Blind Beauty

Blind Beauty | 9

Chapter Nueve

It was cold, too cold perhaps.

Arlette was walking. She didn't know where to. She was just... walking.

But it was too cold. She'd never experienced nothing like this. Her whole body was in miserable pain. Her lungs trembled and wept for warmth. Her skin prickled murmurs with the cold as her veins filled with what felt like frosted water. It ran and stomped in her veins vigorously, making her wince and screech. Her delicate fingers were twisted and wobbly and dead from the cold. They hurt. A lot. Her bones crawled, cutting and clinging to herself as the cold stroke them sickly. She fell to the bitter floor, her bare knees hitting it with full force. She let out a cry, clenching to her side and grabbing her knees painfully, helplessly, as her fingers were no use.

A raw, icy wind picked up, making her purple-pale lips let out another screeching cry for help.

Arlette didn't know how much time she stayed there, but she was between unconsciousness and reality, going and coming, coming and going.

She told herself that it was better to stay in between than in unconsciousness. She had no idea what place was this.

But through the midst of it, she heard numb footsteps approach.

That made her cry for help even more. But it her cries were gone with the wind, making her sob faintly in frustration.

Where was she?

But then she heard the footsteps approach her. They were quick and short.

They stopped, right in front of her. They didn't do anything, as if just enjoying the view.

There was something that surprised Arlette, and that was their presence. It was empty and arrogant, selfish and self-absorbed, also dark and poisonously evil.

Still, she was dying, and she needed help.

"P-Please... help me." She croaked, painfully extending an arm towards whoever was in front of her.

There was silence.

But then—

"And why should I?" It was a female—that was the first thing that Arlette realized. Her voice was hard and dominant but at the same time silky, beautiful. A mix of emotions. For some reason, Arlette felt that this girl knew her. But how come she didn't? She heard the woman pace cautiously, slowly, around Arlette, as her heels clacked obnoxiously against the frozen floor. "You know, it's funny how most of the fae wish coming here..." The woman mused cruelly.

"W-where am I?" Arlette's voice was dry, distant.

The woman had stopped pacing around her. She laughed impudently. Not a giggle, but a booming, hysterical laugh, as if Arlette had just told her the most funniest joke in the history of existence.

If Arlette wasn't dying from the cracking cold, she swore she would've slap the continuous cracklings out of her obnoxious laugh.

Several moments had passed until she could compose herself. "I'm sorry," she said through fading laugher, not really meaning it. "You're just really funny,"

The woman took a couple of breaths. "Anyways, what was I saying?" She paused. "Oh, right. You don't know where you are?" She giggled. "Oh boy, so naive." The woman crouched down Arlette's level. "You're in the outside world, darlin'." She whispered, followed by another set of hysterical laughter. Arlette didn't say anything. It hadn't really sunk in yet.