September 7, 2010

In Which Halford Prepares for War

November 9, 1168

Arydath nuzzled against Halford's back and draped her arm over his side. He normally wouldn't have minded the contact, but this couldn't have been a good sign; he had been hoping that his raspy, labored breathing wasn't keeping her awake. He waited for the sound of her snores to put his fears to rest, but the minutes dragged past and they never came. "Sorry," he choked at last, quietly enough so that he wouldn't wake her on the off-chance that she was sleeping silently.

She pressed herself even closer; his suspicions had been correct. "Halford..."

As near as she was, her voice was a distant echo. The room was an assortment of blurred shapes. Halford closed his eyes tightly, then reopened them--no change. His senses were failing him. Was this dying? He wasn't sure. He might have thought he was simply falling asleep if tasks such as breathing hadn't become so difficult. He was afraid that it had ceased to be an automatic function, and he would be at the mercy of his blood-starved lungs the moment he drifted off; he wasn't even sure how long he could keep breathing if he vowed not to sleep.

"Halford?" He didn't respond. Breaths were a struggle, and words were a war. If he didn't have to, he would not start what he lacked the strength to finish.

But no one found answers in silence like Arydath did. A faint shift of fibers against his skin told him that she had risen, and the parting graze of her arm betrayed her intention of leaving the bed. "Don't try to talk, Halford."

He didn't. He heard two faint, almost inaudible sounds that must have been her feet upon the dirt floor. The bed creaked, and her footsteps resumed, softer at first and then stronger again. He managed to lift his eyelids just enough to see her petite, shadowy figure making her way to his bedside; she was radiant even in this distorted world of darkness.

"Do you need something?" Her voice was even further away than it had been before. He wished he could hear it properly. He wished he could see her properly. He supposed he was lucky to hear and see her at all.

"Halford? Don't speak, just nod." Did he need something? He didn't think he could eat. He might have drowned himself with a cup of water. I need to breathe...

"Chil... ren." He took a few extra gasps to compensate for the air lost over the course of the word.

"The children?" Arydath repeated. "Halford, don't be ridiculous; they're fast asleep. There'll be plenty of time to see the children tomorrow." He wondered briefly if she was trying to assure herself just as much as she was him, but the very thought was exhausting. Such musings were far more draining than he ever could have guessed.

"Chil..." he rasped again, the second syllable too much for his closing throat to handle.

The urgency soon overcame her denial. She slipped her hand under the blanket and squeezed his own; he felt as if her touch had set the blood pumping again, if only for a little while. "I'll get them. Just keep breathing, all right? Promise me."

He nodded weakly as she hurried out of the room. Halford took advantage of his solitude and took as many extra breaths as he could. He had to get through these struggles before he could fight the wars. He would need the words. He had to tell his children just how much he loved them.

NEXT CHAPTER:

14 comments:

Van said...

Photobucket Syndrome always hits shots from Halford and Arydath's lot so hard :(

Penelope said...

TAVRIN?!?! HELP?!?!

Van said...

Naroni needs a few more Tavrins running around :(

Anonymous said...

NOOO!! *sob* Not Halford!! He's such a sweetheart!!

And all he wants to do is see his kids ... *sobs some more*

Van said...

Sorry :(

Christina said...

well..wait a minute, i think i need a good starting point for this story! care to direct me? i'm very interested in the theme going on here..and I already like Halford.

good use of emotion and the senses here Dinuriel..i really feel for this family.

Phoenix said...

Waaait!!! What?? Not Halford?? Why are all the good ones dying off and the ones I don't care for sticking around? I think you need a new die Van!!:( *sigh* I guess they all have to go sometimes huh? At least the family is going to get a chance to say goodbye!

Van said...

Christina: Thanks :)

The official start of the story is here, but since it's a primarily timeline-driven story, nothing for this particular arc is going to come up for a while. Also, it's very long and the beginning is quite rough :S

Phoenix: Sorry :( Just out of curiosity, if you could kill off any five currently-living characters in this story, who would they be?

But yeah, I probably do need a new die :(

Penelope said...

I know you posed that question to Phoenix but here is my list:

1) Booo! Octavius.
2) Geneva!
3) Deian... Is immortal... I think... but he should still get the axe
4) His wife too.
5) I think that you should resurrect Norwan just so that he can die again.

Christina said...

*bookmarks that page* thanks..ill check that out later today :)

Van said...

Pen: Heheh, a second death for Norwan.

As for the other four, you won't have to put up with three of them for too many more years, whether by death or other disappearance from the story.

Christina: Good luck! I imagine it's a rather exhausting read all the way from the beginning :S

Do you have any stories?

thewynd said...

Trying to get caught up again...

I knew this was coming but it was still so sad. Halford is lucky that he does get to say goodbye however. A man that vital with the opportunity to do that knowing he is dying...yes he is at least lucky in that respect.

Verity said...

Oh Van... this was so sad. I have tears in my eyes. I really loved Halford. We didn't see so much of him but I just remember that first post with the pigs. He always seemed like such a loving husband and father... a dependable sort of man. This is so, so sad :(

Van said...

Sorry, both of you :(

He is lucky that he got to say goodbye to his kids, and I guess they're lucky in that respect too. Still, though :(

I always meant to do more with Halford, but nothing really ever came to mind. He was a very stable many with a good family life, and we all know how the limelight tends to follow the crazies. Still, I miss him already :(