Daughter of the Moon - Book Three: Fire

Chapter 8: Darkness

(Warning: this chapter discusses violence and harassment. May not be suitable for all readers.)

- Elara -

All I could remember was the darkness as I sat in that small cell; chains binding me from head to toe. There was no question that this void was far from ordinary. It pulsed and swelled until it penetrated even the deepest corners of my soul, living within me like some kind of demonic parasite. I had been trapped in my worst nightmare, and there was no means of escape.

Since that first guard had left me for dead, the others had taken no shame in using me as an outlet for their frustrations. I was subject to the aggression of broken hearts, my body littered with cruel markings of the guards' own design. And when the violence was sucked into the void, it was replaced by the venomous caresses of nameless monsters. Every inch of me had been defiled, so much so that I was sure that there was no part of me left to my own possession.

My cell reeked with the stench of a broken spirit, my waste having no other place to go but to the ground beneath my crippled feet. And when I had a visitor, I could often smell the bitterness of alcohol rolling off them in waves, and if not, my senses were attacked by some other form of putrid odor. And behind it all was the sweet and earthy intoxication of my own blood as it soaked into my hair and my clothes, the excess staining the floor beneath me.

That very same fluid also seemed to be my only source of hydration, its metallic savor filling my mouth on the exceptionally bad days. The only substitute for this bloody torture was the foreign objects and toxins that were forced down my throat as well as the gruel I was forced to consume as the guards attempted to keep me alive. But only just.

My ears were often filled with the anger and despair that tortured the minds of the men and women of the Fire Nation—their agonizing cries burning into my mind next to the dozens of names that had slipped past the lips of the grieving. There used to be a time where I would have cried and screamed like these fools as I was overcome with emotions, but that time only seemed to be a distant memory.

And I was blinded—my eyes having been covered by the frigid clasp of a metal mask to protect the guards from my wrath. And I lost sight of everything. Even myself.

I was empty. Empty and cold despite the sweltering heat of my cell. And I felt nothing—only the dark obscurity of the void.

I was trapped in this world of horrid imagination, leaving me blind to the world and the possibility of a better day.

I had heard the things I never needed to hear.

I had tasted the things that needn't be tasted.

I smelled things that no human should ever have to smell.

I felt things I never wanted to feel.

There I was, sentenced to an eternity of imprisonment in a world where time no longer had meaning, the days, weeks, months, and years passing by as one endless nightmare of existence.

And the Darkness swelled and pulsed as it wrapped its cords around my feeble heart and mind, invading every inch of my cell and every inch of my broken spirit.

And all that was left was the Void.

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A/N: Guys...I tried to tone this chapter down a bit to save some of our humanity, but...to say that this part absolutely ruined me...

Imma need a bit of a mental break (don't worry, it's nothing too crazy, I just need to eat a cookie 😂).

I...I don't have anything else to say other than I hope y'all have a great day!!!! Even after I probably ruined it for you!!! 😂😂😂

I'll see you soon with the next chapter...

Published: 3 March 2021