Calidis hears it before noticing anything else; that sweet and lilting voice that belongs - belonged? - to her mother. It echoes through the air and fills her with a sense of peace that she has - had? - felt before.
"Ask not the sun why she sets... why she shrouds her light away..."
She feels the earth underneath her feet and the cool breeze at her back as she treads through Imladris towards the falls. And yet, it almost feels as if she is floating at the same time?
"Or why she hides her glowing gaze..."
Mist from the falls can be felt on her face but she takes no notice of it. Her dark gaze is fixed upon the figure, whose long hair is like umber and garbed in a shimmering white dress, by the edge of the cliff. She cannot see the figure's face but she knows who it is from the way her heart leaps in her chest with joy.
"When night turns crimson gold to grey."
And then the figure turns and her heart skips a beat and her stomach drops.
It is her lady mother, except not as she has - had? - ever seen her before. Calidhriel's features, ever lovely, are cast down in bitterness and those beautiful silver eyes of hers seem colder than Calidis remembers - remembered? - them being.
"For silent falls the guilty sun as day to dark does turn..."
Suddenly, the air around her feels heavier, colder and she watches in horror as her mother's figure - her shade or some trick? - comes closer, walking as if pulled by invisible strings; a mere puppet. This is not how her mother is! Was? This is not the song she remembers! Remembered?
"One simple truth she dare not speak; her light can only blind and burn..."
And then she feels it on her; a thick, cloying liquid that cannot be water. The sharp scent of iron assaults her nose. When she looks down, she is covered in blood. But it is not all red; some of it is black as tar. It is everywhere! Her hands, her feet, her gown. And she knows it isn't hers. She can't get it off!
She looks up to see her mother standing so close to her, those pale, cold lips curved into a cold smile as she sings with a voice like the sudden gusts of icy wind that slams into her back.
"No mercy for the guilty... Bring down their lying sun..."
She tries to scramble away, fighting to take even a step backwards. She doesn't want to see this! This is not how her mother is! Was?! But it seems that her legs are rooted to the spot by the puddle of mingled blood she stands in and the wind blows harder, making it hard for her stand upright. The air about her feels like a weight and she cannot seem to get a proper breath into her lungs.
She has no choice but to face this thing - this shade? - that cannot be her mother. But when she casts her gaze upwards again, all traces of coldness are gone from the songstress' features, replaced by emptiness and sadness. Calidhriel's hands are clean but her feet are now also stained with blood.
"Blood, so silver black by night, upon their faces pale white..."
Calidis screams.
. . .
And then she blinks and is brought back to the waking world, no longer blending living night with deep dreams.
Her breath comes in panicked gasps and when she looks down over the edge of the cliff upon which she stands she can see the water tumbling, hitting the rocks, and spraying upwards in a mist. It coats her hands, which are outstretched, and her feet which are bare. She is only clothed in a gossamer nightgown and the hem is getting rapidly soaked by the moisture from the air and ground beneath her.
"Calidis!"
She turns rapidly when she hears her named called out from behind her. At the furthest end of the path is Merilos, who's features are stern as ever. But, perhaps Calidis sees a little shock and concern in her gaze this time.
A moment passes in silence and stillness before she remembers that, in the waking world, she has plenty of control over her own movement. She steps down the bath, arms hanging stiffly at her sides. When she stands before her fellow jeweler she finds that she cannot meet her gaze and begins to walk back to her room.
"You were sleepwalking," remarks Merilos, her voice neither angry nor judging. A mere statement of fact.
Calidis pauses, but does not turn around again. When she speaks, her voice carries the slightest tremble.
"I am going back to bed."
She continues on down the path. When she reaches her room and bed, she finds that slipping back into sleep is easier said than done.
( A/N: Song/lyrics taken from "Daylight's End" from [League of Legends]. )
