Swan Song ✧ STEVE ROGERS [✓]

62 - A Dream Or a Memory?

7 MONTHS LATER (HBT)...

RAEVANNA DIDN'T KNOW WHERE SHE WAS, OR HOW SHE HAD GOTTEN THERE.

She was standing in the middle of a dark maze, hazy mist curling around her ankles and the shrieks of crows echoing in her ears. The walls were dark grey, almost black, with ashy white dead vines winding up them. The ground was stained with blood, and skeletons of various creatures were scattered around the area. Ominous blackish-brown clouds hovered over the maze, casting a dark shadow over the entirety of the area and only adding to the eeriness Raevanna felt.

It was the sound of the crows that told her where she was. She was in the Maze of the Forgotten - the most dangerous place in Elyon.

Suddenly she heard voices - faint, but definitely there. Raevanna couldn't make out what they were saying, but moments after she heard them, three figures materialized in front of her - an adult dark fae couple and one young dark fae, a girl who appeared to be barely nine years old. The three figures immediately began running, and Raevanna gasped as an invisible force suddenly lifted her up and dragged her along after them.

"We can't keep running forever!" the female faery shouted to the other, who Raevanna assumed was her husband. "We have to find somewhere safe!"

"We can't stop!" the male faery shouted back. "If we stop, they'll catch us!"

Raevanna frowned, looking back in confusion to see dark figures lumbering after the faeries, their heavy breathing and vicious snarls echoing in the distance. Her eyes went wide; what were they?

"Listen," the female faery said. "We can't outrun them, they'll catch us no matter what. But if we split up-"

"No." The male faery shook his head. "We're not splitting up. We can make it to Levacon, if we just keep going."

The female faery grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Please, just stop and think for a moment. Think of our children." She looked down at the young girl, and that was when Raevanna noticed the infant in the adult faery's arms. "They are the last night fae, but they're young. If anyone has the best chance of surviving, it's them."

The faery's husband shook his head again. "We can't just-"

"We must," the female faery said, cutting him off. "For their own safety." Then she turned to the young girl and handed the baby to her. "You take her, and you get as far away from here as you can. And whatever you do, don't come back for us."

The young girl shook her head. "But mother-"

"Do as we ask," the female faery said. "Please."

The young girl was silent for a moment, then nodded. At the response, the male faery turned to the wall and waved a hand over it, and a small hole appeared in the stone - a hole just big enough for her to fit through. Taking one final look at the couple, the young faery turned and jumped through the hole, and as soon as she was on the other side the hole vanished.

Raevanna blinked, shocked. But before she could do anything, she was pulled forward, and suddenly she was seeing things from the baby's perspective, her heart pounding as the young girl ran through the dark woods.

She kept running, going as fast as she could, tripping over tree roots and slapping vines out of her face. Then, the young girl slowed to a stop right at the edge of a line of lighter, less-ominous looking trees before looking down at Raevanna. And it was her eyes that stood out to Raevanna the most - a striking pale blue, with white flecks and a green-brown ring around her irises. They were the most stunning eyes Raevanna had ever seen, and she knew that she would never forget the way they looked.