Work Text:
As Audrey drifted into consciousness, she immediately brought a hand up to block the sun from her eyes. She had an intense, throbbing pain in her head, and the sudden assault of bright light wasn't doing her any favors. Her body betrayed her as she went to sit up, any energy she thought she might've had suddenly siphoned out of her.
She gasped as a light breeze blew some of her stray hair towards her face, now alerted for the first time since waking up that she was outside. Groaning, she managed to tilt her head to one side so she could see where she was. Off in the distance was what she could only recognize to be the little town of Langtree, albeit halfway destroyed by monsters by this point. She could only think of how things were finally going to be better when it was all over. When she'd finally fulfill her duties as the hero and slay the... the Dream King.
She froze. Suddenly, her memories prior to falling unconscious came rushing back. She had made her way to Langtree, she'd fought with the witch and that bard, and she'd killed the Dream King. She'd watched as the world fell to silence, and then...
She hardly registered as her mouth began moving, and "No, no, no, no, no," was all she could seem to say. She also couldn't tell with certainty when the first tear left her eye and fell on the soft grass underneath her. The Earth was still here, and she was here alongside it. It shouldn't be. She shouldn't be. She didn't want to be. Her journey was over, her Goddess had no more need of her, and suddenly she was a nobody again just as quickly as she had become a hero.
She laid in the grass for what must've been hours, unable to find the physical or mental strength to do anything else. What was she going to do now...? What could she do now?
After far too long a time, Audrey managed to get back up. She took one last look at Langtree, turned in the direction opposite, and began to walk.
