Beyond the Sky - Session 34.3

The party head back to Berstead, and by the time they have arrived, it is starting to snow. Valaire takes the frail girl into the inn as soon as she can, giving her a warm room to rest in and feed her. After a few hours, she starts to stir, shivering a little.
Valaire sighs to herself, lighting a small fire on her hand to warm the girl as the sprite Kylisae looks on worryingly.
Kylisae: "(It's so hard to believe that there was a survivor in there...)"
Ginei: "I... where am I...?"
"Is this heaven?"
Valaire: "I would like to say it was, but I am here, so that disqualifies that notion."
"This is an inn room in Berstead, in the kingdom of Zeltria."
Ginei: "I... did you save me...?"
Valaire: "We did. You are saved."
"Don't forget to thank Lord Adrian and the other woman, as well."
Ginei: "I remember... V-valaire?"
Valaire: "Indeed. And you are... Ginei, you said?"
Kylisae looks on to the girl, fluttering down to the bed to get a closer look.
Ginei: "Y-yes. Ginei Arrav."
Ginei looks at the sprite, ears twitching.
Ginei: "...fairy?"
Valaire: "The diminuitive woman near you goes by Kylisae. She would prefer you use 'sprite'."
Kylisae looks at Valaire with a moment of confusion, before returning her curiosity to the beastblooded child.
Ginei: "H-hello, Miss Kylisae."
Ginei extends her hand, shaking a little, to the fey, touching her.
Kylisae: "Nice to... meet you. You're... not going to do anything weird, right?"
Valaire: "Sprite, be polite."
Ginei: "Wow... you're real."
Kylisae: "I just... you were in there... and you have little rabbit ears, I don't think I've seen people with rabbit ears in Priffdinas, and..."
Valaire: "There is a limit to questions you can pester a sickly child with, sprite."
Ginei stares at Kylisae, trying her best to sit up, patting her on the head, eyes getting watery.
Ginei: "I... the cage, right?"
Valaire: "That's where we found you."
Ginei: "I-I didn't think anyone would come..."
Valaire: "You're free from there now, but you were... are... in bad shape."
"I do not know what horrible sins they perpetrated in you, but leaving a little girl in a cage would alone warrant the greatest punishment I can muster."
Ginei: "Mmm... but, t-they're all... the other girls got out and they cut people up..."
Ginei whimpers.
Valaire: "Yes... there were a lot of cages in that place, and yet you were the only one still alive in there."
"But, the point is, you are alive. You survived. You endured."
Ginei: "You saved me. Thank you, thank you so much. I... remember you carrying me a long way. You were warm, I felt safe. We're really away from that... that place, right?"
Ginei sniffles, tearing up a little again.
Valaire: "We're away. You're in a place with a warm bed and pillows and food and things you likely haven't had for so long you forgot how marvelous they were."
Ginei: "Not for months... I think. I can't remember how long I was there for."
Valaire: "I won't ask what they did. I won't make you say anything you don't want to."
"If you wished it, you can lock all those memories away. Tell yourself it was just a horrible nightmare, and you have finally woken up."
Ginei: "I... don't know what I want."
Valaire: "Well, let's start with food. Can you sit up?"
Ginei: "Could you help, please?"
Kylisae looks at the girl with concern, sharing a sympathetic glance with Valaire.
Valaire: "Of course. Kylie, if you would."
Valaire reaches her arm under the girl to lift her into more of an upright position, motioning for the sprite to go to a food dish on a night table and bring back grapes to offer the child.
Ginei manages to sit up with help from Valaire, smiling meekly at her.
Ginei: "You're both really kind."
Valaire: "Kylisae is kind. The other people that saved you are kind."
"Kind... is not a word I associate with myself."
Ginei: "I think you are. You've been really nice and you've... cared for me."
Kylisae: "Valaire, I think you should accept this one. Remember what Kallian's been saying."
Valaire: "Tch."
Ginei: "Are you okay?"
Valaire: "I'm fine. The more relevant matter is whether you are well, adorable little Ginei."
Ginei flushes a little, trying to eat the grapes.
Valaire uses her free hand to offer a calming hand on the girl's hair and lagomorphic ears, as the sprite continues to offer the girl additional food.
Ginei continues eating, and after a little while, looks quite a bit more awake, though still nervous.
Ginei: "I... think my head is a bit clearer now."
Valaire: "I am glad. Though please do not push yourself. Months of hell aren't cured by a handful of grapes and a couple hours of bedrest."
Ginei looks a little disappointed.
Ginei: "Right..."
"It... felt like it was worse than hell."
Valaire: "I can believe that."
"But you're not there."
"Not anymore."
"Never again, if I have any say in the matter."
Ginei: "You will keep me safe?"
Valaire: "We all will, I believe."
Kylisae nods, looking tearful.
Kylisae: "Life... is precious. Really precious."
Ginei hugs Valaire, still a little shaky, nearly losing her balance and falling over.
Valaire winces slightly in the girl's grip, before patting her on the back consolingly.
Ginei: "I... was walking with my ma and pa in the hills in the evening... then men with weird masks came a-and... mum and dad... fell. I... remember they held me down and they stabbed me with a needle and I felt sleepy... a-and then... and then..."
Valaire: "Shh. You don't need to relive these painful memories."
Ginei starts hyperventilating a little, trying to calm herself down.
Ginei: "I-I... I want someone to know...."
Valaire: "I know. Without you even speaking a word, I know."
Ginei sniffs, crying into Valaire's shoulder.
Valaire: "Adorable little Ginei. Brave, strong Ginei. Eventually, my duty to my lord will take me away from this inn room, from this town of Berstead. But I would like for you to come with me."
Ginei: "I-I'd love to. I don't want to be alone again..."
Valaire: "it might be a little scary. Scarier than this inn room with its soft blankets and pillows. But you're a brave little girl, and you've faced far scarier things without flinching."
Ginei: "Is Miss Kylisae coming too?"
Kylisae: "Of course. Valaire and I are a team."
Ginei smiles at the sprite.
Ginei: "They... did things to me. Cut me open and put things inside me... I'm really scared."
Valaire: "We're going to find out what we can do to make you okay."
Ginei: "They said I was a 'weapon'..."
Valaire: "The other woman that was with us--we call her Night Eyes--says there's a way to make you normal."
"I'm afraid nothing can be done for your mother and father, but you won't have to have weird things inside you. You won't have to be a 'weapon'."
Ginei: "... my ears aren't going to drop off, right?"
Kylisae: "Are you not supposed to have these ears?"
Ginei: "I am! Just... people say I'm not 'normal'... dad had lots more fur than me, and mum had none."
Valaire: "If they're something you had before they captured you, they're part of you. They're normal for you."
Ginei: "Right..."
Ginei relaxes her grip on Valaire.
Valaire: "I mean, I'm not... 'normal', as people go. But nobody did anything weird to me."
Ginei: "You have cool horns."
"I had a friend who had cool horns, too."
Valaire: "Would you like to touch them? Just be gentle; I don't know if they grow back."
Ginei: "I-I'll be careful."
Valaire smiles, bending down carefully.
Ginei reaches out a hand to gently touch Valaire's horns.
Ginei: "Wow..."
"They're... not deer horns, are they?"
Valaire: "I think it would be better for me if they were."
Ginei: "I've never seen ones like these... I like them."
Valaire stifles a grimace, returning to a sweet motherly expression.
Valaire: "Silly little Ginei. Your ears and tail are much better than old Valaire's."
Ginei: "They're not better... they're different. Being different isn't a bad thing, mum said. It means you're special."
Valaire: "Your mother is wise. It would be good for you to remember her words. You having those ears doesn't make you not 'normal'. You're you. You're Ginei."
"All we want to do is fix the part where they were trying to make you less Ginei and more 'weapon'."
Ginei releases Valaire from the hug, seeming much happier than before.
Ginei: "Again... Thank you."
"I... remember little parts about when you came to save me."
"I remember something about family..."
Valaire: "It is a tragic thing that you lost your family indeed..."
"I understand that you may need time to grieve. To accept."
"But if you wish it, you can always have a new family. When you're ready for it."
Ginei: "Mm... are you offering that?"
Valaire: "If you wish it. There are people I can ask that will take care of you."
Ginei: "I... I don't know about a family... but I feel safe with you. Y-you won't let them take me again, right?"
Valaire: "I won't let them. I will stop them from doing that to you and anybody else."
Ginei: "I like being around you, and Kylisae. You're very good people."
Ginei puts her hand to her head, lying down again.
Valaire: "Rest well, darling little Ginei. The worst is over. And I won't let you be alone again."
Ginei: "Y-you'll stay here tonight?"
Valaire: "Admittedly, this is my inn room."
Ginei: "Oh... I didn't mean to take your bed."
Valaire shakes her head.
Valaire: "You need it more than I do."
"I've pulled all-nighters before."
Ginei: "...could I ask you or Miss Kylisae for something... please?"
Valaire: "Anything you wish, dear Ginei."
Ginei: "Would it be okay if one of you... told me a story?"
"I... really really miss them."
Valaire: "Of course, darling Ginei. There was one my mother told me a few times..."
Valaire tells Ginei a story, as she drifts off, resting her body after all the trauma.