Chapter 12: Chapter 10: Dream of the Butterfly VIII

Sitting on her legs, limp, emotionless, no more crying, just the tear marks that stained her face and reddened eyes that burned in protest.

Reilanis lay motionless on the ground, barely supported by Reilan's hand that refused to let go. Her breathing was erratic, though she seemed calm on the outside, but only because her thoughts had been caught in a loop, leaving her in a state of emptiness.

She was motionless as a corpse, waiting for whoever was in charge of harvesting souls, to find and have pity on her, taking her to the place of eternal rest.

Reilan was the opposite. A large number of emotions passed through his face, from deep sadness, immeasurable anger, disgust, contempt, empathy... complete disbelief. Each one was shown intensely in the eyes that watched with utter terror the actions of those humans. Which were transmitted to his partner through the grasp on his hand.

Throughout the memory, Reilan gave constant glances to Reilanis, but he only saw her empty expression, and her eyes the same as a dead fish, devoid of any emotion, reaction, or light.

And to make matters worse, when that first experience ended, images of the following days flashed by one after another. Some of them were of her fighting with blunt weapons, against some of those bandits, losing the vast majority of the occasions, wounded multiple times and in various ways. From being stabbed multiple times, sexually abused by a group of men, her entrails exposed after being cut multiple times, parts of her body being completely charred with fire magic for the amusement of her captors, or directly dismembered by swords in what looked more like a lynching than a sparring match.

Just to think that she had lived such an experience, who was he then to feel that her life had been difficult when he had seen this girl go through one of the most horrifying things a person could experience?

He felt ashamed of himself, but also relieved. Despite everything she went through, Reilanis was still there, alive, and she had found people who cared for her, who loved her, and were willing to fight together to stay by her side, even though it was hard for her to understand that.

That past had shown Reilanis how weak she was, and that feeling was embedded deep in her heart. The girl was already at a critical point, being haunted every night by those memories, cornering her, wearing her down little by little, and eating away at her mind. Facing them was the only way to save her, but she had to rise of her own free will.

Reilan didn't know what he could do for her. There were no words he could say, and everything he had thought of would only sound like an empty attempt at comfort.

After taking some time to consider it, he came to a single conclusion. He would do the only thing that occurred to him at that moment, something that, perhaps, would have helped him in the past.

He crouched down next to her, grasped her hand that he had held tightly, and with one movement, he enfolded her in a hug from behind her. Reilanis didn't visibly react, but his breathing gradually returned to normal.

"You know, I think you're amazing."

“. . .”

“I, who lost my beloved, fell so deep into sadness and was never able to get out of that deep hole. Every time I thought about how much I missed her, hoping that she was back. Crying every night remember her until falling asleep, and then had dreams so vivid, so real, of us, living together again, married, even having children. I woke up to realize that this would never happen. – Reilanis, although she didn't seem like it, was listening attentively to the words of her partner. “What the hell are you telling me right now?” She questions him in her thoughts. – I never had the strength to get out of there. It was always so much easier to drown in my sadness and regret than it was to try to stand up and face things. I had help, the doctors tried, they were experienced, and they had very good methods, but they never understood what I needed.

What I wanted was someone who was there with me, who, even if they didn't know the pain I felt, wouldn't abandon me or see me with pity. I wanted someone who would reach out to me and tell me that everything was fine, that I could get out of there, that I could get over it.”

Tears fell from Reilan's eyes, as he increased the strength in his embrace. He was pouring from his heart all the pain he had kept hidden, the regret for not being strong or determined enough to pull himself out of that vortex of self-pity.

“Lani, you've been through much worse than I have. You have endured tortures that would drive many people into madness. You survived all that, you fought and you never gave up. And thanks to that, you found a family that supports you, that admires you, that loves you. – That word instantly provoked a reaction in Reilanis. Her body tensed, and some light returned to her eyes. – You know it, you know them well. You know how much they love and respect you. They can give you what I could never have. Reilanis, you already have a family that will always be with you no matter what. You are not alone and you will never be again.”

"…I'm not alone?"

"No. You are not alone. And you will never be again. That's why you must beat this. Wouldn't you like to get out of here and show them that you are fine?"

Reilanis nodded gently. Reilan smiled and hugged her tighter.

"So, you know what you have to do right?"

"Yes."

Reilanis looked up from her, riveted by the horrific images flashing past them. But curiously, the pain and fear that had caused her until now, were no longer so strong. She saw herself in humiliating positions or experienced excruciating pain, but she no longer felt the same terror for those who had brought her to this point. Heat began to rise from her stomach and up her chest. It started as little annoyance, then grew to anger, and then fury. “Why am I still stuck in this? That's not me anymore. I have killed things much bigger and stronger than any of them. Why am I still afraid of that bunch of worms?"

The very instant she formed those words in her mind, they were taken to a mountain setting. A horse-drawn carriage was traveling through a storm, speeding down a road on the side of that mountain. The carriage, which was a mobile prison, rocked from side to side violently, causing its passengers to be thrown from one side to the other, hitting the bars and hardwood planks of which it was made.

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Reilanis traveled there along with 3 other slaves, being taken to the nearest city to be sold. Gallard, who was the driver of the carriage, since he trusted no one but himself to transport his "products", wrestled with the reins of his horses in a desperate attempt to keep them under control.

The storm was fierce, the rain lashed like knives, and thunder rumbled through the entire valley, echoing like the roar of a thousand bloodthirsty beasts. Gallard was doing his best to regain control, but with the force of the wind, and the thunder frightening the horses, he couldn’t direct them correctly. And then…

One of the straps that kept the horses tied to the carriage snapped, freeing two of the four steeds, the ones closest to the mountainside. This caused an imbalance, making the cart move more to one side than the other, and tilting it into the deep chasm on the right side of the road. The wheels of the wagon got closer and closer to the edge of the ravine until a slight bump as it passed over a rock lifted the wagon an inch into the air and it bounced off the hard ground and out of the way, at last, falling through the void. The wagon with the slaves, the horses, and Gallard fell down the ravine, striking trees and rocks, smashing them to pieces on their way to the bottom. A terrible sound echoed from the depths as the wreckage of the chariot hit the ground hard.

The rain kept its force and was the only sound that could be heard at the scene of the accident. The horses were now in a pile of hunks of meat and Gallard's body, not much better, had become nothing more than a smear of blood and guts being washed away by stormwater. Among the remains of destroyed wood and the twisted iron of the cart, was what was left of the slaves. Except for one. Reilanis, with his left arm and 4 broken ribs, bruises all over her body, a deep cut that crossed her face in a semicircle from her forehead, through her left eye, her cheek, and to her mouth, with her upper lip almost torn off and hanging from a thin piece of skin.

She got to her feet, moving the debris that had fallen on top of her and the other bodies. She looked around, trying to understand what had happened. Nothing but destroyed wood, and rocks the size of her head, a pile of broken meat and bones, which had once been a pair of horses and which brought her thoughts to a sudden halt.

A little far from her, was something that looked like a large bag made of brightly colored fine cloth, lying next to the cart. A large pool of red water was forming below it. Reilanis approached slowly. Her heart began to beat faster with each step she took. Would it be possible? What she had waited for the past 2 years, had it really happened?

She stopped just a few steps from the large, colorful bag. She saw it and realize what it was, she began to laugh, and not long after that, she began kicking it with all her might at that mass wrapped in fine, colorful clothing. The remains of the fat bastard that Gallard once was…

Then, as if it were a revelation to her, she flung her hand to her neck, reaching for the tight leather collar that she had worn for so long.

Empty. There was nothing. Reilanis's hands began to shake. She was free. The slave magic was gone. After enduring torture and mistreatment for so long, she was finally free. Another laugh, even louder than the last, echoed through the entire place. Even with the pain in her chest from her broken ribs, she didn't stop. She wanted to let out the frustration, helplessness, and relief at that moment. Enjoy, and savor the long-awaited freedom.

She didn't know how long she was in that euphoric state, but the rain had almost completely stopped, leaving nothing more than a wisp. Breathing heavily, she approached the body and began to search it without caring that she was desecrating a body, after all, that bastard did not deserve compassion or respect.

Inside his sack, she found three bottles, one of them broken, and the other two had barely survived. They contained a red-colored liquid, which she recognized as a health potion. She immediately drank one of them, feeling how her wounds slowly healed. Along with the potions, she found an ornate brooch, with a large purple gem glittering in the middle, and with two feathers made of silver encircling it. She didn't know what it was, but it looked valuable so she decided to keep it. Took the rings that he was wearing on each hand and a leather bag with some bronze, silver, and gold coins. She gave him one last kick and returned to the wreckage of the wagon, where there was a chest that had barely survived the fall just like she had. The lock that kept it sealed had been broken, so she opened it, and inside, found several sets of clothing, some leather shoes, belts, underwear, and some daggers.

Reilanis smiled and immediately stripped on the spot, pulling on the first thing she came across and out of her size, which was panties along with thin leather shorts and short boots. There was a kind of bra of her size, which she hesitates to wear, but decided to do for comfort. Then she reached for a tank top, so long it almost looked like a dress but miraculously fit her. She then wrapped up the belts, adjusting the shirt to her waist, and hung up the daggers on it. She moved away from the chest and goes to the broken wood around, looking for more things that would be useful.

Among the things she found, the only ones that seemed valuable to her were a cache with several golds and white gold coins, jewelry, some red and green potions, a short sword, and a leather backpack, big enough to hold everything that she has found. Even inside the bah were some rations, such as dried meat, nuts, and 2 canteens full of water.

“At least with this, I won't have to worry about food for a few days. The real problem is knowing where I am. Also, I need to get out of here fast. Dorian and his group will realize soon that something must have happened."

Dorian and his companions had gone a few kilometers ahead to make sure there were no landslides on the road, telling Gallard to stay in the camp until the storm passed. But the fat man was so impatient to finalize the sale of his most valuable slave that he left the 2 men who were in charge of protecting him, leaving them to take care of the camp and set off with the cart to get to the city as fast as possible.

It wouldn't take Dorian too long to find the horses that had gotten loose, and he would return with his entire group to look for Gallard. She needed to leave immediately, but with no knowledge of where he was or in what direction she could avoid them she was stuck wondering what to do.

She thought for a while and, without really having a better idea, simply decided to head towards the forest, walking parallel to the mountain in the direction the city was supposed to be.

She walked as fast as she could, to put as much distance between herself and Dorian's group, hoping it would take them a long time to find where they fell and then figure out a way down the mountainside to the spot where the remains of the car were.

She traveled through the forest for several hours, throughout the day and until the sun began to sink below the horizon, hoping to find a place to take refuge and rest. She knew it might be a mistake to do so, but with what little stamina she had left and the cold that had begun to chill her bones, she had no other choice.

Just as the little light of the day was beginning to fade, Reilanis noticed a crack in the mountain's wall, one barely larger than herself. She ran towards it, hoping that it would be the ideal place to hide for the night. She contorted her body, doing her best to get inside, and with a lot of effort, she did. But there was something strange there. The place was very illuminated, and there was a strange thing in the middle of the cave. A white pedestal, as if made of marble, was in the middle, and on top of it was a mossy green cube with black lines all over its surface, creating a very intricate pattern. Reilanis was fascinated by the strange object that it seemed to call her. She slowly moved closer to it, and when she touched it with her hand, everything went white.

 

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