Twisted Souls

Chapter 8

Opening my eyes at first, I'm slightly disoriented. The room is still dark. But sitting up and looking around, I remember where I am.
This is the second time I'm waking up to a different bedroom than my own. I think I'm beginning to understand what déjà vu means.
Rolling out of bed, I make my way to the windows. Dawn hasn't fully begun yet, so I return to the bed. I'm actually enjoying how dark the room is- makes for better sleep.
I'm not too much of a morning person and I haven't slept in for awhile. Whether I was in a different dimension or not, I still needed my sleep.
As I'm beginning to drift off again I hear the door to the room open. Seconds later I feel someone tapping my shoulder. Agitated, I turn around and see the young woman who helped me change yesterday.
"Miss. It's time to wake up now." Her soft voice is barely audible to me.
"It's not even morning morning yet." I whine and bury my face in the pillow. It's almost like being at home.
"Breakfast will start soon, miss. The king will be expecting your presence."
They've trapped me. Either miss eating or cut my sleep time short. I'm sticking with sleep, this bed is unbelievably comfortable. I'm not even thinking about the consequences of skipping breakfast. Besides, remembering last night, I do not want to attend anymore mealtimes.
"Tell the king I will not be gracing him with my presence this morning." I reply back mockingly before pressing my face into the pillow again.
I can hear her stand around for a second, waiting to see if I would get up. When I don't she turns and leaves the room and I resume my peaceful slumber.
Drifting off again, I relax and begin to dream pleasantly. The dreams don't last long, but they are nice and are almost more like memories. Visions of younger me playing in the backyard with my imaginary friends, my father giving me piggyback rides, my parents joining me in my make believe world of princesses and dragons. I smile in my sleep as I recall these precious memories.
"Pleasant dreams?"
I don't really think about the origin of the voice and out of habit believe it's my mom coming in my room to wish me good morning. I don't bother to open my eyes or turn over and instead continue to sleep.
"That's a little funny. I don't remember mom ever stroking my hair to wake me-"
I'm wide awake now and pull away so suddenly that I accidentally roll out of bed. The floor greets me with a cold, hard stone ground.
"Are you alright? I didn't mean to surprise you."
I ignore his question and begin to pick myself up. Xalale is already by my side, helping me up. Though I want to push him away, I don't.
"Are you alright?" He ask again.
"I'm fine." I reply grudgingly.
Being woken up by surprise happens to be one of my biggest pet peeves. Still wanting to sleep, I crawl right back into bed and bury myself under the covers.
"I was told you didn't want to get up this morning for breakfast."
"Yes, I was tired and wanted to sleep in." I seemed to have forgotten that person I'm talking to was the same person who stuck a carving fork into a girl's head for no reason other than he wanted to.
"Well, I wanted to spend more time talking to you."
"Hm..." I've stopped listening or caring at this point. Sleep is beckoning me like cheese to a mouse.
"Do you want to me to leave?"
That is the best question I've heard in a week.
"Yes, please." My reply is muffled by my pillow, but he understands me and a second later I hear the door close.
"Finally. Sleep at last."
My peaceful slumber doesn't last too long before I hear the door open and close again and feel my shoulder being nudged.
"Miss." It's the young woman this time. "You need to get up now."
"No..." I whine again. Nobody gets it. I just want to sleep.
"Miss. The king is requesting your presence." Her tone was fearful and nervous, though she was trying to hide it.
I cover my head again with my pillow, but after a second I let out a dramatic sigh and get out of bed. The woman appears relieve but only for a moment. She hurries about to get things ready for me.
When she pulls out another black dress I try not to gag.
"Why'd it have to be black again?"
Again my hair done up again and my jewelry is provided. The woman hands me a something thorny.
"It's from the king." She tells me.
It's a black rose. Figures.
"He wants you to wear it in your hair."
"In my hair?" I ask, unsure if I want to put a thorny rose in my hair.
"Yes."
She does make it look very pretty in my hair, but when I stand back and look myself over I can't help but groan. I look like I'm going to a funeral.
I've noticed how nervous and jittery the young woman has been this entire time. She pauses at the door for a second then pushes it open and exits. I follow since she's escorting me, but my blood runs cold once I see what's on the other side.
A pool of dark blood is at my front door. Splatters of blood run down the door and on the handle. But an even gory scene awaits me.
In front of my bedroom door, across the hall, a bloody body hangs from a spear pinned on the wall. Thick trails of red trickle down the wall and collect at the bottom. The body- a male's- is covered in its own blood. The point of the spear is stuck in the wall, almost like someone threw the weapon at the victim. The spear impaled the body through the chest area, around where the heart and other vital blood organs would be located.
Reality clicks back in and I'm staring at the body- frozen.
The man is dead- I don't know for how long- but I know it had to be this morning seeing how I didn't notice it yesterday. I can't believe I didn't even hear it happen right outside my door.
The scene appalls me almost to the point of throwing up whatever I have in my stomach. I would have if the woman hadn't guided me away and down the hall.
"What happened." I ask when I finally find my voice again.
She doesn't answer me right away and when she does, it's not an answer to my question.
"The next time the king wishes for your presence, please do get up."
◆◆◆
I'm lead to a balcony garden which over looks a beautiful valley that's sandwiched between two mountains.
Xalale waits on a bench, looking over the valley. He appears to eerily calm compared to the fact that he just gruesomely killed a man.
"Finally out of bed?" He looks away from the scenic view towards me.
I try not to show any traces of fear in my body language or in my speech.
"We can't stay in bed forever."
"You look lovely, like you always do."
I'm surprised at the self-restraint I've shown these past few days. I don't squirm away from his hand as he strokes my hair and face.
"I know I ask you many questions, but you seem to alway know how to answer them." He stops stroking my face and returns his attention to the valley view. "This maybe a simply phrased question but it is a complex response."
I wait for him to finish. Two birds fly across the crisp, gray sky that seems to shimmer like a clear crystal pond.
"I am quite interested in learning about you Mallory. Would you likewise be interested in learning about me?"
"No!"
"I don't know what you mean exactly." I don't even want to know what he means. I have to get home, and spending time with a unstable murderer is not on my top priority list.
"I mean-"
Xalale is cut off by a ridged guard who enters the garden swiftly.
"Pardon my rudeness your Majesty, but the woman you requested to meet has arrived."
I inwardly breath a sigh of relief. But as quickly as I do, I want to take it back. Xalale gets up from the bench as pulls me up with him. He doesn't seem to want to let my hand go.
"I shouldn't keep her waiting then, should I?"
But as he moves, I don't budge. "Uh, what lady are you talking about?" I really don't want to go any where with him, but his grip isn't loosing.
"I need you to come with me Mallory. This woman who I've called is here to help us."
"Help us?" I give him a bewildered look.
He doesn't elaborate, but instead tugs me alongside him and we make our way through the dark halls. I should probably be studying these halls to start formulating an escape route, but every hall looks the same and I'm usually being dragged through them so quickly that I don't even get the chance to take it in.
We arrive at a hallway that only has one set of doors. The doors are made of stone and have been carved into detailed scenes. I don't get a good look at the images on the doors since I'm being pulled along.
The room we enter is dimly lit- surprise, surprise- with high ceilings and another grand and massive bone chandelier. A tall arch window on the right side of the room, allows some natural light to filter in, but other than that only candles light the place. Centered in the back of the room, a stone throne is positioned.
Xalale takes his place while I just stand there, trying to think of an escape route.
Suddenly, a young woman with fuchsia colored hair and peaches and cream tone skin, is escorted into the throne room. She wears a purple cloak and possesses some fairy-like features to her.
She seems nervous(I don't blame her) as she bows humbly before the king.
"You summoned me, your Majesty?"
"I did. You have answers that I need."
She glances over at me for a second before refocusing her attention back to Xalale. "What kind of answers do you need from me, your Majesty?"
"Recently for the past few days, I have been having a very present and constant urging feeling."
"Urging how?"
"Like something of importance is going to happen or has already happened."
"Something important?"
He gives an exasperated sigh. "If I wanted an echo I would have asked for one."
"Forgive me your Majesty."
I notice her wringing her hands.
"May I ask if this important urging has anything to do with her." She quickly points to me and gives me another unsteady glance.
Xalale seems to think about this for a second before replying. "Yes, this feeling seems to pertain to her the most."
"Me!"
"Oh. Well...has this feeling affected her by any chance?"
I can tell they're waiting for a response and I'm about to answer 'no' when I remember something.
"Uh, it wasn't a urging feeling of something important, but- but I did have this one unknown feeling." I say unsure.
"Was it a compelling feeling, like you had to do something but had no control?" She ask me. There was this small pleading in her eyes that I couldn't understand.
"Yeah, it was kind of like that."
She closes her eyes and is silent for a second before addressing Xalale again.
"Your Majesty, if you allow me I would like to perform a ritual. It would help me understand your suspicions."
"I'll allow it."
The fairy-like woman is quiet for a while, whispering something to herself. I could be imagining it, but I thought I saw wisp of color circle around her as she talked quietly to herself. It springs in me a little bit of joy as I think about how it reminds me of magic that witches use in stories.
After about two or three minutes she stops and looks up at me. Her expression is a mix between confusion and worry.
"Have you figured out the meaning of this urging?" Xalale ask.
"I have." Another quick glance is thrown my way before she speaks. "Her name is Mallory, am I correct?"
"Yes." He replies.
"How does she know that!?"
"These urgent feelings are related to her..." She trails off and bits her lip.
"How?" His tone is impatient and she can tell and continues.
"Because she's your true love."