Heart of darkness

Chapter Fifteen

"I found this oasis a few years after I was chosen." I wanted to say kidnapped, but I knew that it would be insensitive. "I wanted to get lost in this maze in hopes that no one would ever find me, though that plan would never work. I have the memory of an elephant, I can never forget anything, so I could easily find my way out. Though I continued through the maze and eventually stumbled upon this fountain. It was my haven, I could come here when I needed to." Calia said.

"Why did you go back? Why didn't you just keep going until you found your way out?" I asked, stepping into the haven.

"Garrett... he had threatened my parents and my sister. If I ever tried to leave, he would slaughter them all." I could see tears in Calia's eyes as she confessed what Garrett had done.

"I'm sorry." I comforted, wanting to make her pain go away.

"It was a long time ago, my parents aren't around anymore and my sister wanted to travel the world." Calia said, sitting on the ledge of the fountain, tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her pain reminded me of my father, what had happened when I had defied Damian and Garrett, when my father had defended me.

"Still, no one should have to go through what you went through." I said, pushing the memory of my father away. I didn't want to burden her with my pain, she had too much of her own. Adding my problems to hers would only break her more.

"Well, it's behind me. Now let's talk about how we're going to get you to the witch." Calia said, changing the subject.

"Calia, we don't have to do this now." I insisted. Her determination sparked in her eyes, blocking away the pain that had been there a moment ago.

"No, we came here for a reason, not to talk about my tragedies." She said, whipping away her tears with the back of her hand.

"Are you sure?" I questioned.

"Yes, of course I'm sure. Now, about that witch. There are secret passage ways around the castle, it used to be how servants got around the castle until they were closed due to thieves getting in and stealing. The passages go all around the palace, even the dungeons." Calia stated.

"If they were closed up, how can we use them?" I asked.

"Well, the servants hadn't told the king about all of the passageways and their entrances. The servants wanted them to be kept secret incase of an emergency, like a fire in the castle." Calia responded, I felt grateful to have her on my side. Though a sudden question popped into my mind.

"If they're secret then how do you know about them?" I questioned.

"It was much like this sanctuary. I was about your age when I was chosen, maybe a few years younger and I was quite curious, though due to that curiosity I was confined to the castle. I couldn't leave the grounds, so I looked around and decided to memorize the castle. While I was in the library, I found a passageway behind a bookshelf, it was quite fascinating. I explored those tunnels for most of the day." She explained. "One of them led to the dungeons, though I was too nervous to go down there."

"Do you remember how to get there?" I asked.

"Yes, of course I do. I have the memory of an elephant, remember." She smiled. I couldn't help but return the smile

"Right." I felt a little stupid for asking the question.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, until I heard my name being called in the distance.

"Aurora!" Damian's voice yelled. For a moment I thought of my mother, how her voice could be carried from the village all the way to my secret meadow

"Damn it." I mumbled and stood up. "We should probably be getting back to the castle."

I heard dread fill my voice and I knew Calia could hear it too.

"Don't worry dear, we'll get the witches out. I'll help you." She smiled and walked with me out of the haven.

Disappointment flooded through me when we left the beautiful fountain. I wanted to be left there and never have to return to the real world. For some odd reason, it reminded me of home. The meadow I had found when I was a child felt like that sanctuary, like it was a distant world that I could stay in forever and never leave.

The memory of my life back home plagued me as we exited the maze. It felt as if half of myself had been left in the maze and the only way to get it back, was to get lost in those hedges. Like what Calia had done all those years ago.

"There you are." Damian said when he saw Calia and I walked up the stairs to the terrace. "I have been looking everywhere for you."

I saw a bit of annoyance in the Prince's eyes when he grabbed hold of my arm. A large pain shot from where his hand gripped, it was the arm I had fallen on earlier that day. Damian's hold on my arm made the injury ten times worse, his strength causing it to be excruciating, I felt tears begin to slide down my cheeks as he pulled me into the castle.

Looking back at Calia, I saw apologies written in her eyes, as if she felt responsible for Damian. I wanted to go to her and tell her that it wasn't her fault. That Damian had chosen to be this monster.

"Stop, you're hurting me." I whined as he pulled me into a room I had never seen before. And I doubted Calia had seen either.

"Do you think I care." He responded and threw me onto the floor.

The room was dark, not the kind that I couldn't see in. No, this room felt plagued with evil and darkness. The walls were painted black and no windows could be seen anywhere. It felt like my bedroom, but looked like a torture room.

"What have you been doing with my mother?" He asked walking towards me, pulling my hair to force my eyes to stare into his

"I don't know what you mean." I responded as he shoved me back against the floor and walked to a wall. I watched as he grabbed something off of the wall. A whip. And walk back towards me.

"You know exactly what I mean, love. My mother isn't one to spend time with people. What have you been doing with her?" He stormed.

"Nothing!" I yelled, he would never get any confession from me.

"Well then, I hope you're ready for what I'm going to do to you." He said, crouching beside me. "Because, trust me, it isn't going to be pretty."

I watched him walk away from me and out the door, leaving the whip behind.