopped and put the hand immediately upon the bed again, grimacing at the agony of pressure that flared through the hand and up his arm. He didn't want to touch her with that side, anything but that side as even to him it was burning, scorching. Although, Emory wasn't sure if he would hurt her with it, he didn't want to take that chance.

"..I'm fine." His voice now seemed lacking of the anger that had caused it to turn so cold, so bitter. Instead, remorse coated his words as he finally dared to look at her again, a heavy sigh leaving past his lips, "Do you think that I'll let this kill me? No, I refuse to die. Not when you are still here." His hand had shifted underneath her own, his thumb trailing over her cold fingers, his breath rattling within his chest as he could feel more of his blood beginning to swell up his throat as if threatening to trail past his lips. Damn. He struggled to ignore the sensation, the salty tang making him feel nauseous, but he didn't want to stress Rose further. Besides, he was attempting to be as sincere with her as possible, it was the least he could do as the guilt eating away at himself was becoming overpowering. "...I'm sorry, I'm just..." He lowered his eyes back down to her hand, the headache pounding within his head, eyebrows furrowing as he swallowed back the blood threatening to spill free, "..I.. can't think properly.." He whispered those broken words, struggling to make his thoughts clear but failing.
 
Rose had opened her mouth to apologize once again, the words almost becoming a habit now. It was a terrible one at that and it only made her feel worse. His tone didn’t give her any impression as to what he was feeling, though he certainly seemed to be deflated at the current moment in time. She couldn’t help but feel as though she was the cause of this. If she hadn’t rushed away, he wouldn’t be in this compromised position. He could’ve been healing more, relaxing. She slowly nodded then, lifting a head up to wipe at her tears. She was doing her best to try to stop her tears, but nothing was working. “Alright.” It was the only thing that she could think of currently saying. She forced her gaze back down to her lap. The atmosphere surrounding the two was tense and she felt rather uncomfortable. She could only blame the heat that was radiating off of the man sitting before her.

She only looked to him once more as she heard the creaking of the bed as he moved. She watched as he reached out to touch her, though he stopped himself before he fully could. “You should not move. You have moved far too much today. You need to allow yourself to rest and heal.” Her words were a bit firmer than they had been before. She was trying to push what had happened from her mind in order to focus on the man in front of her. He was the only thing that truly mattered to her now. He quickly became more to her than she would’ve expected. It was then that she recognized the feeling that pushed Emory into such a rage. She couldn’t imagine losing the young lord, especially now. The merest thought caused for her heart to clench and her breath to stick in her throat. She had to remind herself to calm her breathing then.

“You better not die on me now. I know I am in no place to demand that from you, but I know I could not handle losing you. I can understand how you felt earlier.” She admitted. She doubted it would do anything to calm his mind, though he did seem to be finally relaxing. She kept her eyes on him, expression twisted in worry as she watched him. “You needn’t apologize to me. Let us both stop apologizing.” She tried to lighten her tone in order to lighten the mood. She forced a gentle smile onto her lips. “Would you like for me to change your bandages?” She inquired. She hated that he was sitting there with them as blood soaked as they were. It wasn’t good for the healing wounds. She took a gentle breath before asking her final question. “Are you planning to join me back at the manor? Or do you wish to stay here?”
 
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