Unbearable. The stinging burn seared through the girl. Her head was heavy and she had received a massive headache. Eliana was barely staying awake. Tapping in and out of consciousness, she had been slammed against the wall. Someone shook her, and in the distance she thought she sensed a voice. Vaguely, she tried to respond, barely getting a few mutters out. A loud, high-pitched noise tormented her, and her head felt ever so heavy. And her shoulder, her damn shoulder, burned more than a rich man’s cooking. Though no mark was left on her psychical body, only her soul had been harmed. A wound in a shoulder could be treated, but a wound in the soul wasn’t as simple. Spirit-walkers were trained to fight and defend themselves, especially in the Void. Damages on the soul were dangerous. And dark magic had a tendency to leave marks, and slowly decimate the rest of the soul and mind. A body wasn’t much without its host. 

Eliana had lost track of time, she believed she managed to mutter out a few words, but reality and dreaming seemed to collide with one another. Everything in her mind seemed to collide, actually. Pain, thoughts and fear were all mixed together. The feeling that had early led her to find the monstrosity was gone. In the few seconds she was able to hold her thoughts together, Eliana was sure that the responsible individual had run off. She felt the temperature change. Her body became warmer, but the confusion and pain continued. With a groan she felt that she was put down. On a chair maybe? She could sense someone around her, walking, muttering, and other simple noises. Eliana leaned on her staff, having clutched it to her all along. She loosely felt for her satchel, believing she could feel it. Then it happened again. She was consumed by the darkness again, and was seduced by the sweet temptation of unconsciousness. 

A small piece of wet cloth wiped Eliana’s face. She blinked back into reality, trying to hold up her heavy head. An unlady-like groan escaped her, and the little girl jumped back in surprise.  Eliana muttered something to her, taking in a few deep breaths and trying to pull herself together.

“S-sorry-…” she managed to mutter out, as the girl, who had taken a few steps back, carefully studied her. 

“It’s alright.” She simply stated, keeping a rather neutral expression. 

“I’m Sarah Smith. And you, Loud Lady?” the child looked at Eliana.

The golden haired woman pushed herself into an upright position, trying to ignore the horrendous pain in her shoulder. As she repeated what Sarah had just said, her mind started working again. She looked around in the room, spotting another woman by a table. She narrowed her eyes and looked at Sarah again. Then it hit her.

“Wait. W-what did … what did you say?” Eliana muttered out.  

“Loud Lady.” The child quickly responded.

Eliana threw her hands around, shaking her head. 

“Sarah? Smith?” the little girl tried again.

Eliana looked back up, right into the eyes of the girl.

“Your… “ She shook her head, and the pictures starting rolling before her eyes, the last few days, the arrival, the gate, the tavern and the sentence. The sight of the young boy reflected in Eliana’s mind, and the dream, or vision, or whatever it had been did the same. She was sure now. The thing she saw in that room was the same. And now she looked upon what were most likely his sister. 
Eliana took in a deep breath, and suddenly the pain in her shoulder wasn’t her biggest worry. She opened her mouth a few times before she spoke.

“I’m so sorry.” Was all she managed to say. Eliana leaned her head against her staff, grimacing. She did not look at Sarah, something inside her stopped her from it. They looked so much alike, and all she saw when she looked at that girl, was the sword going straight through the brother’s throat.

“Eliana… My name’s Eliana.” She said.

“What are you so sorry about, Ellie?” the girl asked, looked confused at her.

But Eliana didn’t seem to register that she spoke again. She looked at the other woman, the one that had dizzily faded in and out of her vision the last few hours. The sun had risen up upon the sky, blessing the surface with its light. 

As her vision became clearer, Eliana seemed to recognize something about the darker haired woman. She narrowed her eyes, before realizing she had seen her before, though she was screaming at the time.
A sudden jolt of pain caused the handmaiden to scream out, falling to the floor with a bump. She rolled on her side, curling into a ball and biting into her lower lip, resulting in the scarlet liquid flowing out rapidly. Her eyebrows twitched violently, as she felt the furious, flaming pain evolving around her shoulder, though there still was no psychical mark. Not yet at least.