Section Author: 'Yui-chan'

The growing fire of the sun’s light slanted into the bedchamber, extinguishing the night’s shadows with the power of its indomitable will. They died slowly and without protest, simply fading from existence as if they had never been, as if they had not spent the long hours of darkness tormenting the young woman who watched them from the warmth of her bed.

As light flooded the room, Yui drew a deep, shuddering breath and cuddled more closely against Aegon’s warm side, her arm draped protectively over his chest. They’d both been so exhausted lately, expending great amounts of time and energy and mana on the war effort that it was no surprise to her that he had slept so deeply through the night. He so needed the rest, and she could only be glad that she had not woken him with the ravages of her nightmares.

Gods... As she ran her fingers gently along the smooth skin of his cheek, the memory of her most recent nightmare assaulted her, sending a blade of ice through her heart. For a moment, she imagined him laying lifeless beside her as he had been in the dream, and the pain nearly caused her to cry out aloud. Gods, I could never live without you, my love. It would kill me to see you like that... I know it. A single tear sliding slowly down her cheek attested to the depth of the Huntress’ fear as she held onto the man she loved and tried desperately to forget what it had felt like to see his cold body.

*******

"I wish you did not have to go." Yui chided herself for the tears stinging her eyes, repeating for the thousandth time, that day, that they had only been nightmares, that there was nothing to fear. She clung to Aegon, shivering slightly despite the warmth of the day, as he wrapped his arms around her in a tender embrace.

"As do I, my love, but you know I don’t have a choice. We may be at war, but that doesn’t mean I can ignore my duties as diplomat to the other guilds of Terra." Her lover sighed softly, brushing his lips across her forehead in a feather-light caress. "I’ll be gone for just a few days."

Protected by his warmth, it was easy to feel like the dreams and the fear were silly and foolish and childish, so Yui merely nodded and forced a small smile. "I will wait for your return with my usual impatience, dearest heart. Be very careful." As she lifted her face to his for a kiss, she added a prayer to her words, ...Gods bring you back to me safely.

When their lips parted, Aegon gave his lady love a warm, heartfelt smile and gently traced a finger along the darkened circles under her eyes. "I promise, worrier. And you have to promise me that you’ll get some rest. I don’t want to come home to find you laying abed, ill, because you’ve been exhausting yourself."

"I promise." ... and, with one last loving kiss, he was on his horse and gone...

*******

Somehow, Yui made it through the day, despite being exhausted, worried, and constantly chilled. She did not miss the looks the staff gave her as she went about the business of the kingdom, looks that spoke to just how much of a mark the stressful and sleepless night had left on her face, however she said nothing and refused to complain. She may have felt weak and tired, but the people and the army needed her attention. There would be time to fulfill her promise to Aegon later, when the letter to the guilds was finished and the recruiting reports had been read.

It was not until well after sundown, as she sat curled in a chair before the fireplace in her bedchamber, that the true weight of her exhaustion reached the Huntress. As her chambermaid, Soi, turned down the covers in the too-big bed, her mistress watched with heavy lids, barely able to summon the will to bring the teacup in her hand to her lips and sip the soothing liquid.

"Do you require anything else, Yui-chan?" Soi approached the chair, sweat glistening on her brow in the firelight.

Shivering, Yui answered, "No, my friend. I will add a few logs to the fire and then get my rest. Go and sleep well, tonight."

The maid hesitated, frowning, until Yui was prompted to tilt her head curiously and ask, "What is it, Soi? You know you can speak to me freely."

"It is just ..." Soi gently reached out to her magess, pressing a hand to her wan cheek. "Yui, it is as hot as the great sun in this room, yet your skin feels as though you have been out in the deep winter. Let me fetch the healer to you."

Smiling weakly, the Huntress shook her head, patting her maid’s hand. "I feel fine, Soi. You need not bother Nakarei at this hour. I did not sleep well at all, last night, and I fear that my body has slowed because of that. You know how exhaustion cools the fires that power a mage."

With a displeased sigh, Soi nodded and then bowed respectfully. "Very well. Call if you have any need of me. Oyasuminasai, Yui-chan." (1)

"Yasumi, Soi." (2) Yui watched the woman cross the stone floor and leave the room, closing the thick, wooden door behind her. Ill... no, I’m not ill. I’m as afraid as I’ve never been before. Every time I glance at a shadow or pass the darkness, my heart beats like a panicked rabbit’s. What is wrong with me? I am a ‘Walker! I control the Shadows, linking space through the common darkness. Being afraid of that darkness is absolutely ridiculous...

With a weary sigh, she stood, dragging herself and her blanket across the chamber to the bed. ... absolutely ridiculous. Yui-chan stared down at the empty expanse of white cotton bedding, a sense of dread settling in her chest. At that moment, she missed Aegon’s presence more than ever before, desperately wishing he were there to reason away her fears.

But he’s not, and you can’t hover beside your bed all night. You’re just exhausted and irrational... You need sleep. The truth of that final point spurred her into motion when nothing else would, and the young woman crawled into a bed gently lit by the flickering fire in the hearth. While she pulled and settled the covers around her body, she kept her eyes on the patches of light that skittered over the plastered walls, avoiding the frightening depth of the encompassing shadows by refusing to look at them. It was only as she settled down against the pillows that her glance brushed the darkness beyond the firelight, and Yui shuddered against a sudden chill. It’s nothing... nothing.

Repeating that simple phrase in her head like a protective ward, the young woman slowly slipped off into an exhausted slumber... and as the last vestiges of wakefulness left her, one ephemeral finger of darkness spread down the wall, falling across her forehead.

One... We are one...