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Ever since she had returned from the disastrous Bellweather wedding with the rest of her unit a couple of days ago, Raelle had been filled with nothing but worry. Scylla had disappeared and the blonde could feel the brunette’s pain and longing through their bond. She knew that Scylla was somewhere at Fort Salem – she could feel her – but she had no idea where she was and she was starting to get agitated at being apart from her soulmate for so long.
The blonde had had trouble sleeping since returning, and it had gotten to the point that Tally and Abigail had begun to notice.
When they returned from training that day, the Bellweather had forced her to sit down before Tally had taken up a seat next to her on the bed and Abigail was opposite them on her bed. “Raelle,” she started, “What is going on with you? You’re not sleeping or focusing and it's beginning to affect you in training.”
Eyes glazing over with tears that she refused to let fall, Raelle replied, “It’s Scylla. I don’t know where exactly she is and Alder is saying that she’s dead, but I know she’s not... she’s alive somewhere here at Fort Salem.”
The other two members of the unit exchanged glances before Tally turned to Raelle. “I know that you probably don’t wanna hear this, but Scylla is... she’s Spree, Raelle. I saw her talking to a balloon at the wedding.”
Raelle looked at the redhead, realization filling her as she began slowly backing away from Tally. “You turned her in. That’s why she disappeared after the attack. The army took her.”
“I did it to protect you, Rae,” Tally said, reaching out for the blonde, only to pull away when Raelle flinched away, backing up several steps. “She was going to kidnap you and take you to them.”
“Scylla would never hurt me,” she replied with conviction. “She could never hurt me.”
“She is Spree!” retorted Tally.
“I know, Tally! I know that she was Spree.” The redhead stopped short.
“Then why were you with her?”
“She is your soulmate, isn’t she?” Abigail, who had been surprisingly silent during their exchange, asked. Swallowing back the sob building as the pain in her chest began to grow, Raelle nodded.
“How d’you know that?” Tally asked, whipping around to look at the Bellweather.
“She said it herself, ‘Scylla could never hurt me. Soulmates are physically incapable of hurting each other.” The brunette turned to the blonde. “And what do you mean, you knew that she was Spree?”
Raelle opened her mouth to respond but before she could utter a word, she collapsed to the floor, hand clutching her chest as curled up in an unsuccessful attempt to alleviate the pain. As Tally and Abigail rushed to her side, worriedly shouting her name, they moved to roll her onto her back, wincing at the agonised whimpers that she let out when they touched her.
“Raelle! What’s going on?” Tally asked Abigail worriedly, praying that the Bellweather knew.
“She’s been apart from Scylla for too long. Until we get them back together, they’re both going to be in pain.” A pained cry ripped itself from Raelle’s lips. Glancing up, the brunette saw that the noise had rooted Tally to the spot as the redhead stared at the blonde guiltily. “Tally! Snap out of it and go get Quartermain.”
As the redhead tore out of the room, Abigail muttered, “I hope she knows where Necro is. Or else we’re gonna have a problem.”
----
Tally tore across the grounds of Fort Salem, ignoring the curious looks from the other people that were milling around. After trying her office and finding it empty, she had asked the nearest person where Anacostia was and, after being told that she was still in the training room, had given them a hurried thanks before sprinting away.
Bursting into the large room, she noticed the Sergeant at the other side, cleaning up the dummies that had been destroyed in the earlier lesson. Gasping for breath, she bent over as she tried regaining her breath. Anacostia, alarmed by the redhead’s urgency, abandoned the pieces of debris that she had been clearing up to move over to her.
“Craven, what’s going on?”
“It’s Raelle,” she gasped, “Something’s wrong with Raelle.”
“Let’s go then.”
Without any hesitation, Anacostia strode out of the building, Tally hot on her heels as she led the Sergeant to their dorm. Meanwhile, the older woman was worried. Despite what she said, the Bellweather unit had been working hard and had, somehow, found a small place in her heart and she was worried for the feisty blonde.
If she was confused about why they were heading to the dorms instead of the infirmary, she didn’t show or vocalise it, simply following the redhead through the building until they reached the right room.
Upon entering the room, Anacostia was stunned by what she was witnessing. Raelle was curled up on her bed, Abigail having managed to move her off of the floor, whimpering and letting out the occasional sob as she grasped at her chest where her heart was. Entering the room, she leant over the blonde, placing a hand on her forehead before pulling back at her cringe.
“What’s wrong with her?” demanded the Sergeant.
“She and Ne- Scylla are soulmates,” Abigail said simply. Anacostia’s jaw dropped in astonishment, staring at the brunette before turning her attention back to Raelle when she let out a cry. Quickly, the woman placed a hang on the blonde’s forehead and hummed the sleep induction seed that caused her to go limp on the bed.
Standing, the brunette turned to the other two members of the Bellweather unit. “Right. This means that we have to get her to Scylla. I don’t suppose either of you knows where she is?”
Both girls shook their heads but it was Abigail who spoke. “No. No one’s seen her since the wedding. Raelle says that she’s somewhere here at Fort Salem but she doesn’t know where exactly.”
A contemplative expression fell across Anacostia’s face before realisation hit her. “If what Raelle says is true and Ramshorn is here at Fort Salem then I think I know where she is, but I want to check first. For now, keep her asleep, it should help a little with the pain.”
“Wait, where are you going?” interjected Tally as she made to leave.
Anacostia sent her a look for her words, but let it go, knowing that the redhead was worried for her friend. “I’m going to see if Ramshorn is where I think she is. I’ll be back by sunset.”
Without another word, the woman left, closing the door behind her. Tally and Abigail stood and stared at each other before nodding in silent agreement. They would keep watch over Raelle until Anacostia returned, hopefully with the location of Scylla. Settling onto her bed, Abigail gazed at the shortest member of their unit, ready to take the first watch over her.
----
Scylla was in pain.
To be fair, it was a gross understatement as the brunette felt as though her heart was being ripped from her chest as she sat chained to a metal chair in the middle of a cold stone cell, dressed in nothing but a tank top and some shorts. Not to mention the physical injuries that had been inflicted in an attempt to get her to let Alder into her head and learn about the Spree. So, yeah, she was in pain – which had been exacerbated by Raelle’s own agony at being apart for too long until she had been forced to go to sleep, she assumed. While it didn’t stop it, it did dull the pain that she felt from the blonde, which made her own a little more manageable, though not by much.
All that Scylla wanted at that moment was to go back to the day after Beltane, where she and Raelle had talked and she had confessed to loving the blonde. It was a memory that the brunette clung to, desperate for the blonde.
Unfortunately, Alder did not believe her when she had stated that she was undercover in the Spree, that she was collecting information on the terrorist group and was feeding it back to Anacostia. And so she had endured a barrage of mental attacks as the General attempted to get into her mind. But Scylla resisted. She had a hard time opening up to people due to her trust issues, and she greatly valued her privacy, so to have Alder trying to violate that didn’t sit well with the brunette.
She was knocked from her thoughts by the door creaking open. Forcing a smirk on her face, Scylla buried the agony that she felt deep below the surface. As crippling as it was, she was used to burying feelings, so she tried her best to do the same.
“Here for another round, Alder? I bet you, you’ll get as far as the last attempt.”
There was no answer as the person who appeared in the doorway moved forward to stand in front of the blinding light. “Ramshorn?”
“Quartermain,” Scylla acknowledged, surprised. “Did Alder send you here to try what she already has?”
“Actually,” she replied, “I’m here for Collar.”
That caught the Necro’s attention.
“Raelle? Where is she? Is she okay?”
“She’s in her dorm with the rest of her unit. As for whether she’s okay... we both know that she’s not. I came to see if you were here. Apparently, Collar knew that you were here at Fort Salem.”
“That’s my girl,” murmured Scylla. “Let me see her, please. I need to see her,” she begged. She would do anything to see Raelle, to touch her.
Anacostia nodded sharply before turning to leave the room, hesitating at the exit for a moment before she slammed the door shut behind her.
Now alone, Scylla allowed herself to crumble, hunching in on herself as she let out the sobs that she had been holding in. The pain had increased to an overwhelming, all-encompassing agony that filled the brunette. Tears rolled down her face and she let out an anguished scream. She needed Raelle.
She just needed Raelle.
----
It had been hours since Anacostia had left to go find Scylla, and in that time, Abigail and Tally had traded watching over Raelle every hour. Both were filled with worry for their blonde sister and were bad at concealing it, not that they tried very hard. Thankfully, Raelle hadn’t woken up, so neither had to leave to get someone to perform a sleep induction seed on the blonde due to the fact that they hadn’t yet been taught it. They had sat in almost complete silence aside from a brief explanation for Tally, waiting impatiently for their Sergeant to return with news.
The redhead and brunette both leapt to their feet upon hearing a knock and then the door opening before waiting for a response. Anacostia strode into the room, footsteps sure as she moved across the room to the bunkbed where Raelle lay.
“Come on. I know where Ramshorn is, and we don’t have a lot of time,” she said urgently. The tall brunette slipped an arm around the blonde’s shoulders and the other under her knees, carrying her on account that she most likely wouldn’t be able to walk even if she was awake.
“Where is she?” Abigail asked, both curious but also worried. She may not like the Necro, especially if she was Spree as Tally said, but she was Raelle’s soulmate. She would make an effort.
“In the Necro building. They have a cell-like room where Alder is holding Scylla.”
As they were halfway to the building where the Necro’s studied, Raelle stirred from sleep and began thrashing in an attempt to get out of unfamiliar arms but was unsuccessful due to the tight grip that Anacostia had on her. “Calm down, Collar. We’re almost there.”
If she had a better hold of her pain, the blonde would have asked where they were going. As it was, she simply stopped actively trying to get away and allowed herself to be carried, despite hating it.
Several minutes later, Raelle noticed that the ache in her chest was becoming duller. It made the pain more manageable and she looked around for where they were going. Absently making a note of Abigail and Tally trailing along behind them, struggling a little to keep up, she realised where they were going.
Struggling, she said, “Let me go. I can walk.”
As sceptical as she was, Anacostia acquiesced and set the blonde on her feet, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder before the redhead and brunette rushed over, each pulling one of her arms over their shoulders, assisting the Raelle to ensure that she didn’t fall.
Accommodating the now walking blonde, Anacostia slowed down so that the unit didn’t fall behind. It was a little slow, but the closer they got, the more strength that Raelle seemed to gain, gradually getting faster and faster until they were moving at a brisk walk.
When they reached the entrance to the building, Anacostia opened the door but before they could enter, she turned to the three girls. “You follow me and you say nothing. Understand?”
“Let’s go,” Raelle answered impatiently. She could feel that Scylla was closer than she had been anywhere else at Fort Salem and she needed to get to her. If she had to hurry the Sergeant along, then so be it.
Wordlessly, the tall woman led the trio through the corridors of the building before they reached a secluded hallway. There was a single closed door with two people stationed outside. Raelle attempted to push forward but was held back by Tally and Abigail’s hands on her shoulders.
“Raelle, you heard Quartermain. Wait a minute,” hissed the unit leader.
The blonde huffed but stopped resisting, allowing Anacostia to approach the door without having to worry that Raelle would do something reckless. The unit watched as the woman drew closer to the room, drawing the attention of the two guards. There was a brief conversation that none of them could hear before the pair nodded, stepping aside. Anacostia motioned the three over as she opened the door.
Upon seeing the open door, Raelle could no longer hold herself back and she wrenched herself from her sisters’ grip and ran through the door, paying no attention to Alder who was standing behind Scylla, face distorted in shock.
Approaching the brunette chained to the chair, Raelle cried out in relief as she dropped to her knees in front of her, reaching to cup Scylla’s face in her hands. She pressed her forehead to the brunette’s not bothering to wipe the tears that dripped down her face. A sense of completion filled the pair, as it always did when they were together. Scylla sobbed in relief. The brunette had needed Raelle and was relieved that Anacostia had brought her to her as soon as she did. She pressed forward, connecting her lips to Raelle’s in a multitude of desperate kisses.
Suddenly, Scylla lurched forward, the blonde catching her before she could hit the floor and hurt herself. Glancing up, she noticed that Abigail had released the brunette’s shackles. Nodding her thanks briefly, Raelle returned her attention to Scylla.
Looking her over, the blonde noticed that she was covered in multiple bruises, all in different stages of healing – some more recent than others. Suppressing the sob that she wanted to release, the blonde cradled the brunette, carefully pulling Scylla into her lap as she avoided pressing too hard on the harsh bruises. She pressed a kiss to her hair as Scylla nuzzled into her neck, arms slipping to curl around the blonde in a tight embrace.
“What in the name of the Goddess is going on here?” Alder demanded loudly, pulling the two soulmates on the floor from their little bubble.
Looking up, Raelle noticed that Alder was backed up against the wall opposite them, Anacostia stood halfway between the General and the two of them but off to the side slightly. A quick glimpse to the side of them had her realise that Tally and Abigail had moved to stand defensively on either side of the pair.
“You kept two soulmates apart, General,” Abigail spat. Alder blanched and paled before throwing up a blank mask.
“Why is that such a big deal?” Tally inquired quietly. Soulmates were a rare phenomenon, so some families didn’t bother teaching their children, the redhead was part of one of those families so she did not know anything but what Abigail had told her back in the dorm room. Apparently, she had not been quiet enough when asking her question.
“Because, Craven,” Anacostia replied, “Keeping soulmates apart is against the law. General Alder knows this.”
“I was not aware that they were soulmates, Sergeant,” Alder interrupted. “And she is Spree. We were trying to get information out of her.”
“Scylla is not Spree!” Raelle shot back defensively. “She was a spy. For your stupid army and you tortured her.”
“How long have you known?” Anacostia asked, curious.
“From the beginning,” chimed in Scylla, her tone indicating her exhaustion. She stayed cradled in Raelle’s lap but looked up at the Sergeant. “As soon as we realised that we were soulmates, I told her everything.”
“Why did you not inform me of this?” demanded Alder.
“Respectfully, General, I think this is something we can continue later. Let the girls go to bed. It’s quite late and they have training tomorrow.”
There were several moments of tense silence as all eyes in the room stared at Alder. Eventually, she relented. “Fine. Dismissed.” Without another word, she left the room, leaving the soulmate pair, the rest of the Bellweather unit and Anacostia.
“Come on then, girls. You should get back to bed,” she said, moving over to help first Scylla and then Raelle stand.
“Do we really have training in the morning?” Raelle whined.
The Sergeant smirked. “Nope. I’ll let Izadora know you won’t be at training tomorrow, Ramshorn.”
“I don’t think she’d hold it against me for missing it,” Scylla joked. Shaking her head amusedly, Raelle wound her arm around the brunette, shrugging off the coat that she had been wearing and placing it over Scylla’s shoulders. It was a cold night, and she wasn’t wearing the most ideal clothes.
“Let’s go, Scyl. You’ll catch a cold if we stay here too long,” Raelle said, smiling. The pair nodded to Anacostia before turning to the other two occupants in the room. “You coming Tally, Abs?”
“Yeah,” Tally said, tugging the taller girl along as the four made their way out.
“You two wouldn’t make it back if we didn’t come with you. You’d go hide away in Necro’s room otherwise,” Abigail replied, pulling her arm from Tally’s grip and instead looping their arms together.
Raelle turned to look at the taller brunette surprised. “Do you mean what I think you mean?”
“Yes, Necro is staying in our dorm tonight,” she huffed. “Don’t make it bigger than it needs to be.”
“I knew you liked me High Atlantic,” Scylla smirked. Abigail ignored her, tuning out Tally’s giggles as she led the group back to Circe and up to their dorm room.
----
Upon entering their room, the two taller girls had immediately gotten changed and had crawled into bed, promptly falling asleep. Scylla and Raelle, however, had taken a little longer to go to sleep.
Raelle quickly got out of the standard training uniform, not having changed earlier before all the events of the afternoon, and threw on a top and shorts, grabbing some for Scylla. Turning, she found that the brunette had sat down to sit on the blonde’s bed. Moving over to stand in front of her, she reached out, fiddling with the hem of her top while she waited for confirmation that she could pull it off.
Receiving a nod, Raelle carefully removed the top, cautious not to irritate any of the brunette’s bruises, doing the same with the shorts. As she helped Scylla put on the clean clothes, a quiet blanketed the room. Smiling softly, the blonde pulled back the cover before guiding the brunette to lie down on the bed, slipping in between Scylla and the wall. The brunette pulled the covers over the top of both of them before she snuggled into Raelle, nuzzling the blonde’s neck as her arms moved to wrap around the brunette.
Gentle fingers traced up and down the Necro’s arm as the blonde’s other hand laid flat against her back, tucked just under her top. Raelle began quietly murmuring the words that her mother had taught her long ago. Scylla let out a noise in protest but the blonde ignored her and continued healing her. When she was finished, the brunette settled back against the blonde, having stirred a little when she protested.
“You didn’t need to do that,” she murmured.
“Of course I did. You’re my soulmate, Scyl. I will always heal you if you need it.”
The brunette was filled with warmth and she smiled against the blonde’s neck, pressing a gentle kiss there before closing her eyes, the exhaustion filling her and pulling her closer and closer to sleep. Before she could fully succumb to the urge, she whispered to the blonde.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, always.”