((Non-WoW Story)) The Taste of Blood

[Rosemerta]

The darkness was thick and tasted of blood. Silently she crept, trying desperately to feel her way to an exit, any exit. She knew she was wounded by the hot ach of her right thigh. She couldn't feel her left arm at all, and in her desperate attempt to find her way out of the current state of hell, she feared she had lost it all together.

She burned of thirst, even as she sloshed through the ankle high water. She didn't dare stoop to take a drink, because she was not all together sure it was water at all. Something furry brushed against her feet, and she trembled, swallowing a shriek.

Taking a moment to attempt to orient her location, she took a deep, painful breath. It smelled like damp, moldy stone. A basement? A cave? She could feel nothing but the weight of the darkness on her skin and the near-numbing chill of the liquid at her feet.

No good, she'd have to keep walking. Her eyes were opened wide, trying to draw in any bit of light. She kept telling herself to remain calm. She knew if she broke down and began to cry, she'd go insane.

When she had awoken, it had been unclear at first that she was even awake. It took the feel of her eyes blinking to make her realize her eyes were open. She had been sitting in what ever the liquid on the ground was, and had let herself slip into near-maddening screams of hysteria. Only when she had gone hoarse that she calmed down enough to have the since to see if she was bound.

Once she was sure she was able to move her right arm and both legs, she had decided to get up and feel around for a direction to walk. It seemed ages since then, sloshing along, her hand running along the cold wall.

Out of all of the strangeness of her surroundings, what disturbed her the most was she didn't know how she had gotten here, and couldn't remember anything about herself, not even her own name. Her fingers came in contact with something furry and multi-legged. She pulled her hand away from the wall, her stomach turning itself inside out. She leaned towards her right side and retched, over and over, till there was nothing left of her stomach contents.

Once the waves of nausea subsided, she continued walking, praying that her direction was away from whatever had placed her there. She walked into the wall. Turning towards the next bit of empty space, her vision exploded, the cavern she was walking in flooding with what seemed to her like waves of light.

She stumbled forward, towards hope, each step bringing more detail and light to her eyes. She felt the tears fall from her eyes, tears of joy. There was an opening ahead, and she had never been so happy. A cold breeze whipped through her dress.

A dress! She was wearing a dress, and her hair was long and curly! Little details started flooding to her, with each and every step towards the light. Her hands were small, and although her left arm appeared to be twisted in a very unpleasant angle, she did in fact have one!

She stumbled, falling to the ground, dry ground, the world revealing itself to her. She had reached the outside, reached the end of her torment.

[Rosemerta]

She lie, breathing heavily of the fresh air, letting the warmth and light of the sun pour into every exposed bit of her skin. She opened her eyes, trying desperately to focus. Thanking the gods for the wonder of all their miracles.

She lie upon the ground in a little oasis. A small clear pool of water formed at the base of the cave she had exited. She rolled to her stomach, pushing herself up with her good hand, and crawled over to the pool. The thirst had returned and was threatening to drive her mad, again. Reaching a hand into the water, she pulled it to her lips and drank hungrily. She drank, and drank, till she could take no more. Then, and only then, did she stop to look at the water.

"Pretty", she thought to herself, staring down at the girl in the water. She was dark haired and blue eyed. The hair was curly, the eyes detached and void of personality. The tear streaked face of the girl was covered in dirt,. and blood. Yet, even in the girls disheveled madness, she wore a simple golden locket at her dirty pale throat.

She shifted closer to the water, to get a better look at this girl. The girl had a broken arm, like her. A dirtied dress that looked to have once been expensively made, like her..

"Oh, that's me" She said, startled by the realization. She even jumped at the sound of her own voice. She reached down and scooped a handful of water up to her mouth, washing the blood and soot from her face, the face of the pretty girl in the pool.

She sat back, feeling refreshed and a little better about who she was. She turned her attention to the broken arm. It was twisted sharply under her, her hand gripping the back of her near-ragged dress. Reaching behind her, she looped a hand around the broken appendage. She pulled swiftly, the arm giving a sickening CRACK as she popped the dislocated elbow back into place.

She carefully moved each finger on her left hand, wincing. "Good, you can move it.. OW!"

She looked down at her leg. A piece of sharp rock was imbedded within the milky thigh of her leg. She reached down and pulled the near-glass sharp hunk of stone out. Fresh blood poured out of the open wound with every heartbeat. She tore a length of the dirtied dress free, scrubbed it clean, and tied it tightly around her thigh, just above the wound.

Having cleaned up a bit, she was finally clear-minded enough to reach around and pull free the locket that was attached to the chain around her neck. Upon closer inspection she found a simple latch mechanism. She pulled and poked and prodded the thing, till at last in her frustration she smashed it between two rocks. The locket popped open, revealing an inscription.

To my beloved Liana, may your heart remain light, and your thoughts remain with me. ~ Thomas

“Liana? Is that who I am?” She puzzled over the idea of it for a moment or so, “I suppose it’s a good of a name as any. Perhaps if I find this Thomas he can tell me more”


“Now to find out where I am…”


She stood, careful to put the majority of her weight upon her left leg. Her feet were not bare, but the thin shoes she did sport would barely pass as shoes at all, more like cloth slippers meant for indoor usage. She stood a moment, then headed towards the east, into the forest surrounding the little pool.

[Laron]

/clap
You are very talented.

[Rosemerta]

((GAH life bit me in the butt, just turned my computer on for the first time since monday! I'll post a couple more chunks and I'll be poping in with rosey for the first time in two weeks tonight for anyone who wants to know:O Sorry about that! <3))

She walked and walked, and then walked some more. She mumbled to herself of the locket and the names inside, thinking out loud. She couldn't wrap her mind around the idea that she could be this Liana person.

"Who am I, and how did I get in that cave? How long was I in there for?.."

Her arm ached, throbbed, stung. It annoyed her. Yet she kept walking, letting her feet take her east, as if on automatic. She pulled bits of hair and cobweb out of her face, moved branches and brush, wiped the sweat off her brow. Her thoughts emptied, dwelling completely on the ach.

The forest stopped. It ended in a line, as if cleared to that point. It opened up to a field, and a very, very large house. She stopped at the edge of the wood, and just stared.

It was, for lack of any better word, huge. Nearly a palace, except made of wood. She made mental note that she was at the backside, that it was very large, and someone who was very wealthy probably lived there. It was painted slate grey, had a wrap around stone porch, was Victorian in style.

She didn't know how long she stood there, staring at that house, trying to find anything about it that registered with her. Yet her mind was blank. Other then the general things a woman should know about life, there was nothing.. no personality, no history, nothing to say she was a person.

There was a shriek, followed by two or three different voices. Liana, if that was even her name, barely registered it. She sat on the ground, the exhaustion finally catching up to her. A small thing, a person of some type, with dark fluff on its head came crashing into her, tackling her the rest of the way to the ground.

"OHMYGOODNESS LIANA AREYOUALRIGHT? WEWEREWORRIEDSICK!" the thing screamed at her. Her mind reeled. Behind the fluffy thing's screams, she heard a male voice moving closer. The little person lifted off of her, and she noticed that it was being pulled away by a tall male.

After scooping the small one off of her, he leaned down and scooped her off the ground. He lifted her with both arms, cradling her gently, almost lovingly. He kissed her forehead and whispered into her ear as he carried her towards.. somewhere. The house, maybe.

"It will be alright Liana.. you are safe now"




She opened her eyes, the sunlight pouring delicately through the lace curtains on the window across the room. It left a shadow of flowers across the soft down comforter that she lay beneath. She smiled lightly, taking a deep breath of the lavender smelling air around her. She winced, her ribs stinging sharply at the large intake of air.

The previous day's events came flooding back in one shot, causing her to tremble at its weight. Her arm and thigh throbbed in time with one another. Throb, throb.. as if they and her heart beat together. She swore at them silently for it.

She sat up, realizing that the last thing she could remember was being carried by that man. She noticed that her dislocated arm was in a sling, her ribs and thigh bandaged expertly. She felt clean, as if just recently bathed, yet she knew she hadn't done it herself. She paused a moment, to see if she could remember anything else..

The man and the fluffy haired.. thing?
The forest..
The locket and the names..
The pond...
the cave...

Nothing else came to her. No clues as to how she got there, or who she was.

"Liana?.. Is that who I am?" She asked out loud. There was a deep chuckle at the doorway. She jumped, her heart nearly giving out all together from fright. She pulled the covers up above her chest, covering her indecency.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. You just looked so beautiful lying there... are you feeling better this morning my darling?" The man spoke in deep, soothing tones. His emerald green eyes twinkled, full of love and worry. Wait, darling?

"I think so... Darling? You mean me?" She just blinked, startled by the rashness of this man, whom she had not even been introduced to yet!

"Why of course Liana, who else would I speak to in such a manor? You are my wife after all." He moved closer, placing a hand on her forehead, running his fingers through her hair. She pulled away, the news sending her mind reeling.

"W-w-wi-wife? I am sorry sir, but I don't even know who I am... let alone you" She stumbled over her words, trembling, clinging to the bed sheets. "Where am I and who are you? And.. no, I don't even want to know who bathed me..."

He laughed, genuine and warm, the sound washing over her, causing her heart to flutter. Goodness, he was handsome. Sandy blonde hair cut short, strong square jaw, a warm smile, and those eyes.. the color of emeralds. She drew a quick breath, trying to calm herself.

"The doctor said you had a severe case of amnesia, that it was to be expected that you wouldn't recognize your home or me.. or yourself, for that matter.. I'm Thomas, and you are Liana, and this is our home." He smiled gently, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"You and I played together as children, were sweethearts. We had a beautiful wedding, and moved into this home that your father built for us. We have only been married for a short while, nine months to be exact." He brushed at her chestnut curls, his deep voice soft.

"The little thing with the fluffy hair.. what is it?.. it tackled me in the yard." She asked, quite unsure if she was speaking or just thinking. Mostly though, she was just feeling. He felt right, as if she belonged here with him. He even smelled familiar.

"Your sister, Chrystie, she has come to live with us after.. well... after, after we went to pick her up. We were traveling home when our carriage was assaulted by bandits. By the time I woke up, you were gone. Luckily your sister had the sense to hide in the brush. We're very lucky to have you back and safe, even with out your memory, which might be more of a blessing then a hindrance, if I really let myself think about it.. "His voice trailed off, his eyes grew dark. It scared her.

"But! Let us get you up and dressed, and We can show you around and get you acquainted with your family again." He smiled, the darkness vanishing from his face. He kissed her forehead again, gave her a gentle hug, and then stood, walking to the doorway.

"Chrystie, come help your sister get dressed! I'm quite sure she'd be uncomfortable with me here right this moment." He grinned, moving out of the room, making way for the bouncy young girl.

"Hi sissy! Lets get you up and dressed!" The blue eyed, chestnut curled girl bounced, or her hair bounced actually, her smile wide and her voice cheerful.