Color
14.03.13
The mouldy straw itched at his back, prying sleep from his
exhausted mind. Rolling to his side he
stared at the dust filled air as it flickered in the sunlight, the segmented
light searing through the grime of the abandoned barn from every split plank
and crevice between wooden doors.
It
felt strange to be resting in the darkness when it was so bright beyond, to be
forced to travel through the night was a precaution, but the hiding in the
hours of the living he could not adapt too.
He felt too vulnerable knowing the Guides might catch them unaware,
with such light to expose them and few shadows to shelter in. Looking over to Clarissa as she slept,
blissfully unaware as always, her auburn hair burning in a streak of sun even
through the dirt they had soiled it with.
He fought the need to hide her away from them, to protect this innocence
from their vendetta. She was better off
never knowing color, he mused.
"She worships you for showing it to her though,"
Startled he sat up to see Serena watching him, those amber
eyes boring into him as though she were making a casual observation, and not
intruding his thoughts.
"What are you talking about?" An edge of annoyance
from being caught so obviously striking his voice.
Realising his embarrassment she merely shrugged and looked
away, the same air of indifference around her. As if anyone could hold such
faith he fumed.
"She would have found the path without you, and will
continue down it even when you have left." She said, standing to dust off her dress and peek through a rotted beam.
"You think I'll leave her to the fate of the
Guides?" he asked incredulously.
"The Guides are just one obstacle - " she spoke
hurriedly, turning from the wall she advanced upon him, "I can taste your doubt, I can see you cringe, know your need to abandon the futile and tend
to the practical, you yearn to return to your inconspicuous life away from
the struggles of hope." He sat
stunned beneath her glowering form, her body suddenly bristling with passion as
she exposed everything he had ever second guessed.
"Yet I still hope that you will lead her through, and
be the protector she needs," going to her knees she gripped his shirt,
her eyes filling him with such intensity he could hardly breathe. "Fight
for her," she growled, "and don't let yourself be consumed."
Before he could answer the barn door fell from its hinges in
a cloud of splinters, and like a dam collapsing he was stunned by the light
that washed over him, drowning out the darkness. A heartbeat seemed to pass before he heard
the cry, piercing his mind with fear as he searched for Clarissa through the
spots flashing in his vision. Leaping to
his feet he staggered forward, reaching for her hand, tightening around her
touch and pulling her behind him.
Everything seemed deafening as they ran in, yelling calls to
surrender, threatening and imposing, their forms dark silhouettes against the
blinding day where grey robes no doubt awaited.
Part of a scene where I nailed the heart and torment of a character,
my two favourite things.
from sjp.