Lone Survivors @redimeree
The house had likely been abandoned for years. Its roof leaked when it rained, and the windows had long since been boarded over. It was still better than the alternative.
Bela slept. Or rather, she drifted through a hollow, unconscious haze. The bed had been dragged close to the fireplace, but the fire and blankets offered little comfort against the chill that seemed to radiate from her own skin.
The journey away from the village had nearly cost her what little life she had left.
The ruin of her left arm ended just below the elbow, jagged crystal growths yielded to weakly buzzing flies that tried repairing the limb. Every attempt at regeneration was a slow agonizing process.
But worse were the wounds that no amount of recovery could reach. It had been days since the castle fell. Since the loss of her family. Bela rarely spoke of them, she rarely spoke at all. When awake, she spent hours staring into the void, her golden eyes unfocused, as if a vital piece of her mind had remained in the castle.
Suddenly, her eyes flew open. She drew in a sharp, rattling breath, her gaze darting across the room. Alisson was nowhere to be seen. The chair beside the bed stood empty.
A cold tightness coiled in Bela’s chest, close to panic. "Alisson...?" The blonde tried to heave herself up, but a fresh bolt of agony tore through her, forcing a stifled cry through her teeth and she slumped back.