Chapter 30: Chapter Twenty Eight
Arachne woke to the sudden sound of falling water against the ground of a cave, a gentle melody that could have not been more unsettling and eerie if there were any remnant of life or disturbance beside the debris surrounding them from the fall. Sitting up and opening her eyes that had been almost sealed up by dried blood, sweat, and tears, she looked around almost desperately for her fiance, who, as she recalled, had been below her during their fall, unless that changed, although she doubted it did, for the fall seemed relatively brief.
And when her eyes fell upon Amalica, she crawled over to her with immediate urgency, for her legs were very weak, and she knew that if she attempted to begin walking, she would harm herself even more than she already had. Arachne speculated the fall had been about twenty feet when she had given a slight glimpse upwards, which was a debris-filled entrance that could possibly have caused a tear in the path to the surface, no doubt probably one of the only reasons the cutthroats hadn't reached them.
Amalica had propped herself up against the wall of the cave, breathing shakily, blood dripping down from all over her face, from her nose, head, and mouth, there was no shortage of red to taint her ashen skin, even on her clothes, which had become tattered beyond recognition. The blood that had come from her face had been so intense that it had made its way onto her clothing, not to mention the already dried blood of that of the men that they had managed to kill before the fall, but there were still open cuts on her arms, and no doubt her back, which was facing the wall.
Her eyes were closed, although she was clearly in agony, she took sharp breaths at times, and even her normal breathing pattern was irregular and harsh, heavily audible and raspy. Arachne couldn't say whether or not she had truly fallen asleep, or if she was trying to in order to ease the pain at hand, which, knowing Amalica, the latter of the options seemed the most likely, for she was never one to ask for help, even in the most dire of times.
Arachne outstretched her hand, having it gently cradle her face as she pulled herself next to Amalica, wincing as she felt her left arm throb horribly as she did so, holding it tightly with her other hand to attempt to keep it still in some way. Even still, she tried to speak to her fiance with words of comfort despite her own pain, "It'll be okay, don't worry. There's no one after us right now." She took hold of her battered hand, pressing her lips gently to it even though there were cuts from the fall littering them.
Arachne saw Amalica make a pained smile, her eyes still closed as she gave her hand a brief squeeze, weak in comparison to the strength of her hands, and it pained her to hear the voice of her beloved weighed down by unimaginable pain, and she knew that there was little she could do to ease her pain, for the simple fact that they were without any contact to the world above. "Oh, you're sweet. You have no clue how good this feels right now… you holding me," she coughed, blood spurting from her mouth and dribbling down her chin, wincing again as she attempted to breathe. "But I don't think I'm gonna make it, Arachne. I'm just glad I saved you."
She grabbed her hand even tighter, her hold not relinquishing for a moment as she threw her head back against the wall, orienting her neck so as to see her fiance, a pained expression on her features for one of two reasons. One for the fact of her own pain, and another for that of what she saw to the very woman she loved. "Don't talk like that. You'll make it, we'll…" Arachne paused, watching as Amalica coughed once again, her eyes opening for a moment, to reveal their almost glassy state, as if she was trying not to cry. She never cried, so maybe… maybe she was really going to die? "We'll get through this," she lifted up her lover's hand, the one that had her engagement ring, smiling as she felt tears begin to prick at her eyes, "we've got to wait for the big day, remember?" Her voice had cracked.
Amalica opened her eyes, turning to look at her with her eyes as she fought tears, although she didn't know if it was from the pain, or from the knowledge of what was to come, Arachne was certain that something lay in the pool of carmine that she had fallen in love with, something that it was trying to desperately to hide, but the seams were splitting. She could see in them anguish, desperation, fear, despair, agony, and so much more, she knew, because, as many things were built, there was something deeper in them that seemed to speak more for the fact that she had seemed to have accepted the fact that she was going to meet the arms of Eilistraee far too soon.
And with those eyes, tears began to fall, mixing with the blood, dried and not, dripping even further down her neck and the like, and as that brink was reached, Arachne began to join her, the two of them holding each other almost desperately as they realized the fate in front of them. Either way, death was in front of them, it was just painful for the both of them to know that one would go before the other, and not comfortably.
Arachne tried to focus on their memories, trying to flood herself with thoughts to make their impending demise seem less harsh, but each time she did, it was almost as if she saw the shadow of what they were meant to expect before them, their carelessness becoming their own downfall and their own nemesis. She found herself thinking back and cursing herself for her immediate certainty of safety, for there was no doubt her disappearance sent quite a stir, perhaps even a massacre, to the lives of those in Abburth, for there was no question that Matron Aunerae took joy in those things.
Perhaps her heedlessness was the cause of this, and although it was indeed a massacre, there was always a chance that it was unrelated, as it was clear she wasn't even recognized as a person of interest, or perhaps she was, but had disappeared far too soon beneath the ground that was safe to traverse in to continue any line of inquiry; perhaps now Matron Aunerae thought she was dead? However, wishful thinking as it was, the expedition seemed to jump too readily to attack them, although the drow were killing machines, so it wasn't beneath them.
Her mind kept going in circles, trying to make sense of where she was now, even though there was little sense to make of it, and she knew it. It seemed as if karma was finally catching up to her in the worst way possible, slowly eating away at her until she lost everything she held dear until she lost herself.
~
She didn't know how long she had been holding Amalica as her breath slowly became more shallow, to the point that her pulse was so faint that it was almost impossible to tell if she was even breathing, even though her heart still kept her alive, although she as quite unsure if that would even be the case for much longer. But all Arachne knew was that she would have died somewhat peacefully, for at the moment she slept peacefully, and if she was to die that way, so be it, at least she was in her arms, warm and safe.
But it sounded as if footsteps began to make their way through the cave as Amalica's pulse seemed to dim, and with an almost forlorn voice, Arachne called out to the steps, her arms wrapped around her beloved as she did so, caressing her matted hair. "Please! Help! I beg of you! Help!"
And it seemed as if she heard a feminine chuckle that was familiar, reverberating through the walls of the cave itself, musical in nature, but with undertones of seriousness and a feeling of chaos around it, and feeling her heart almost skip a beat, she recognized it almost immediately as the ethereal woman who had saved her life once before; Eilistraee, Lady of song and Dance, and Arachne's savior. "Don't you worry, my dear, I have come for you. I can't have you dying on me again," her voice seemed to approach ever so closer, the life in it feeling like a breath of fresh air against the already sullen air around it, "I did say you had things to do. Let's keep those things in line, shall we?"
In Arachne's pure feeling of joy and safety, she seemed to lack the insight into the weight behind some of the words that she had heard, for despite the playful nature of the Goddess, she came on despondent tidings, but with her presence came a sense of overwhelming security, something she had been short on since the attack. All she wished was for Amalica to be awake to see the woman in her magnificent glory, just as she had almost seventeen years ago.
And when she made her appearance from around the corner of the tunnel that would have led into the cavern of which they were trapped in, the music of whirling lyres, harps, flutes, violins, and many more instruments began playing as her long legs steeped passed the bend. It was only until Arachne saw her in her true glory did she remember the sheer beauty of the woman of her salvation, and the force she commanded despite it. But perhaps there was a change in the way that she saw her, for her devotion had been founded after meeting her, and now she saw her from the view of a worshiper, and not as one that she saved from ultimate starvation.
For on that day she wore a garment that began on her left shoulder, leaving the other bare, white fabric making its way down to where her breasts began, a silver nob keeping it in place, a silver breastplate-esque acting as a bra as the white fabric passed directly through the center of it, wrapping around her entire body similar to that of how a shawl would, save for the fact that it was tighter and ended at the beginning of her waist. On the breastplate itself, specifically on the right breast, three blue feathers protruded from the top to act as some form of decoration, while in the center there were two silver wires that culminated into a diamond-like shape with a sapphire of the same shape at the bottom corner holding up the beginning of the skirt, which was translucent black fabric.
Coming from that, hanging low on her waist was the skirt itself, one part long and covering her right thigh, the other part opening up so as to cause some form of breathability, exposing her left thigh, a ring above it indicating that it was clipped up, a belt cut across it to add definition to her beautiful figure, a sword sheath attached to the side of it, a bejeweled hilt exposed. Beside it was a connection of silver bands that lined her waist to further add the illusions of curve about her, and those same silver bands were wrapped around both of her thighs as well as her arms.
And her face remained as it had been, symmetrical and perfect, almost childlike but mature in the same sense, blue eyes glimmering like a beacon in the dark place where they had been trapped in for only Eilistraee knew how long. When one thought about it, there was no doubt that she probably did, for she was a God, all-knowing in the best respect.
She stood before the two of them, a soft frown adorning her pure features, a pained look painted on her blue eyes, although her voice still remained serene and calming, akin to a place of warmth, a light in the darkness, if you would. "I'm so sorry, Arachne, but she's dead now. Feel her pulse? It's gone. I'm here to take her away to a place where she can keep singing." Eilistraee knelt down with her unbelievably long legs, her smooth ashen hand gently running down Amalica's cheek, "Something you don't know until death is that I grant you one last wish, something of a last momento. Most choose for their loved ones good favor, or for them to never forget them, but Amalica… she wanted you to live out your dream."
Arachne felt tears begin to renew, her hands shaking as she still held the dead body of Amalica, grasping onto her hands as if she could still feel it. There was no one there to squeeze back. "My dream was to spend my life with her, my dream was for us to live safely and away from despair and forget everything that ever happened to us in the past! Bemril, her family, all of it!" She looked down at the body that she had within her arms, tears trickling down and into the top of Amalica's head, "If I can't do that, then I'll die with her. She's my life, I can't just live without her!"
Eilistraee smiled woefully, moving her hands to hold that of Arachne's hands, forcing them from the husk of what remained of her love, "But that's not what Amalica wanted, Arachne. She wanted you to live your life to the fullest without her hindering your progress, and while she would never have done that, I think we both know what your real dream is." There was an almost playful glint in her eyes as she continued to speak, but it was almost as subtle as the rhythmic dropping of water that fought to be heard against the Goddess's music. "When you wake up, you'll find yourself on the surface near a village. Follow the road and sneak onto a boat, and it will be where it lands that you will find salvation. It is a land known as the Greenwald, it's past where the Sword Coast lies, and there I expect it will take your mother and her agents a very long time to find you."
Arachne paused, looking at Eilistraee, a dismayed expression on her face, "If I leave, Durdyn won't be able to find me, either. Please, can I stay here on this continent? I want to see him again!" Her mind flashed to the innocent boy that she had missed since the moment she had left Abburth, her only good memory that could even possibly be living in the horrible place of her birth.
Eilistraee smiled gently, a playfully mischievous glint in her eyes, her long gossamery hair flying upwards a bit as she chuckled, "He'll find you, dear, don't you worry one bit. Be it by my will or no, he will find you when you find yourself in the Greenwald." She stood again, outstretching her arms as if she was planning on taking something, and it was almost clear what she planned to take. "Come here, Amalica. I'm ready to take you home."
In a whirl of musical sound and air, an ethereal looking raindrop came from Amalica's chest, more of the same translucent air manifesting to form a ghost-like figure of her beloved, unharmed, just as she had been before the massacre, and tears began to fall down Arachne's face once again. Seeing her was almost heartbreaking, but to see her smile without any agony laced within it was like a breath of fresh air, and it was then that she had come to terms with her death long before it had actually occurred.
And, in the same fashion the living Amalica would, she grinned as she stepped back into Eilistraee's arms, uttering her last words to her, "Don't worry, my love, I'm ready to meet the stars. Maybe someday you will, too."
Arachne fell asleep with tears in her eyes.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AspiringWriter3
AspiringWriter3 I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Just as a heads up, I will be taking the next two weeks off of writing since I've been a bit burned out recently.
See you soon!
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