Even at such a young age, no more than five summers, she was no stranger to the idea of war. It was scary, and even though her father and sister did everything they could to keep her safe, she would still find herself waking up and crawling into Yda's bed at night to huddle with her. Even if Lyse's father couldn't always be there because of something he was doing for the resistance effort, she knew that Yda was there and that being with Yda was safe. It was the one not-so-scary absolute of the world. It didn't matter that Lyse wasn't that much younger than her, ultimately.
But then... it all happened in one fell swoop. Her father was killed, and before she even had time to process the sheer fact that it'd happened, Yda was grabbing her and they had to escape with only the clothes on their back. There was no time to gather anything else.
The next few months were tough, scary, and full of uncertainty. No one wanted them or had a place for them even if Yda did her best to try to convince them otherwise. There were some kind souls who would put them up for a night here and there across the countryside, but they were never able to stay. Not for long. Lyse knew what it was like to go hungry, too. Even if her sister tried to make sure they had food, she wasn't always able to get it, and they would often go to bed hungry, hiding in a cave or in bushes or in makeshift tents when there were no kind souls to take them in for a night.
Getting to Gridania was nice, though. For awhile, at least. There was a nice lady named Mother Miounne and she made sure they had food and a place to rest, and she even went so far as to make sure they had some new clothes that weren't so ratty. It was only a few days later, though, that they were being forced out of the city. Lyse didn't understand why, they hadn't done anything wrong, but it was because of the elementals... whatever they were. Mother Miounne had expressed her frustration that the girls weren't allowed to stay, and at least made sure to give them packs with supplies (and she snuck a stuffed spriggan in for Lyse, which she didn't discover until later and once she had, it never left her arms).
It went on like that for awhile... a long while, until they ended up at a place called Sharlayan. That's where they finally found asylum. A small lalafell named Papalymo took one look at them and ushered them back to his place to get them warm food and a bath and a place to rest. Even if she hadn't known him for very long, she felt safe being around him.
That first night in Sharlayan, as she huddled up to her sister as she always did, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.
When Lyse was called out of her classes at the school she was attending in Sharlayan, she didn't quite know what to expect. It had to be something important for Papalymo to call for her. He prized education and he was stubbornly against pulling her (and previously, her sister) away from it.
Seeing him just outside of the office, though, she knew there was something wrong. His expression was somber, and with a few hurried words he was leading them away from the office and out of the school to a nearby park. It wasn't until they were sitting under a tree together in silence that Papalymo finally broke the news.
Yda was dead.
He went on to say a few things, his condolences and what had happened. She had died protecting other people.
Papalymo's words fell on deaf ears.
It was like someone had dumped a bucket of ice cold water over her head, and while some part of her knew that Yda going back to help with the resistance in Ala Mhigo was dangerous, there was another part of her that just assumed that her sister would always be there. Yda was her best friend and she associated her with warmth and safety, even all these years later when she was more than capable of taking care of herself.
But no, she was dead. She was dead and even if she had died doing something heroic and honorable, she wasn't going to be coming back. She wanted to deny it, she wanted Papalymo to pull a "gotcha!" on her, but she knew that Papalymo took things so seriously that there was no way this could be anything but the truth.
It takes until Papalymo touches her shoulder for her to jerk back to reality even if the rushing sound in her ears doesn't quite disappear. It's not until he wraps his arms around her neck in a hug that she cries. Papalymo's never been one to cry, so he doesn't, but he offers as much comfort as he can to the younger girl, not letting go until her tears are spent.
The only saving grace is that while she knows she's the last Hext alive, she knows that she's not alone. Papalymo's her family, after all.
Lyse made it a habit to visit this cell, time and time again. She would visit often, doing her best to speak to Fordola and understand why she made the choices that she did, and... sometimes, just to keep her company. This was one of those times. She had chosen to let Fordola live in the aftermath of everything, even if her fellow Ala Mhigans would rather have her head than know that she's sitting in some cell.
That's why Lyse made sure that the cell was guarded at all times, and only by people she trusted. She didn't want to chance that someone would sneak in and kill the other woman, not when there were things to learn from her.
"Good morning, Fordola." She says, her cheery voice contrasting the dank, dark cell. She doesn't expect an answer. Sometimes they just sit together in silence for awhile. It's why she's surprised when Fordola actually responds back.
"Why?" The other woman says, not even bothering to look up at Lyse, seemingly comfortable in her position on the stone floor.
"Why... what? If I may ask." Comes the reply.
"Why are you keeping me alive? You know as well as I do that no one wants me here."
At the question, Lyse hums quietly. It's not the first time she's been asked the question, and she's certain it's not the last. Fordola's position is a difficult one, but... she knows that Fordola has some good in her, even if she hides behind her cold and stony exterior.
"I want you here." Lyse repsonds after a moment.
"Why?" Comes the question again.
"I want to understand you." On those words from Lyse, Fordola's head actually snaps in her direction.
"I fought for the Empire." Replies Fordola, her brow creased.
"I know, but... there were other reasons for it. You know that as well as I do." Lyse answers, and for a moment, she's met with silence.
"Ala Mhigo is... was, my home. I wanted to do what I could for my people, even if it meant joining them." Replies Fordola. Her voice isn't as cold as it was previously. It's still difficult to pull the emotions from it, but Lyse can tell there's a sadness to it. Fordola wasn't a bad person. She did bad things, but the spirit of what she wanted to do wasn't bad. Not by a longshot. And Lyse can't help but respect the other woman for her motivations, even if she disagreed with her actual actions. "Even if it meant they'd hate me."
"Why?" Lyse asks.
"Because I had to do something."
There's a moment of silence before Lyse takes a few steps closer, kneeling down to stare into Fordola's eyes, like she's searching for something. "I'm sorry your method didn't work the way you had intended it to." There's another moment of silence before she continues. "If it's agreeable, there are actually some things I'd have you do."
"Like what?" The question is sharp but curious, Fordola's voice a little gruff.
"We're working on rebuilding Ala Mhigo. I'd like if you were part of that. Our workers need protection, actually." Lyse offers.
"They wouldn't want me there."
"Perhaps not, but you're strong. It'd be unfortunate to have you wasting away in here when we could put your skills to use." And perhaps... it would help start her down the road to forgiveness. She would never require people like Fordola, she completely understands that Fordola is seen as a traitor to her people, and that too many people were hurt by her actions for total forgiveness, but she wants to give the other woman a chance.
Fordola sighs. It's apparent that she already knows that she may not be getting much of a choice here anyway. It's obvious that she didn't quite know what to make of Lyse's trust in her. "I'll do what I'm made to do." Comes the answer after a moment.
"Thank you." Lyse replies, her voice warm, before she continues. "... I need to take my leave. If you need anything, though, don't hesitate to tell your guard to send for me. I'll be here as soon as I possibly can."
Fordola just grunts in response, her head turning back to stare at the wall.
And... as Lyse leaves the cell, a part of her wonders if she could have ended up in Fordola's position, had her life gone any differently.
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MEMORY I
Even at such a young age, no more than five summers, she was no stranger to the idea of war. It was scary, and even though her father and sister did everything they could to keep her safe, she would still find herself waking up and crawling into Yda's bed at night to huddle with her. Even if Lyse's father couldn't always be there because of something he was doing for the resistance effort, she knew that Yda was there and that being with Yda was safe. It was the one not-so-scary absolute of the world. It didn't matter that Lyse wasn't that much younger than her, ultimately.
But then... it all happened in one fell swoop. Her father was killed, and before she even had time to process the sheer fact that it'd happened, Yda was grabbing her and they had to escape with only the clothes on their back. There was no time to gather anything else.
The next few months were tough, scary, and full of uncertainty. No one wanted them or had a place for them even if Yda did her best to try to convince them otherwise. There were some kind souls who would put them up for a night here and there across the countryside, but they were never able to stay. Not for long. Lyse knew what it was like to go hungry, too. Even if her sister tried to make sure they had food, she wasn't always able to get it, and they would often go to bed hungry, hiding in a cave or in bushes or in makeshift tents when there were no kind souls to take them in for a night.
Getting to Gridania was nice, though. For awhile, at least. There was a nice lady named Mother Miounne and she made sure they had food and a place to rest, and she even went so far as to make sure they had some new clothes that weren't so ratty. It was only a few days later, though, that they were being forced out of the city. Lyse didn't understand why, they hadn't done anything wrong, but it was because of the elementals... whatever they were. Mother Miounne had expressed her frustration that the girls weren't allowed to stay, and at least made sure to give them packs with supplies (and she snuck a stuffed spriggan in for Lyse, which she didn't discover until later and once she had, it never left her arms).
It went on like that for awhile... a long while, until they ended up at a place called Sharlayan. That's where they finally found asylum. A small lalafell named Papalymo took one look at them and ushered them back to his place to get them warm food and a bath and a place to rest. Even if she hadn't known him for very long, she felt safe being around him.
That first night in Sharlayan, as she huddled up to her sister as she always did, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.
MEMORY II
Seeing him just outside of the office, though, she knew there was something wrong. His expression was somber, and with a few hurried words he was leading them away from the office and out of the school to a nearby park. It wasn't until they were sitting under a tree together in silence that Papalymo finally broke the news.
Yda was dead.
He went on to say a few things, his condolences and what had happened. She had died protecting other people.
Papalymo's words fell on deaf ears.
It was like someone had dumped a bucket of ice cold water over her head, and while some part of her knew that Yda going back to help with the resistance in Ala Mhigo was dangerous, there was another part of her that just assumed that her sister would always be there. Yda was her best friend and she associated her with warmth and safety, even all these years later when she was more than capable of taking care of herself.
But no, she was dead. She was dead and even if she had died doing something heroic and honorable, she wasn't going to be coming back. She wanted to deny it, she wanted Papalymo to pull a "gotcha!" on her, but she knew that Papalymo took things so seriously that there was no way this could be anything but the truth.
It takes until Papalymo touches her shoulder for her to jerk back to reality even if the rushing sound in her ears doesn't quite disappear. It's not until he wraps his arms around her neck in a hug that she cries. Papalymo's never been one to cry, so he doesn't, but he offers as much comfort as he can to the younger girl, not letting go until her tears are spent.
The only saving grace is that while she knows she's the last Hext alive, she knows that she's not alone. Papalymo's her family, after all.
MEMORY III
That's why Lyse made sure that the cell was guarded at all times, and only by people she trusted. She didn't want to chance that someone would sneak in and kill the other woman, not when there were things to learn from her.
"Good morning, Fordola." She says, her cheery voice contrasting the dank, dark cell. She doesn't expect an answer. Sometimes they just sit together in silence for awhile. It's why she's surprised when Fordola actually responds back.
"Why?" The other woman says, not even bothering to look up at Lyse, seemingly comfortable in her position on the stone floor.
"Why... what? If I may ask." Comes the reply.
"Why are you keeping me alive? You know as well as I do that no one wants me here."
At the question, Lyse hums quietly. It's not the first time she's been asked the question, and she's certain it's not the last. Fordola's position is a difficult one, but... she knows that Fordola has some good in her, even if she hides behind her cold and stony exterior.
"I want you here." Lyse repsonds after a moment.
"Why?" Comes the question again.
"I want to understand you." On those words from Lyse, Fordola's head actually snaps in her direction.
"I fought for the Empire." Replies Fordola, her brow creased.
"I know, but... there were other reasons for it. You know that as well as I do." Lyse answers, and for a moment, she's met with silence.
"Ala Mhigo is... was, my home. I wanted to do what I could for my people, even if it meant joining them." Replies Fordola. Her voice isn't as cold as it was previously. It's still difficult to pull the emotions from it, but Lyse can tell there's a sadness to it. Fordola wasn't a bad person. She did bad things, but the spirit of what she wanted to do wasn't bad. Not by a longshot. And Lyse can't help but respect the other woman for her motivations, even if she disagreed with her actual actions. "Even if it meant they'd hate me."
"Why?" Lyse asks.
"Because I had to do something."
There's a moment of silence before Lyse takes a few steps closer, kneeling down to stare into Fordola's eyes, like she's searching for something. "I'm sorry your method didn't work the way you had intended it to." There's another moment of silence before she continues. "If it's agreeable, there are actually some things I'd have you do."
"Like what?" The question is sharp but curious, Fordola's voice a little gruff.
"We're working on rebuilding Ala Mhigo. I'd like if you were part of that. Our workers need protection, actually." Lyse offers.
"They wouldn't want me there."
"Perhaps not, but you're strong. It'd be unfortunate to have you wasting away in here when we could put your skills to use." And perhaps... it would help start her down the road to forgiveness. She would never require people like Fordola, she completely understands that Fordola is seen as a traitor to her people, and that too many people were hurt by her actions for total forgiveness, but she wants to give the other woman a chance.
Fordola sighs. It's apparent that she already knows that she may not be getting much of a choice here anyway. It's obvious that she didn't quite know what to make of Lyse's trust in her. "I'll do what I'm made to do." Comes the answer after a moment.
"Thank you." Lyse replies, her voice warm, before she continues. "... I need to take my leave. If you need anything, though, don't hesitate to tell your guard to send for me. I'll be here as soon as I possibly can."
Fordola just grunts in response, her head turning back to stare at the wall.
And... as Lyse leaves the cell, a part of her wonders if she could have ended up in Fordola's position, had her life gone any differently.