#sylah

HRRRNG DRAMATIC SAD STORY

This wasn't at all supposed to happen.

Sylah was supposed to be free finally. From her abusive husband, from her horrible parents... Free to be able to travel the oceans in safety with her daughter, her little treasure, without being afraid ever again. But now she's being chased by a group of thugs who are clearly out for her life.

Her three year old, Nacre, cries in her arms. Sylah fears more for her daughter's safety more than anything else. Only three years old and with her whole life ahead of her, except now that could all come to an end if these thugs get their hands on her.

She swims as fast as she can to try and get away but these other Cthulhi are persistent and strong, they intend to get the job done so they can collect their money's worth.

Then suddenly, like a ray of hope, she spots a sunken ship in the distance. She can hide there hopefully, just maybe she and her daughter will be safe!

Sylah tries to shake them off the best she can before diving headfirst into one on the ships many portholes, her unusually small size allowing her to squeeze through with ease. She kneels down on the rotting wooden floor and attempts to soothe Nacres crying.

But a loud bang from the thug Cthulhi trying to break their way inside the ship only makes Nacre cry even harder. Sylah squeezes her daughter close to her chest tries to shush her cries. "Shhh baby... We're gonna be okay, there's no need to cry..." She shakily coos, trying to convince even herself that everything will be fine.

She shrieks in fear when a massive arm punches through the wooden hull and frantically scurries away when it feels around for her. The arm withdraws itself and is replaced with a cold blue eye with pupils slit and honing in on her frightened form.

"Ehehehe, there you are." The voice says coldly and detached sending a chill up her spine. The massive arm begins ripping away chunks of the ships hull making a much larger hole to climb through.

Sylah huddles in the corner holding her baby close to her chest, watching in horror as the hole gets bigger and bigger, and her doom draws nearer and nearer. The Cthulhi thug reaches for her and Sylah screams when a tight grip around her ankle pulls her out of the ship... But then her scream is replaced with another and the water is dyed blue with blood.

Her eyes widen in shock and she can't believe the sight in front of her now; seemingly from out of nowhere a Kelpie had appeared, and the beast has his sharp teeth biting down on the flesh of the Cthulhi as he screams for it to let him go.

The crack of bone makes Sylah flinch and an ear piercing scream resounds throw the ocean as the Cthulhi arm is ripped clean off. Sylah trembles as the arm drops from the Kelpies mouth, but despite the bloodshed Sylah senses no malice or ill intent from the water horse.

"Here I was taking a nap and now I wake up to a bunch of bastards trying to break into the base and kidnap a helpless mother and her child." The Kelpie snorts, "Really, these Cthulhi are such scum."

The other thugs grow angrier because of the sudden assault and all try to force themselves into the ship, Prosciutto, with a quick and devastating kick of his back hooves, launches them out of the ship leaving Sylah speechless.

"He woman," Prosciutto starts snapping Sylah out of her trance, "There's a escape tunnel at the base of the ship. I'll hold them off while you get the hell out of here."

Sylah is stunned by this Kelpie chivalrous nature, not something she was expecting from a ten foot tall murder horse.

The Cthulhi outside are getting restless as Prosciutto stands guard in front of the hole they made, the Kelpie refuses to let them in. Sylahs fears are renewed as she watches the thugs team up on the Kelpie, attacking him with everything they have. But despite the physical and psionic attacks Prosciutto stands strong and fights away the intruders.

On of the Cthulhi snarls angrily at Prosciutto, "You bastard horse! You can't protect that woman forever, we're going to kill you and collect our money no matter what! Even if she runs away we'll keep chasing her to the ends of the earth!"

"WOMAN HURRY UP AND GET OUT OF HERE!" Prosciutto screams thrashing around trying to fight the Cthulhi off.

The thugs words echo in Sylahs mind and she moves without thinking. She swims through a crack in the rotting floor boards with Nacre in her arms to the bottom on the boat, and the thug Cthulhi only get more agitated trying to fight their way through Prosciutto to get to their target, but the Kelpie stays strong.

Now these bastards are tough, they're no where near as tough as Vorona, but still, fighting against five Cthulhi isn't really a walk in the park. But Prosciutto still persists, his body now cut and bruised from taking hits from the Cthulhi but he still stands proudly, buying as much time as possible for the little Cthulhi and her child to get away-

"Hey! Over there! She's getting away!"

Prosciuttos heads whips to where the thug pointing and to his dumbfoundment he sees Sylah swimming away in the open ocean with a little bundle in her arms. "Stupid woman! What do you think you're doing!?" Prosciutto yells enraged and confused.

The thugs jettison away from the ship and chase after their target faster than Prosciutto thought a Cthulhi could even swim. He whinnies and gets out of the ship as fast as he can to chase them down. He gallops on the sea floor following the scent of blood, but everything he had done was in vain, because when he gets to Sylah it's already too late...

It's a gruesome scene. Sylahs body beaten and managed beyond recognition and the bundle which held her child is now just bloodied rags. Those thugs showed her no mercy.

Prosciuttos heart sinks at the sight and silently mourns for the mother and her child. In the distance he can see the thugs swimming away into the darkness and the Kelpie curses them, wishing for the worst as such cruelty should not go unpunished.

He slowly makes his way back to the hideout and sighs when he sees the state that it's in, those bastard didn't hold back making a mess of things and it sure is going to be fun explaining this to Risotto.

But a whine coming from the hull of the ship makes Prosciutto stop in his tracks. He must've heard that wrong right? It sounded like a child cry.

But another whine kickstarts Prosciuttos adrenaline, the Kelpie frantically running into the ship and following the cries until he reaches the bottom and there, huddled in the corner shaking, is a scared little three year old girl.

Syrius Rayne Dalt + Delylah Tully (@chuck-hansens)

“I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

Delylah was restless and found it difficult to sleep. Every time she tried, she would have nightmares of her time in Winterfell with the Boltons. She remembered how Quentyn had been murdered in front of her, and she’d been powerless to stop it. Most nights she’d take a stroll around camp. If any of the men thought it was strange, they didn’t comment.

Tonight was different. She paused when she noticed Syrius by the fire, talking to a group of his friends. The fire was warm and there was laughter. She missed that - the idea of happiness. It felt like it had been so long since she’d offered a smile that wasn’t forced, since she’d been genuinely happy.

“Delylah!” Syrius grinned over at her. “Come and join us!”

Everyone’s attention turned to her. Cheeks burning with embarrassment, Delylah turned and hurried away. She didn’t feel a part of what was happening. She had only wanted to be on her own.

The sound of footsteps following her made Delylah spin around, dagger in her hand.

“It’s just me.” Syrius gently caught her wrist, lowering the dagger from his throat. “It’s alright. I just wanted to see how you were, that’s all.”

“Fine,” Delylah responded, the same single-syllable answer she always offered. It was a lie and everyone knew it, but people didn’t want to go digging into the pain that she was keeping to herself.

“Really?” Syrius didn’t appear convinced, releasing Delylah’s wrist and allowing her to put her dagger back in her belt. She didn’t meet his eyes. What more was she supposed to say? What exactly was Syrius expecting to hear?

“Your friends will wonder where you are,” she murmured.

“My friends can wait.” Syrius’s dark eyes were concerned. “Lyla, you haven’t been sleeping. You’ve barely been eating. I know that things with the Boltons must have been awful. I’m here if you want to talk.”

“What could I possibly say?” Delylah’s voice broke, tears welling in her eyes as she lifted her chin to stare hard at him. “I hated it. I hated being there. I hated the fact that I had to call Roose husband. I hated everything.”

“Hey.” Syrius gathered Delylah into his arms and held her close. She wanted to push him away, but instead she found herself crying into his shirt. He stroked her hair as she sobbed. “I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

“I’m a mess,” Delylah choked out. “You don’t need to be burdened by me.”

“You’re not a burden, Lyla.” Syrius gently wiped away her tears. “You’re hurting, and sometimes the best thing is having someone to just be there for you. I want that to be me.”

“I shouldn’t be in love with you.”

The rest of Westeros might be cold as winter drew ever closer, but Dorne was still hot. Syrius and Delylah had been enjoying the water gardens. It had been his suggestion, knowing that she’d grown up paddling in the river and enjoyed swimming.

Delylah loved the water. It certainly wasn’t as cold as the Trident had grown in recent years. She did notice the intensity of Syrius’s gaze on her as he watched her in the water, and she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. It didn’t make her uncomfortable, but it did make her a little wary.

Syrius was the first to forsake the water, basking in the sun to dry off. Delylah rested her arms against the side of the pool, red hair dripping everywhere. One of the vexing things was that she knew Syrius would simply tan in the sun, whilst her freckled complexion meant she’d easily burn.

“You look like you’re thinking hard.” Delylah swept her wet hair out of her eyes. “What is it?”

“I shouldn’t be in love with you.” Syrius didn’t meet her eyes as he said the words.

“You’re in love with me?” Delylah eased herself out of the water and sat beside him. Whatever she had anticipated, it hadn’t been that. For a few moments, there was silence as they watched the water.

“Does it matter?” Syrius sighed heavily. “You don’t feel the same way.”

Delylah raised her eyebrows. “And you know this how?”

“Do you?” he asked, actually looking at her directly for the first time since his confession.

Delylah didn’t know what to say. She’d been through a lot. They both had. Wrapping her head around her feelings for Syrius was difficult, and she know that she could say what he wanted to hear. Her lack of response was answer enough for Syrius, who nodded slowly.

“I thought so.”

He got to his feet, and Delylah jumped up as well.

“Syrius...I just need time.” She rested a hand on his arm. “I care about you, but things have changed a lot.”

Another man might have been annoyed that she didn’t immediately reciprocate his statement, but not Syrius. He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her forehead, before lifting her up off her feet and throwing her back into the water.