'Music. That is what I can't hear.'
There is no melody, no harmony, no song for here There are no trees for wind to billow through to make a tune, no sight of vibrancy with flowers or foliage, and any voice from the soil has been stamped out without another thought.
This silence of life deafens. It deafens all who touch these grounds, whether it be their first or not, whether they have learned to close out the noise of smoke, ash, and finality or to accept it and have it become one with you.
'I can't hear. I don't want to. From the galloping approach to the tearing of their flesh, I have to take it in. Every last bit of it with my remaining senses, because… I cannot hear.'
'But even if I can't hear, I know I'm screaming. I know everyone else is, too. And I know what I am doing and where I am.'
With a hand and sword moving in tandem, Novellia could see them even for a second. Their faces showed a lot of things. Anger, murderous intent, sadness-
'No. They can't feel that. The Kathar are not people. They speak and look like- No, they do not. They think- They do not.'
'My hand won't move. I'll just pass these three'
They would have been easy pickings.
'But there's more! I'm sure it's alright to ignore them for now! Eric or Karp or- or maybe someone else will get them!'
Maybe? Are you going to let someone else clean them up?
'I can. Besides, there's more ahead of me.'
Yes. But mind that things come back to bite you, my daughter.
They always do.
"NO! DON'T— PLEA—"
She whipped her head around and she heard it, the voice of a comrade. Sword and flesh made contact repeatedly. They cornered one of her own, continuing to do as they wished even as she saw a hand go slack. The sound of the metal and flesh was more like stomping on mud.
Reins were pulled and she screamed- and she could hear it. Everyone could.
"STOP IT!"
They didn't stop. Yet she did, the sudden instinct to do so causing her to fall off her horse. Wet and damp, the soil clutched onto her, dirtying what was once a pristine uniform. She stumbled up, but didn't climb onto her horse. She faced it.
One looked at her- then, the other. And then, the two charged. The sound of mud or flesh- whatever it was- it grew and filled the ears.
'I can hear. I just do not wish to think of it. I just don't want to..'
Her cloak fell to the ground. She turned to them and rushed at one, distance closed easier. She buried her blade into a rightful resting place, ensuring it was thorough before pushing it off with her foot. As it struggled to use the last of itself to grab her, she ducked and rushed to the other.
A clash ensued. They were prepared. The blades rang out and they began to sing. Each cut and stab slowed, but that didn't diminish the distance. In between it all, the black stallion behind her whined and cried out. Even as their blades met and air rested between the close calls— The rush of it all died.
The form much smaller than the combatant was gripped by the collar and shoved. The sword followed and a voice called- A singing so ghastly to shake anyone. But it did not scare her. Tears collected in the ocean within her eyes. That voice was a comfort- a warm embrace. As her vision blurred, that voice grew in clarity.
Be proud and do not close it all off anymore. You're no longer running away.
'But.. mother. This can't end. I… I want to see them and all the things— Everything— that we should have seen together.'
We have seen these together. We have for all these years been together. You've never been alone. Those words… You don't mean that, do you?
'No… I haven't meant it that way. Not after all that's happened.'
Then, what do you truly wish to see? To do?
'I want.. to live.'
One of her hands reached out, though she could see nothing of definite form.
'I want to live. Not for you or us. But— for myself and for those I love now. My friends, my family- All of these things I found here.. I can't lose them now, not when I've wanted them for years. Not when I have finally found home in not just a place. But in them.'
I see…
You are no longer a child bound by your rules.
'I don't want them to be sad. I want to stop this. This cycle of feeling bad and upset about what life has done to me. About being unable to live completely, because of the hole you've left. I want to live not for you or anyone else— but for myself and them!'
Novellia would hear a familiar song play. A lullaby that lulled her that spirited her to a scene that never happened- but felt as it did.
A child and a woman stood together at a distant shore. They held hands, but the child lagged behind.
The small hand held in a delicate adult one, by the next flash became one about the same size. There now were two ladies, standing side to side.
And finally…
As her back hit the ground, she rolled, the blade digging into the mud and clay. She kicked back at them, warranting them to pull away.
Using momentum, she got up in a swift move once her foot pressed against the ground. The rushed footing and the slick made her move with more ferocity and speed. With no time, she barreled into him. Her head and body forced him back. Even as he recoiled to attack, she clutched onto his arm, pulling herself towards him. He attempted to pull away, but halted. He stared, mouth agape.
Live. This life does not belong to me. Nor does it belong to anyone.
She brought the blade forward with her body. The cut was through. The sound of steel splashed against the ground. She pushed the Kathar away, not taking another moment before donning her cloak and climbing atop her steed. A red splotch had embedded itself on her chest and in the white fur of her cloak. It overwhelmed and cleansed the dirt.
Her head looked on ahead to the original direction. She set her sights on the last one of the three, still there and pillaging from the corpse of a comrade.
The galloping approach sounded. The blade met with the sparse light as it was raised. No hesitance or coy foolishness. It came down in a swipe.
The crimson seeped onto her clothes, caressed her cheek, laced with her black locks. The pure white fur of her collar tainted.
Again, the blade rose. Light resonated and wrapped around it.
And there was a song. One that she had to find and create.
