Alchemised

by SenLinYu

She forced herself to focus on other things, not the wait. Not the endlessness. Not the dark. She had to wait, so she gave herself a routine to keep her mind fresh. Imagined walks. Cliffs and sky. Visited all the places she’d ever wandered. All the books she’d read. She had to endure. To stay alert. That way she would be ready. She had to stay ready. She would not let herself fade away.

All she knew was that as long as those manacles remained locked in place, she wasn’t an alchemist at all.

Helena had enlisted in the Resistance and sworn fealty to the Order of the Eternal Flame—not out of faith, but because of Luc Holdfast. Because she might not believe in the gods, but she had believed in him, that he was good and kind and cared about everyone.

Helena and her one sided friendship

In a way, it was strangely poetic that it was Helena who’d been brought as a captive to Spirefell.

“Did you think I didn’t know you’d try to kill yourself?” Ferron asked venomously. “As if there’s anything the Eternal Flame loved more than dying for their causes.”

It was the first time she’d bothered to just look at him, to see him for what he was, rather than who he was.

“You know,” Ferron said, jolting her from her thoughts, “when I heard it was you I’d be getting, I was looking forward to breaking you.” He shook his head. “But I don’t think it’s possible to exceed what you’ve done to yourself.”

Im crying

Ferron usually wore nothing, not even a wedding band. The only piece visible was a slender, dark metal ring on his right hand. Her eyes narrowed as she studied it. “What kind of ring is that?” she asked. He looked down. “This?” he asked, as if there were any other rings she could have been referring to. He turned his hand. “Just an old piece.”

THE RINGGGGG NOOOOOOOO

“Why all this sudden interest in me?” he asked. She shrugged. “You don’t make sense.” He raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is that all? And here I was hoping you were plotting to seduce me.”

“Well, I’m not the one to blame for that.” He turned to walk on. “Besides, if I didn’t leave you on the floor retching, you might make the mistake of thinking I care.”

“Yes. You seem strangely concerned about me thinking such a thing.”