Dark Prince: The Death Realm

Chapter 8

Genevia opened her eyes, standing up from her curled up position upon the surprisingly hard ground. Her brow creased in confusion. The Riverwick glen was nowhere to be seen. This wasn't the interior of any of the tents or cottages. Not even close

The dark grey stone walls were craggy and sharp against her fingers as she slowly drug her fingers across the walls. The air was cold, wet and dense. No real light. It was all artificial fire and barely warm torches. She looked down at herself. A brown, soft leather dress that came down to her knees. Something that she wouldn't be caught wearing. This wasn't where she was supposed to be.

From all accounts, this was the death realm. The last thing she remembered was Zekrin's Turning into a were-beast and attacking her. That meant he was probably still up in Lochdeer while she was here.

This path will most likely lead to Kalik. she thought, her feet moved her forward one painfully slow step at a time. She had heard so many different accounts of Kalik and what he was supposed to look and act like, it was hard to figure out what she believed for herself.

Will his actions towards me be based upon my beliefs about him? she paused in her thinking for a moment before shaking her head to air and silently answering herself, Why would he be? That would imply that the people that do not believe in Kalik would either see nothing. Or perhaps they would see their unconscious imagining of him? Is that possible? He's the Death ruler, it probably is.

Do I really want to meet him? What else is there for me here? Damp stone walls and lonely old me? I've been around the fae for my entire lifetime. Being alone would get quite boring after a while. Might it, in fact, drive me mad? Genevia wondered. Part of her wanted to laugh, but she didn't want the chance of it bouncing off the walls, even if nobody would hear it. Nobody but Kalik.

She breathed in deeply and quickened her pace slightly, holding her head up high and straightening her already rigid posture. As she looked around at the slight changes in scenery that would have been hard to detect, had one not been looking for it, she noticed the tunnel curving inward slightly more with every ten or so steps that she took.

Will I come to a dead end? she thought. A dead end. Funny. She had never been one for humour like this, but she was sure that death was changing her like it did every other being on Earth. For it wasn't just a saying. Death really did change people, whether they were the one that were dying or they were the ones left behind after it was all said and done.

But as she progressed, the tunnel came to a point where the passage was just large enough for her to file through without brushing her bare arms against the rough walls. The tunnel was getting lighter, even though there were no more light sources than there had been earlier in the tunnel.

Genevia walked out into the large open chamber. It was empty and she was unsure what to do. It was furnished with a large stage-like rock that rose about two feet off of the ground and in front of that was a rather well-furnished chair. After taking a look around, she sat herself in the chair, wondering what kind of a show that might be put on. She presumed that it would be quite morbid. This was the death realm, after all. It wouldn't be very fitting for it to be jolly and filled with laughter and smiles.

But who was to say for sure? The players, of course. But, as there was no backstage or curtains of any kind, she was unsure how this production might go. However, she knew that it was all that she could do to wait until something happened. When she looked behind her, she found the passageway which she had come through had sealed some time after she had come out.

No going back. Just waiting. Waiting for the unknown to happen.

She turned back into her seat, startled as she saw an apparition of her husband. It was like fog had been given color and was shaped into the figure of her Dark Prince. Her Zekrin. Her heart longed to see him for real. She longed to kiss him and tell him that everything was okay, for he was surely worrying about what he had done to her at the wedding and how he might be able to get her back.