"John dear," she coos sweetly circling his still form. "It's me Alexia." She stops in front of him, and I wait with baited breath. Gently, she raises his chin. "You always were my favorite," she murmurs and with that her lips crash onto his. I scream and fly towards her. All of my careful concentration flies out of the window, and I'm ripped into another room. Screams fill the cell as I am sucked back into a body.
"JOHN!" Sobs wrack my frame. "Oh God no, no," I stumble out. Then, I hear it. Click, Click, click. The sound of metal heels on stone. With all the majesty in the room, she strides in, seizes me by the throat, and begins choking the life out of me. Or what is left in this person's body. When she pulls away, I am left gasping for air. Black dots dance in my vision, and I keen pitifully.
"That was the last straw Elizabeth. You defy me again and again and yet I keep you alive. Why is that? Hmm? Why shouldn't I just kill you know?" She advance ready, but even through the strangle garble that next came out of my mouth she understood why she couldn't.
"I know where she is," I find myself rasping. "And you. You don't." Her face pales considerably.
"That's impossible. She should be dead!" Her voice escalates. "I killed her with my own hands. Where is she!? WHERE!!??" She screams this all in my face, but I pay no mind. The person I'm in chooses instead to sneer in her face.
"You'll never know." A loud howl rips from her throat, and she begins screaming a colorful list of curse words at me. Until her body begins to convulse. "See. The mightiest one of them all," I mocked her, but she can't respond. Clutching the table, she leans over at the waist. Blood spews into the white lacy handkerchief she put to her mouth. For several minutes all she can do is gasp and cough. Finally, she rises.
"Tell me where she is," is her grunted command. I narrow my eyes.
"Go to hell," I snarl. In two long strides, she reaches me.
"You asked for it," she spits in my face, and with that, she rips out the bodies heart. I fall to the floor my vision black. "Oh, you have no clue how long I've waited to see a royal like you suffer," she gloats evilly squeezing my heart in her hands. I let out a throaty scream of anguish.
"How beautiful," she purrs, stroking it in a way that made me sick.
"So kill me!" I scream at her. "Just do it!!" But instead she just hold the heart an admires it. I let out a frustrated scream. "Why?" I howl.
"Because dearie, I have other plans for you." She strides across the room and reaches the table. Slowly, she opens the gilded box, and pulls out the new heart. "Now watch little girl. Watch what real power does." A knife gleams and slices straight down both in one slice. I immediately fall to the ground. The gravelly sound of Lafoye's voice fills my ears.
"Mistress this cannot be completed. It has never been done. Don't please," he beseeches frantically.
"Shut up," she commands harshly shoving him aside. I watch with clouding vision, and know the end is nearing soon. In horror, I see her take up the two halves, one of mine, the other of the replacement heart, and hold them in opposite hands. "As I said," she snarls maliciously. "Watch what real power can do, Elizabeth." I see her intentions before she starts moving. At a rapid pace, she slams the two halves together, and begins reciting the spell. My body is thrown to the ground where it lies twitching and convulsing in pain. I am unable to grasp enough breath. I'm drowning. Dying. Blinding light filled the room, and I hear Lafoye yell. Then, I feel her form tower over mine. "Say hello to hell for me," she whispers in my ear before shoving the now joined heart into my chest. Everything goes black. An inky blackness that I oddly enough felt as though I was swimming in. I am conscious (or at least I think), but my mind is racing with a million questions. Suddenly, I see a blinding light. Greater in magnitude than the one from the spell,and it seemed to give me a gentle calm. From this light, a divine voice spoke, no human being its equal.
"Not yet my child. I love you, but not yet." It begins to recede, and the gentle calm is replaced with dark fear. I feel myself scream. Then, I hear it. Loud and clear like a newborn babe. My eyes focus. Focus on Alexandra's face looming into mine. What I did next could only be called instinct. I slash at her face with my claws. I repeat. My claws. Thrown back by my unexpected attack, she slides several feet on feet.
"It worked," she breathed in what I can only assume is utter awe. I crouch ready to spring if necessary. Then I notice something. Every sense I have been blessed with has been slowly dulling. My powers, my sight, my hearing. Now I feel revitalized. I feel confident. And my eyesight. My eyesight is piercing. I blink looking around the dingy cell. I spy a mouse and focus in it. 'Hmmm tasty,' my mind begins, and I jerk up in shock. She'd given me a cat heart. That is the only expectation for my sudden increase in strength, agility, and sight not to mention a few other things. "What have you done to me," I yowl.
"The human heart is a fragile thing,"she says turning her back to me. I spring up, but am stopped by a spell.
"And of course magic is stronger Elizabeth. You of all people should know that," she admonishes. In her hand is a single heart. Of two joined ones. "Looks like you'll never again know what it's is to be human," she laughs at me rawkiously. Tears blur my vision, and in desperation I try to grab for it. But of course, I fail. "Tsk,tsk," she chides me. "Behave little girl. Or I might just do this." And she squeezes.
"Ahhh!" I scream as my body crumples to the floor.
"Ahh yess," she hisses circling me. "Feel the power I posses on you," she rants squeezing harder. As swift as it starts the pain is gone. Her words are garbled at first, but then come into focus. "Why kill you know when you've got such an important job to do." She turns and makes her way to the door. Swiveling on her heel, she opens her mouth. The next word she spoke is far from what I'd ever thought I'd hear her say. "Leave."
"What?" The question comes out all choked and strangled.
"I've already cast a cloaking spell,so your free to go," she explains.
"Your not going to kill me?" I ask in disbelief.
"Of course not," she replies annoyed with my line of questions. "That never was the plan."
"Give me John, and I will," I bargain.
"Why would I ever do that dear? He's of no use to you. He's mine now. The best way you can help him is to leave. Plus, with the closing spell and his current condition he wouldn't know who you were anyways," she triumphs.
"No," is my monosyllabic reply.
"Yes love. You will leave. I have your heart you see," she raises it in one hand. "I control your very actions. Now, go. I don't care where. I don't care what you do. But you must leave," she finishes turning her back to me yet again. "Oh but there is one thing. Remember your task."
"I have a task?" I choke out.
"Oh don't be so dumb Lizzie. Of course. Find her. Find your little sister, and when you do bring her to me. That's it. Plain and simple directions. Think you can handle it?" she mocks.
"I won't do it." I retort.
"Oh, but of course you will. Because," she squeezes my heart the hardest. White hot fire of pain races up my body, and I am thrown to the ground again. "I will squeeze, torture, and drown your little lovers heart. I have a playing piece in this whole little game you see. The agony your experiencing right now is nothing compared to the agony he will feel when Im. Done. With. Him," she finishes emphasizing her point with a squeeze on each of the last words. I am writhing. She lets go and clicks her way over to the door for the last time. "Goodbye Lizzie. Think about it. I'm sure you'll make the right choice." With those last words she leaves, and as a last act of defiance I leap forward claws at the ready. The door slams shut in my face. I curl into a tiny ball on the floor. And then, I cry.
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I wake tear streaming rivers down my face. I clutch my chest, half screaming in agony.
"Shhh..." the voice that tries to calm me is a new spring rain cleaning my senses with its soothing lull. "It's alright dear. You're safe."
"You. It was all you." Her gentle eyes are piercing me to the core, and I scramble backwards, hands pushing her away. From her expression, it is clear that she knows what I've seen. What I've felt.
"Ayvee Lee."
I sob openly. "Elizabeth."
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A/N Ahhh...reminiscing the good old days when I believe this was the first thing I ever wrote about this book. I apologise in advance if this sounds a bit juvenile (I mean, come on, I wrote this when I was 14.), but I thought I'd just post this with a few corrections and some recent additions and call it a chapter. I promise I will edit this when all is said and done.