Silvery Touch

3. Keeper Of The Crest

Hey, peeps! So, this chapter is dedicated to Haamidlimbada since he deserves more reads and comments on his story ‘Deception’; he’s one of the best writers on Wattpad. Go check it out and maybe with more reads he’ll upload faster. Also, thank you all so much for the feedback so far on the story, I really appreciate it and hope you enjoy this chapter. Happy reading

~ Zana

Chapter Three ~ Keeper of the Crest

Deep underground, close to the core of the earth, a woman sat in the centre of an empty, dark room. The only light was the spotlight directed over the woman.  Chains around her arms and legs, attached to the chair, kept her in place. She didn’t struggle; other than being weak, she knew nothing would come of it. Two large, white screens appeared in front of her, side by side, hovering in the air some distance away. This was followed by a voice echoing through the walls of the room.

“Pandora, you have been brought out of your sentence due to an emergency.” The voice was deep and indistinguishable.

Pandora did not respond.

“For the crime you had committed, the world is paying the price more than you ever imagined,” the voice continued. This caused the woman to raise her left, thick eyebrow.

A video began to play on the left white screen:

“I – I just can’t.” Fourteen year old Eva’s heart hammered in her chest. She was convinced the woman pulling her along could hear it. She emanated fear. No doubt the sweat on her palms could be used to form an enormous lake.

The corner of the woman’s blood red, thin lips curled into an amused smile as she continued to yank Eva along the wet pavement.

Pandora recognised this woman to be herself.

Her clutch on Eva’s hand tightened, not that she could exactly feel her hand tightening around hers; Eva just saw it tighten. Droplets upon droplets splashed onto the ground from the dark sky of the night. Eva was soaked, yet felt completely dry. That was due to Pandora.

As the video rolled on, Pandora slowly began to recall the event, smiling at the memory.

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Pandora’s smooth, soft voice was accompanied with long hisses. It always is. Even with the hiss, it was the most beautiful voice Eva had ever heard. The voice was a perfect fit for her appearance: her honey speckled, green eyes outlined with a thin line of purple are one of her most attractive features and her rosy cheeks gave colour to her oddly pale skin. Her shiny, jet black hair cascaded down to her bust, the wind causing it to whip Eva’s face, yet sent a pleasant sensation through every vein in her body.

“Y – y – ou don’t know him,” Eva stuttered, her hand shaking in Pandora’s.

Pandora halted, stopping Eva in turn, positioning herself opposite her with her finely manicured fingers resting on Eva’s shoulders (not that Eva could feel them). The smile didn’t falter as Pandora spoke in a whisper, “I’ve been watching him for years. I do know him, even more than you do.”

Her gaze was intense. Every frightened bone in Eva’s body disappeared and she was no longer shaking. Eva had a sudden desire to reach out and stroke Pandora’s soft-looking skin and along her lips.

Pandora frowned at this moment. She considered it a curse: her ability to cause anyone to want her simply by gazing into their eyes.

“I like you,” Eva voiced in a whisper, captivated by the being before her. This time she did reach out but before she was even get close to touching Pandora’s beautiful face, Pandora gently pushed her hands back down to her sides.

“No, you don’t. You like Jett Lawson; your boyfriend.” Pandora averted her eyes, squinting into the distance behind them and grabbed Eva’s hand with urgency. “Quick, we have to get going.”

All at once, the deep desire Eva had for Pandora vanished. She came to her senses.

“Well… I don’t know you,” Eva continued, picking up the conversation from before the intense gaze.

“I thought we were friends.” Pandora’s determined face did not falter, yet her hiss held powerful disappointment.

“I  -  We are,” Eva sighed. Her stomach sunk. Were they friends? Eva barely knew anything about her apart from the beauty and power she held.

“Good because we’re here.” They both stopped. Eva stared down at their intertwined hand but Pandora didn’t let go, nor did she look at her. Eva peered into the darkness, following Pandora’s gaze but there was nothing to see.

All of a sudden a light from thin air illuminated a tiny shed ahead. Eva knew Pandora caused that, she was sure of it. Now that they were there, Eva wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do.

“Finally he’ll get what he deserves.” Pandora’s face beamed, causing her to appear more beautiful than she already did, if that was possible. She pulled Eva towards the shed.

“I – I’m not sure about this.” Eva began to shake again.

“Do you want to be tortured and trapped for the rest of your life?” There was a hint of anger in Pandora’s usually soft voice. Eva shook her head in response. “Good.”

The door of the shed automatically swung open as they got closer and a tiny, silver object floating in a ray of coloured light became visible. It was strikingly remarkable. The object was in a cylinder shape and looked rather like a torch, smaller than Eva’s hand. Pandora let Eva go.

“What is it?”

“It’s enchanted. You know what to do! Now go be free, Eva.” She threw words of encouragement at Eva as Eva clambered towards it and grabbed it. The rays of light shot around her arms and into her chest.

As the screen went blank, Pandora spoke up.

“And I don’t regret any of it,” She admitted, raising her voice.

“Maybe not just yet, but you will!” The voice responded. “This was earlier today.”

The second white screen flickered on. Pandora watched, without blinking, as Eva spoke to Jett in her office. Pandora smiled, warmth filling up her insides for the first time in years. She was glad to see the two still together. She saw Eva order Jett to bring a guy called Rex into the room, before the horror unfolded and she watched Eva kill this man. The screen went blank.

“H – he was an innocent.” If Pandora wasn’t chained down, she would rub her hands over her face in shame.

“That is not all, over the years she has killed over seventy others and you are responsible for all that! You were the keeper of the Crest and you committed the crime of handing this object to an innocent human, making her a danger to others and, therefore, you were sentenced to eight years of imprisonment, but after seven years you have been taken out for special circumstances!” The voice boomed.

“I remember,” she sighed, wishing she hadn’t. It wasn’t stupid for the voice to recount these events because after these many years in prison, especially the ice sector where prisoners were isolated and bathed in ice for their entire sentence, prisoners tend to forget their crime and past events. The thing is, Pandora and creatures alike can only die in one way and that is death from the Crest.

“As you know, if anyone but the person given the Crest touches it, they die. You have three months to retain the Crest or you’ll be taken to the burning sector next.” And with this echoed through the room, Pandora was released.

 

A/N ~ quick note, if you guys don’t know; Pandora is a magical creature, but everything about her and further explanation of the crest will be in future chapters. Hope you enjoyed the story despite any confusion. Thank you all for reading