Isildilia.(Book 1 of the White Lily trilogy)

chapter 7-painful discovery

  

When she awoke suddenly, she felt very cold and very anxious. The light had faded and all was silent around her, making her stomach clench in worry. How long had she been asleep? Was it night-time already? She was surprised no one had come to wake her.

She propped herself up on one elbow to look around. There was something on the floor beside her door. She crept over, trying not to make too much noise. There was a small platter of food that had been slipped inside. Beside it was a note. She made her way over to read it.

Isi, we were going to call you down but you were asleep. So we left it up here for when you woke up later. Thinel. Isildilia took it over to her bed and sat down to eat. She wasn't particularly hungry but she didn't want to appear rude. There also was a small pitcher of water set beside it. She found the cool water very comforting. She sat there for a while, chewing the food in her mouth very slowly as she contemplated things.

She even became fascinated over her shadow that had formed in front of her. A shadow? She froze. For a shadow to have formed at night could only mean one thing.

Before she could move, once again her back ruptured into mind-blowing pain. She dropped the pitcher which went clattering against the ground as her body went into spasms. She had to get out of the light, but she couldn't move freely. She sat hunched on the edge of her bed, scrabbling at the mark on her back. Soon the sweat started to drip off her back and her face and she was gasping for air, but still it wouldn't stop. The other day was never as bad as this one. All she could do was pray it clouded over very soon.

Suddenly there was the worst spell of agony yet. It felt like something was growing out from her spine itself. It was pushing further and further out from under her skin, causing an unbearable burning sensation. She could feel the material of her gown tearing on her back as it was no longer able to contain the growth. She watched her shadow with wide eyes, as she could see her shadow growing and altering shape. She struggled not to scream, so she didn't wake anyone, so she ended up biting her tongue instead. She gagged as the metallic taste filled her mouth. Droplets of blood sprayed everywhere as it finally finished, splashing on the back of her hands and on the floor. She waited a moment to regain her breath and still her trembling. Once she finally could move, which felt like she had been sat there for hours, she slowly began to feel around.

There was something that had grown right where the mark was, sticking out from her shoulder blades. She ran her hand blindly over it. She felt a familiar texture. She grabbed it and pulled one out, making her eyes fill with tears at the tiny sharp pain. Holding it up to the moonlight she could see what it was.

It was a feather, much like Thiryqa's. But hers were white, with streaks of purple and tipped with gold; a single drop of blood dripped off the end. Her heart pace and breathing quickened uncontrollably; she had wings just like Thiryqa's. This couldn't be. She was human. It was impossible. She couldn't accept it, despite the fact it was clear. Her heart hammered in her chest so fast she thought she was going to be sick from it. She had to wait a full hour before she calmed down once more.

Although her back still throbbed, she realised the pain had dulled and she could now move. At first, when she tried to stand up, she fell onto her knees. Her back had become too heavy for her like she was wearing a weighted pack. She crawled over to her mirror, each limb trembling with weariness. She lit one of the candles nearby so she could see well.

Her eyes could no longer deny it. She did have a pair of wings. They could easily fan out across the length of her room, but she could not even get a twitch out of them. She kept running her hand over the joint, feeling the feathers blend into her skin.

Part of her inside was excited by this, but right now she was petrified and felt sick. I'm a monster, she kept repeating in her head.

She leapt away from the window and screamed as there was a crunch. She looked back and saw they were slowly retreating under her skin. Before she could stop herself, the pain made her scream out loud. The scream must have woken the others, as she heard footsteps moving about and coming up the stairs. With great effort, she dragged her chair across to jam the door shut. She can't let them see her. Seconds later, the handle rattled in desperate attempts to open the door.

"Isi! Isi! Are you there? What's happened?" Rhincale cried.

A horrible taste rose up in her mouth and the room started swirling before her. She knew she was blacking out, but she had to close her curtains quickly. She stumbled across, knocking the books off her desk as she did so. She shuffled around the edge, keeping herself out of the light; she couldn't let it happen again. The sound caused a bang from behind, as someone threw their weight against the door, trying to knock the chair aside. Her hand fumbled with the fabric as she tried to get a grip on the curtains. She had just finished pulling them together when she fell into darkness and collapsed where she stood.