There was darkness again. A blurry type of darkness, with blues and greys, not blinding but darkness regardless. All contained within four walls, its shape almost non-existent. Trapped inside with no escape. But one thing about darkness, is that it enjoys misery. It enjoys being trapped, dancing within the shadows as it relishes the nothingness of it all. And among that darkness a girl sat in the corner facing away. It was quiet. The same familiar type of quiet.
"Ana?"
There was no reply. No movement.
"Ana, is that you?"
The figure barely turned around. The shape of her face seemed different from usual.
"What are you doing here? Are you okay?"
"Does it look like I'm okay?"
The real world doesn't look like this. Not usually anyway. Searching deep into the memories held inside, there something out of place here that didn't seem right. The walls? The emptiness? That's right. The world usually has...More life.
Counting fingers. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 6?
And just like that Reina found herself in a dream. She walked towards Ana to comfort her. It would be gone once they were awake, that was the blessing behind all dreams.
"It's only a dream for you," Ana replied, "I live here."
Reina stared at her quietly.
"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Ana continued, facing away.
"What is?"
"Why don't you just think for once. Being here. Where you are right now."
Her voice just below a whisper. Every time she spoke, the darkness screamed at the life she would radiate into it. And yet it was still quiet. There was a strange type of comfort within these walls but there was also emptiness. There was something missing which they filter out. Something that she could only find if she manages to break it. The bare thought of such a thing would send shivers through her skin. The walls keep her safe. The darkness gives her warmth. It was beautiful in its own way but she couldn't have both. She knew that the bare sound of a crack in it would suffocate her soul and she couldn't even name what she was looking for. The-thing-with-no-name.
But if only it existed within.
"And what if you're looking for something that doesn't exist?"
"What?"
Ana was gone.
Awake and alive, Reina got out of bed and put on her shoes. It took her a few seconds to remember all the events that had taken place before. Gloria, the centaur, the lake, the fairy (or that's what she thought it was). Or the worst of all, the cat who wasn't a cat. Reina shook her head at the thought. She couldn't believe she felt some type of connection with him when she first saved him from the lake. It somehow felt like a betrayal she couldn't explain. The thought of enjoying another human being's presence made her antisocial organs recoil with horror. However, he wasn't a human being either which seemed to make it a little bit more acceptable.
Reina had no idea what time it was. If time existed in this world, even. She wasn't sure if she was meant to wake up. But she must have been sleeping for a long time considering the slight migraine growing in her head. Or it could have easily been because of the dream. Although it didn't mean anything. She spent a few seconds convincing herself that it was all nonsense and to prove her brain she was right, she blinked a few times and thought of Ana, imagining her in the air.
"You called for me?" Ana grinned, proud of herself as if she had achieved an accomplishment.
Reina rolled her eyes and pushed her out of her thoughts, to which Ana replied with a frown but obliged and disappeared soon after. Reina smiled and fell back into her bed. She was strongly battling her urge between getting out of her room to explore or to sleep for another year or so. Maybe a few more hours won't hurt. Besides, she would need her energy back for she was sure Gloria would give her a tour soon enough. That was until she heard a quiet sound from the room. She turned around and noticed one of the bags Gloria placed in her room, was moving. She sat back up in an instant.
"Gloria, what in the flip flops did you put in those bags?!"
Reina gulped, unsure whether she should investigate, call for help or go back to sleep. Considering how unexpected this world was, there could be anything there. It could be a snake, a giraffe, a mouse or maybe it was a talking bag.
"H...Hello?"
Do talking bags speak English?
There was a slight screeching sound that Reina just about heard in a short moment before the movement stopped immediately. After a few more seconds, a small outline of a round-like shape could be seen moving inside the bag. Out of it a tiny creature popped its head out, shining bright. It was the pixie like creature from last time. Reina gasped in awe as it shyly came out of the bag, looking slightly embarrassed. It radiated white light, it's wings beautiful like feathers and wore a peculiar blue attire that floated and almost looked like it was made of liquid.
"Are you a fairy?" she asked, as it approached closer to her, it seemed to be as curious of her as she was of it.
"I am pretty," she replied with a squeaky child like voice, nodding.
Reina smiled, "that's true, you are pretty."
"Yes that's who I am."
"I agree with you."
"I agree with me too."
Reina stared at her for a while, "Wait, is your name Pretty?"
"Yes, that's what I said."
"Oh, well your name is pretty."
"I know."
"I like it."
"I like your name too, even if it's not Pretty."
Reina started laughing at herself, "What are you doing here, Pretty?"
Pretty put her hands behind her back and awkwardly looked to the floor, "I was stealing your Cat-Cats."
"From the bag?"
She nodded.
"Don't worry, you can take as many as you like."
"Really?" She gasped, jumping with excitement. She didn't even wait for her to respond, instead she sat right on top of Reina's nose and gave her what looked like a hug, before jumping right back in the bag. She came back out holding a box twice her size and Reina only heard a squeaky giggle before she flew out of the room. When Pretty was gone, she decided to put her mind into better things which led her to get up and start going through the bags. There were snacks, strange looking food, toys and something that caught her eye. A book.
'The History of AZELRYA', it read.
The joy in her eyes when she picked it up could've lit the whole room but couldn't get past the first page as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Then a knock.
"Door's open, I'm just going to come in," It was Arthur, "Having fun?"
Reina gave out a dry laugh in response, "I don't know yet."
"Did you give chocolates to Pretty?"
"Yeah," she replied slowly, "she wanted some."
"Oh, well you're not supposed to. She gets too hyper."
"Oh," was all Reina said.
"Just come downstairs. We're having food and Gloria says you have to meet someone."
There was a short moment of silence as she followed him downstairs which she didn't know how to break. When she came down Gloria was waving her arms in the air. She was led outside and they entered the building opposite. It was a building of three floors, not extremely large. The interior had brown and white walls, chandelier lights and a large dining room where she assumed all the children would eat. In the wall there was a large painting of a beautiful woman, with a crown shining on her head. There was an old man sitting by one of the tables and eating quietly. He didn't look towards them at all but when they approached him, he stood up give a small bow. Reina noticed he was holding a walking stick and had a slight tremor in his left hand, with a beard down his neck and greying hair.
"Good morning, you must be Reina," he wouldn't meet her gaze but he had a friendly smile which made her think that he could be visually impaired, "have you come to join me for breakfast?"
Gloria responded by giving him a big hug and a kiss on the forehead, "we've come to meet you."
"Gloria my dear, did you have a safe journey?"
"Your prayers have kept us safe, Aldric."
Reina watched them talk and catch up as Arthur sat on the table and started eating, "are we going to eat or what? Reina, come."
Reina looked at Gloria and the man for a second before making her way to the table. The table was filled with what looked like pastries of different shapes and sizes among other things. She had been treading on everything cautiously and wasn't ready to let herself go just yet. She observed Arthur take a large scone shaped pastry and poured some type of sauce over it. She slowly copied him and was surprised at how good it was.
"Where was the old man yesterday?" Arthur asked as he ate.
"Aldric just came back from Adelphia, right?" Gloria looked at him who nodded, "also, stop calling your grandfather that, it's rude."
Gloria gave him a dirty look as she sat down in the table and Arthur replied with a scowl.
"It wasn't a lie."
"Stop."
"You stop."
"No, you-"
"Children, I may be blind but I'm not deaf," Aldric slightly raised his voice but didn't seem angry, "Reina, are you enjoying your food?"
He turned his attention to her which took her slightly by surprise but she nodded. As she took another bite, she realised he couldn't see her nod and blurted out yes, food bursting out of her mouth. Arthur snickered and passed her a tissue.
"I mean...Yes, I'm enjoying the food very much," Reina had never felt more self-conscious in her life.
"I told Reina about the magic lessons, Aldric," she told him, "but I told her that she didn't have to make a decision right away."
Aldric nodded in agreement, "of course, you should take your time."
"But I was thinking that maybe she could have a practice lesson, to help her decide," Gloria suggested. Reina could tell she had planned to say that for a while and wasn't just a spur in the moment decision, "if it's okay with you Reina."
She suddenly felt on the spot again.
"What happened to 'don't make a decision right away'?" Arthur scoffed.
"I'm just asking!"
"You're putting pressure on her."
"Am not!"
"Okay we are not going to talk about this now," Aldric shushed both of them and continued eating.
Reina wasn't sure if the curiosity of the world around her was getting the better of her, or if it was because she knew she didn't have anywhere else to go. But when she saw the shadow of Ana in the dining hall, staring into her eyes, she ignored the shaking of her hand and spoke.
"I think I want to do it," her voice just above a whisper. The clinking sound of cutlery against the plate stopped and everyone looked back at her.
"Then it's decided," Aldric responded after a moment of silence, "Reina will have her first lesson today."