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[gypsy_merrique]

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After sending the beetle Stormy to seek out its person, Merrique sat back in the careworn chair at her sister's side. With sadness and a bit of detachment, she looked down at the cuts and scabs on her arms; they made her think of the others on various parts of her body. Now abandoned, for weeks one of the 'treatment' attempts involved etching certain magical symbols onto Merrique's body, then using the blood to paint the same symbols onto Xana's, in corresponding locations. An immature, vain part of Merrique hoped that the wounds would not leave scars, or at least if they did, that the scars would be minimal.

Her mind wandered. She thought of recent events, meetings, correspondences, and even emotions. It was good to have things to keep herself distracted but a person could only hide for so long. She missed her husband and children, yet she also missed herself. Life, it seemed, had been put on hold for so long she couldn't even really say just how much time had elapsed since this stasis had set into her world. What would she do, she wondered, if the possibility to reclaim a meaningful life of her own came to her? Would she embrace it or shun it?

With a sad smile, she leaned forward and brushed her fingers tentatively against her twin's forehead. Not getting even the slightest response from the reposed form, Merrique stood and left the tent. In passing she let one of the healers know she would be taking her leave for a while.

For the time being, it was best to return to Umbra for a day or two. Maybe three. She would have to discover what this letter truly involved, and deal with it for better or worse.

Arriving at her home, she sat out at the campfire. Feeding bit after bit of wood into the hungry flames, Merrique allowed herself to think as she occasionally gave a longing glance toward the city in whose outskirts she lived.
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. . . But the dark is very trustworthy.
It's always as dark as you thought it was.
And you don't have to work at staying there.
All you have to do is survive it.
And I've been doing that forever.
from the novel "Dark Debts" by Karen Hall