Syllea had left the inn trembling and crying. Cat followed her, seeming very attentive to the girl's feelings. Syllea did not notice this, though. She wanted to run until the inn was no longer in her sight but got no farther than a few steps past the door; she collapsed into the grass and let out a heart-wrenching scream. Tears poured down her face, her fingers dug into the grass beneath her, and her breathing became rapid and quick as she struggled to get air into her lungs.
The memory of her Papa and Mama's murder was always in the back of her mind, but she had taught herself to not let it come forward in her thoughts. But the recent days had brought it all back, and watching her Papa fighting, almost killing another had been too much for her. Syllea had lost herself in front of those she had hoped never to; she had lost herself in a time when her parents needed her to help, not the other way around. She hated herself for it and began to cry harder. Syllea was not one to weep easily, but the grief of seeing her Papa fighting and her Father lying in blood...covered in blood had rocked her whole world in a way she thought not possible.
As Syllea cried and screamed alone in the field outside the inn, Cat watched her trying to comfort her, but Syllea only pushed him away. She curled into herself like an infant might do in a mother's arms, but no one was there to hold her. She cried out for Mama and her blood-related Papa, knowing they could never come and save her. In her mind, she watched the murder of her parents over and over. She saw Egfor, her father, lying in the pool of blood with dull, lifeless eyes. She watched Demlemoth, her Papa, fighting the old man over and over, his fury taking over the man she knew.
As she ran out of tears, Syllea forced herself to stand and took in deep gulps of the night air. She called for Cat, who willingly came and tried to jump on her, wanting to know the poor girl was alright. "Oh Cat, where are we to go? What are we to do?" She whispered as she buried her tear-stained face in his fur.
She stayed there for a few moments before beginning to walk away from the inn. She knew not where she was heading but allowed herself to go wherever fate allowed. Syllea ended up in front of her tree of lost ones after an hour's walk. A sad smile appeared on her face as her slender fingers traced the names carved into the bark. Her eyes filled with tears again, but not the kind filled with pain and torture. Syllea began whispering to herself and the tree. "Mama...Papa... I am afraid. I know you told me to always be strong, but I have failed you in that tonight. I feel so selfish for how I reacted, and yet...I feel as if I have learned something new from my present family." Syllea let out a shaking breath before resting her head on the tree and closing her eyes.
She did not sleep that night; the nightmares played before her eyes whenever she tried to rest, but the young girl stayed curled up in that tree all night, with Cat as her guard. Syllea knew much more was to happen in her future, and she pondered that all night. Questioning...was she ready?
