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The scenery behind the pale-headed woman changed, and Dream-Bellyn looked about with wide eyes. Beneath her feet lay muddy grass and trampled flowers. Above her head, thundering grey clouds threatened to downpour while light mist glided gently down to the spongy ground. Bellyn looked back to the sad, weary lady. Off in the distance behind the strange woman Bellyn could see rolling fields of wheat beneath a shining sun.
I would much rather be there, thought Bellyn. When she looked into the lady's eyes and saw her horrified glance, however, Bellyn changed her mind.
She appeared clearly to Bellyn, but cold and distant as if lost within her own hopes and her own intangible ambitions. On the woman's face sadness mixed with some kind of suppressed anger and strain at the harshness of an inner battle.
Then, for just one single moment, the pale face softened. The lines of hard truth disappeared temporarily, revealing the youth and empathy that seemed to have hidden too often behind frowning wrinkles of despair. Her captivating eyes blinked once, twice, and in seconds the oddly familiar face was once again stony and cold.
'Agony,
Can you cleanse this misery?
For never again will I breathe
The air of home...'
Dream-Bellyn was the one to blink this time, as the Gondorian woman listened to the soothing voice coming from the pale-haired lady. The tune was simple, but it continued to vibrate within Bellyn's mind even when the singer had stopped singing. The melody and lyrics made Bellyn sick to her stomach. Her voice is lovely, but is this how I will end up? Is this how Argeleafa and I will meet our end? A bundle of sorrow, bound and broken to our dreams...Bellyn contemplated, hesitating for a moment as she wondered what she should do. The dreamer ultimately decided to sit down next to the crouched woman. If I spoke to her, would she answer? Bellyn wondered.
'My name is Bellyn...' the dreamer spoke to the frail, huddled mass next to her. Bellyn knew that she did not need words to understand the other woman's pain.
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