Page 7 of A Spark So Bright
Rose paused.
"Strange," she muttered, staring at the stream as though it might swell up and drown her.
This place hadn't changed in the many, many years that she'd been coming here. Constant and steady as the sea, that sameness had been reassuring. She loved being here because nothing ever changed. She was always going to be here, safe, exactly in the same place she had conjured.
Why would her mind make something different this time? She'd been given to that man before. She knew what he would do with her body and how she would have to heal from it afterward. The weariness that made her very bones seem heavy was exactly the same as it had always been. Life did not change for Rose.
So why had this changed?
Pausing with her toes nearly in the stream, she bent down and touched her fingers to the icy-cold water. She could feel the current in it. It flowed around her touch, bending around her palm and continuing forward in a path. She peered toward the end, trying to guess where this stream might be heading, but she hadn't the faintest idea.
And then there was the sound of a footstep behind her. She didn't whirl or react with sudden intensity as she might have long ago. Rose had learned quick movements got her in trouble. Slaps were often handed out before she could disappear, or worse.
So she merely turned her head to look over her shoulder, muscles tensing like a prey animal that knew to flee at the slightest hint of a sound.
A dark-skinned man stood behind her. Or a woman. She couldn't tell. There was a feminine quality to their features, but they stood with a confidence that was intensely masculine. A strange blend of the two. They wore a robe, she thought. The silken fabric glimmered in the light, and looked like it was made of some pale liquid. Their long dark hair fell in a waterfall to their waist, so perfectly smooth that it was almost hard to believe it was made of strands of hair.
And there was something wrong with their face. The nose was too straight, the eyes too far apart. Their jaw was too narrow to hold regular teeth, and those full lips were pushed forward in a way that suggested sharp teeth hidden behind them. This person was human and yet... not.
Until her eyes traced over the tips of their ears, just barely revealed through their hair. Those pointed tips weren't just the tips of someone with a high elven bloodline. No, those ears were far too long for that.
An elf.
A real, live elf. Here in her mind.
"I'm losing my mind, aren't I?" she asked quietly.
That was the only reason for her to see an elf. She knew what was happening to her body. Rose tried hard not to think about that while she was here, but if she focused, she could feel the ghost of the gladiator’s touch. She could feel his fingers on her waist, and the crushing ache of powerful blows inside her. She could even smell his sweat if she thought about it, and she tried very hard not to.
"You aren't losing your mind," the elf said. Their voice was so light it was even harder to guess if they were male or female. "I am Rhydian. You have no need to fear me."
Of course she did. An unknown person was in her sanctuary, which meant they were somehow in her mind.
"Who are you?" she asked. Fear spiked through her, and the sensation was not one she enjoyed. Not here. Not in this place that was supposed to hide her from all of that.
"I already told you."
"You told me a name. That doesn't tell me who you are."
They tilted their head to the side, strangely bird-like in the movement. "You don't recognize the name?"
"They don't teach little girls anything about elves," she whispered, slowly standing. There wasn't even a rock she could grab to throw at this person who had invaded her space. "This is my mind. My sanctuary. You shouldn't be here."
"But it's not entirely yours. You've been using this space for years, and we've allowed it. But there is more to you than just using your magic to hide." They reached out their hand as though to shake hers, and she stared at the strangely long fingers.
There was something wrong with that hand. Too long, too thin... missing a finger.
She couldn't stop staring when she realized that hand was missing a pinky. Or at least, to her human eyes, that was what was wrong. Perhaps to the elves, her hands were the odd ones.
She glanced at the creature who patiently endured her perusal, and Rhydian grinned. "I know I am very different to you. But I am not here to hurt you, Rose."
"How do you know my name?"
"This realm knows many things. And I am here to help guide you. This has been your haven for a long time, and that was quite all right with those of us who were already here, but it has gone on long enough. We want to help you do more with this place. But it is an offer you do not have to take."
She blinked a few times, trying to understand what he was even saying. "What do you mean, we?"
"There is more to this realm than just your own thoughts. That information is for later. You don't need to know everything right now. All you need to know is my name and that I will not hurt you."
