Gardens of Ash

Chapter 4

I throw myself on my bed and land on my back. I pull a pillow over my face and groan.

I think and think and think. Just like that, I'm somewhere else. I'm in the middle of the woods and I'm wearing the same clothes, but everything is different. I notice a stone pathway up ahead so I race towards it. I trip over a branch and land face-first. I feel eerie like I should be running, but for some reason, I can't find it in me to do it. Something grabs my ankle and pulls me backward.

I feel the pillow on my face being compressed so I am unable to breathe.

This snaps me back to reality.

I'm fighting, swinging, kicking. It feels like a male. The attacker's legs are on both sides of me, so I feel where the legs are and then assume where the groin is. That's my target. I bring my knee up to my chest and with all the force I can muster, a strong kick lands right where intended.

The pressure from my face is gone and I quickly throw the pillow off of my face. I sit up and look around. There's nothing.

Nothing. How is there nothing? No one. No one in the room.

Just me and a pillow on the floor. The whole thing is insane. The depersonalization never did this.

I look around the room again, my breathing unsteady and in the corner of my eye, I see a dark shadow disappear quickly into the floor. I get up and run to the area where the shadow disappeared.

Anyone who holds a position of command in Asmen also wields a force of nature. I wield the shadows. I can bend the shadows to my very will. They speak to me and tell me about secret plots the citizens make to overthrow me. They warn me about the inevitable apocalypse that's yet to come. But just as these shadows protect me, some of them have different intentions. They'd prefer to be free and not weld by anyone. Which is respectable but it's not how it works.

The rebellious shadows have yet to understand this simple fact.

Some of the shadows have tried to kill me before. Just in more prominent and obvious ways.

One time, when I first got my wielding powers, a shadow-shaped hand grabbed me by the arm and hauled me backward into a dark hallway. Yet, all I had to do was smack it away, and just like that it was gone. I can see that they've learned their old ways were useless.

I touch the cold wood floor all around the area. Of course, there's nothing. This is useless. No. This is stupid.

I have a meeting to prepare for. I stand up from the floor, walk back towards my office doors, and close the door behind me.

I sit back on the floor and think. What if I went to Korgon...now? I don't understand why I would but it seems like an interesting surprise for Arwan. It'd also be a good idea to see how my possible ally reacts in an unexpected situation. It'd also test his loyalty to the throne and its responsibilities.

I walk out of my office and head towards my closet.

I throw my duffel bag on the floor and start to pack it. I fold my dresses, corsets, and my short and thin pajama dresses. I also throw in a couple of button-down collared shirts, a few blazers, a few pairs of black slacks, socks, three pairs of heels, and two pairs of classic black flats.

I stalk towards my door and out of my room. I walk through the stone-walled hallways. I pick up pace as I walk faster towards the tall engraved wood doors of the castle. I open one of the two doors and walk out.

The cold chill outside catches me off guard. I head towards the stables and meet my horse. He is dark black with brown eyes. He's taller than most horses and stands with a pride I can't name. He is no doubt, mine.

I named him Umbra. It's the darkest shadow known to man, and I can control it. Shadows were one of the few things I've had control over. The other thing I control is the people of Asmen. I have them under my thumb at all times whether they know it or not. Everything they do. Everything they say. Everything they whisper. Everything they think. I know. I have perfectly calculated the responses to killing off half of the population. Asmen didn't have enough resources to house and colonize the amount of people we did. To be truthful, Asmen has more rivals than allies. No kingdom would take my people for an even trade. Not even Korgon. I will make sure that changes. If I am capable of manipulating an entire kingdom, I can surely manipulate an eighteen-year-old king who has no clue what his job truly means.

I tie my bag to Umbra's saddle and hop on his back with ease. I begin my journey to Korgon.

It's no longer safe for me in Asmen. Hopefully, Arwan will understand.

If he doesn't...

Well, he'll have to adjust.