Snow crunched underfoot, each step slow and measured before advancing further. It had fallen heavily over the past month and a half and without the usual servants tending to the accumulation, it was layered thick upon the steps. A fitting visual for the mood of the man that climbed slowly.
A month a half since she had fled after he failed to arrive. He could not blame her, but the man never faded. It merely grew stronger with each passing day, a driving searing pain that was pushing his already strained mind further against its limitations. Biting back a fresh surge of suffering, he fumbled for the keys in his jacket.
Hands which once were certain in all actions, now trembled as he inserted the key into the lock. Opening it by magic as he usually would have done was something he was fighting these days. Too long had he taken the easy way through life, when had he slowed and enjoyed the little things? Perhaps if he had, he could have seen the fear coiled about his heart as a serpent would be about a hare.
A creak and the door opened. Gusts of air scattered snow about the carpets within, yet he barely noticed. His gaze instead went straight to the ring sitting upon the note on the table, exactly where he had seen it last. Leaving the door open, Va’lis stepped forward into the past.
