Night is falling in the alleys of Edoras
It was no mean feat that Nia and Lailyn together achieved, lifting Alla gently from the ground and coaxing her virtually lifeless body into the saddle of Lailyn’s chestnut mare at the end of the alleyway. Fairmane, whose calm presence, both silent and strong, gave Nia a wisp of reassurance despite the dire circumstances, seemed to sense the gravity of the situation and bowed low to allow the careful placement of the wounded woman on her back.
As shaken as both women were, they were desperate not to let it impede their judgement as to what needed to happen next, though Nia could feel a deep weight of unease being held unsteadily at bay in her mind.
What on earth had happened to her friend of old, that she had ended up in this sorry situation? Was putting faith in hope that she could be saved naive or misguided?
“
Have you any skill at healing?” Nia heard Lailyn ask, pulling her from her thoughts, “
She needs someone and I’m afraid I am hardly qualified...my skills leave much to be desired, only suited to the battlefield.” Nia’s grimace back gave all the answer that was needed; she’d been living alone for so long, and so far from any real dangers, that even if she had ever had the experience and skills required to help her friend, the knowledge would have long since drained from her memory and into the limitless abyss of the once-knowns.
Without conscious intention, Nia had kept her eyes firmly averted from the heap on the floor behind them, the body of Allacan’s aggressor. However, once they’d settled Alla safely atop of Fairmane, she noticed Lailyn’s eyes pass over him behind her, and in a whisper, she said what Nia knew to be true: they couldn’t simply leave the body there, crumpled, unattended, left to the elements, down a darkening alley of Edoras - one that Nia would never now be able to erase from her mind.
Though she knew it was the right decision for her to accompany Alla to a place of safety and healing, and to leave the woman she had barely become acquainted with behind with a corpse for the cavalry to deal with, Nia felt deeply uneasy leaving the scene without her. However, every moment they dallied was potentially a costly one, so Nia committed Lailyn’s directions to memory, and without another word, made haste away to find the mysterious Old Mama Mute.
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Bringing Alla into the care of Old Mama Mute (with @Allacan ob Burzum and @Lailyn )
Nia was utterly spent by the time she reached the hospitable premises under the charge of Old Mama Mute. She couldn’t believe that same earlier that evening she’d been sat just outside the city, soaking up the weak sunlight, contemplating the peaceful serenity of her life; oh how the fates mocked her! The experience of the alleyway attack was seared in her brain; she couldn’t shift the images of Alla being lifted off her feet in strangulation, nor the cloying scent of blood from her nostrils.
The moment she’d been welcomed inside by the silent woman, Nia felt the tightness in her chest loosen, spurred on by the small relief that came with the knowledge that this woman knew her art well. She immediately helped Nia guide Alla from atop Fairmane outside, and into one of the soft, clean beds within. Old Mama Mute’s small stature was at odds with a hardy strength that did not fully match her age, and she appeared to make little work of the dead-weight, taking more than her fair share - though Nia suspected it cost her more than she let show.
Nia sat herself on a small wooden stool to the side of the bed, keeping herself out of the way as Old Mama Mute busied herself tending to Alla’s wounds, washing, drying, and applying an assortment of balms. Occasionally Nia would be able to provide some help in passing over a fresh linen, or a particular jar containing a soothing balm or ointment of some unknown name, but it was all done in silence. It was during this process that Lailyn arrived, and she gasped as she saw Allacan’s face, now clearly visible in the warm lantern light of the room. Nia too had noticed the strange pattern of inky black lines, and returned Lailyn’s questioning gaze with a wide-eyed blank look, giving an almost imperceptible shrug of her shoulders. She truly had no idea what had happened, and couldn’t remember ever feeling so useless or ill-informed.
The days turned into weeks and weeks into months as Lailyn and Nia took it in turns to stay by Alla’s bedside, helping Old Mama Mute to nurse, feed, and bathe her where they could, or sometimes choosing to simply gently hold one of her cool hands in theirs, willing their own warmth into this tortured soul.
Notwithstanding the miserable situation, there were nonetheless moments of cheer amongst the anxiety. Some of Nia’s favourite moments, the ones she clung to when she was herself feeling most despondent, were when she and Lailyn had arrived together, or their vigils overlapped. Lailyn would often wrap her hands round a cup of tea, and begin telling stories, heroic tales of mighty men and women, some mingled with such fine details that Nia knew they must be from a personal history. It had been a long time since Nia had been transported away to far away lands and times in this way, and she hoped the tales of hope and glory might help instill in Alla the same feelings she experienced in listening to them.
It was a warm but moonless night when Nia had decided to accompany Lailyn to the infirmary’s doors. Lailyn was making a night time visit to Alla, but Nia, who was feeling in need of some sleep after several restless nights, had decided to head off early to the temporary home she had now re-established not far away - she would visit again in the morning. Lailyn lit a candle before entering, and Nia bid her farewell on the doorstep, pausing for just a moment, before setting off. But she had not taken two steps before she was hit with a force, an unnaturally icy chill, which laced itself around her, tugging at her dress and loose strands of hair. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced, and it halted her in her tracks with immediate effect. Without hesitation, but also without understanding of how she knew with such certainty that this was related to Alla’s condition in the walls behind her, Nia turned back to look at the doorway she had just vacated. An impenetrable blackness seemed to seep out into the dimly lit street.
