05-29-2021, 11:02 AM
Her death hit in waves. Not a flood, but water lapping steadily at her ankles. You could drown in two inches of water. Maybe grief was the same.
It’s a crisp spring morning, and early, early enough that the stars are still clinging to the dark blue sky, the sun slowly highlighting the mountains that she moves ever closer to. Elli is awake, but only just barely. Blue eyes are open, but she is unable to focus on any one thing in particular, and instead her gaze softens to encompass everything she can see. She is not yet in tune with the heartbeat of this land so she remains alert and eager. Her nostrils flare and her breathe willows out in nearly invisible ribbons to dance in the chilly, dry air. It was colder here, for certain than it had been in the forest where she and Leo first arrived, and certainly colder than Tephra.
She finally heaves herself up and continues to walk. The sun is still low in the sky, slowly it gathers its strength and starts to climb higher in the sky, dressing itself in a warm, illuminating glow. Bright hues of crisp orange and cerise begin to fade in favor of grey clouds that have slowly started to gather. A gentle rumbling too far away for Elliana to hear growls a warning of a storm that was likely to come when afternoon arrives.
Elli’s heart performs an uneven throbbing as she stands on the border of the land her mother once called home. She is often told by others how she reminds them of Elena, but look in the shadows of her face and Elliana is so very different. Where Elena hid in the sunshine from her fear of the shadows, Elliana stands bold and steadfast in her fearlessness within the center of them. Elliana is sturdy and weak all at the same time.
Though, Elliana, ultimately, is a gentle girl, who smells of lavender and looks like a city of gold if it were to be bathed in shadows. In this, and only this, she retains the fatal flaw of her mother. That she is sacrificial to the point that she would let everything she loves go to ensure her safety is one thing, but her mother’s martyrdom is entirely beyond her. Elena had given up her sanity for her kingdom. She had given up her homeland so that she could better love a man of stars. She had given up her innocence so that Elliana herself could be born one winter cold winter evening with beside a man who Elliana would love all because of a lie.
Elliana, poor, little Elli, maybe she was doomed from the start.
She finally heaves herself up and continues to walk. The sun is still low in the sky, slowly it gathers its strength and starts to climb higher in the sky, dressing itself in a warm, illuminating glow. Bright hues of crisp orange and cerise begin to fade in favor of grey clouds that have slowly started to gather. A gentle rumbling too far away for Elliana to hear growls a warning of a storm that was likely to come when afternoon arrives.
Elli’s heart performs an uneven throbbing as she stands on the border of the land her mother once called home. She is often told by others how she reminds them of Elena, but look in the shadows of her face and Elliana is so very different. Where Elena hid in the sunshine from her fear of the shadows, Elliana stands bold and steadfast in her fearlessness within the center of them. Elliana is sturdy and weak all at the same time.
Though, Elliana, ultimately, is a gentle girl, who smells of lavender and looks like a city of gold if it were to be bathed in shadows. In this, and only this, she retains the fatal flaw of her mother. That she is sacrificial to the point that she would let everything she loves go to ensure her safety is one thing, but her mother’s martyrdom is entirely beyond her. Elena had given up her sanity for her kingdom. She had given up her homeland so that she could better love a man of stars. She had given up her innocence so that Elliana herself could be born one winter cold winter evening with beside a man who Elliana would love all because of a lie.
Elliana, poor, little Elli, maybe she was doomed from the start.