Aelin woke screaming from Cairn and Maeve as she beheld what had happened to her kingdom Terrasen, her court, her mate. Destruction, utter destruction, they were all dead. Amidst the bloody battlefield, Valg flooded the gates, killing anyone in their path. Maeve spoke to her, above the iron coffin where she was bound in iron shackles, gauntlets, and that mask.
"You will never escape me Aelin, Aelin of the Wildfire, for in your, there lies a secret that none may and none shall know. What you see is what is reality, and that dream of yours, well, I must thank you for telling me that the Prince of Adarlan has the Wyrdkeys.-"
No, no, it couldn't be, could it? It was all a lie?
"-Now that your mate has died-"
But, she hadn't felt the bond break, hadn't she?
"-I will let Cairn deal with you as he pleases. I am sure that he has been wishing for this for a long time."
The mating bond, could it have snapped? But yes, her very heart and soul felt empty, like an essential chunk of it had been ripped out. "No," she breathed, and Cairn sneered at her as he prepared his machinery, whatever it was. She didn't care anymore, her mate was dead, dead, and she was nothing, nothing without him.
"Fenrys, you may go out and see to your needs, come straight back when you're done." He turned to Aelin, "today is going to be fun for you and me, Princess." He snickered.
"Guards!" They lifted her from the iron box, more like a cell, coffin, or deathbed, and strapped her to the machine, accidentally cutting her right thigh on a bit of iron, legs spread wide from her hips, and undressed her from the filthy rags that had been provided. It became clear what was about to happen and she began wriggling, trying as hard as she could to close her legs, but it was no use against the reinforced leather straps holding her in place.
No, no, anything but this, this breaking of her love for Rowan and their physical bond. She began to cry, cry as Fenrys came back, took one look at her, and blinked three times. "are you alright?" One blink back, "no", responded with four blinks, "I am here, I am with you", and the moment was over. Cairn came over and began to attach things to her, and she couldn't help but scream, scream as what had only been hers and her mate's, was ripped from her.
~~~~~~
Bed sheets bundled on the foot of the bed, she clung to them to cover herself as she panted, voice hoarse. Could it have been just a dream? Or was this apart of Maeve's doing too? Everything seemed so real, everything seems so real. Rowan, her mate, was up in an instant, one hand going around her shoulders and the other to cup her face, but she cringed away from him, stopping him in his tracks.
"Are you okay? It was just a dream."
That's what you always say, thought Aelin as she turned her head away from him, from her other half, and sobbed into her knees, bundled in her arms and blanket. Gosh, that look in his eyes. Of pain and regret and sorrow and surprise. She had to get away, away from this nightmare.
~~~
"Tell me what to do Aelin, I'm freaking out over here." Said Rowan, panicked from the dead and haunted look in her eyes when she flinched away. It was unspeakable for her to possibly be afraid of him, her mate, but whatever had happened to Aelin in that nightmare had to have involved him in a way, but in what perspective? Was he the enemy? But that was ridiculous, Rowan thought to himself, for her mate to endanger her. What else could have frightened her so much that his one-act to comfort, to hold and soothe, had her running?
"I--I'm sorry" her voice cracked, breaking his soul to hear. "I--I had a dream." She finished simply, headed to the bathroom where she would no doubt puke her guts up. That same 'disbelieving the world' look from when she escaped Maeve had come across her eyes. Dreamlike, almost. It pained him to look at her anguish, written all over her face, as if she couldn't control it from showing.
This wasn't supposed to happen anymore, thought Rowan as he made the bed and prepared for breakfast, all thoughts of sleep gone from his head. Ever since the war, she had been recovering, hell, he had made sure of it physically, and helped mentally. What could've brought this on? Maeve, he hated to even think of her, and the other Valg had been killed from this world since Erawan's death, and no other being was known to be able to control dreams and infiltrate minds. Rowan had no idea, but he vowed to help her through these hard times and would be supportive no matter what. Besides, there were meetings to attend and business to do. The mouthwatering smell of waffles and sausages loomed out the door, guiding him to the dining room.
~~~
Aelin flushed the toilet for the third time and gripped the bathroom countertop as if her very life depended on it. What's happening to me? I haven't had nightmares like this since the war! Rebuilding and setting up trade and treaties and negotiations usually meant she went to bed exhausted, sleeping like the dead with little to no dreams or interruptions. Only yesterday had been a reprieve, celebrating in the newly built Royal Theater, better if she had to admit, than the one in Rifthold. They had come back buzzing with energy from the party, and Aelin spent much of that energy with Rowan, in their royal bedroom, not necessarily on the bed. They had fallen asleep tangled together, pleasure rippling down their spines.
Washing her face to clear her head, she looked at her reflection from the mirror. She had dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept a wink. Rubbing at them, she got in the shower and scrubbed at herself, only stopping when she noticed a fresh cut on her right thigh. It became apparent why it hadn't healed as there were bits of iron shrapnel in it. When she had gotten this cut, she didn't know. In the night? At the Theater? It wasn't worth the worry after all.
She cleaned up the cut and finished showering. It was already fading away by the time she finished drying her hair and body. She came out to the bedroom to find that Rowan had already left, following the pleasant aroma of breakfast out the door most likely. Good, she thought, even as she missed his snow and pine scent that was fading with the second, it saved her from having to explain herself. She dressed and prepared herself for her court; Fenrys was going to leave the next week on his expedition to the East to find the kingdom where people believed in voting on things, as Aelin's emissary, and they were to have a party the day before his depart. She had to make him believe that all was well, even if it meant her lying.
Going to the vanity table, she applied some makeup to hide her dark circles, applying some blush for colour too. After spraying some perfume, she looked, and smelled, normal enough. Composing herself, she went and took one of Rowan's shirts, breathing in his scent, calming her, even though it brought flashbacks of the dream. Forget it, she thought, it was a dream after all, and Maeve was dead. Thinking about it would do no good for her, would only mean that Maeve had a lasting impact on her, no doubt what she had planned for.
Before opening the door, she took a look at her room, to the bed and the landscape beyond, the vanity table and the mirror there, towards the closet and the doorway to the bathroom, the tapestries and paintings that had been only hung up two days ago when they finished renovating their Royal Bedroom. What she didn't see, however, was at her very own feet. Aelin Galathynius opened the door to her room and left.