“My dear, you appear so very sad.” The voice was so gentle, so tender as a hand reached out in her direction, unknown to her. It took to rest upon her shoulder as she sat there, still in the razor sharp grasses that smelled so sickeningly sweet that bile was forced to rise in her throat on many occasions. How long had she been sitting there? Days, perhaps. She couldn't tell.
The woman was silent, though. Her head hung low and the dark crimson had long since turned brown, crusting along her cheeks and under where eyes should have been. Her ebony hair was a wild mess with twigs and leaves stuck in the nest. No reply for the man with the kind words and soft touch, though, as she was just reliving the nightmare over and over again, her mind refusing to allow her any freedom.
“Is anything the matter?” Again the voice appeared concerned as he gave the woman's shoulder a gentle squeeze, offering what comfort he could to a woman that was obviously very distressed.
A hiss flitted past her lips like a small leak in a gas line, waiting to explode. It was just a small hiss that whispered a single word. “Ava,” came the tiny airy whisper from the woman before she seemed to come apart at the seams and just tumble into the man.
“There there, Mymyk. I promised Phimires that I would take care of you and your daughter. Come. Come, my innocent lamb. Come with me.” Caressing her shoulder still, he took his free hand to stroke over the gaunt and malnourished cheek of the woman, pushing aside some of the greasy strings of ebony and tucking them back behind her ears. “What you have been through must have been horrible. Come with me and I will help to ease you out of that nightmare.”
A nod. That was all he needed, any form of affirmation on her part, and that was exactly what she had offered him in such a simple movement. Releasing her shoulder and cheek he parted the cloth away from the package that he carried. It was that simple thin golden ring that he held. The runes glimmered and glowed as the seamless ring appeared to crack and hinge open in order that it may be placed around the woman's throat. Once perfectly in place, a click could be heard as the hinges closed and the seam seemed to vanish and reseal itself away from spying eyes. Then slowly, ever so slowly, to the point where it could barely be noticed, it began to reshape and take form to more readily fit about the woman's throat in a snug manner.
“Mymyk,” he breathed as her feelings, thoughts, and emotions slammed into him like a hurricane. The purr started deep in his throat before becoming a moan that trailed off as his golden eyes opened once more. “I need to be inside of your mind, my lamb. And you need to be inside of mine.” Hands crept to her face, fingers gripping behind her jaw as he pressed his thumbs deeply into the sockets that once held her eyes. Taking in a deep breath his eyes half lidded as his lower lip trembled. The pressure began to ease, slowly, before his hands fell away from her face. “Open your eyes, dear. Open your eyes and give thanks to me.”
Slowly her lids parted and slowly it was apparent to her that she could see again, though she didn't know how nor did she completely care. It was only when her eyes opened and she saw the man kneeling before her in his impeccable clothing so finely dressed that it hit her. Or perhaps it was the slamming of words, his name, what he was to be called into her head that caused her to buckle. Either way her head bowed as she whispered the first intelligible word beyond her daughters name. “Master.”
