Rust

They made their way into the village, finding it to have been abandoned. The houses were fairly picked apart, doors busted in and windows shattered. Ambrosine peeked her head into one of the broken windows, giving the house a small glance around.

"Looks like it was completely cleaned. It seems even the family photos and candles were taken, too. How strange." she chimed, looking back at the small group.

They looked into a few more houses. Each result was the same. Glass crunched beneath their feet as they walked. Rhyannon pressed a hand to her chin as she thought.

"Has anyone heard anything since we arrived? Birds? Insects? Any animals at all? I haven't even heard the wind blow."

The others all looked at each other. Gareth shook his head and Frewin visibly paled. Ambrosine was too busy looking through windows.

"I haven't heard anything," Frewin responded. He held a hand up to his ear, straining to hear anything. He shook his head. There truly was no sound except their own.

Rhyannon frowned. Ambrosine, satisfied with her exploration, returned to them.

"Every house is empty. Some seem less scavenged than others, but each one looks to have been abandoned for quite some time. I'm sure we can find some lodgings, at the very least."

"Then let us find a place and set up. I'm sure we could all use a break to rest and tend to wounds." Gareth took the lead as he pushed aside the door to a nearby house. The door's hinges whined loudly as glass crunched beneath his boots, the sounds echoing much louder than they were.

Once the door was opened they tied the horse up to a nearby stump and carried their remaining items inside. Rhyannon made a small fire in the former living room as Gareth carefully strung the leftover rodents upon a cooking stick. Frewin took to clearing out a side room as Ambrosine leaned against the doorframe supervising his efforts.

He’d give her a look from the corner of his eye every so often. From his small glances, he studied her- how her silvery eyes seemed to hold a light all of their own, an unnatural brightness that never seemed to dull even in minimal light. It was as if they snuffed the light from any candle for her own use as if her eyes were rivaling the moons. He felt a shiver roll down his spine, causing an involuntary spasm.

“Are you alright? Perhaps I should take over.”

”No, it's fine.”

Before he could truly protest, Ambrosine knelt beside him picking up the shards of glass he had worked into a pile to discard.

“Really, you don’t have to. I ha-“ He was cut off as Ambrosine swore quietly, dropping the shards she had gathered.

Along her palm was a thin cut that slowly pearled. Rather than blood as he knew it- the incarnadine, viscous liquid- it was more free-flowing and shimmery. He could only liken it to the liquid metal he used to make horseshoes. His body froze but his eyes lifted to meet her face. Her expression was unchanged as she cleaned out the small wound. Whatever she was saying didn’t reach his ears.

Ambrosine, content with her effort to clean her hand, stood up and went to the doorway.

“How about we just give up on this? The main room isn’t too messy. There are a few thick blankets discarded around, too, that we can just lay on. Though…” she began as she gave him a look, but changed her mind on whatever she was going to say. She looked at him for a moment longer before shrugging and leaving.

Frewin watched her back as she disappeared around the corner for several moments. His mind raced a mile a minute as he put together what he had seen. She cut her hand. Instead of dark blood, she bled...liquid gold? Shimmery nectar sparkled with a life and vigor of its own. He shook his head, dropping the small bundle of glass he had gathered.

In the living room, Gareth had finished cooking and was passing out the rats to less than amused faces.

”I was wondering when you would join us again. Come, dinner is done. Let us eat and then rest.” He announced, holding a stick out towards Frewin.

Frewin took the stick and took a seat on the floor beside Rhyannon. Dinner was silent, save for the wind occasionally whistling through the broken windows.

“Did you find-“

”No. The rooms were all empty.” Ambrosine cut Rhyannon off before she could ask. Her stick dangled listlessly in the slowly dying fire. Rhyannon’s mouth formed a hard line as she looked between Ambrosine and Frewin.

“Alright. I suppose we’re all camping in the same room tonight. Everyone to their own corner.”

Gareth stamped the remains of the fire out as Rhyannon and Ambrosine took to set up the small camps. Neither woman spoke to one another, much less acknowledged the other.

~

Frewin found it difficult to sleep that night. The odd locks Rhyannon and Gareth exchanged each other and the appearance of Ambrosine's blood played back through his mind. Rhyannon had been wary of her from the beginning, he was beginning to question if he should have listened to her. She had saved his life, housed and healed his arm, yet her actions were starting to fill him with a dread he couldn't place into words. He chewed his bottom lip as he stared up at the darkened ceiling. His eyes felt dry and sore, and his body ached from the day's exploits yet his mind was awake and active.

A soft rustling from behind him roused him from his thoughts as he looked over and noticed Rhyannon sitting up. She carefully untangled herself from the blankets and stepped around the sleeping bodies. She made her way to the entranceway before noticing Frewin watching her, making a motion to step outside as she left. It took him several moments to remove himself from the blankets, Ambrosine's sleep-heavy arm that was tossed across his body proved difficult as he tried to move it without waking the sleeping woman. He slipped under it and crawled over to the wall to help himself stand before joining Rhyannon outside.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked in a hushed whisper, leaning herself against the outside wall.

Frewin made a face as he thought about how to answer her question. He already knew she would probe him for what was keeping him up.

"No. I..." he found difficulty in forming his words, his head still a jumbled mess as a dozen thoughts ran amok in his mind. "It's Ambrosine."

"Color me surprised. What did little miss do this time?" sarcasm practically dripped off her words. Even in the shadows provided by the house's overhang he could see her eyes roll.

"We...We were cleaning up some of the broken glass from the spare room. Ambrosine accidentally cut her hand open. The blood it...it wasn't normal. It was shimmery and far too...wet. Does that even make sense?" he pleaded to her as his voice hitched. Rhyannon quickly shushed him but made no effort to otherwise cut him off, "then it just...healed. It healed on its own. There was no scar or anything. Like nothing had even happened. I-...no perhaps I was seeing things. It's been a long week."

Rhyannon's expression was a mixture of confusion and intrigue, hints of fear and concern furrowed her brow. He could be right about it just being the trick of a tired mind, but the lack of scarring was far too similar. The effectiveness of her healing still tugged at her mind. Her healing far surpassed even the most talented of healers. It was unnatural. It was uncomfortable.

"We'll speak about this with Gareth in the morning. He should know better than either of us."

The confused look on Frewin's face was met only with a wave of her hand.

"Trust me. For now, try to get some sleep. You look horrible."

"You don't look any better yourself, you know," he mumbled under his breath. Rhyannon met his words with a laugh behind her hand.

"Sleep. I'm going to check the area and see if there is anything left around that we can use. Surely it should be easier without everyone under my feet." she gave him a smile and a wink as she turned away from him, her jovial tone masking the growing uneasiness she felt brewing within her bosom.