Decisions

[Rhonya]

Small droplets fell into the water, creating circles as they fell, spreading out more and more until on one side they broke against the rocks again, disrupting the nice patterns and the image that reflected on the surface. It wasn’t rain, these were salty droplets, coming from the female figure sitting on the rocks at the water’s edge. She was looking down at her own rippled image in the water, two large blue eyes looking up at her. Those eyes displayed a kindness, but also a deep pain hidden in there, a pain of someone who has been through a lot. Her black hair had fallen forwards, framing her face, making her look even more pale now. Wrinkles on her forehead gave her a very troubled, worried expression and the rims of her eyes were red, a clear sign she was the one crying.

Slowly Rhonya reached out with a finger towards the water, touching it gently, before moving her hand in, slapping away the image of herself as she looked up. Her cheeks were wet with tears as well and she wiped at them in an annoyed fashion, smearing some of the red sand over her greenish skin.

“If this attempt fails - you shall perish.”

Those were the words echoing in her mind, again and again. She didn’t have much of a choice though than accept his help. She wouldn’t risk Therak getting hurt… He was so stubbornly set on endangering himself to buy her more time. She would refuse, until this was over with. She felt like she was stuck between two evils… If she did nothing, the demon might break lose and break her mind anyway, giving the other one in there a perfect opportunity to take over. If she let Therak help, he might be in danger too, if she’d find out about him and his relationship with Rhonya. She could use him… So this seemed the only choice left, even though she endangered her child with this too. But the same counted for the other options..

She had no choice but to accept his terms. It would be hard for her, and she would have to put up a very convincing act to be able to pull it off. But she would try… No one else was allowed to get hurt because of her. Because of her mistakes, her stupidity… It was her burden. And she wouldn’t allow anyone else to get involved into it, not that far. Therak… Should she tell him, about her agreements? She doubted he would accept it like that… Maybe best to keep it from him. Though.. if it went wrong, he had the right to know…

She sighed deeply, grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil from her bag, putting it flat on the rock she was sitting on. Rhonya hesitated for a moment and started writing.

My dearest Therak,

If you read this, something has gone terribly wrong. I’d either be dead by now, or my mind broken…-
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[Rhonya]

Rhonya moved back from the inn to the place she and Therak slept. Night had fallen now, the darkness surrounding her as she walked wasn’t very frightening anymore though. Not after all that had happened the last few days. She was still deeply confused, but somehow it all felt better now. Even though she knew very well it wasn’t, really.

Therak was there, sleeping already. Rhonya slowly started to remove her armor and curled up against him under the warm furs, making him stir slightly but he didn’t wake up, only turned towards her and put his arms around her, holding her close. She let him, watching his face for a moment. Like this, when he was sleeping, he looked at ease. No worry on his face, no accusing looks, no sadness that she had caused. The days hadn’t been easy for him either, with her condition. He had almost walked away from her…

Sighing softly, the she-orc put her own arms around him too, relaxing in the warmth of his body, the feeling of skin against skin, his warm breath softly felt on top of her head as she rested her head on his chest. Her mind was clear again, for the first time in a long while. Even though something had changed drastically there. Rhonya felt herself slipping into the half dream state between being awake and dreaming. A flash of the so familiar and once calming room appeared in front of her mind. There was a curtain before one of the walls now, moving slowly and lazily as if there was a wind blowing through the room. Rhonya ignored the curtain, not wanting to pay any attention to it. The four other doors where silent again, as they used to be for so long, the wards shimmering on the surface of the dark wood.

Rhonya however, focused on the other wall. The image there started to shift, the wall moving, shaping, rippling and changing color until a cave entrance was visible there, water running down over the edges and dripping from the ceiling. Rhonya looked at the curtain once more before she approached the cave, moving inside it, her bare feet slipping a little over the smooth, wet rocks. The familiar passage was long as always, but she didn’t mind it, the area surrounding her calmed her. The entrance behind her closed this time.

Rhonya sat down on the edge of the underground lake that was deep inside the cave, and she sighed deeply, putting her hand in the water there. It rippled, stirring and moved up her arm at its own accord, as if it was alive. In a way, it was… Rhonya knew this spirit, had known it for a long time now, and trusted it.

“I will have to ask you something.” Her voice was soft, the water continuing to spread along her arm, up to her shoulder and neck, covering her in a very thin layer of the water. Rhonya wasn’t afraid it would hurt her, it had never done such. “Times might get difficult from now on… For you, for me. I may have to hurt you or the others, but I have no choice. I only ask for you to not forget about me… block me off, if needed, and I will try my best to fix this as soon as possible before I truly need to harm or use any of you..”

Her voice was cut off there due to the water reaching her lips and entering her mouth. It rushed faster now, also covering her nose, eyes and over her head. She sat still, a light worried look on her face as she was completely covered in the water now. She couldn’t breathe… Slowly her lips started to turn a little blue, but she let it happen, giving her complete trust to this spirit, her life and her will. Black spots appeared in front of her and she felt herself slipping into darkness. Then the water started to retreat, and a warmer feeling surrounded her. Acceptance. Understanding.

Rhonya smiled very light and moved a caressing finger over the surface of the water. “Thank you…” The image started to shift, the cave disappearing and everything went black for a moment, until she slipped further into sleep, merely visited by dreams the rest of the night. She kept a close hold of Therak, a slight relieved look on her face as she slept on, curled up against his warm body.