Yavanna opened her eyes and stared at the rock above her head. She shivered and breathed out a slow breath, watching as it misted in front of her. The quilts were cold and stiff, they never wanted to cling to her body.
She closed her eyes and tried to picture the soft, warm, heavy blankets back at the castle. The furs. They had always smelled so comforting. Sighing, when the image didn't become a reality, she stood and pulled on stockings then a pair of patterned moccasins.
Her feet were still cold. Nothing ever truly felt warm in the caves. There was always a film of dampness clinging to everything.
She dressed in woollen trews and a thick woollen sweater that didn't quite fit her. As Yavanna pinned her hair back sloppily she thought back to her wedding day.
Things were truly much simpler then. She smiled softly when she remembered that she'd known nothing about magic, let alone that she had it. That Amory was cursed. That she was allegedly the cure for him.
She paused as she pulled her cloak over her shoulders. So many questions still left unanswered. She thought back once again to when she'd passed out in the king's room and heard that haunting voice.
Shaking her head she stepped out of her room after knocking twice. Yavanna nodded at the two guards that were stationed there before turning right and trudging down the well-worn rock.
Drips echoed from dark corners of the cave system and she pulled her hood over her head. Walking deeper into the dark paths she finally reached the halfway point, marked by a glowing lantern. Grabbing it from its hook she ventured deeper and deeper, further into the dark.
Yavanna's breath became shallower and she had to remind herself to open her mouth and breathe. Her throat felt thick with the heavy, dank smell in the stale air and her head spun from what felt like suffocation.
But, she eventually reached the place of her torture and salvation. She inhaled deeply as soon as her hands parted the heavy curtain. Air filtered in through a circular opening in the domed ceiling. Long strands of hairy moss draped through the opening and water dripped down them slowly. When it rained the water poured freely into the chamber.
She didn't know how the witches, and few warlocks, lived in the moist, cold environment. But they hardly ever seemed to notice it.
She removed her cloak and slipped off her moccasins only to put on a sturdy pair of boots. They were slightly too small, but protected her better against the water.
"Today will be something different." Niran's voice echoed around the chamber and she looked up to where he usually stood but he wasn't there. "Today, instead of flowers and mist, you will learn about an ability you've used before but have yet to know how to control it."
Yavanna spun slowly, knowing that Niran was already winning in whatever game he had planned. Before she could blink, a shadow came at her from the right and she scrambled out of the way.
"Deflect my attacks." He ordered and in the next instant she felt air moving behind her and she raised her arm in defence only to feel his hand slice into her forearm. She gasped in pain and clutched at it.
Niran had disappeared and she was already breathing heavily from the sudden rush of adrenaline.
"Don't use your body, use your magic." His voice echoed through the chamber, "Don't lock up your joints, allow them to bend and move freely."
When Yavanna sensed another attack coming from her left she spun and was too late to block a jab at her ribs. She clutched at them and winced.
"Use your healing." Niran hissed and she breathed out a slow breath and felt the already forming bruise disappear.
"You'll have to be faster than that if you're in battle with someone." He said from the shadows.
"Why would I be in battle with someone?"
"Always be prepared, Uttara."
She closed her eyes momentarily at his sneer. He mocked her new name and refused to call her by her given name.
And again, he attacked her from the shadows. She attempted to move but failed and he grabbed her wrist and chopped his forearm hard on her back. She winced but he left her no time to recover and instantly turned around to ram his shin into hers.
She fell to her knees.
"Get up. You have to get up. I know you have this power, Uttara."
She breathed deeply as she used her magic to heal herself. What power did he mean? He'd said the phrase before. Once to illustrate that she had the power to heal, or to control nature, mists and water. What was he aiming at now?
Yavanna stood and stared up into the light. It had begun raining and the cold water seeped into her clothes and hair. She didn't have time to warm herself so she simply grit her teeth. She had other things to focus on.
And before long, Niran pounced on her from above. She moved and felt the wet rock drag beneath her boot causing her to slow. Niran hit the base of her neck then the inside of her knee. She fell to one knee, the water dripping down her back.
"You're not trying!" He growled as he circled her. He always became violent.
She didn't answer and only focused on regaining her energy. When his hand swung out to hit her shoulder blade she rolled swiftly to the side and finally saw him clearly for the first time.
He raised an auburn brow and she took it as him being impressed. But the expression soon passed as though it had never existed and she saw his eyes dart behind her for a moment.
Her heart hammered in her chest and she quickly craned her neck to look but realized all too late that Niran had been distracting her. He charged at her and she raised her arms to protect herself only to watch as he collided with an invisible wall.
Yavanna's arms immediately lowered and before she could inspect the mysterious barrier of her making, Niran crashed into her. They fell to the ground in a heap and she groaned at the sharp pain ebbing from her head and elbows.
Niran's chuckle filtered into her pain-muddled consciousness and she parted her eyes open to see that he was laying directly on top of her. Her eyes went wide and her heart stilled. All of her blood rushing to her cheeks and ears.
"I must say, I never anticipated 'us' reaching this stage." He muttered above her in a tone that caused her to scramble away from his touch and voice.
He didn't say anything as she sprinted for the curtain and retrieved the lantern, forgetting her cape and moccasins. She passed through the halls and went further out. Away from her prison of a room and towards a small window she knew existed. She still didn't know where the entrance to the caves was.
Finally arriving at the window she nearly dropped to the hard ground. But she instead lowered herself slowly and painfully. She was already bruised enough as it was. Staring out of the window, breathing in the cool, relaxing air, she eventually allowed her muscles to relax.
Niran had never attempted anything…sexual towards her, a fact for which she was grateful for. In the four weeks she had been there, he had made her feel safe.
She closed her eyes and rested her heavy head against the rough rock. She had long given up hope for rescue from this place. This place where she wasn't even in danger. But it was a place in which she wasn't living. She was only breathing and moving on throughout the day.
And it was draining her. Changing her. She was tired.
Yavanna sat for hours staring at the forest below, watching the rain drops pour down endlessly. But it would end. Everything did.