The Hunt Is At An End

"Eska"

Once she was above ground once more, Eska could breathe again. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with oxygen before exhaling through dusty blue nares. That had been... a lot. The interaction with her mother had lasted only minutes, but it had spoken volumes. Her mother was gone. There was no way to get her back.

Ulric came up beside her after shutting the door. She could still hear the dull, muffled sounds of the demon below as it slammed itself against the bars. The man apologized and Eska cast him a sidelong glance. Why was he apologizing? It was her mother down there. She should have been her burden to bear. And yet... she never wanted to go into that dungeon again. Would that be like giving up on the woman that had given birth to her? Possibly. Or maybe it was an act of self-preservation.

Eska gave her head a shake. "Please, don't apologize." There was nothing that he could have done. She hadn't wanted to see the woman drugged and dull. She'd wanted to see her as she truly was. That beast down below... that was what Resin was now. That was what her mother was.

Ulric's next words brought a soft, dry laugh from the brindled fae. "I wish I could have seen her that way too." She had been too late. "The last time that I saw her, I was maybe two or three months old." Eska felt her golden eyes getting a little wet and she turned her face away from the giant man. "I'll try to remember what she was then instead of...this." Gods... she was going to cry. Eska never cried.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Ulric," she whispered. "I'll be close enough to call for if..." If what? She couldn't say it out loud."If you need me." She then turned and made her way out of the castle. Shifting her course, she threw herself into a lope, putting as much distance between herself and the imprisoned beast below as she could manage.