Part IV
Her conversation with Laszlo Gaspar fell upon deaf ears, and a lone thought raced through the mind of the distressed young woman: flee. Try as she might, she could not make her so-called friends understand that she could not smile, laugh, and bring joy to their lives while she recovered from the hellish experience she'd endured. "You have good work to do here," the Order apothecary quietly intoned to her. "But none will stop you from leaving." The futile conversation lasted a few more heartbeats before Sethaelia brushed past him and left through the southern gates of Fort Praesidium carrying naught but a small satchel of supplies and the oppressive weight of betrayal at the hands of those who claimed to care for her.
She listlessly walked, uncertain of her destination, until she reached the Foundry crossroads. The young woman stood there, fuzzy thoughts swimming in her head, until a gentle voice guided her back to reality. "Birdy?" Margaret Rigsby tentatively greeted. "What are you doing out here?"
"I... I don't have anywhere else to go."
*
Muffled snickers sounded after the familiar rustle of parchment. "Dearest Victoria... if you are reading this, I have returned to the Flame." A soft hiss of laughter emitted from a few paces ahead. The next words uttered confused the bound, gagged woman being shoved through the outdoors towards an unknown destination, but she was powerless to prevent herself from hearing them. When the bulk of the intimate letter concluded, another hearty guffaw resonated before the closing line:
"I loved you as much as I hated heathens. Go forth and kill them all, my love. Your idiot, Marcus Delavious."
*
She blubbered the entirety of the situation to the compassionate, saintly Margaret while clutching a mug of warm herbal tea in her hands. All of it - Lizard's murder, the days spent in terror, and the behavior of Marcus and Thorn - spilled forth in weepy, anguished words to the educated doctor. Margaret patiently listened to the entire sordid tale before placing a comforting hand upon Birdy's arm.
Later, after suggesting that they walk to the water's edge for some fresh air, Margaret made a most benevolent offer. "Come stay with me for now," she kindly implored.
*
She felt the tip of the blade pressed against her lower back, near to where her hands were tied. "If you so much as move..." the masculine voice warned her, the threat implied. She then heard the dim sounds of rope being partially cut before a hard shove sent her stumbling forward and landing hard upon her knees.
A pair of footsteps faded into opposite directions, and then all that remained were the eerie noises of woods at night.
The Little Bird: Sethaelia Vhaire
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Sethaelia Vhaire
- Posts: 21
- Character: Sethaelia Vhaire
Re: The Little Bird: Sethaelia Vhaire
Out with the old; in with the new.
The home she shared with Margaret Rigsby was devoid of occupants at the moment. Slowly, methodically, Sethaelia Vhaire packed her few belongings into a travel satchel. She left the tiara; she left the fancy dress the doctor had gifted her long before the two had become housemates.
There comes a time in a woman's life when she knows she has lost the battle for a man's heart, and Birdy suspected her defeat long before this day. Promises to meet later went unfulfilled; what were meant to be passionate encounters were perfunctory and dull. He'd coaxed her into riding this new wave with him, and she blindly followed him only to be set adrift into rocky waters when his attention turned elsewhere. Her shattered heart would never forgive him for this abandonment.
She positioned the rag-dolls upon Margaret's bed and left the scrap of parchment with two simple, damning words upon it. The diminutive blonde then departed from the house and slipped into the shadows of the nearby trees.
The sights and sounds of Fort Praesidium soon faded behind her.
The home she shared with Margaret Rigsby was devoid of occupants at the moment. Slowly, methodically, Sethaelia Vhaire packed her few belongings into a travel satchel. She left the tiara; she left the fancy dress the doctor had gifted her long before the two had become housemates.
There comes a time in a woman's life when she knows she has lost the battle for a man's heart, and Birdy suspected her defeat long before this day. Promises to meet later went unfulfilled; what were meant to be passionate encounters were perfunctory and dull. He'd coaxed her into riding this new wave with him, and she blindly followed him only to be set adrift into rocky waters when his attention turned elsewhere. Her shattered heart would never forgive him for this abandonment.
She positioned the rag-dolls upon Margaret's bed and left the scrap of parchment with two simple, damning words upon it. The diminutive blonde then departed from the house and slipped into the shadows of the nearby trees.
The sights and sounds of Fort Praesidium soon faded behind her.