Chapter 1017: Isabell’s Rebirth (Part One)
As much as everyone might have wished to linger in order to celebrate Isabell’s successful awakening as the Hemlock Witch, the approach of dawn called Nyrielle and her progeny to bed, forcing them to return to their chambers deep within the ancient keep just minutes after Isabell had awakened.
"I know you’ll tend to your witch well today," Nyrielle said as she gently cupped Ashlynn’s cheek. "But take time for yourself to rest before you do. I’m sure that Isabell could use some real sleep herself after her ordeal, so hurry back to your tower and your own bed for at least a few hours before you throw yourself back into caring for others."
"I will," Ashlynn promised, standing up on her tiptoes to give Nyrielle a brief peck on the lips. "Today, we all need to rest. Tomorrow, when word arrives from Hanrahan, we can worry about what comes next, but for now, I don’t intend to do anything more strenuous than cooking a warm meal and having a quiet conversation with Isabell and the coven."
"Good," Nyrielle said with a twinkle in her eyes as she ran her slender fingers through Ashlynn’s soft, pale hair, savoring the silky softness of her lover’s tresses flowing through her hand. "If your sleep is troubled, come find me," she whispered softly as she bestowed a gentle kiss on Ashlynn’s brow. "If you call out for me, I’ll find you, even in dreams," she promised before melting away into the fading darkness and the mists of the Vale.
For several heartbeats, Ashlynn stood with her eyes closed, feeling the lingering touch of Nyrielle’s hand on her cheek and the trace of her lover’s lips on her brow before Isabell’s voice brought her back to the present.
"Whatever reservations I had about your choice of companion," Isabell said with a warm smile on her lips. "Consider half of them to be wiped away. Even if she wasn’t as beautiful as you said she was, just the sight of you melting into her touch like that tells me most of what I need to know about her," she said affectionately.
"That’s exactly how Casquas makes me feel," Isabell said, smiling brilliantly as a burden she hadn’t realized she was carrying in her heart melted away. It didn’t mean that she’d let go of all of her concerns. There were still elements of her younger friend’s relationship with such an ancient being that troubled her, after all. But despite those concerns, it was clear that Nyrielle was every bit as deeply in love with Ashlynn as the young witch was with her vampire lover, and that was the most important thing.
"I told you, Isabell," Ashlynn said, blushing slightly as she realized how she must have looked to her coven. "There’s nothing in the world that can come between Nyri and I, and nothing that can pull us apart. Not that people haven’t tried," she said with a light chuckle. "But they were doomed to fail from the beginning."
"More importantly," she said as she looked the freshly awakened witch over. "How are you feeling? Do you need to rest here and take a meal before we hike back to the castle, or would you prefer to get out of the cold first?" Ashlynn asked.
The early morning air in the Vale was chilly, and anyone standing more than a few paces away from the bonfire could see their breath turning into frosty clouds when they exhaled. A soft, golden glow could be faintly seen kissing the tops of the trees around them, but it would be hours yet before the sun rose high enough overhead to provide any real warmth.
Even then, it was likely to be a day that hovered between rain mixed with hail and outright snow if the clouds gathering in the distance were to be believed. It certainly wasn’t a day to remain outside if they didn’t have a good reason to do so.
"If Sir Ollie can spread some of those soft eggs between two pieces of toast, with a few of those little fish," Isabell said, pointing at the dishes that were laid out around the bonfire. "I can eat while we walk. I’m too old to stay out in the... well, maybe I’m not anymore," she said, interrupting herself as she flexed her right elbow and wrist, feeling the lack of stiffness in the joints even after spending three days sleeping out in the elements.
In fact, her entire body felt rejuvenated, with none of the aches and pains that had begun to plague her in the years since she’d given birth to her children. Her knees weren’t stiff, her hips no longer felt tight, and despite having only just woken up, just a deep breath of the chill morning air was enough to chase the fatigue from her mind.
"I feel better than ever," Isabell confessed, moving slowly and inspecting herself as she took stock of the changes in her body. It wasn’t just that the aches and pains of her body had melted away, or that she possessed the energy of a woman decades younger than she was.
There was a strength in her limbs and her core that had never been there before, and when she stood upon the earth, she felt an insistent pull, like invisible roots were trying to grow from the soles of her feet and burrow deep into the soil beneath her.
"I feel like I can almost touch something..." Isabell started, then, without finishing the thought, she bent down and began unlacing her boots with trembling fingers that felt both familiar and unfamiliar without the familiar wrinkles and the persistent dryness that had marked her hands after spending years washing ink or charcoal dust off of them after every session at a drafting table.
But more important than the state of her hands was the desire to cross the gap that left her feeling... incomplete and more disconnected from the earth than she wanted to be. Like she was meant to be something different, something more, but if she couldn’t take root in the soil, then she would blow away on the wind...