Thread: Across the Veil (NornSavant x Strangefate)

As they led her out of the trenches, Violet kept her head down, letting them propel her forward as the scouts of Quiet Company touched her gently in passing. There was a strange otherworldliness to it all that made her uneasy but also strangely thankful. This might very well be her final contact with other people, quite literally the last human touch she would ever feel. So in a way it was good they ushered her on so quickly or else she might have lost her poise altogether, and she did not want to cry in front of these people. She would at least let them think she was half as brave as them and deserving of their hopes. The race into the forest was a blur of flurried motion. The only reason she didnt immediately lose her way or footing was because the scouts were there to guide her every move. Within the first ten minutes she lost her sense of direction. Five minutes after that she couldnt have found her way back to the outpost if she tried. Eventually Violets legs turned rubbery and her pace slowed, her chest hammering, feeling certain she would have to stop, she would just have to stop and rest, no matter what they wanted or expected. It was at that moment the one called Scar grabbed her mid-stride and tossed her over one shoulder like a sleepy child. Violet wasnt certain whether she should be embarrassed or thankful. Mostly she was just content to catch her breath again. The next thing she knew she was back on her feet and they were exiting the woods. For a moment there was something so still and peaceful about the abandoned town that it became beautiful even in its forgotten ruin. That was, at least, until she noticed the sunflowers, bending their great heads in their direction. Not a few twisting in the wind as she might have thought, or a trick of the light, but row after row in an unnatural choreography. Any beauty she might have admired was quickly smothered in that awful realization. Violet started as her escorts touched her shoulder. She turned to see them stepping away, back towards the forest, and knew that they were leaving her now. At that moment her mask finally did break and the young womans fear was clearly visible on her pale face. She wanted to beg them to stay, to at least come with her until she arrived wherever she was to end up, although she knew that couldnt happen. In truth she just wanted to go home. This was a mistake, she wanted to say, Im sorry I deceived everyone. I cant do this. It has to be someone else. The time for that was long past though, if ever that would have worked at all. Violet suspected that no probably never would have been an acceptable answer anyways. What were her wants compared to what might be achieved here if the Elland were pleased by their response? It could change everything. I have to be brave. I have to try. Easier thought than done though. Her legs still burned from the arduous hike as she forced herself step by step to approach the carriage. It looked almost like an illustrated page from a childrens book of fairy tales. Of course such books werent really for children anymore. When all the dreadful and impossible things inside them were suddenly real they had lost all whimsy and ability to delight. So while the carriage might have been beautiful if seen as a painting long ago, in the here and now, right in front of her eyes, it filled her with a sinking dread. Violet knew without being told that she was expected to climb inside, to be whisked away to god knows where and what. Her hand reached tentatively for the handle, wincing as her fingers touched the thing, as if she expected a painful shock. Please , she thought, knowing her life was now in the Ellands hands. Let them be sincere and kind, and not like the others. Let this not be in vain