She was already breathing heavily.
She never stopped being able to easily navigate through a densely wooded area. She grew up among the trees. Grew up among the rough terrain. Leaves and branches smacked her in the face as she moved, bounding through the forest. She ignored them, she ignored the searing pain in her chest as she inhaled. She ignored the pain of briars and thorns and the splatter of mud and dirt on her calves.
She had to keep running. She couldn’t stop. If she stopped for a moment it would be over. He would have her again.
Arithari would do whatever she could to keep out of his grasp. She didn’t dare look behind her as she ran for fear that it would slow her down.
She’d felt his presence before she saw him. Maybe it was the markings covering her body or just her body itself. A chill had run up her spine as she knelt in the meadow, gathering some elf root and other herbs. She’d known he was back. She’d known he was whole. The moment the world warmed past normalcy. The moment the heat had built to the point where cities were burning, she knew.
She should have ran then.
She shouldn’t have thought that maybe he’d forget about her for a while, that he would have other plans and machinations he would be focused on. She thought she would have more time. That she could come up with a plan on her own. It was stupid. It was too optimistic. She knew better.
She knew he would come back for her. She knew the vines of his obsession, his desire for control, his need to use her… to own her… would find her and entwine around her until she was a withered husk under his suffocating thorns.
It didn’t mean she would have to make it easy on him. It didn’t mean she would have to fall at his feet and give him what he wanted. If Elgar’nan wanted his prized slave back he would have to drag her back to him.
She’d loved five years without him. She’d managed on her own. She didn’t need him in the way he had made her believe. She wasn’t afraid of being away from him. Arithari knew she could survive on her own. She knew he was lying to her when he said she couldn’t. He was wrong.
She was getting out of breath at this point and she knew she couldn’t just keep running. She needed to find a place to hide. Her eyes darted around as she looked for somewhere, anywhere, to hide.
She never stopped being able to easily navigate through a densely wooded area. She grew up among the trees. Grew up among the rough terrain. Leaves and branches smacked her in the face as she moved, bounding through the forest. She ignored them, she ignored the searing pain in her chest as she inhaled. She ignored the pain of briars and thorns and the splatter of mud and dirt on her calves.
She had to keep running. She couldn’t stop. If she stopped for a moment it would be over. He would have her again.
Arithari would do whatever she could to keep out of his grasp. She didn’t dare look behind her as she ran for fear that it would slow her down.
She’d felt his presence before she saw him. Maybe it was the markings covering her body or just her body itself. A chill had run up her spine as she knelt in the meadow, gathering some elf root and other herbs. She’d known he was back. She’d known he was whole. The moment the world warmed past normalcy. The moment the heat had built to the point where cities were burning, she knew.
She should have ran then.
She shouldn’t have thought that maybe he’d forget about her for a while, that he would have other plans and machinations he would be focused on. She thought she would have more time. That she could come up with a plan on her own. It was stupid. It was too optimistic. She knew better.
She knew he would come back for her. She knew the vines of his obsession, his desire for control, his need to use her… to own her… would find her and entwine around her until she was a withered husk under his suffocating thorns.
It didn’t mean she would have to make it easy on him. It didn’t mean she would have to fall at his feet and give him what he wanted. If Elgar’nan wanted his prized slave back he would have to drag her back to him.
She’d loved five years without him. She’d managed on her own. She didn’t need him in the way he had made her believe. She wasn’t afraid of being away from him. Arithari knew she could survive on her own. She knew he was lying to her when he said she couldn’t. He was wrong.
She was getting out of breath at this point and she knew she couldn’t just keep running. She needed to find a place to hide. Her eyes darted around as she looked for somewhere, anywhere, to hide.
07-06-2023, 09:24 PM
