Queen of Ash

Just Stay

Rye

The clock on the mantle struck two, she had been packing for more than two hours. I knew that she had clothes, but this many clothes seemed improbable. I looked up from my list of tax reform ideas and tried to listen for any noise at all, footsteps, slamming, anything that would let me know that she was still there. The house was utter silent, except for the running water in the pipes.

Panic flooded through my body, what if she ran away? I was too trusting of her, I let her go without watching her. I scoffed, I was incredibly stupid for thinking that she wouldn't run away at the first opportunity. She could be long gone by now, a two hour head start was a long time. I reached along the bond, trying to see if I could feel her, but her side was walled off.

I jumped up from the desk and shoved the paper into my pocket. I ran up the stairs, taking three steps at a time. When I reached the top of the stairs I saw the light from under her door, maybe I was just being worrisome. I prodded against the bond again forcing her to open up to me. I was met with emptiness, a kind of cold that I've never felt before. It was like staring into a black abyss, there was no light, no hope. I knocked on the door, I heard a small shuffle from the other side.

Are you okay? I placed my hand on the knob of the door. I didn't want to rush her, but we had been gone from the Estate for hours and I didn't want my Mother or Jase to get worried and send out half the guards to look for us. I told them we would be back as soon as we could. Can I come in?

She didn't respond, I reached out again feeling the darkness seep into my bones, it was the kind of darkness that made men insane. My heart sank down to my stomach and dread crawled its way through me. I knew something was wrong, I could feel it inside of me. I could feel the dread in her. I pressed an ear to the cold wood, trying to be sure I wasn't barging in on anything. I was met with silence, I waited for a few seconds my ear straining to hear something, anything. After what seemed like an eternity of silence there was a noise, another whimper. A chill went through me. I slowly turned the knob. I had my flames playing at my fingertips, I wasn't sure what was on the other side of the door, but I could feel the darkness. I pushed the door openly slowly, letting my fire grow. I did what I was trained to do, my eyes scanned the room for any threat as I used the door to shield the rest of my body.

"Emerson?" I half whispered half asked. I peeked into the room and was shocked at the disarray. Clothes thrown onto the floor, steam fogged the room, bloody weapons littered the floor. There were footprints of blood around the room. I swallowed. I could hear the running water from the shower.

My eyes frantically roved the room, where was she? The steam made the room so foggy, It was hard to see. I ran into the bathroom and saw that shower running on full heat. I looked inside, nothing. I reached into the shower to turn it off, the water hit my skin and burned. I hissed and quickly turned it off. I checked the rest of the bathroom, she wasn't there. I went back to the bedroom, careful not to step on any creaky wood, in case anyone was still lurking. I felt a twinge of sadness plow through my body. I focused on that emotion and I grabbed ahold of it. I let that tether lead me to the closet. I placed my hand on the doorknob to the closet and swung the door opened. I had my hands in front of my chest ready to burn through someone. The moment I saw her, my hands were down.

She was sitting on the floor her knees to her chest. Her head was down and her hair hung like a curtain around her face. A metallic scent wafted through the closet, blood. She was in a tank top, her shirt laying next to her. Blood covered her arms, her face, her hair. Panic ran through me again, her blood?

"Emerson" I ran through the door frame and stopped in front of her. I tried to grab her face with my hands. "Hey love, where is the blood coming from? Emerson, Rutting gods, Emerson." I was screaming now, my voice filling the small room. My voice was shaking. My hands ran over her arms trying to find the source of the blood, there was so much blood, too much blood. My hands were coated in a sticky red mess. I grabbed a shirt hanging up and started cleaning her arms, I had to stop this bleeding, or she was going to die. I didn't know how she was still alive, this amount of blood would kill someone. I kept wiping her arms down, but the blood was just spreading.