Everlasting Dream

Chapter 83: See the light

[Nivalis Silverfrost]

It felt like a sharp dagger had been plunged into her motherly heart when Aster suddenly jumped from her hands to face that clicking creature in a desperate attempt to protect them. It all happened so fast, mere seconds. Yet, it felt like an eternity as she watched helplessly, unable to intervene, as her youngest child bravely unleashed hell upon that plant beast, getting severely hurt in the process. Nivalis should have been protecting them, not the other way around. Never the other way around.

Before Nivalis could even blink, it was already over. Aster lay on the muddy ground next to the charred corpse of that abomination, motionless. The next moments were a blur — the rain, the thunder, the flashes of lightning, her panicked voice mixed with her daughter's... and Aster's silence, much more deafening than any other noise in her ears. He wasn't moving at all.

— "M-my b-boy..." Nivalis cried out, barely making sense through choked sobs as she dropped to her knees beside his still form, mud splashing around her, seeing the cloak torn around his neck, revealing raw, bleeding flesh underneath. "P-please... please..." she repeated in a low, shaking whisper, trying to hear his breathing over all the noise of this storm above, but it was way too hard to tell.

'Please don't leave us alone...' Nivalis thought desperately as she buried her face against Aster's tiny chest, trying to hear any sign of life through their soaked clothes. "D-don't y-you d-dare... l-leave me..." she muttered again, choking on the words.

"M-Mom... H-he... I-I didn't..." Silvia stuttered, her golden eyes wide in panic. "Is he...? He's not..." the girl tried to finish the words but couldn't.

Nivalis didn't answer; instead, she removed her cloak, revealing her relatively clean tunic underneath, and gently wrapped Aster's neck with it, leaving her chest bare. Her pale skin was covered in goosebumps as the rainwater drenched her, yet she cared little for that. With trembling fingers, she quickly wrapped the cloak back over her breasts before gathering the limp, small body of her son into her arms, cradling him against her chest. His head lolled limply against her shoulder, his beautiful silver hair stained with blood, dirt, and mud.

She stood on her shaky legs and hugged him tighter. At least he was warm, feverish, even. It was a good sign. A sign that he's still alive. "Don't panic. Everything will be alright, honey," Nivalis said, even though it sounded like she said it more to herself than anyone else. "I promise. Help me gather blankets into my backpack. We need to leave quickly before more of these creatures arrive," she whispered, glancing at the charred corpse beside them.

"O-okay, Mom..." Silvia nodded, her petite frame shivering in the rain. She quickly packed their soaked, dirty, mud-covered blankets into Nivalis's leather backpack and helped her mother put it on. "I'll carry his backpack..." she mumbled quietly, grunting as she shouldered the weighty bag her little brother carried and her own.

— "Hold onto me. Don't let go," Nivalis instructed, still cradling Aster's limp form protectively against her chest as they began to walk away from these cursed bushes. It was hard to see through the heavy downpour and darkness surrounding them. Silvia clung tightly onto her mother's arm for dear life as they stumbled blindly through the dense undergrowth of the forest, their bodies shivering from cold rainwater and fear.

They had no idea which direction they were going in; Nivalis wanted distance between them and that place more than anything else. So, they walked aimlessly through the ancient woodlands, climbing over giant roots and wading through deep puddles, with every step squishing loudly underfoot.

"Is he alright...?" Silvia spoke softly after ten silent minutes of walking, her golden eyes looking down at her little brother's limp form.

Nivalis wasn't sure. She needs a quiet, dry place to check his body and see if there is any other wound besides the neck. She was confident she saw blood on his hands when the lightning briefly flashed through the trees, but she couldn't tell for sure how bad it was.

"H-he will be. He's a strong boy," Nivalis said firmly, trying to reassure herself as much as Silvia. But she could hear how shaky her voice sounded; it was hard to stay calm and collected after seeing her child so hurt. "Try to look for a place where we could have some shelter against the rain, alright? Anything..."

"O-Okay," Silvia mumbled, her golden eyes searching their surroundings desperately as they continued walking through the forest. The rain seemed unending, making it hard to see where they were going. Nivalis stumbled several times over unseen roots, falling into the mud each time but rising back up as if nothing happened.

The coldness, however, was a different beast altogether; the freezing water soaked through every part of their clothes and skin beneath. Nivalis' teeth chattered loudly, her fingers numb, and her arms and legs trembled uncontrollably. The only thing that helped was the warmth Aster kept emitting from his body, but was it from the use of magic or fever? She couldn't tell.

The night continued with them slowly walking through this never-ending forest. From time to time, Nivalis paused to let Silvia hug Aster and let his body warm her up a little. It wasn't much, but better than nothing. What made Nivalis worry even more was when the boy began moaning in pain weakly against her bosom. That sound pushed them to run, do anything to find a decent place to hide.

"T-th-there! There!" Silvia exclaimed in relief, pointing at the massive fallen tree trunk leaning heavily against another one. Just underneath it, there was a nice space for them to hide in. Although it was still damp, at the very least, they wouldn't have to worry about rain falling on them.

— "Good job..." Nivalis whispered back, carefully getting down on her knees and sliding under the log with Aster in her shaking, tired hands that felt like they were made of stone. Silvia followed closely behind, dragging their backpacks with her. "Are you okay, sweetie? Gods, you are all trembling," Nivalis asked the moment the girl was underneath, cupping her soft cheek with a muddy hand, only to receive a silent nod as she snuggled up closer to Aster for warmth. "Later, my love. Let's check if he got any other injuries first, alright? Can you help me?"

"You're right... I'll check his legs," Silvia whispered back weakly, lowering herself down to Aster's lower body and slipping her trembling hands inside his pants, touching his cold skin underneath for any wounds.

Meanwhile, Nivalis checked his neck to see if he was still bleeding. It didn't feel like it. 'That's a good sign,' she thought hopefully before gently pushing up his tunic to check on his chest, stomach, and back. Their soft hands explored every part of their little boy. "Anything?" Nivalis asked after some silence.

— "We need to get out of this forest, honey. By any means," Nivalis mumbled worriedly, looking down at Aster's pale, unconscious face, brushing his silver hair away from the forehead. "We need fire to keep him dry, clean water, and more paste to treat his wounds... We need to get out."

"I-I... I can make some ice?" Silvia suggested nervously as she watched her mother carefully unwrap his hands, which were tied together with a single cloth. "A tiny bit to clean-" she couldn't finish as she looked at his palms, a gasp escaping her mouth.

Nivalis froze momentarily, her wide eyes focused on Aster's damaged hands. The raw flesh on his palms and fingers was covered in blisters; pus leaked everywhere, mixing with green paste. The burns were severe, and the smell was putrid, as if they were rotting. "Oh, dear gods..." she mumbled weakly, her hand covering her mouth.

Silvia, meanwhile, couldn't help but gag at the sight. It was horrible, making her feel dizzy and nauseous. "Mom..?" she cried, burying her face into her shoulder as she sobbed quietly. "Mom..." she repeated weakly.

Nivalis turned around and hugged the little girl tightly. "Shhh, it's alright. I-I know it looks bad, but it's okay. Let's try to clean it a bit with your ice..." Nivalis whispered, gently stroking the girl's back. "But try not to gather too much mana at once so those creatures won't sense us," she added, looking at Silvia with a worried look. "Please, be very, very careful..."

Silvia nodded quickly and pulled away from her mother's embrace to create a piece of ice for her little Aster. The process lasted several minutes, way longer than usual, since she tried to use minimum mana at once to make it. "Here," the girl mumbled, holding up a piece of ice the size of her fist.

— "Thank you, sweetheart," Nivalis smiled, taking the piece of ice into her hand before gently pressing it against the raw flesh of Aster's palms. He immediately whimpered at the touch, his eyes fluttering slightly as he groaned, his breathing quickening, but Nivalis didn't stop. It had to be done; she knew it.

Nivalis slowly melted the ice against his palm, cleaning away pus and dirt from the wound before doing the same to the other. The process was gruesome, and Nivalis felt like throwing up, but she stayed strong for him. It continued like this for some time until, finally, his palms were somewhat cleaned off. The ice completely melted away.

To be safe, the girls repeated the process for his neck, with Silvia making another piece of ice. It took them a good hour to finish it all, and both mother and daughter were shivering from the cold by the end. Nivalis used the opposite, cleaner side of the rag around his hands and her tunic around his neck to wrap them up again.

— "There... It should be a little better now," she mumbled, gently stroking her thumb over Aster's soft cheek, seeing how much his face twisted in pain. "I'm sorry, honey..." Nivalis whispered.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Silvia asked quietly, tears forming in her eyes as she looked at her little brother's feverish and weak face. "Right?"

— "He will, my love," Nivalis reassured her daughter, telling her what she wanted to hear. Right now, it was hard to tell how bad those wounds would heal... but there was no way she could tell that to Silvia. Then, she used what little strength remained in her tired body to lift Aster back into her arms. "He saved us from that thing. Now it is our turn to save him," Nivalis stated, crawling outside their hideout with Aster cradled tightly against her chest. "Could you-"

"On it," Silvia interrupted before she could finish, folding blankets and stuffing them into the backpack.

— "Thanks," Nivalis whispered, gently patting Silvia's wet, muddy silver hair as she worked. Once packed and ready, they began walking away from here, with no direction other than away from where they had come last night. Silvia led them this time to prevent her mother from slipping on the muddy ground.

The sky overhead was still mostly dark, making it nearly impossible to navigate properly, but at least the rain had finally stopped. Every step felt like a thousand; their bodies screamed for rest and warmth, yet the only thing they could do was keep moving forward. Nivalis worried they had likely wandered in circles or taken a wrong turn many days ago, but it's not like she could do anything about it. She simply kept putting one foot ahead of the other, praying silently for some miracle to help them escape this nightmare.

...

It was hard to tell how many hours had passed since they left their hideout. All Nivalis knew was that each minute felt worse than the last until finally, the miracle came... a tiny one, but still a miracle.

For the first time in... ever since they walked into this damn place, the sun finally broke through thick clouds and countless branches above, shining brighter than ever before Nivalis had seen in her life. The light rays scattered throughout the forest, causing water droplets to shine on bleak leaves, dull grass, and muddy ground below. It was an incredible sight that made Nivalis smile weakly despite her exhaustion.

Nivalis was tired beyond measure, dirty, wet, and covered in mud from head to toe. Her arms ached terribly from carrying her unconscious son for so long, yet she smiled from ear to ear now that she knew where the east was. This reminded her that somewhere there lays a normal pine forest where monsters like that creature that attacked them yesterday didn't roam, where she could make a fire and care for Aster's wounds. And it very well might be just over the next tree.

Feeling her daughter's grip on her forearm, she adjusted her son's weight in her arms and continued walking in a direction where the sun was shining. They were almost out. She could feel it in her bones; this nightmare would end soon... hopefully.