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The water in the bath had lost its warmth long ago. It was ice cold like the snow that coated the Inner Realm. Though Gwelurin stayed in the bath, staring at the flame of a candle that flickered in the distance. Soon she breathed in and let herself slip down under the water. Her eyes and lips were tightly shut, and she focused on the dark paradise she made for herself. Even then, with her body submerged in the icy cold water of the bath, the phantom pain of tar burning into her skin did not go away. The heat of the flame that was held so close to her body. The feeling of almost dying.
Such things would never go away. Physical scars may fade, but mental scars stay. All she could do was cover them up. The thoughts of revenge were not present in her mind, not anymore at least. They had gone away as quickly as the warmth of the bath had gone. It was now a mere hatred, that was harder to brush away. She eventually rose up from the water and breathed in the air. Her eyes immediately focused on the flame of the candle. She stood up in the bath, and stepped out, not bothering to grab a towel to dry off.
Her steps were slow and wobbly. Her eyes still fixated on the candle. When she got close enough to feel the radiating heat of the fire, she breathed in, and blew it out. She waved away the smoke quickly, not being able to handle the smell of it. She repeated this process with every candle in her house. Every light source. Until she was consumed in darkness again.
After this Gwelurin would sit on her couch on the first floor. She had put clothes on before doing this, a simple nightgown she probably stole. She would occasionally take a hit off of the hookah, to ease her mind. To help her from stop thinking about it. As time passed, and lots of opium, she entered a euphoric trance. Staring at the ceiling, barely being able to see with no light.
Her trance was broken by a knock on the door.
"Coming." she tried to yell, but it came out as more of a mutter.
Gwelurin got up from the couch and went towards the door. She went to grasp the handle and cracked the door open. She peaked from this crack, to see who it was.
"Gwel. Is that you?" Arwen would say from outside.
"Yeah... it's me."
"I can barely see your face. Why is it so dark in there?"
She opened the door fully, not bothering to answer that question. She walked towards the couch, plopping onto it again. She assumed Arwen would come in. She did eventually, after standing there confused for a second, closing the door behind her. She held a lantern by her side that illuminated the darkroom.
"Can I sit down?" her words were slow and careful.
"Yeah.. sure." on the other hand, Gwelurin's words were dry, and lacked emotion.
Arwen sat on the couch, setting her lantern onto the table. There was a period of silence between the two. Gwelurin staring into the light of the lantern, unable to break her gaze from it. Arwen look around the room. She looked to be uncomfortable due to the state of her friend. Surprisingly, Gwelurin broke the silence.
"Don't worry. I don't plan on going some revenge murderous rampage. I'm not that stupid." she said, looking to Arwen.
"I-" Arwen would pause, seeming to be taken off guard by that, "I did not think you would…"
"Good."
Gwelurin moved to grab a hose of the hookah, but her wrist was grabbed by Arwen. Her gaze focused on the hand, and then to the face of Arwen.
"Stop- Gwel. You can't just…"
"Can't just what?"
"You cannot deal with your problems like this, yes?"
"Arwen, I love you. But I was severely burned by tar, and then nearly burned alive by your sister's wife. So- can you give me a pass this one time?"
"No."
She let go of Gwelurin's wrist, and just snatched the hose out of her hand. She took the hookah itself and moved off the table, setting it far away from Gwelurin's reach. Or, her reach with her normal hands.
"No?" Gwel asked, not being able to really fight anything Arwen did.
"Yeah, you heard me correctly," Arwen started, shifting around in the seat to get comfortable, "I'm not letting you waste your life away in here. Sitting in darkness, isolated. I'm going to help you fix this mess. But I need you to want my help."
Gwelurin swallowed, leaning back into the couch. Tears started to run down her face, both a surprise to her and Arwen. The latter reached her hand out, setting it gently upon Gwelurin's shoulder.
"Gwel?" she asked.
"I want your help. If I'm going to do this, I can't think of anyone better but to do it with you."
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