Crown of Faeries

7 | Acquiesce

The chill of the winter ice made my teeth clatter as my hands reached up from my sides to push through the thick layer of small flakes that had me buried. My hands broke through after a long and agonizing stretch, my bones feeling like they were just waking up from a life time of being frozen and preserved, reaching a wild wrath of wind that snapped and broke the air. Allowing my elbows to bend, I patted the snow above me and pried my way out by digging. I had no idea why I didn't just sit up, but something was definitely keeping me from doing what my mind and soul told me to.

After what felt like years of digging through the thick and building layers of the winter ice, my face broke free of the surrounding dark white, and I sucked in a lifelong breath that echoed through my surroundings.

My eyes flashed all around me to take in the thick tree trunks and the pine needles scattered all around the forest ground. Sheets of ice covered the lush leaves and chipped at the bark. The vividness of the forest was drained here, and left with only a shrouding chill and maleficent darkness.

My hands went to their opposite arm and rubbed the exposed skin. I could feel the rough edges of the goosebumps and the way my skin didn't react to touch. I had become like the forest, nothing.

Blinking back a tear of ice, I ducked my chin into my chest in an attempt to breath warmth back into my body, but my breath turned to stone and shattered against the wind; never reaching my body. I let loose of a small whimper as I took in my clothing. I'd somehow changed into a simple black slip with grey lace trimming. The silky smooth material was skin tight and the fabric was airy and looked like the movement of the River Styx.

My hands stopped their excessive rubbing.

The chime of a raven pierced the sky and echoed its way towards me. I watched in horror as the tree branches rippled only to sway and then arch up like heavens wings. The movement so close to the Reapers that one night that the image of his eyes ghosted through the branches. My heart pounded against my chest in a scolding heat of flame as passion and lust rocketed through my body.

"Kieran." I whispered almost too softly for even my own ears to pick up the minuscule tone of my voice. But the birds must have heard it because not a moment after I spoke his name, the word was said over and over in a hushed whisper that mingled in with the cry of a raven. My nose pinched at the rough edges around his name. Through the swaying and warping branches of the trees, I saw a figure of rippling darkness flutter through.

My breath hitched as two blue gem eyes took over the shape of the flashing head. It's dark aura skimming the air behind it--leaving a long track of broken dreams.

I watched in a hushed manner as the black mass zipped between the trees going back and forth. By its fifth time of bouncing back and forth, I noticed the circular pattern it was creating.

Realization hit me and the figure disappeared into thin air only to reappear directly in the middle of a floating ring of dark magic. The edges of the figures shapeless body vibrated and churned the air around it as its blue eyes twinkled. It was daring me and my feet listened to the cry.

My toes crunched against the hardening ice as I made my way, in an entranced state, towards the vibrating figure. The closer I got, the colder my skin felt. In the faintest of a whisper, I could hear the cries of the lost souls burned beneath the blue flames that took up the figures face.

The figure never moved, it's body content where it stood as its presence bore into my soul with each step I took closer.

Breathing heaving, heart thumping like a war drum, and knees shaking, I managed to stumble my way through the tearing snow and viper winds. The black slip I had somehow changed into creaked at the seams and the thin straps withered away with each gust of wind. The sharp teeth and nails of the snow beneath my feet caused my skin to welt and ache, leaving dried patches of blood up to my ankles. My arms folded across my chest in an attempt to keep my erected nipples from falling off. My shoulders rolled in and my knees bent further--my calves taking most of the heat.