She stood at the edge of camp watching the wagons come and go, bringing back every slave they got out, but she hadn't seen any with the white blonde hair or grey blue eyes. She saw the next wagon and looked around, the healers were busy with the injured and the slaves, she would have to help this group. Axton rushed to the cart as he had with all the others, looking over every slave.
"I'm perfectly fine thanks for asking." Reagan said flatly before she stood and walked out of the wagon. "Bevin carried a girl in at the last second, she might need a bit of help walking." Reagan looked back and pointed at a girl that seemed to be either asleep or unconscious. A girl with filthy white blonde hair and pale skin.
Axton noticed the girl too and practically jumped on her. He picked her up and carried her to the ground. Reagan helped the rest of the slaves off, making surprisingly few snide remarks about Axton. The girl curled into herself on the ground. Axton tapped her shoulder with an odd combination of gentleness and excitement.
"Elspeth?" the girl shifted, seeming to recoil at the name. She opened her eyes and saw Axton over her, he froze at her gaze. She backed away, crawling on wobbling arms and legs, she looked terrified and starved. The girl looked up at her, meeting her gaze and she froze. Eyes that had haunted her, the eyes of a ghost, the silver ringed eyes that she would never forget stared back at her, paralyzed with fear. Then recognition and her wobbling limbs seemed to reanimate and she tried to stand and run but Axton clutched her wrist lightly.
Tears streamed down Axton's face as he said "Lythian?" behind her, Reagan froze, head snapping to the girl.
The girl's voice was hoarse as she asked "Axton?" It sounded like she hadn't spoken in months. Axton pulled her into an embrace though Lythian still looked terrified even if she seemed to calm a little. Lythian, Lythian was alive, it was impossible, they had found her body.
"How are you alive, they found your body?" Reagan stocked past her and her tone was colder than she would have liked but she wanted to know. Lythian took a step back as Reagan approached like the girl was a tiger on the prowl. Silver began to line Lythians eyes and her legs started to wobble again.
Goddess bless her, Lythians legs were thin twigs. She rushed forwards catching Lythian as her knees buckled, marveling at how light she was. She knelt before Lythian, watching as her ghost of a sister sobbed into her hands.
"I t-told her not to, I-I told her n-not to," Lythian's voice was still hoarse but choking sobs caused her to stutter as she gasped down air. "she s-said she would b-be right b-behind me." Axton took a step closer, kneeling down beside her watching Lythian with tears still pouring down his face. Elspeth hadn't been the one that had escaped, Lythian had, the body they had found was Elspeth's. All this time, all this time Lythian had been alive, where had she been? How had she survived all these years, and how had she ended up in the mines.