♕ 6th - voice - Death and the Maiden

[skjalf]

( looking and feeling terribly (though admittedly not a fraction as terribly as many others, elizabeth opts to communicate by voice. she sounds faint, tired and a little short of breath. )

One year, a maidservant of mine told me of a sweating sickness in the city. I bade her return home that day. She never returned. Never thought I to witness such horrors as the plague firsthand. My sister, Mary was taken by such an illness. This time, I hope it will be different and that Fortune's wheel will spin in our favour.

If there be a cure to this malady, I pray that it is to be found soon. Perhaps this mysterious blue substance is the key. Though if not, a poet by the name of John Lydgate captured a strange and dark sort of solidarity in his verse titled "The Dance of Death":

"In this mirror every person may find
the he needs to join this dance.
Who goes in front - and who goes behind
all depends on God’s arrangement,
which is why each man lowly accepts his fate.
Death spares neither poor nor royal blood.
Each man should therefore remember
that God has forged all of one matter."

No matter the outcome, we are all of us to share the same fate. Whether it be happy as I pray, or no.

( a long pause, as she smothered a sneeze in the background. ) Pardon me.

If anyone would like, I can play my music, or provide company for any who desire it. It is the least I might do as so many of you have been kind to me since my arrival.


( and as an addendum, a failed renfaire encryption lock to ilde: )

Dearest friend, I hope you are passing well. I would ask a boon, despite this being a trying time. If I may, I am in need of a place to rest my head. Can I stay with you for some time?

Comments

[acapriciousthing]

I always liked that one.

[skjalf]

( the irony would ordinarily startle her into laughter. but being ill, she merely huffs and attempts not to sneeze again. )

The poetry of that time is quite dark, and yet there is an undercurrent of peace there.

[acapriciousthing]

There is.

[The thought it interrupted by a cough. She's as vulnerable as the rest of them, here]

Sometimes I wonder if Dream was trying to help them understand me.

[skjalf]

Dream, my lady? ( as in, who is that? )

I could not have imagined what it was like to live through an epidemic of such scale. I think I would have feared the pain and the possibility of leaving my loved-ones behind more than aught else.

I feel it now. There are many.. ( one in particular. her voice wavers. ) whom I am not ready to be parted from.

[acapriciousthing]

My little brother. Poets and storytellers fall in his domain.

Dying is scary. But sometimes watching those you care about suffer that way is even worse.

[That bunker, with the whole clan around her. Watching them slip away one by one.]

I have a lot of people I wouldn't want to lose.

[skjalf]

Your pardon, my lady. I did not know. I do agree with you. It is easier to be relieved of pain than to watch someone you love endure it.

( she exhales shakily. )

As have I. Both here and at home. Do you think we might find hope in words such as those written by John lydgate?

[acapriciousthing]

Most people don't know my family.

[Really she's used to it]

That's what those words were written for. Hope is an incredibly powerful thing. Even the forces of Hell can't resist it.

voice.

[regulatingpressure]

We've almost got it. [ the voice is a stranger, not somebody elizabeth's met before, though not an unfamiliar one if she's been paying any attention to the various technology that has and hasn't been discussed on the network in the last few days. she sounds half-distracted, and there's something of an echo about her voice - like she's speaking from inside a small space, or at least leaning into one.

after a second, she thinks to add: ] A cure. At least as far as we can tell.

[ she's elbow-deep in it as they speak. she just wanted to get a word in here before people started thinking too much and scaring themselves all over again. ]

voice.

[skjalf]

( can it be possible? in the fourteenth century, the cure had been one of two things: a miracle, or a swift delivery from one's earthly suffering into the arms of the lord. admittedly, elizabeth is experiencing some amount of scepticism. )

Pardon me, my lady, but do you know this for a certainty? ( if so, dear god. )

I will pray that it is.

voice.

[regulatingpressure]

[ no, it's not for certain. more could break than they have parts to fix, or maybe they hit a snag and run out of time, or maybe raven just reaches a point where her vision's too fucked and her hands won't stop shaking and there's nothing else she can do.

but she did teach a crash-course in rocket science with a bullet in her spine and blood pouring out her gut, so it'll take a lot more than the symptoms she's got to take her down. ]

Yeah, it's for sure. When, I don't know - so be ready.

voice.

[skjalf]

I shall be. ( she remains sceptical, but is attempting to be more optimistic. )

You and your colleagues have done the seemingly impossible, my lady. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

voice.

[regulatingpressure]

[ she exhales a laugh and shakes her head, not that elizabeth can see it. ] You don't have to thank us. We're saving our own asses too, here.

voice.

[skjalf]

It is the proper thing to do, madam. And it is well-merited.

We may avoid a recurrence of the Black Death after all. Thank God.

( she didn't really relish having to watch everyone she cares about die here, too. )

When this is done, I believe a celebration may be necessary.

[alionsheart]

[ She's one of the people he's been terribly worried about, so despite everything, it's a relief to hear her voice: ]

Elizabeth.

Your voice is a comfort, truly.

[skjalf]

( for so many reasons, hearing his voice is a source of immense relief and comfort. she can't still the quavering of her own when she responds, as she is overcome with both. )

Oh, thank God you are yet with us. I had wondered..

( sucking in a sharp breath, she pauses. )

As is yours. The last time my people experienced an illness such as this, we were burying the dead at four hundred or more per day. I.. I am relieved that it is not so this time.

But tell me: is there pain? Have you need of aught? I would help, if I can.

[alionsheart]

[ Hearing the way her voice falters weakens him a bit, if only because he cares for her so much he'd truly do anything for her, and certainly anything to help her or take care of her, if he can. ]

I'm equally grateful, m'lady.

I've certainly fared better, but my more urgent concern is for you. How are you?

[skjalf]

( she sighs, pausing on her end to close her eyes and stifle another sneeze. )

Have you been resting, and eating plenty of broth?

( lizzie is silent again for some time before she responds quietly: ) I have fared much better than of late.

[alionsheart]

[ He's so worried for her, and doesn't like not being able to see her for himself. ]

I have been, you needn't worry.

Are you in your quarters?

[skjalf]

No. No I am not.

( there is a long pause, and then she breaks it with a shaky exhale. )

I have had cause to relocate to the quarters of my friend Ilde. Here is the number.

( and she sends the number in text as an attachment. )

[trouvaille]

Misery loves company - come by. You can have Katherine's old bed.

( which it somehow still is, despite the fact ilde has relocated from the room in which katherine lived with her. )

[skjalf]

( it does indeed. and the mention of katherine brings an extra note of bitterness and sweetness at once to this horrid situation. she is glad that the woman is gone, as much as she is sad for it. that she neither has to suffer, and that she has this time with ilde alone. though no doubt she would have also proven good company now as well.

she is silent for a moment, remembering their departed friend for a moment before she assents. )

Thank you. I will endeavour not to trouble you.

( her things are already packed; and they don't amount to a terrible lot in the grand scheme of things. she is remarkably portable. it is a strange feeling. it makes picking up and leaving the place she'd called home for two months remarkably easy. and instead, she knocks upon ilde's door some time later, pale and looking about as great as anyone else on this ship. )

[trouvaille]

( when ilde opens the door, she presses a kiss to elizabeth's cheek and says, ) Hey. You never trouble me.

[skjalf]

( elizabeth drops her things at her feet, uncaring of where they land. she is so relieved to see a friendly face that she immediately leans forward to embrace ilde more fiercely than is her wont.

her eyes prickle with the sting of tears, but she blinks them back and sighs. )

I greet you well. And I thank you.

[trouvaille]

( ilde is a little startled, although not as much as she might be - she catches hold of elizabeth, murmuring, ) --hey, hey. It's fine. Okay? Come on. Let's settle you in, okay?

[skjalf]

( almost dumbly, she nods her head. going through the motion of agreeing when in fact she is in denial. no, everything is not in fact okay. nothing is fine. not now, and maybe not ever. she takes in a deep inhale of air, and extricates herself from ilde enough to pick up her fallen belongings. )

Yes. Thank you.