In the darkening hours
Nestled in a curl of sheets, Ella lies on her side, head propped on one hand, hair flowing like silk down the coverlet. A cold, unthinking beam of moonlight falls across Robyn's face as she sleeps, turning her skin to silver and filling the black night of her hair with stars. The sight leaves Ella transfixed, a lump of emotion caught in her throat. She awoke to this, in the quiet hours of the night, to see Robyn laid out like some enchanted princess, and could not fall asleep again. Beneath her breast, she feels joy battle with some darker emotion. The nightmare that woke her crawls slowly back into her mind like flood water seeping blackly up through the earth. Visions of knives and blood and beautiful blue eyes filled with tears cloud her site, blocking the peaceful scene before her.
In silence she crawls from the bed, slipping into the other room and kneeling before the large window, one hand on the cool pane of glass. Her body shakes with dry, silent tears for a moment, leaning forward, pressing her head to the glass, eyes squeezed shut as if her thoughts could be blocked out by not seeing them. To the unhearing, uncaring glass she whispers.
"Please Drew, let it not be as you said, let me not be what you think I am. Save me from hurting her, save me from ruining her. Let me be the one thing in her life that does not cause her pain."
Leaning back from the window, Ella sees her own reflection, skin pale and drawn, eyelids shadowed with a need of sleep, her delicate features somber. She lifts her hand, taking her fingernail and pressing it into the wound in her hand, wincing at the pain as blood flows anew. As she speaks, she dabs her finger in the blood, placing traces of it at the center of her forehead, her eyelids, her lips, her heart, her stomach.
"With blood I bind to you,
With voice I pledge to you,
with hands I work for you,
and breath I draw for you.
If my bonds I break, let my blood spill,
If my words should harm you, let me be silent,
If my hands should pain you, let them be still,
and if this vow I should not keep, let my breath stop."
She pours glamour into the words, body glowing like a will o' the wisp in the dark room. The words carry soft power, filling the space though she speaks quietly. After a long moment she stands, going to the bathroom and gently wiping the blood from her skin with a cloth. She slides back into the bedroom and slips into bed with Robyn, wrapping her arms around the Eshu and smiling softly as Robyn murmurs quietly in her sleep.
In silence she crawls from the bed, slipping into the other room and kneeling before the large window, one hand on the cool pane of glass. Her body shakes with dry, silent tears for a moment, leaning forward, pressing her head to the glass, eyes squeezed shut as if her thoughts could be blocked out by not seeing them. To the unhearing, uncaring glass she whispers.
"Please Drew, let it not be as you said, let me not be what you think I am. Save me from hurting her, save me from ruining her. Let me be the one thing in her life that does not cause her pain."
Leaning back from the window, Ella sees her own reflection, skin pale and drawn, eyelids shadowed with a need of sleep, her delicate features somber. She lifts her hand, taking her fingernail and pressing it into the wound in her hand, wincing at the pain as blood flows anew. As she speaks, she dabs her finger in the blood, placing traces of it at the center of her forehead, her eyelids, her lips, her heart, her stomach.
"With blood I bind to you,
With voice I pledge to you,
with hands I work for you,
and breath I draw for you.
If my bonds I break, let my blood spill,
If my words should harm you, let me be silent,
If my hands should pain you, let them be still,
and if this vow I should not keep, let my breath stop."
She pours glamour into the words, body glowing like a will o' the wisp in the dark room. The words carry soft power, filling the space though she speaks quietly. After a long moment she stands, going to the bathroom and gently wiping the blood from her skin with a cloth. She slides back into the bedroom and slips into bed with Robyn, wrapping her arms around the Eshu and smiling softly as Robyn murmurs quietly in her sleep.