Aftermath

"Are you sure you're alright? You really won't eat anymore?"

It was the seventh time Elise had asked, and I refused again with a slight shake of my head. My eyes drifted aimlessly from the bowl of soup to her face. Elise's was as beautiful as usual, but the glimmering light in her eyes wavered in anguish. She reached across the table, taking my limp hand in hers and squeezing it.

"Please, just eat a little more. You've barely had half a bowl."

"I-I'm fine," I whispered, wincing as my throat strained painfully. Following several weeks of extreme dehydration, it even hurt to breathe, not to mention speak. 

An entire day had passed since Soltair retrieved me from the dungeon, but my memories were a complete blur. Somehow, I'd ended up with Elise in the tower of the library where I'd often studied. It was one of the few places to survive the devastating attack unscathed.