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She’s curled up and staring at the wall in front of her, a hollow and empty feeling settling inside her chest as her mind replays the tears and desperate cries Luz let out as they were separated.
Eda doesn’t let herself think or feel anything beyond acceptance at her situation and the harsh bumps on the road that make her sore body jostle around. Her joints ached and burned, the cuffs that hold her hands behind her feel too tight, adding to the bruises on her body.
Titan, couldn’t those abominations be a little more gentle? The damn things nearly cracked her ribs.
She supposes in the end it doesn’t really matter. A dead body is a dead body, no matter how damaged the merchandise is.
She just needs to keep up her end of the deal. No fighting.
Anything to keep her kids safe. Anything to make sure they are alive after everything is done. Eda always knew this would happen, her death, that is.
Hell she had a petrification once already, and many near-death experiences hundreds of times before that.
Bounty hunters stabbing her because her wanted poster didn’t specify her being alive, the narrow escapes of when she pissed some witches or demons off at the night market back when she was first learning how to navigate it, backstabbers and strong upper echelon emperor coven witches that found her near her worst state, zealous exes lost in their rage after she broke up with them.
The curse, gurgling in the back of her throat, a tarry, muddy feeling that she had once choked on many times before, birds screeching in her ears as she wondered if this time will be it, if this will be the last time she’ll be herself.
Eda is great at borrowing time, stealing time, avoiding death, knowing that her curse would eventually make her kick the bucket sooner or later. Well, before she and the Owl Beast made their agreement anyways.
The point is, Eda isn’t scared.
She has faced death in the face many times, has let it nip at her heels for decades, danced with it, let it get close too many times to count. It was always around the corner, constantly waiting for her to slip up, to make one mistake too many, waiting to greet her with open arms. It was practically an old friend at this point.
She’s made her peace with dying a long long time ago.
But Luz and King haven’t.
Eda’s throat tightens, heat wells up behind her eyes, her chest aching with failure at the image of their teary faces reaching out for her.
Eda would do anything for them.
She just wishes she got to properly say goodbye. To properly give them closure and reassure them, to let them know that even if things seem so utterly hopeless and pointless, with the eve of the end of the world clawing ever so closer with every second that passes, they’ll be safe.
They will be. They have to be.
The cart stops harshly and quickly, causing her to fall on her face. Pain blossoms across her cheek and Eda already knows that it’s just going to be another aching bruise to add onto the tally.
She hears voices arguing, and oh boy , whoever made the carriage stop sounds pissed.
She groans and blows a piece of her hair out of her eyes, frustrated. The least these chumps could do was undo her shackles, her wrists and shoulders hurt from the position they’ve been in for the last couple of hours and does her injuries no help.
She could probably go harpy and break these things but she’s not chancing it. No mess, no fuss, no fighting or bearing her fangs, it’s for her kids.
It’s what she promised to Raine for them to make sure they stay safe. That’s the only thing that matters to her, in the end.
She hears a screech from one of the rat-worms outside, a sharp, demanding, yet familiar voice ordering the grunts to leave, a splash of water as someone leaps down from the drivers side and walks over to the back, their boots sinking into the dirt as they go.
Eda can hear her heart pounding as they get closer. The sounds echo in her ears as she stares resolutely at the wall.
This is it then. Her petrification that was never completed finally coming back around. At least she won’t be so sore and achey soon.
Eda struggles back to an upright position. She may not have magic, she may have begged and given herself up in exchange for Luz and King’s safety, and there isn’t going to be a way out of this but she’s going to face her fate with her eyes open.
She thickly swallows and breathes in, mentally gearing up for the pain that she’ll undoubtedly face in just a few short moments.
The doors are flung open, the squeaking hinges hurting her sensitive ears. Eda flinches at the sudden change in light, her eyes hurting with the blinding sunset rippling into the carriage.
The end of the line for her.
“Eda.” A voice breathes, barely above a whisper.
Eda stiffens. That voice, soft and reassuring.
It’s a trick. It has to be.
Because if it’s not she won’t be able to hold herself together. She knows she’ll shake apart at the seems and come undone like a frayed, tragic tapestry that’s been snipped and torn away at over the years. Just a handful of barely held together strings tangled up in warm, calloused hands.
She turns to look at the witch, the setting sun making the figure in front of her just a silhouette.
A very familiar silhouette.
Her eyes adjust and the first thing she notices is green. The sparkling sea glass green eyes that Eda will always always get lost in.
“Raine.” She breathed out.
So Raine is going to lead her to the metaphorical chopping block. At least with them by her side, fractured memories or not, she’ll be comforted by their presence.
They nod.
“Me.”
“Did you-are my kids safe?”
They smile at her. “Yes, I’ve sent some trusted friends to go get them.”
Despite everything, despite the pain and hurt she smiles back, the bruise on her face throbbing at the action. She unwinds, lets her shoulders droop and her body relax at the news that her children will be okay, that it’s Raine that will do this instead of some nameless face that couldn’t care less. She knows they wouldn’t draw out her pain, even with their current predicament.
“Alright, good. That’s good.” She takes a deep breath in, wrangling what few leftover emotions she had.
“I’m ready.”
“Come on then, let me get you out of those shackles and then we’ll go.” Raine gestured to her wrists, still bound behind her.
“Is that favoritism there I’m hearing Rainestorm? I don’t think they let you free up just anyone when you’re taking them to the petrification chamber.” Eda tries to joke.
Their warm hands are a sharp contrast to her cold wrists, and her skin tingles with their touch as they get to work in undoing her bonds. Raines eyebrows furrow as they work and Titan damn it, even in this situation, even here and right now, when they’re supposed to be escorting her to the metaphorical chopping block, she can’t help but think they still look so cute when they do that.
“Petrification chamber?” They ask, confused.
There’s a click and her shackles finally come off her bruised wrists. She rubs some feeling back into them and rolls her shoulders, trying to relieve some of the burning ache before looking up at Raine.
“You’re the one leading me to it right? It’s nice. That it’ll be you this is. I trust you, you won’t draw it out, even with your memories all messed up.”
Raines stomach twists and they can feel their throat tightening. She’s looking at them with such trust because she thinks that they’re the one in charge of killing her, their precious, stubborn whirlwind, their calamity looks so fine with dying as long as its them. Holy titan fuck no.
“Eda, honey, no. I’m here to save you. I-no. No.” Their voice cracks, and a sudden heat behind their eyes makes them realize how close they are to crying.
Her gold and silver eyes widen.
“What?”
Guilt eats away at them from the inside, crushing their heart and digging into their flesh. It howls against their ribcage as they reach out for the witch in front of them.
“Eda, I never lost my memories, I-look it’s hard to explain but I’m part of a resistance. We’re going to stop Belos, you and your kids are going to be just fine.” Raine reassures her.
They kneel down in front of her, tentatively wrapping their arms around Eda.
”I’m so sorry I lied to you. I just wanted to keep you safe and instead it made things worse.”
She collapses in Raines arms, twisting her hands into their cloak, her nails digging through their clothes and into their skin as she breaks down in their arms, finally feeling safe. Here, surrounded by them, she didn’t have to be strong for once, didn’t have to pretend that everything was going to be fine and that she was going to take care of it all. The world could- would, fall apart around them and she would still feel safe, wrapped in their warmth, their scent, the strange yet familiar touch of their hand scratching behind her ear in an attempt to comfort her.
It was as foreign as it was nice.
“Rainestorm.” Eda breathed out. She shakes, tears threatening to overwhelm her.
Hands bury themselves into her scalp, comforting and heavy as they card through her hair.
“It’s okay now Calamity, I’ve got you. Everything is going to be alright, just let it all out.” Raine whispered to her.
Eda can feel her heart soaring as they pull her ever closer to their body.
“We’ll be okay. Everyone will be fine.”
They say it with such conviction that she has no choice but to believe them. Of course she would, her Rainestorm is tenacious, smart, and oh so stubborn.
For the first time in what feels like forever she feels hope for tomorrow. She pulls back and stares into their eyes. Everything else fades away.
She feels something in her heart crack as she see’s the certainty they exude, splitting her chest open, letting the festering rot of hopelessness and anger that’s been building up for weeks finally leak out and make way for disbelief and an overwhelming surge of pure love that makes her chest tingly and warm.
She rests her forehead against theirs, letting her sore arms rest on their shoulders and their breath mingles between them.
Raine cups her face oh so gently, careful of the bruises on her face, the heat radiating from their hands onto her cold cheeks makes her relax.
They way they hold her, touch her, the way they’re looking at her right now, it makes her feel, if for just for a moment, that she’s worth all the treasure in the world, they make her feel like everything is going to be okay, if only for one day.
“The base isn’t too far from here. We should get moving before someone realizes you escaped.” They back off, shifting to stand back up and she nearly whimpers at the loss of their touch.
“Yeah, probably a good idea.” She replies.
Raine offers their hand to her and she takes it.
“Why don’t you tell me about those kids of yours?”