Emma shrugs, "It's only water, hopefully it'll dry okay. Ma can probably wash it for me if it gets dirty."
Emma heads back to the square with Aiden to see if they can help with anything. She holds up her skirts to keep as much mud off of them as possible, as they hurry through the rain.
You hear more thunder, followed by a whinnying of horses. Suddenly, the loud cries of children break through the sound of the rain.
a shout emerges. It sounds like Ervan.
Slipping her bow from over his shoulder, Aiden leads them quickly toward the sounds of chaos, keeping a sharp eye out for whatever might be happening.
Slipping her bow from over his shoulder, Aiden leads them quickly toward the sounds of chaos, keeping a sharp eye out for whatever might be happening.
Emma tugs on his arm to at least get them out of the road, as the sounds of the commotion startle and confuse her.
You reach the road as a black carriage wreathed in spectral blue flames bears down upon two of the village children. With a speed you had not witnessed before, Ervan throws himself over the children to protect them. Tongues of flame break free from the carriage as it passes, seemingly harmless, through the dwarf. The fragments of fire spread quickly through the village before gathering to trail the departing carriage. Simultaneously, you witness villagers fall to the ground as if struck dead. Once the dread scene ends, you hear the children crying for help underneath the unmoving dwarf's weight. Only a handful of villagers remain standing, checking on their loved ones. The cheers and laughter from earlier replaced with cries of horror and agony.
The gruesome scene is as shocking as it is horrifying, yet Aiden finds himself running forward before he even realizes that he is, Shadow instinctively hanging back to keep pace with Emma as she races over to lift Ervan's lifeless body off of the children.
As she watches friends and neighbors fall to the ground, Emma's hands come up to cover her mouth, the cry of anguish that leaves her lips only slightly muffled by them. Her mind has trouble comprehending exactly what it is they just saw, but even as her heart breaks, she knows that the carriage just somehow took the souls right out of their family and friends.
Even in her horrified state, Emma finds herself running as fast as she can towards Ervan's lifeless body. With Shadow's help, she gently rolls him off of the children and gathers them to her as she tries to comfort them, "There there, you're alright now."
Looking up to the sky she says, "Dear Goddess, please help us." Holding the smaller of the two children in her arms, she takes the hand of the other one and heads to the stage in the middle of the square. Looking over her shoulder at her husband as she heads there, "I'm going to the stage to gather everyone....those that are left, and take stock of our losses." She says, barely holding back the sob that she feels coming out of her.
Aiden gives his wife a silent nod, holding her gaze for a moment that speaks volumes without words, before grimly beginning to check the bodies of the fallen, while looking out for the dark carriage's return.
Emma takes the children with her to the stage and calls out loudly for everyone to hear, Emma speaks as loudly as possible, hoping that everyone heard her.
Aiden spies the carriage cresting a hill before it disappears from his view. It doesn't seem likely to return. As he looks Ervan over, the dwarf appears to still have the warmth of life in him, but the old grump is unresponsive.
Counting her, Aiden and the children Emma holds on to, only sixteen people are gathered around the stage.
As she realizes just how many they lost, Emma tries to hold her sobs inside for now. She had to be strong for the rest of the village.
Holding the young one on her hip, as the other child clings to her side. Looking out on those left she says, "Okay, things have happened that we didn't expect." She then tells them the story of the carriage that she heard as a child, "I don't know how or why this happened, but I'm not going to give up on getting our friends and family back. First I need someone that can take these children somewhere to get them warm and dry, as the rest of us take the ones that have fallen back to their homes. I don't want to attract wild animals, and it would be safer to keep them in their homes. Finally, as soon as we are able, Aiden and I will go after the carriage and try to figure out how to get everyone back. If there is anyone that is able, and you would like to come with us to find our family and friends, you are welcome to do so. Just be aware that this could be a dangerous journey, so really think about it before answer." Emma looks to Aiden for affirmation of what she said. She was pretty sure he felt the same way.
Looking back out to those gathered, "Alright, we have a lot to do, so let's get to it. So, is there anyone that can take these two little ones temporarily until we get their family back?"
Standing up from checking on Ervan and the other collapsed villagers, Aiden nods as Emma begins directing the survivors. "They seem to still be alive, just unresponsive, so this isn't lost."
Emma gives him a nod to let him know she heard him, as she waits for one of the villagers to take the soaked and frightened children from her, so she could help get the unconscious ones back to their homes.
Aiden stets rounding up the most able bodied of the remaining townspeople to help carry the fallen to safely.
Fern hurries up on the stage to take the two halfling children. "I can't even process your father being...oh, never mind, you have a lot on your plate. I'll take care of these two."
Alfric and Godric, the two guards, take apart Sam's cart to accommodate moving the villagers to their homes faster. Clyde Beedle goes to help the two half-orcs, while Hannah and Paige round up the two other children.
Emma nods, "Thank you Ma." She says while handing over the smaller child to her mother.
Wrapping an arm around her mother for a brief hug she says, "I promise you we'll find that carriage, and we'll bring everyone home....everyone." She says before running off the stage to help where she can. Even if it's just comforting those that lost someone.
After an indeterminate amount of time, they finally get everyone that's unconscious back to their homes. The hardest part for Emma, was seeing all the young ones that had been snatched away from their families, and the cries of anguish from the ones left to deal with the loss of their loved ones.
Completely drained and soaked to the bone, a weary Emma makes her way back home with her love and his faithful companion by her side. She absently puts a hand in shadows fur as she walks home. Her quietness is a stark and noticeable contrast to her usual boisterous self.
"We need to get a good night's rest, but then we need to follow that carriage and find wherever it went." Aiden says grimly as they head home.
Nodding she looks up at him, Yeah, but before we go to bed, I think we need a hot bath to warm up, and just....just clean off I guess. I don't...I don't think I'll ever get those images...and sounds of grief out of my mind....or heart." Emma responds, as she tries to hold back the sobs she feels welling up inside her. There is nothing of his light hearted princess in her voice or body language as they trudge through the mud to get to their home.
Priscilla sits on the muddy ground, cursing at herself, while everyone heads home. Rosie is frighteningly quiet as she and the two half orcs put her parents into their bed. Everyone else is emotionally drained and numb as the night comes to a close. No one bothers to touch the festival decorations as the lights around the village go out.
Emma looks exhausted as they enter their home. Letting out a sigh, she collapses into one of their dining chairs, before letting out a series of several high pitched sneezes, "I guess we shoulda worn our cloaks huh?" She says softly, while sniffing and rubbing her eyes with the back if one of her small hands.
From her tone and body language, Aiden can tell that the emotional wall she had built around herself to get through the night, was quickly starting to crumble.
"Bless you, love.....Probably." Aiden says, shutting the door as they enter their home. The hunter immediately sets to starting a fire, getting some warmth radiating through the house before coming over to his wife, very much aware of her fragile emotional state.
"Let's get those boots off," he says kneeling in front of the chair to help her, as Shadow slinks over to lay down in front of the fire.
Her eyes shine with unshed tears as she lets him help her out of her boots, her bottom lip quivers slightly as her mind can't help but replay the the images of people just falling all around her, and being absolutely helpless to stop it.
After he gets her boots off, Emma simply holds her arms out to him. More than anything right now, she needed to feel his strong arms around her.
Without hesitation, Aiden takes her into his arms, picking her up and sitting as he holds her close, leaning her head against hers.
As he holds her against him, she's aware that they're still in their soaked and muddy clothing, "We need out...of these wet, muddy things. We'll get sick if we don't, and....and then we won't be able to help...help anyone. I hate this....I just hate it." Emma says, her voice breaking in some places, as she tries to hold back her sobs.
"Alright, let's get out of these clothes and into a hot bath." Aiden says standing up, still holding Emma in his arms and carrying her to the bathroom.
Setting her down at the tub's edge, he quickly heads back to the kitchen, setting water to boil and coming back to use his nature magic to fill the tub with water partially. Adding the water after it boils, he takes a couple of hot stones from a spot in the fireplace, adding to one end of the tub to keep the water just at a steaming heat.
Emma just sits numbly on the side of the tub, while her love gets the bath ready.
Once the bath is ready, Emma let's him help her out of her now soaked and muddy festival dress. Not even caring as it gets tossed on the floor, Emma takes her hair down while being helped by her love.
Emma remains where she is until he divests himself of his own soaked clothes. As he turns back towards Emma, he sees the slight tremble in her lips, the tightness of her muscles, as well as the haunted and forlorn look in her eyes. It seems as if she's just staring off into space at the moment. Most likely replaying the event in her mind, and trying to figure out if she could have done more to save them. The way she does when she isn't able to save everyone the way she thinks she should be able to.
The haunted look in his love's eyes and her vulnerable body-language brings a deep sigh from Aiden. Gently he moves over to his wife, scooping her up in his arms and carefully stepping into the tub, lowering himself into the soothing hot water, before lowering Emma to settle in front of him.
He lets them both sit for a bit, just long enough to let the heat of the water begin to work its magic, before getting the soap and beginning to wash Emma's back, his strong fingers massaging the tension in her muscles as he provides silent comfort, waiting until she was ready to talk.
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As she feels him pick her up, Emma wraps her arms around his neck and lays her head on his shoulder. After he gently settles them into the water, Emma waits for him to be comfortable before slightly turning on her side toward him and laying her head against his chest, she closes her eyes and listens to his heart, beating strong and steady in his chest. The sound and feel of it beating sure and steady beneath her, helps to calm her slightly.
As she feels Aiden reaching for the soap, Emma sits up and bends her head forward as she sighs. His hands always made her feel so good, no matter how awful the day had been. He used the perfect combination of strength and tenderness to soothe her aching muscles.
Even though she was starting to feel a little more relaxed, her mind was still having trouble comprehending exactly what had happened.
Starting to feel the weariness of the whole day hit her, Emma leans back against his chest after he rinses the soap from her back.
Her voice is soft and quivers slightly, "I...I never thought it was real love. How could it possibly be real? They were just...stories. I never thought....I didn't think anything this awful could happen here....to us...our friend...family. I just...what if....what if we can't find it Aiden? What if we can't find that awful carriage? It took...so many love...so many."
The last few words come out with the heart rending sob, as she turns and burns her face in his chest. The heart of her distress laid bare, she can no longer hold back her tears, crying out her pain and frustration at not being able to do more to protect their community...their family. It was more than her heart could bear.
He holds her close, the sound of her sobs heartbreaking, but needed. "I know love, it was horrible, and yes, I didn't think the stories were real either." he says softly once Emma's sobs have quieted a bit.
"But now that we know they are real, we'll find them, and we'll get our people back. I promise."
Emma sniffles and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. Nodding while her head is still on his chest, "Okay....I know you're...right. We can do anything...as long as we...have each other." She responds, her voice still catching in places as she continues to allow herself to be soothed by the embrace of her beloved, and his tender, encouraging words.
Emma sighs, "We should finish our bath before the water gets cold. If we fall ill...we won't be able to help anyone."
Aiden nods, wiping away some of Emma's tears and leaning in, to give her a loving kiss, before focusing on washing himself.
He truly believed that she was right, together they would be able to do stop whatever was happening.
Once they are both finished, he stands up, stepping out of the bath, her wraps a towel around his waist, before turning and lifting Emma out, setting her down and wrapping a towel around her before lovingly picking her up and heading to the bedroom to dry off.
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As he wraps a towel around her, and picks her up, Emma wraps her arms around his neck and gives him a kiss on his cheek, "I love you, and I'm sorry if I'm a bit of a mess right now. I just....I don't know what Iwould have done if something had happened to you." Emma nuzzles the side of his neck as he carries her into the bedroom to dry off.
After he sets her down, she uses the towel to dry her hair as much as possible, before drying the rest of herself off. While getting herself dried off, she wondered if her punishment was going to be suspended in light of recent events.
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"You have nothing to be sorry for love, that was...horrible. And yes, If anything happened to you..." he trails off, the distant look in his eyes momentarily entertaining the unimaginable. "...it wouldn't be good...for anybody."
Shaking off his dark thoughts, the hunter dries himself off as well, taking a moment to truly appreciate that they were here together, while many others in town were without one of their loved ones tonight. In light of that, things like their talk earlier seemed so much less important right now.
Catching her gaze up at him, he guesses her thoughts. "I think we've got more than enough going on that there's no need for anything else that might draw a tear for now, don't you?" he asks with a smile.
Having put on her panties and rose pink nightgown after drying off, Emma let's out a sigh of relief and nods, "There's been more than enough. Take me to bed?" She asks, holding her arms out to him.
Slipping on a pair of shorts after drying off, Aiden smiles as his beautiful wife makes it clear that she's ready for bed.
"Always.", he says, taking her in his arms, and holding her close as he carries her over to their bed, drawing back the blankets before gently setting her down.
Letting out a yawn as he sets her down on the bed, she feels the heaviness of the days events weighing her body and mind down.
Pulling the covers over herself, Emma waits for her love to get into the bed and then snuggles as close to him as possible without actually being on top of him. Turning so that she faces into his chest, she practically burrows into him while yawning again.
Once she gets into a comfortable position, and is snuggled up as close to him as one being can get to another, Emma stretches to softly kiss his lips, "I hate that tonight ended the way it did, but...I'm so glad to be home in your arms. I hope that....doesn't make me a bad or selfish person, dince there are so many....missing their loved ones." She says, starting to sound sleepy.
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Blowing out the lamp, Aiden gets into bed beside Emma, taking her into his arms and pulling the covers over them as she snuggles into his chest. His breathing slows, more at peace than he's been all night now that they were alone, for the moment, the chaos of everything outside of their little bubble.
"I do too, but there'll be plenty of nights that will end differently, and having you in my arms matters more to me than anything else." he replies softly, returning her kiss. He strokes her hair gently, in the way that always had her drifting off in no time, taking solace in her soft warmth pressed against him, the sound of her soft breathing, bringing a quiet peace, despite the madness of the day.
In the morning, they would deal with everything, but for tonight, they were home. Safe. Knowing that for some of his friends and neighbors, that wasn't the case, only made having it more improtant.
Worn out from the events of the night before, Emma sleeps a little later than usual. Finally waking up, she looks over at her sleeping husband, love and gratefulness for his presence and support fill her heart. Trying her best not to wake him, Emma leans close to him, and kisses the love of her life gently on his temple.
Emma is careful and moves as quietly and carefully as she can, in order not to disturb her beloved. It was rare that Aiden would sleep past sunrise, but it was a miserable night, and she knew how hard he worked, helping to get the villagers back to their homes safely. After disentangling herself from him, and getting off the bed, she hurries to the washroom to conduct her morning business.
Once done, she slips on her robe and hurries to the living room to make her prayers to Sarenrae, so as not to disturb her beloved.
Kneeling on the rug in front of the fireplace, she begins to pray softly.
"Bright and mighty Goddess Sarenrae, I come humbly before your presence to ask that you help guide us to where we need to go to find our family and friends. Keep us safe on our journey, and give us wisdom to deal with whatever we come up against. Just help us to stay strong and do whatever we need to do to them back. I thank you for everything you have given us, and continue to be with us as we move forward. Be with those that stay here to guard our home and keep them safe while we're gone. I pray all these things in your name, Amen."
Finishing her prayer, Emma gets up off the floor and goes to check on her husband.
Usually up at dawn, the times that Aiden slept past sunrise were few and far between, but the toll of the previous evening made this one of them.
Slowly awakening, he feels Emma's absence before he opens his eyes, his sharp hearing picking up her soft footsteps coming back to the bedroom. Opening his eyes, he sits up, smiling as she walks in. "Morning beautiful."
Seeing him awake, and hearing his voice reminds Emma that all is not lost.
Returning the smile, she walks over to the bed. Taking off her robe, she drops it on the chair before climbing onto the bed, still wearing her pink nightgown. Sitting cross legged on the bed she leans over Aiden and kisses him softly on his lips, while pieces of her hair fall forward to tickle his nose, "Good morning yourself hot stuff. Are you feeling hungry yet?" She asks, running her fingers through his hair.
"I suppose so, but most of all, happy to open my eyes and see you." he replies with a smile, running his hand up her back as he returns the kiss.
Emma nods and sighs as she's kissed, while melting slightly in his arms, "I'm very glad to see you too, but if we're not careful, something is going to get started that we don't really have time to finish right now." Lying down next to him, she puts her head on his chest, "So, as much as I would looovvveee to stay in this bed with you, we really should eat something, and get ready for the town meeting in the chapel." Emma says, a bit of a pouty look on her face.
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Aiden lets out a groaning sigh.
"You're right." Aiden replies, holding her close, and running his fingers through her hair. "They need us, now more than ever, and the sooner we get things in motion, the sooner we get our people back."
"But when this is all over, we're spending a weekend without leaving the house." he says quietly, the low growl slipping back into his voice.
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Emma shudders at the sexy low growl in his voice. Biting her lower lip slightly and looking up at him, she can't help the soft moan that escapes her lips, "Uummm, yeah...we will totally do that when we get back home. For now though, we need to eat, get dressed, go to the town meeting, and get ready to leave." Pushing herself up on her elbows so she can look down at him, Emma smiles before kissing him gently on the lips, "I'm gonna start getting our breakfast ready, while you get dressed. I'll see you in the kitchen in a little while." She gives him another kiss, before standing up on the bed. Stepping over him, she pauses long enough for him to catch a glimpse of her pink panties, before reaching the edge of the bed and jumping down.
Emma giggles as her feet hit the floor, and she runs for the kitchen. Emma starts pulling out pots and pans, along with some of her favorite utensils to cook with. She then starts taking out everything she needs to make some porridge with fresh fruit, eggs, venison breakfast sausage, and toasted bread with honey.
Looking around for her spices, Emma realizes that they never rearranged her kitchen after everything that happened last night. Letting out a sigh, Emma pulls a chair over to the kitchen counter and climbs up on it. Sorting through her spices, Emma pulls out what she needs and sets them on the counter, before climbing back down from the chair. She wanted to make them a super yummy breakfast that would stick with them for a long time.