Children of Fire and Sun: The Rebellion (Updates Resume From July 2024)

Chapter Fifteen: Maysa (Æscford)

"The dead travel fast."
— A Hrothgarian proverb.
~•~

That night Maysa slept like the dead.

Perhaps the sleep deities had shown favour to the princess at last, letting her overwrought mind wander off to realms unknown, while her weary bones rested. Or perhaps it was the influence of Remus's arms wrapped around her, their bodies moulded against each in perfect symmetry. Oblivious to the tempest that Ayan had unleashed in the capital, she slept.

It had been another long day, as had become routine. Their two encampments rode further within the woods, searching till eventide, after which they returned to rest for the night. So far they had found nothing to suggest where in the world Lady Lysa had gone. Yet they dared not give up on hope. It was the sole thing that kept them moving, and in Maysa's opinion, it was what kept Janus sane.

That night, she was asleep.

As had become a habit after that night of passion, she was in Remus's tent, having stolen in after most of their men had gone off to sleep. Her limbs were tangled with Remus, her face resting against his chest. The constant rhythm of his heartbeat was a lullaby in her ears. Her lower lip was thrust out like that of a slumbering child, innocent and without a worry in the world.

Yet her mind was not the expanse of darkness that she had gotten accustomed to. Instead, she found herself in a dreamscape, not quite different from the woods they were in. There was a brook somewhere, the trickle of its water a continuous jingle in the dream. Her ethereal form floated over the tall grass, not quite aware of where her destination was, as was the custom of dreams. One rarely has much control over what it reveals and how much. 

Grey clouds adorned the skies, the stars occluded from her vision. The trees were a blurred silhouette against the backdrop of the dark canvas. Fireflies flew around in circles, their luminescence the only light that illuminated Maysa's path. That, and the sound of the trickling water.

She stirred in her sleep, draping her arm even more tightly around Remus. A frown emerged between her brows, but she did not wake. Instead, she still lingered in that strange terrain of her stupor. Maysa floated deeper within it, her surroundings a haze as she delved deeper into this realm of her dream. The trickle grew into a full-fledged gush.

A stream? The haze cleared somewhat. It revealed a meandering brook in the middle of the woods, surrounded by gnarled trees. Winds ruffled the leaves of those trees, whose branches stopped so low that they almost touched the surface of the water. The brook ran at a steady pace, the susurrations a resounding roar.

There was nothing to see. Or that was what Maysa thought in the first instant. Against the darkness of the vista, the figure huddled by the corner of a barren tree to her right hand escaped her notice. Tendrils of dark hair flew in the wind as the figure rocked back and forth. Wisps of mist swathed that scene.

Maysa moved forward. She was close to the figure now, its bone-thin body fully visible to her. Tattered fabric clung to its frame as it hunched over at an unnatural angle. Its spine seemed to protrude from its skin, giving the appearance of giant beetles moving up and down in a line. Cold dread seeped through her skin. In silence, they remained for a long time.

Then the thing turned to stare at her.

Its face was pale, translucent. Black veins snaked beneath the skin, pulsating with vile blood. Its eyes were missing, dark craters that mocked the surrounding darkness. The lips were a gaping maw of serrated teeth that widened in a grotesque smile. Blood dribbled down from a corner of its lips. A scream died in Maysa's throat.