She'd been nodding off while reading the book, finding it quite interesting with how it told the story of the ancient power resting inside of her. The time passed so fast when she focused on the book. Cahira glanced up at the window, noticing the rain hitting on her window.
'Did it look like it was supposed to rain from earlier today?'
However, the soft creaks of wood made her feel uneasy. The same kind of uneasiness she felt whenever she had been in her room.
"Anyone there?" she called out, waiting for a response from one of the guards.
But none came. Cahira slipped out of the bed, slowly walking over to the door. As she peeked out, she noticed the guards on the floor, unconscious. She looked up at the darkened hallway. Maybe she should bring a candle just in case but decided against it. It would only bring unwanted attention on herself. She grabbed the cloak and put it on her shoulders, before stepping out into the dark. The walls would be her guide as she let her fingers softly trail against them as she walked further into the dark. The darkness brought her back to only a few years ago.
She'd been sitting on her bed, her parents on the other side of the door, trying to talk to her. Puddin was laying on the bed next to her.
"Darling, won't you tell us what happened?" her mother called out.
"Leave me alone!" Cahira yelled back.
The girls in her class had been throwing trash at her the whole day, calling her name. No one had done anything, for it was only teenage behavior. But she gotten so angry. The heat had spread through her like she was on fire. Then everything happened so fast. The main girl who threw trash at her was surrounded by fire. Cahira had been sitting at the back of the classroom, just staring. Until the yelling happened, that's when she'd blinked and looked away. The fires died out and everything rushed to the girl, which had ended up crying.
Cahira shook her head, getting the memory away. She stopped as she came back into the darkness. A shadow was standing in front of her. She recognized him despite just seeing his shadows.
"So, we meet again," they said, stepped closer as they removed the mask they had been wearing.
The floor suddenly turned slippery, and the cold creeped into Cahira's bones as she fell back on her ass. Her hands were shaking as she stared at his face, every memory flashing in front of her eyes. Them playing on the playground, them fighting over the controller whenever he would come over.
"It's you," she breathed.
"Who else could get close to you than your best friend?" he asked, crouching in front of her, "you didn't let me finish last time, princess. Then I'll take you to your father."
Her hands dug into the ground; the chill rushed down her spine as she stared at him. His hand was reaching out to her, but something flew between them. It made his hand retract for a second. Cahira inhaled as the thunder outside roared. The lightning flashed like a camera flash.
'No, Cahira. This isn't the same boy that you knew. Now get up.'
She fought for every tiny move. Tears stinging her eyes. A scream. It surprised him, she could feel the air change. A warm feeling ran down her veins, calming her nerves.
"Fight, Cahira."
She kicked towards him. He leaned back. She got up from the floor and ran. All the corners she'd turned previously, all the corridors she'd walked.
"You won't escape me in the end, Cahira!"
The moment she came to see the guards, she slowed down. She grabbed the edge of their chest plates and pulled them into her chambers. Once inside, she closed the door and pulled furniture in front of it. But never had she heard about a barricade keeping someone persistent out.
'The sword.'
She looked frantically around, jumping slightly at the thunder outside her window. It didn't take long for her to find it. She placed herself between the unconscious guards and the barricade. The footsteps in the hallways light but determined.
"If you just come quietly, then he will spare that boy of yours."
A threat? A deal?
Cahira couldn't tell as she could feel her hand tremble.
"He can try," she called back, "but you may have failed to see the potential and the kindness of his heart if you have been observing. I am not going to let him through my grasp."
'But can you really trust him?'
It was a reoccurring thought. She didn't know why she was feeling like she could, she had met the man just the day before. But she had to admit that he was interesting in his own way, despite his comments and the not legal way to do things.
Despite it all, she understood one thing about him; he would do anything if it meant those he cared for was smiling.
"I will not stray from the path I've stepped upon, for it is the one I chose to follow."
Her voice was shaking, almost just as much as her hands did.
"There are many dangers in these lands, Cahira Cross. Swallow your fear of them, and quickly. We can't have you starting fires."
Fire. She had fire running through her veins. Cahira put the sword into the bed and let her feet stand slightly more apart as she closed her eyes. Her brain searching for the words she'd wanted to find.
Time seemed to stand still as she whispered the first clear words popping into her head. She could feel the air changing. Warmer. Like the heat was no longer just in her veins but also in the room she was standing in.
"That path you've chosen will be the death of you!"
The words seemed faded. She opened her eyes to see what made it so.
A wall, from the floor to the roof, made of fire.
Cahira stumbled back as she watched it. Had she really done that?
The repeating creaking of the door brought her back to reality. She grabbed a pair of sheets and used the sword to cut it to shreds, her hands still trembling. But she felt more safe with the wall of fire between them. She gently wrapped them around the guards' heads. Hopefully they would make it to the nurses if she did so. The thunder outside seemed to become even heavier as time went on.
'If that door is burst through, my only escape will be the window,' she thought, barely glancing over at it.
"Cahira."
Seren? She had her slight suspicious when the thrusting at her door reduced. She slowly rose from the floor and made her way over to the wall of fire. Was it really him?
"The shadow is gone. You are safe for now."
Yes. It was truly him. She let out a breath she didn't even realize she had held as the fire died out. She pushed the furniture away from the door. The closer she got, the clearer his presence seemed. Only for a moment did she hesitate to reach for the handle. Jason's words kept repeating at the back of her head; "the path you've taken will be the death of you!"
Cahira shook her head before opening the door, seeming relieved that it was Seren at the other side.
"We need to get them to the infirmary, they're wounded," she said, looking over at the guards at the other end of the room.
She looked back at him, examining his candlelit face as if she still wasn't sure if it was him or someone trying to be him.
He walked past her and headed for the guards slowly gaining consciousness.
"I'm fine, he didn't do anything," she blurted out, "well, beside giving me a slight fright."
Cahira chuckled.
'Saying that to yourself or for him?'
"Slight? That shadow... there is an evil to him, and I shudder to think of it."
'Why would I shudder of it when I know who it was?' She thought.
"These guards..."
She looked over and frowned slightly.
"They've served you nobly, but they will not do so any longer, even after they are seen to."
What?
He stayed crouched by them for another moment before picking one up, across his back.
"The person who will guard your room at night from now on, will be me."
Her frown grew even more as she opened her mouth but closed it again. Had she really heard him right? Despite wanting to argue about it, she had a feeling she would lose.
"What about rest, Seren? No man, or creature, can go days without it," She questioned.
A small clearing of throat made her glance over her shoulder. She took a step aside to let the guard behind her get the one Seren wasn't carrying.
With a small groan of frustration, she stepped closer to him, "Seren... I knew him. The guy who came tonight. He is – was my friend back in my world. I've clearly been deceived, and for what? This power I didn't choose to have not wield?"
She stepped away with a shake of her head. Her reflection in the window was parted in the middle. The part of her she knew. But what about the part she had yet to discover?
"I did not choose this either, and though I am led on by feelings and instincts that I cannot abandon, I do not know why this is happening. I do not know why you were deceived, expect that I suspect your father does not wish for what you are capable of to be out of his control."
What was it really that her father wanted with her? There were so many things it could be, but to know which one it ended up being was near impossible.
He grabbed her elbow. Her body tensed up for a moment.
"This shadow, this man from your realm... who was he to you?"
Why was he wondering about who he was to her? Was that important to know?
Cahira turned slowly to look at him as she weighted her options. But the way he looked at her...
"We grew up together. He was one of my closest friends, of those who wanted to hang out with me. But he disappeared a few years ago, and I didn't know where he went," she explained truthfully.
His expression changed softly. His brows scrunched over his eyes.
"Hang... out? That's something you do in your realm, and with other people? What is it that you hang from?"
Something changed in his expression yet again. She could already feel where it was going.
"I think he was your closest friend because the others likely did not care for all the hanging that must have been included. I shouldn't, either. I should tell you now that I will not hang out with you, under any circumstances, so don't ask me to."
Cahira couldn't help but smile. She kept forgetting there were certain phrases people didn't get. Yet, it sounded so stupid coming from him. But she knew it was well intended.
"Well, more like a meeting between friends," she explained, glancing out of the window, "it's okay though, right now we're safe, no shadows creeping around, only the thunderstorm outside."
She let out a gentle breath. In that moment she felt the exhaustion gnawing at her body. She went over to her bed and put away the sword and the book laying open on it.
"It's late, so rest is important. After all, the maids keep talking about this upcoming ball."
Her body parts complained as she let herself fall back into the mattress. She could barely keep her eyes open. She could hear the rustling in the room as her breath steadied itself. Then something being put on her, a blanket perhaps.
'Maybe this isn't too bad after all.'
The last thing she heard was the creaking of the door before she let herself drift off to sleep.