I pushed myself against the strong waves. I was already submerged  waist-deep when the waters suddenly pulled the girl under. 

My instinct decided before my logic could—making me dive straight into the piercing unknown.

I gathered all my strength, resisting the current from pulling me upwards. I hissed through the cold, it felt like a thousand needles were stabbing all of my endlessly. The waters pulled her even deeper, the only thing left within my vision are the edges of her white blouse. Moonlight could only go so far and if I did not reach her on time, the dark waters would swallow her whole. 

I swam stronger and faster, adrenaline pushing me to my core. I reached out for her extended hand.

Good. She was conscious. That was more than enough for me to pull us back together to the surface.

Her fingertips reached mine. Then my hand. I clasped hers tightly and tugged her close. I grabbed her waist with my one hand as I swam upwards, dragging both of our weights. 

    The stabbing pins I felt within my flesh suddenly disappeared, replacing me with a tint of warmth. Before I thought further, my breath hitched hard, I needed air. My lungs would burst any time, I could only take on so much.

  I broke the surface, still holding her with me. A sore relief overcame me as the cold air finally reached my lungs and I gasped for more. I treaded the waters steadily, searching for sand I could finally step on.

The girl kept her grip on my one arm that was holding her. She was too weak to support herself.

After long moments, we finally reached the shore.

I set her down against the black sand, avoiding the rocks. My whole body had felt like splinters, I fell on the sand face first as I lost momentum. My thoughts flew back to the warmth that continued to spread in me as I took ahold of her. I could not fathom why, but the rune on my nape had lit up as well. I felt it burn against my skin.

That might have been just a complete rush of adrenaline.

The waves hit me awake. I squinted, capturing a blurry vision of the lady in front of me. She was awake, on her back against the sands, attempting to get herself up but failing miserably. She groaned in pain.

I pulled myself back up, my fingers buried in the sand as I rushed towards her. “No.”

I held her head steady with my one hand and the other under the small of her back, pulling her towards me. “No do not move—you are hurt.”

The first thing I noticed about her is her hair, such a warm combination between blonde and red. She relaxed, accepting my support to keep her steady. She had fresh cuts on her face, and a deep cut across her right arm. It bled endlessly. 

I moved strands of her hair from her face, I hoped it would help make her feel at ease. Though there was nothing easing in our situation.

Cold fingers suddenly held my own. She reached for my hand weakly. I did not know if the shiver was from me or her. 

Her eyes opened lightly, but they instantly fell back down. 

I waited, still she gripped my hand. 

I lowered my face, to hear what she was murmuring. Her warm breath caressed my cheek.

“Please.” She stammered. Trying to get words out of her as she coughed out the next phrase. “Just kill me.”

Then her hand finally fell.

I raised my head, confused by her statement. “Tell me that when you’re fully conscious, yes?”

I feel my insides panic a bit, Inna had our medical aid and she still wasn’t here. I fumbled for my vest, then I remember I threw it out before I dived in. 

“It’s alright,” I tell her. “I’ve got you. You’re with me.”

“Indi!” My sister’s voice finally emerged from a distance. She jumps out of Sunshine, sliding towards me as her eyes averted towards her—whom I was still holding close. “Oh heavens, what did you do?”

“Inna, get your kit out—“ I looked up to her, concern in my voice. “She’s wounded—“

“Wounds?” She scanned her, looking so confused.

“Yes, wounds!” I said, almost detailing out her cuts before I caught sight of her skin. Her wounds had disappear, zero evidence if not for the blood that had stained her blouse and face. “I—“ 

“She had wounds. I—I do not know.” My head pounded. The scrolls hadn’t mentioned if she was ever capable of sorcery nor magic, if such things ever existed. Nor was I fully aware of wounds healing within a cluster of minutes.

“Alright, calm down, Indi.” Inna chuckled, grabbing a smooth cloth from her bag’s pocket and wiping my face harshly. “Let’s get her out of here first, then we sort it out.”

Inna looked around endlessly, I could imagine the gears inside her head turning about. This was her state whenever she would try to come up with a solution to ease our situation. She scratched her head, annoyed she could not come up with anything.

I scanned our location, the bay, the solid rock formation surrounding us, the dark trees behind Inna, and the group of scattered lavenders just from a distance. 

Lavenders.

My mind jumped to the memory of my mother, taking me to a fresh field of grass surrounded by lavenders. 

A case we would not mention often, but we used to live around the areas of the woods. If there were lavenders, we would be close to our former home.

Lady Enne Scythe dozed off quietly in front of me, my arms encased around her so she would not fall off of Abyss. Her head rested on one side of my chest. I did not mind, I’d rather it rested there than have her head bop in rhythm of Abyss’ strut.

My eyes land by her right shoulder, where her former wound was. She really had wounds. My mind couldn’t have fooled me. I could only mutter one explanation, but it was too late to check now. The sun had already risen.

The foggy morning embraced us gently, almost making me forget about last night’s events.

As we threaded our path, a sight of a healthy green field welcomed us. I shivered, fearing I might be right. This was one of the paths to the house. 

I looked beside me, Inna remained quiet. Her eyelashes shimmered, I knew then that the place brought nostalgia towards her.

I drifted back to the young boy carrying a small bouquet of lavenders, excitedly sneaking up on his mother. My mother’s face would lit up as I raised the flowers up to her, some of its petals flew as she took ahold of them.

She adored its scent so much.

We would spend time endlessly together while Inna and our father hunted in the forest. 

“The sun is setting, let us go home, yes?” She would say, entwining my little fingers to hers. The cool metal of the ring on her index finger was a familiar sensation as it pressed against my skin.

“Will we come back here again?” I would ask in between smiles.

“Of course, my dear.” She had deep long dimples and eyes as blue as mine and Inna’s. The world had felt so light back then. “This will be our secret place, you and I.”

And I would laugh, jumping joyously as we went home. Inna and our father would be waiting with their carcass by then. Inna would run, arms opened to embrace me and mother.

And there we were. 

Off our horses, we walked. 

A stranger in my arms, Inna holding tightly onto the sleeve of my damp shirt.

“Indi…” she sniffled. A tear ran down from her cheek. “This is—“ we stopped, I let Inna find her words. Her gaze locked onto the wooden house, almost hidden by the fog. 

I could feel how heavy her heart had become. Large tears fell down from her eyes. “But how did you?”

My own heart felt heavy. I looked at my sister, offering her a soft smile.

“Just hold onto me.” I whispered. “Whenever you’re ready.”

For the first time, she had looked like a lost child. 

Maybe so did I.

No matter what life we led on, we were just lost children trying to find the way back.

“Welcome back home.” I said, holding all of us together.