Forgetting (Redacted Name)
Cold. That was all Kora could feel as she came to. Cold surrounding her completely, like a blanket. Her teeth immediately began to chatter, even before she raised her head and opened her eyes.
A sharp breath was taken in as she blinked her eyes open, which had been dangerously close to being frozen shut, just to see that blanket of cold was a blanket of white. White below her as she sat on her knees in the snow. White drifting down slowly, and in spurts being blown right into her, as if wanting to make her as pure and cold as her surroundings.
She wheezed a bit, then coughed... and then winced, the sharp movements she took causing a sharp pain to shoot through and seemingly bounce around the inside of her skull. The woman dipped her head and closed her eyes again, trying to regain her bearings, when she felt something warm drip down against the too-thin cloth of her gloves. Blood. It was blood. Her own blood. But where was it coming from?
She came to realize her nose was exceedingly moist and warm and reached up to rub it, thus smearing blood across her cheek. Ah, so that was where it was coming from. Another broken nose, perhaps? She grabbed onto her nose and shifted it around, but nothing. No pain, no swelling. No, it was simply bleeding, and she had no idea why.
No, she needed to stop worrying about her leaking nose and get to her feet. How she had come to rest on her knees of all things, and in the snow, she had no idea. But it wasn't the time to worry about such things. She needed to move.
And so, she buried her gloved hands into the snow and pushed herself up, her legs wobbling under the effort. Her surroundings began to spin, but it was quite unlike how they spun when she had too much to drink. This wasn't because of too much of something, but... quite the opposite. It made sense to her, yet didn't make any sense at all at the same time.
Taking in a sharp breath, she began to do just that, trudging through the snow in knee-high boots. It took a while to get her legs to work properly, her muscles stiff, but she took one step after another. That's all she could do.
In the meantime, she glanced down at herself. She was dressed for the cold, true, but not necessarily in the way that one would if they were expecting a fight in the cold. Fur-lined coat. Thick pants. Even more layered below that. She had a knife, true, but it was small enough to be concealed within the waistband of her pants. Not noticeable.
Once she noticed her head was being covered by snow flakes, she shook her hair out and reached back to scoop the hood of her coat over it. Her ears began to warm slowly, and she inwardly thanked herself for buying the coat for the trip.
As she walked, she began to speed up a bit, her limbs coming to life and working as hard as they could. She soon decided to pat herself down to see if she had hidden anything else within the pockets or folds of her layers of clothing, soon finding a pouch of fire shards. Good. They'd make good hand-warmers. Good... everything warmers, really.
She continued to move, but continued to search herself as well, and soon found something else she had hidden among the layers covering her torso. Something thin, but something that subtly poked at her here and there. She reached in to pull it out. A thin envelope, with her name, in her own writing, on the front.
A rocky outcrop was spied nearby, and the redhead decided to take a break and read whatever her past self had written to her. She had the distinct feeling it was important; that she shouldn't wait to read it.
Once she was sure the wind was (mostly) blocked from assaulting her, she flexed her fingers then carefully opened up the envelope, pulling out the single sheet of paper that had been folded and shoved inside.
Kora, It began, in her own handwriting.
I know you must be confused, but everything is alright. You saw someone about a problem, and that problem was excised. I don't know where you are now, but you're probably cold. Go to father's house. They are ready for you there.
And remember: Everything will be better now.
With a sigh made visible by the cold air surrounding her, she roughly tucked the letter back inside of her layers, continuing on her way toward the gates of Ishgard.
She did her very best to think about what would be awaiting her. Warmth. A comfortable bed. A home-cooked meal. That pushed her to tread faster through the thick snow. And before she knew it. She was at the gates. The guards there gave her an appraising look and she quickly removed her hood to show her face; her blood-smeared face.
The younger of the guards raised his brow, turning to the other, as if asking for silent guidance. The more grizzled man shook his head, motioning Kora through the gates. She gratefully, and tiredly, obliged.
She walked through the city at a slightly slower pace than she had trudged through the snow, her legs cramping from that little trek. It wouldn't take long for her to reach the Arbreaux residence, after all, and she needed time to make herself at least somewhat presentable. As she was too tired to care what those she passed by thought, she removed a cloth from her pants and spit on it, scrubbing at the dried blood on her face until she was sure it was gone.
Not long after, she found herself on her father's doorstep, adjusting her clothes and running fingers through her windswept hair in an attempt to tame it, if even a bit. And then she rapped on the door, waiting only a few moments before the heavy wooden door creaked open, and the dark-haired hyuran maid began to talk before Kora had the chance to.
"A-ah, Mistress Kora. We have been expecting you. Please, do come in."
Kora did as she was asked, peeling off her coat so she could hang it up. "Is the bath ready, Stellie?"
"Yes, of course. And it has been kept hot, as you requested."
"Good. I'll go and clean up, and then I'll be ready to eat. And then... then I will rest."
"Of course, Mistress Kora. I will have your meal prepared, as well as your bed." With a bow, the girl scurried off to get to work.
Everything seemed normal in the house, but everything seemed... off inside of Kora. Off balance. Something was missing, but she didn't know what. It all hit her, now that she wasn't distracted by the cold; distracted by getting out of it as soon as possible. She wasn't the same, but she couldn't tell if it was a bad thing, or a good thing.
Stop it. It doesn't matter now. Just go about things like everything's as it should be, because everything is.
