Aurelia tightened her arms around the girl—no, the person—who had saved her. She could feel the tension in the other girl's body, the way she stiffened at the touch, as if she didn't know how to respond. But Aurelia didn't let go. She couldn't. There was something about this girl, something dark and broken and beautiful, that made her want to stay close. To protect her. To give her something she had clearly never had before.
"Kaelith," Aurelia said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Your name is Kaelith."
The girl—Kaelith—didn't respond at first. She stood there, her glowing red eye wide with something Aurelia couldn't quite place. Shock? Confusion? Fear? It was hard to tell. But then, something unexpected happened. A single tear slipped down Kaelith's pale cheek, glistening in the moonlight.
Aurelia's breath caught in her throat. She hadn't expected that. She hadn't expected anything from this girl, who had been so silent, so cold, so distant. But now, as she held her, she could feel something shifting, something warm but dark spreading through Kaelith's chest. It was faint, almost imperceptible, but it was there.
"Kaelith," Aurelia repeated, her voice firm but gentle. "It means 'shadow's light.' Because even in the darkest places, there's always a little bit of light. And you… you're my light."
Kaelith didn't respond, but she didn't pull away either. She stood there, her body still tense, her glowing red eye fixed on Aurelia's face. And then, slowly, almost imperceptibly, she leaned into the embrace.
The days that followed were unlike anything Kaelith had ever experienced. For the first time in her life, she wasn't alone. Aurelia was always there, her presence a constant, warm presence at her side. She talked endlessly, her voice filling the silence with stories and questions and laughter. And though Kaelith didn't always respond, she found herself listening. Really listening.
"What was it like?" Aurelia asked one evening as they sat by a small campfire. "The experiments, I mean. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but… I want to understand."
Kaelith hesitated, her glowing red eye fixed on the flames. She had never talked about the experiments before. She had never talked about anything before. But something about Aurelia's presence, about the warmth in her voice, made her want to try.
"It hurt," she said finally, her voice soft and hoarse from disuse. "Every time. They would strap me down and… and do things. Cut me open. Burn me. Inject me with things. It hurt so much I thought I would die. But I didn't. I couldn't."
Aurelia's eyes filled with tears, but she didn't interrupt. She just listened, her hand reaching out to gently rest on Kaelith's arm.
"I stopped feeling," Kaelith continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "The pain was too much. So I… I made it stop. I made everything stop. I didn't feel anything anymore. Not fear. Not anger. Not sadness. Nothing."
Aurelia's grip tightened, her fingers digging into Kaelith's arm. "But you feel something now, don't you?" she asked, her voice trembling. "When you're with me?"
Kaelith didn't answer at first. She looked down at Aurelia's hand, at the warmth of her touch, and felt that strange, flickering sensation in her chest again. It was warm but dark, comforting but unsettling. She didn't know what it was, but it was there.
"Yes," she said finally, her voice barely audible. "I feel… something."
Aurelia smiled, her tears spilling over. "That's good," she said softly. "That's really good."
Aurelia had always been a dreamer. Even as a child, she had imagined a world beyond the walls of her family's estate, a world filled with adventure and magic and wonder. But the reality of the world was far darker than she had ever imagined.
The assassins had come in the night, their movements swift and silent. They had killed her guards, her servants, everyone who stood in their way. And then they had come for her.
She had run, her heart pounding in her chest, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She didn't know where she was going, didn't know if she would survive. All she knew was that she couldn't stop. If she stopped, she would die.
And then, she had seen her.
At first, Aurelia hadn't known what to think. The girl—no, the creature—that stepped out of the shadows was unlike anything she had ever seen. Her right side was blackened, her skin cracked with glowing red marks, and her eye… her eye was the most terrifying thing of all. It glowed with an otherworldly light, cold and calculating, and yet, there was something in it that made Aurelia pause.
When the assassins attacked, Aurelia had been sure she was going to die. But then, the shadows had come alive. They had twisted and writhed, forming into tendrils that lashed out at the assassins with terrifying speed. And then, just like that, it was over. The assassins were dead, and Aurelia was alive.
She had been too shocked to speak at first. She had just stared at the girl—Kaelith—her mind racing with questions. Who was she? What was she? And why had she saved her?
But then, Kaelith had turned to leave, and Aurelia had felt a sudden, desperate need to follow her. She didn't know why. She didn't even know if it was safe. But something about Kaelith, about the way she moved, the way she looked at her, made Aurelia feel like she couldn't let her go.
The days that followed were strange and surreal. Kaelith was silent, her movements cold and mechanical, but Aurelia didn't mind. She talked enough for both of them, her voice filling the silence with stories and questions and laughter. And though Kaelith didn't always respond, Aurelia could tell she was listening.
There was something about Kaelith that drew Aurelia in, something dark and broken and beautiful. She could see the pain in Kaelith's eyes, the way she flinched at sudden movements, the way she seemed to retreat into herself whenever the memories became too much. And yet, there was also a strength in her, a resilience that Aurelia couldn't help but admire.
When Kaelith finally spoke, when she told her about the experiments, about the pain and the emptiness, Aurelia felt something shift inside her. It was warm but dark, comforting but unsettling. It was the same feeling she had seen in Kaelith's eyes, the same feeling that had made her follow her in the first place.
And then, when Kaelith shed that single tear, when she leaned into Aurelia's embrace, Aurelia knew she couldn't let her go. Not now. Not ever.
"You're not alone anymore," Aurelia whispered, her voice filled with determination. "I'll stay with you. I'll protect you. And I'll give you a name."
And as she held Kaelith, as she felt that strange, flickering warmth in her chest, Aurelia knew she had found something she had been searching for her entire life. Something dark and beautiful and broken. Something that made her feel alive.