June 2026 DWC - Day 2 - Disturbance/Vibrant
Familiar pangs of wariness gnawed at the back of her mind, doubts and fears creeping along the corridors therein like shadowy gheists. Just because Altherei had grown accustomed to them at this point didn’t make them any less unwelcome.. or unsettling.
It was with a start that she woke in the middle of the night in her room, eyes blinking once, twice, thrice to adjust to the darkness. The disturbance of her sleep was also growing more commonplace, with nightmares both familiar and fresh robbing her of a peaceful night’s rest. Sometimes, it was a dream of her oldest brother- risen from the grave, gunshot wounds still marring his Farstrider’s armor. How he hated her, blamed her- it wasn’t him, she knew it. He’d never say such things. Never raise a hand to harm her, much less take her life.
Other nights, it was the visions of what she now clearly understood to be House Dae’menel. The grand hallways she never visited in person of an estate long forgotten left to gather dust with time. The ghosts were always keen to remind her of the very thing Ilvisar had: their legacy was inescapable. Like an eclipse, it would eventually overshadow her.
The new ones ran par for the course- being chased by undead, drowning, falling from great mountain heights.. things her subconscious could easily have conjured as a byproduct from stress now made more vibrant in their disquieting nature by virtue of the growing presence of the Void everywhere she turned. Just because the Devouring Host had been driven back didn’t mean they were defeated- Altherei knew better than to have that much optimism.
Still.. that growing restlessness of sleep- when it did come- was taking its toll. Between planning for the gala and trying to stay on top of growing concerns in the Court, she couldn’t afford to sleep poorly. On top of it all, though, was the gravest concern:
The ward.
She knew whose it was- or from whom it came. Why Ilvisar had done it, she still didn’t know. Even if she had guesses, the most charitable still had robbed her of her chance to consent, and put her into a situation that very well could’ve gotten her killed. She still bore those scars- mental and physical.
She knew it would only leave the shadows looming larger in her room; the pinpricks under her skin would only continue crawling until it was dealt with. She was ready to be done with it- with him- more than ready, in fact. Curious as she may still have been about the house and what happened to it.. some mysteries were best left unsolved.
And once this final tether was gone? Perhaps sleep would finally return.
@daily-writing-challenge