At'iana and Sen'jan spent over an hour waiting to be seen in the infirmary, although Sen'jan perked up considerably as soon as he tottered clumsily from the saddle and sat in the cool stone interior of the infirmary. It didn't take him long to begin a long list of all the things that he had been uncomfortable with for the duration of their journey. At'iana relived every unsatisfactory moment since they had left home - the bedbugs in the cheap inn they had stayed in, how fast his horse had gone, he had been too cold and too hot, his head hurt, the sun was too bright - the list went on, and At'iana dutifully nodded silently in all the right places. In reality, she wasn't listening. Her thoughts were on things other than her needy fiance.
The infirmary was a bustling building full of activity. Here, all leagues of existed together. Children followed adults, and elders followed children, and At'iana was sat demurely at the side of it all. She watched the people rush past her. In the space of a single hour, At'iana was witness to a man rushed in as he cried for his mama. Blood dripped to the ground from his crushed leg, and it was efficiently wiped up as soon as he had passed by. At'iana listened as one nurse explained to another that his leg had been crushed beneath an overturned cart, and At'iana grimaced at the thought.
Not long after, a little girl wandered in, with a face as white as a cloth. She clutched to her papas hand so tightly that the man's fingers were a shocking shade of purple, but he made no complaint as he led her in. Her papa explained that his little girl had been up all night with sickness and tremors, and the two were guided away.
It was an enlightening experience, watching these stranger's go about their business. But then her people watching, and Sen'jan's incessant complaining were interrupted by the appearance of a short, round woman with rosy cheeks and wispy gray hair, and escorted the couple to a booth where she offered them a weary, but ready smile, as she listened with unending patience to Sen'jan's many complaints. At'iana gazed listlessly out of the window, watching their horses as they drank from the trough of water in front of the post they had been tied to.
The little consultation didn't last long. As soon as the nurse had been condemned to the entire tirade, she had nodded tiredly and gave him a full bill of health and a small bottle of ointment for the sores on his feet, before dismissing him and At'iana. They rose, but before the nurse could take her leave, At'iana caught her by the arm and asked if she had heard of any treatments for the mysterious disease that had taken a hold of her mother.
"No, my love. I'm afraid not. There's no miracle cure. Either you get better or you don't...I'm sorry, sweetheart, but all your mother can do now is rest," The nurse replied in a well practiced, soothing tone as she patted the back of At'iana's hand, "Get some rest. You look tired"
And with that, the nurse departed, leaving At'iana depressed. Without realizing, she had allowed her hopes to get so high. She had dreamed that she might be given a magic cure, maybe some sort of medicine that would cute her mother straight away, and make everything okay again. And then, her hopes had come crashing down, and At'iana was faced with the reality that her mother would most likely die. She furiously blinked away tears, refusing to cry. At'iana didn't know how she would cope without her mama. She had a memory, of her and her mother when she was little. At'iana had tripped while running, and she had hurt her knee. The pain, to her child self, was sudden and agonizing. There was blood all down her leg, and as soon as she saw it, she began to bawl. She didn't cry quietly, or with any restraint. Tears ran down her cheek, and her nose ran messily down to her lip. And then, her mother was there. Her precious, loving mama came to her, and knelt on the ground in front of her. In that moment, her mama was an angel, and she was the most beautiful person on the planet. She wiped At'iana's face, and stroked her hair.
"It'll be okay, sweetie. See? It doesn't hurt anymore, does it?"
And although it did hurt, it seemed as though it didn't, because her mama wrapped her arms around her and hugged her close, and in that embrace little At'iana knew that everything would always be okay, because her beloved mama would be there to make things better. But, that was a time in the past, and At'iana realized that soon, her mama might not be with her anymore.
As they exited the infirmary, Sen'jan was unusually quiet, and he didn't speak until they reached the horses.
"At'iana," He said gently, catching her shaking hands.
At'iana looked up at him, and her lower lip trembled delicately. Sen'jan knew her better than almost anyone, and he knew better than to try and soothe her with words. Instead, Sen'jan put his arms around his wife-to-be, and he just held her close. At'iana sobbed quietly against his chest, her hot tears soaking through his dirt stained shirt. Sen'jan rubbed her back, and kissed her hair. In his embrace, At'iana knew that despite all of his moaning, he loved her, and he was here because he did. He would never have made a journey like this for anyone other than her. He loved her, and At'iana loved him.
After an immeasurable amount of time, At'iana drew back and offered her fiance a watery smile. She went to the horses and untied them from the post they had been stuck at all morning, and then handed the reigns of the smaller one to her fiance.
"Thank you," At'iana murmured softly, before standing on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek, "We should go find an inn before it starts to get dark, and then head home tomorrow"
"I think we passed one on the way up," Sen'jan replied softly, attempting to smile, "The Lions...something"
At'iana nodded, and led the way back they had came. It was a long, silent walk, and At'iana felt numb. It was almost as though she was incapable of real thought. Maybe she was in shock. The thought occurred to her as though the subject was someone she didn't know. She didn't feel like herself anymore, and as she walked, she sought comfort from Sen'jan. She linked her fingers with his as they walked. It was small comfort, but small comfort was better than none. Once they were outside the Lions Head Inn, Sen'jan untangled his fingers from her and took some coins from one of his saddle bags.
"I'll go in and see if they have any spare rooms. I'll be right out," He smiled warmly and kissed her cheek, "I love you"
At'iana blushed deeply and nodded, "I love you too. I'll be right here," she promised as she watched him make her way into the building. Moments passed, and At'iana began to feel lonely. She was so aware of her impending loss, her whole body felt weak. Tears threatened again, and At'iana impatiently wiped them away, before setting her foot in the stirrup of Charky's saddle and mounting the horse. From high up there, she pretended that she was sat there just in case there was no room and they had to walk in, instead of admitting she was way too tired to stand. Sagging over the saddle, At'iana closed her eyes, and her mount took a few impatient steps forward.
And then, the impossible happened.
There was a bright flash of light, and a thundering noise. Everything was suddenly brightness and sound and it hurt. The explosion came from the inn, and as the impact struck her, At'iana fell from the saddle. Debris flew everywhere, striking her as she curled up in the middle of the street. There was a high pitched screaming, and it wasn't until the dust began to settle that At'iana realized the hellish sound was actually coming from between her own lips.
There were several long seconds of silence. She looked up, and dazedly looked around her. The inn was little more than a wreckage. In the street, there were people crying and looking around in confusion. The two horses that belonged to her were skittishly pacing half way down the road. It seemed as though everything was on the brink of chaos, and then At'iana remembered. Sen'jan. He had been in the inn, and it was impossible that anyone inside had survived.
Everything went black and her world fell from beneath her, and then she had stumbled over to the pile of rubble that was all that remained of the building. Her vision was red and blurred, and At'iana belatedly realized that she must have struck her head. She swayed, dizzy, and then looked down at the wreckage beneath her feet.
"Sen'jan!" She screamed. The sound was a hoarse, raw cry as she fell to her knees and howled her disbelieving grief to the sky. At'iana put her hands to the jagged remains of the brickwork and began to try and shift it in an attempt to find her fiance, and all the while she screamed, again and again. Desperate sobs racked the tired girl's body as tore the flesh of her hands in an attempt to pull the wreckage apart. She was losing too much, too quickly, and she couldn't bare it. She just screamed until she was hoarse, and then the violent sobs took over.