10 Dead
She had no eyes, and yet she could see; had no body, and yet she could feel the warmth of the world around her. But there was no world. It was black and nothing, but it was at least warm.
She felt deliciously safe for the first time in her life, and she hovered there, delighting in the security of it all.
Why she felt safe she had no idea, she didn't think it was the right thing to be feeling but she couldn't remember why she thought that.
Something flashed by and she turned, thinking for an instant that she was under water and a mermaid was circling her. But the flash was gone in an instant and again she was alone, floating in the blackness.
It could have been years or only seconds later when something whispered in her mind and she looked around again, curious by the sound. But it was gone again, and she was again settling into the warmth and comfort.
Again, that whisper. She growled in frustration, though she had no voice and could make no sound.
It was bothering her, and she turned to try to find it but again it simply vanished into nothingness.
When it came again an eternity later, she was ready, and she snatched at it with her nothing limb and caught it.
It was a little white lightning bug, though it had no clearly defined form. Tilting her head, she looked at it in the cage that her fingers made. No, it was not a lightning bug, though it looked like one. As she felt it, she thought she could hear a voice whispering her name.
At least she thought that was her name.
What was her name again?
She didn't know, but she was fascinated by the little thing as she played with it, rolling it between her non-fingers and it danced with her, delighting her.
It vanished with a pop, and she was alone, but this time it was not a happy one. She felt suddenly lonely without the company of the little bug with her.
It appeared again in the distance, and she immediately went after it, wading with her non-arms though the non-water of her existence. But before she could reach it, it flickered out.
Stopping, she looked around and it appeared again ahead of her.
She was after it again, but it vanished, and the process was repeated again and again; always drawing her closer, only to vanish again before she could reach it. It was incredibly frustrating, but still she reached for it, and she found that she had fingers. They were black and long, a different shade of black to the black that was around her, but she had them.
She swiped for the thing, her body straining for it; but then she was falling, falling fast, and she saw that she had hair and legs, even arms. They flowed above her as she fell. She landed suddenly, though there was no pain; she simply stopped.
Looking up, the light was waiting for her and she frowned with lips she only then realised she had. She swam up for the thing, but something was pulling her back down and she looked back, finally seeing the thing that was holding her. It was a large ball of something, and it was bound to her waist.
She looked at it, then up at the light. It was dancing around, teasing her. She wanted the light very badly, but the more she struggled, the larger the ball grew to hold her down.
Finally allowing herself to sink down to the ball, she stood on the hard surface and looked at it, fascinated. Reaching down, she picked at it and as she lifted up a small fragment, she frowned as a flash of something flickered through her mind.
***
She was standing in a room, feeling small as she looked up at the radiantly terrifying woman. She was enormous, or perhaps it was she who was small?
"Your mother is dead, girl. You are no longer welcome," the woman was saying, and she whimpered, her arms around herself and her shoulder length black hair falling around her face.
"Where will I go?" she asked in the voice of a young girl. The girl was perhaps only ten or so.
"Anywhere but here," the woman said, and there was a murmur of agreement.
Looking up at the enormous figures around her, she took a slow step back as her thoughts went to her little sister. She turned, running from the room even as they laughed at her.
She ran down the spiral city, ignoring the growls and even an attempt by someone to kick her, her mind only on her sister. She burst into the little house she had lived in with their mother.
There were strange pale men there, and they looked at her, sneering with pale eyes narrowed at her.
She looked to the tiny cowering form in the corner and Letari looked up.
She was ten or less, with a chubby face and shoulder-length black hair. Her vivid green eyes seeming to glow in the dimness that was the room.
Silently Letari ran to her and the two fled the house that wailed with the screaming of a newborn.
The pale ones were watching them, staring as they knew they were now alone. There was no one left to protect them. No daddy, now no mummy. It was just Etani and Letari.
The memory faded, and she watched as it floated before her. Then it absorbed into her, vanishing and leaving a tiny spark of light on her chest.
Smiling slowly, she realised what she had to do. She crouched down, picking at the ball that was this 'Etani' person. She would relive this life if that was what it took. She would rediscover Etani.
***
Standing at the cliff she looked out, watching the white-haired figure running in her direction. She was still young, but now she was perhaps thirty years, though she looked not a day over her mid-twenties.
It had become a game to her, waiting for Cain to come to her and then slipping from that reality into Faerie and leading him on a merry chase before she lost him somewhere obscure. Only then was it time to move her sisters on to a new location. They had been in that area for five years by that point, and people would talk if they realised Avadari and her little black cat weren't aging.
She watched him as he stared up at her, picking his way amongst the boulders and running for her. He wanted her dead; she wanted him away from her sisters. He was too close to them, and she laughed as he flew for her, launching himself up and she stepped backwards into Faerie.
He chased after her and she ran, leading him between worlds and realms. She knew Ceress well, having run for eight years with him constantly on her tail. Losing him as far north as she dared go, she returned, and her sisters were uprooted once more.
***
She was over one hundred, smiling slightly as she watched the human man staring at her, the lust in his eyes even as she dug her fingers into his gut.
***
She was older, and Cain was after her again, his sword swing missing her by a mere inch. She laughed in his face, dancing away from him and again, leading him away. He knew their game, and yet he could not risk losing her again.
***
Older again, watching silently as a village was being constructed. She wondered at the obsession with building that the humans possessed, their love for growth.
***
She was a young woman, perhaps only eighteen; and the pale man stood before her, grinning as he told her to fight or die. He was teaching her how to defend herself, demanding she learn how to survive. He was teaching her how to harness her magic and defend her sister.
***
She was twenty and learning about Avadari, the baby she had refused to see. The young woman walking amidst friends even as the pale man whispered in her ear. He told her she was her sister, and she immediately loved the pale beauty with her long flowing silver hair and warm, large eyes.
***
She was older, and she was running through the village as the vampire chased her, cursing as she danced away.
***
She was older still, and he had cornered her, his fingers curling around her throat as his teeth found her skin and she cried out, his body hard against hers as he fed. She now had two to run from, the crazed vampire, and Cain.
***
The vampire was dead, blood coating her from head to toe, and she looked up to see Cain. She was no longer laughing; she looked older, perhaps forty, and she looked tired. She felt it, drained from running, and he was still coming for her.
***
She was sitting on the edge of a cliff, her shoulders hunched, and eyes drained of life. She wanted it all to end, but she couldn't give in yet. She was so incredibly lonely, never daring to be near her sisters for too long, and it was making her hard. She could feel that coldness inside her, the knowledge that she could not rely on anyone and that her one goal was to keep her sisters safe. She was growing cold.
***
Cain found her sisters, and she had been forced to attack him, slamming into his side and driving him to the ground as Avadari screamed in terror, the black cat bolting.
She screamed for her sisters to run and Avadari ran even as she bit a chunk of his shoulder, out of his arm and he howled, throwing her off him and turning on her.
She ran, and he followed, though neither of them were laughing and she could taste his blood.
She turned on him and she threw something at him. It stuck to his face, and he howled as it burned his skin.
She found her sisters, dragging them away as fast as possible.
***
They told her she was cold to them, and she had been angry, resenting the words. She had screamed at Avadari, not blaming her but it was clear that she wouldn't be forced to protect them if they could protect themselves. That she was always out there alone. Avadari had cried and Letari had run away. It had taken Etani days to make up for it, and by then she thought it best to move them again.
***
She was alone again, her hair reaching past her knees, and she cut it off with a knife she had fashioned out of a jagged piece of stone.
He was there, watching her as she struggled to find energy to fight him. She looked up at him, her hair cut to just below her ears.
He stared at her and then he swung and she jumped off the cliff.
She was fleeing Ceress for the hundredth time and she headed back for her sisters, finding them safe and Cain nowhere to be found.
***
She was standing at the ridge and looking down at the sprawling city, her head tilted to the side as she considered it. She was hungry, and that place was full of humans for her to eat. She smiled as she headed down and came across the man on his own. He was surprised when the beasts in the stable whinnied, and he turned to see her. She watched him, his short grey hair and tired, proud face. His fancy clothing and shiny boots. He looked happy to be there, and his eyes widened when he saw her standing there, her long hair and tattered dress catching in the wind.
He said something, but she didn't know what language it was, and so she lunged for him.
He fought back, desperate and scared, but she got him down and she choked the life out of him even with only one arm and then she devoured him. Something caught her attention, and she looked around to see the man with his long hair and robes, his hard face and wide eyes as he took her in. Lich… he was a Lich.
***
She was younger, and she was running for her life as something huge chased her, not Cain, but something else. It ran on all fours, and she ran faster, pushing her legs to eat up the ground as much as possible. It was gaining on her and she dropped, making herself as tiny as possible while the enormous hog ran on, skidding to a stop and turning even as she slid sideways and out of that reality. She had strayed too close to its home, and he had only been defending his mate, but still.
***
She was alone, sitting in a tree and humming to herself as she looked out over the empty landscape. A small voice called up to her, and she looked down to see a small dryad yelling at her but she had only grinned, her grin making the dryad run. Etani didn't chase her.
***
She was standing on the wall to Ceress, and the boy stood before her. He looked fascinated by her, and his fingers were warm as he touched her cheek. He leant forward, and she closed the distance to him, his lips warm and soft. She felt a sudden need to reach for him strike her and she did so, stretching a part of herself out into him and he recoiled immediately, his face horrified.
His hands hit her chest, and she was falling through the air, screaming. Her last thought was of her twin, scared and in the care of Avadari.
***
She had been reborn for the first time, shaking and terrified as she was dragged up the spiral city; and there was Avadari, there was Letari with her head covered by the white cloak. Letari looked different, eyes huge and confused, finding her, and then cowering in fear.
Avadari looked terrified as well, shaking her head in fear as Etani was dragged back up the city.
Illia was screaming at her for existing and for having the power that could have been given to any number of precious pure blooded Celestrials. She had been rude back, and a fist had crashed into the side of her face.
She and Letari were banished, but they didn't leave. They stayed in the forest with Ava.
She heard the attack, the yelling and the terrified screams of her sisters.
Grabbing them, she dragged them from the house they had found, pulling them away even as the house was set ablaze and she ripped her way through reality, dragging her sisters with her.
***
On and on it went until the ball was gone and she smiled at the dangling chain. She looked up at the little bug that hovered above her, knowing that voice. "Versalis?"
The bug seemed to grow more excited, flitting around like a drunk fairy, and she began to swim towards it. She wanted that bug, she wanted Versalis, and her fingers reached for it, swiping at it.