OOC: Dream
A woman's voice. A woman's face, calm, yet not, her stance holding old pain. "You are the exile," she heard herself say. "The one the mistress warned us about."
"Are you the 'last' of the Handmaidens?"
A sting. She tried to nudge it away as she answered--the question was innocent of malice or concious insult. "I am the last of the Handmaidens, this is correct. I train so that one day that will no longer be true."
Later. A woman, white hair, white robes, eyes like ice shadows. "I have a task for you. The exile... is dangerous." Her stance, her voice, composed and calm. But there was something there, lying beneath the surface. She could see it now. She had not seen it then. "I will need you to travel with her," the woman went on. "I realize what I am asking of you--and I am asking that you keep your purpose a secret, even from your sisters..."
She hid it well. It was easy not to see.
"Become part of her group, earn her trust, get her to confide in you." And then a warning, a certain emphasis entered her voice. "I am trusting you with this task, last of my Handmaidens..."
The interior of a spaceship. Metallic and battered. Several humans standing there but one face was clearest: the woman with the pain in her walk. "I have come to join you. I can help you against this threat." It was not a lie. Not the truth, either.
Battle. A world of grass, a world of concrete and metal, jungle and city and a world of death. They seemed to rush by in a blur, only fleeting moments imprinting on her. The ruined place on the grassy plains, this was important. The exile moving through the dark and musty corridors with special care, with something heavy inside her weighting her footsteps. And herself, she could see the importance of this place. Of what was. But now...
...Grey robes. Bulky but comfortable, worn, a few stains of age that did not go away. They belonged to....
She could feel it, tingling in her forehead. The cave of crystals glowed with gently colored light. Something powerful... it was there, just out of her reach, something complete... imagine awakening, and hearing the heartbeat of the Galaxy for the first time...
"It is done," said the old woman. "She is no more."
Horror. Fury.
Despair.
No.
"Take me to..."
The woman in white again. "Did I command you to betray me?" Anger, bitterness, jealousy, it was no longer hidden. It whirled in her, tinging her every movement with darkness. And then pain... pain exploding and ripping through her, merciless and vengeful and white-hot filling her vision....
A hand reaching down, helping her to her feet. The woman. Exile.