Behind Grey Eyes.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"

Finally getting down to rest Alex settled into the blankets. The sleep light nights passed seemed to draw on. As soon as his eyes closed they snapped open. Like waking from a dark stupor. He stood his arms folded at the edge of the Mythrin outpost. His armour adorning him but for some reason he wasn’t, or at least didn’t quite feel weighed down by the steel. Even the blade at his side seemed weightless. He blinked his eyes several times banishing the darkness from the corners of his eyes.

As much as the world seemed alive and very much open to life. Alex couldn’t hear a thing, just dead silence. In the distance a single small cottage stood out to him. His feet carried him towards it absent his minds input. Almost like it was less of a want to go there more of as compulsion. The world around him seemed to darken slowly a deep blackness overcoming the light of bright the sky, like a tangible sense of dread settling over him. Alex pushed onwards and up to the door. With each step the oppressive feeling of impending misfortune grew. Alex’s breath escaped him slowly slipping through with a heavy overtone.

He pressed his weight into the door. Willing it to open… Not so much as a creak. Like something was trying to keep him out. He hit the door. The heel of his mailed hand slamming on the wood like a battering ram. Again and again, between each impact he tried the door. Not a creak not a crack. Not even the sound of an impact. He closed his eyes and touched the door. Open. He thought over and over again. Each time repeating the word louder and louder in his head. Then a sudden click. A shifting of the handle and the door started to move.

Alex opened his eyes as he pushed on the wood work, a slow long creak echoed out before him. One heavy step, another, and another. Each time the sense of dread grew thicker and heavier. The bright blue sky outside faded to the darkest black. Not even a trace of moon nor star light escaped it. He spotted a bed in the corner. And a child crying at the foot of it. Atop the bed lie a woman. Mouth agape and eyes staring blankly off into the distance. Alex winced and stepped closer and closer, lowering his form he crouched next to the child. The dull scratching sound that came off of his armour alerting the child if the sound of the door already hadn’t.
“Hey, hey…” His hand reached out slowly and pressed lightly on the shoulder of the kid. “You alright? What’s your name?” He was just speaking what was on his mind. Asking light and softly trying to get the child to turn and take their eyes off of what lay before them.

[Belinda]

She was exhausted as it didn’t take her long to sleep. Her weightless self was taken along as she found herself back in that shack her and her mother lived in that was close to the tavern. Her mother worked at the tavern to lay ale down and lay men down. It put bread on the table and took care of them both. As Belinda became more of age, her mother taught her how to use her feminine wiles. She even made sure her first time was with someone gentle. The worked and lived with occasional visits from her father. Two years ago, he stopped coming. Her mother had told her that he must have died. He always kept his promises.

Here she is again facing that day that her mother died. She had been battling the cough for half a season. She had woken up that morning and went to her bed to see if she could make her some tea, only she had no response. There was not a lot that could make Belinda feel like a little girl other than this moment. The little girl in her sat down beside the body and stared at it for many chimes. The tears trailed down continuously. That pretty face did not lose its beauty when the tears graced those copper toned cheeks. Her hand was on the cold dead hand of her mother’s. What would she do? Is this all there is to life? Why, now?

She could hear the door open as her head did not turn. The heavy steps that clinked of steal and then the hand was on her shoulder. Still, her head did not turn. The stuttering intake of breath an sniffle of the quiet weeping was her response to that hand.

“Hey, hey. You alright? What’s your name?”

She turned her head to look into kind green eyes. A little voice came out of her as those grey eyes looked up at him. “Belinda, sir. “ This was accompanied by a sniff. Even as a child, Belinda was a beauty. “Mama’s been sick for a while. Can you make her better?” It was a child’s plea, not a grown woman’s plea. That was what she wanted that day, for her to just wake up and smile at her as she always did. “We can’t afford much. Doctors and healers are expensive, mama said.” She turned back around to take the cold dead hand into her little hand. “She’s so cold.” As the little girl’s weeping renewed. “Please, help us?”

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"

The name was one he knew. Belinda. Despite the mild shock of hearing that Alex remained fairly still faced. Could he make her mother better? No. Alex knelt down slowly to look her directly in the eyes. A soft sadness in his.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think she’s going to be waking up any more.” The only words he could say to break it too her as gently as he could. His hand reached out slowly to pry her hand off of the body of her mother. He didn’t press hard just wanting her to be back in case she caught whatever had killed her mother.

“I can’t help, I’m sorry. But let’s go find a healer together that can help out. I’ll pau for it ok?” Alex tried to put on a brave smiling face for her to try and let her know everything would be ok. A small motion and he moved to pick her up. He was going to take her away from this to give her some air and let it out of her system. The moment he got her out of the cottage he closed the door behind him. He’d speak softly then the words extremely light.
“I’m sorry Belinda… She’s gone. She’s gone to see Lhex and Dira is showing her the way." He tried to make the words sound light. Sound fair but there was something deeply unfair about it. She’d lose her mother to something that could have been prevented if they’d had the money. Alex exhaled. So this is where she gets the compulsion to help the poor and the weak from.

He couldn’t do much more than this, he couldn’t say much more than this. All he could do was stay near by whilst she just let it out of her system. His eyes closed, he patted her back lightly, trying his best to make her feel safe in a world with no safety. In a time where horrors had already come and gone. He was powerless. But he still wanted to help.