I AM THE VENOM AMARANTH, RETURNED FROM THE GRAVE!

Sorry, I had to do that. ^^; How long has it been since I've been here? A million years? Lol. XD I have discontinued Hour of Aurora, but have begun this. I'm taking this genre to a whole new level! Wheee! I've been enjoying deviantART lately. You can find this story there.

Alright, down to business. Beginning the preface of Prism of Hope, Prism of Tears!

Dedicated to Kaisre and Pharaohyamifan, for being the biggest sweethearts.


PREFACE

"What do you intend to do with him when he finally wakes up?"

It had been dark for so long. It was like being blindfolded, fastened, and trapped in a pitch dark void, but my heart leapt at the thought of another human being speaking. There was an aggravating beeping noise somewhere nearby, but I didn't care because I would finally see life again.

"He's been here for so long," the voice sounded as though it was somewhere in his late thirties or early forties, but it was light, not deep like men that age. "But I'll be sure to get him back to his school." Why was that voice so familiar? It couldn't be my chancellor.

But it felt as though I was coming out of a statue like state, since every part of my body was so numb it was going to take a few moments before I could feel familiarity in my limbs again. To calibrate my position, I slowly tried to clench my hand into a fist. At first, my fingers resisted the urge to stir, but I eventually regained command and they began to move. Slowly this time, they were all moving exactly the way I hoped and they gently clawed into my palm.

"He doesn't attend Duel Academy?" it was the same voice that asked him what he would do with me. It was a young female voice, but not a child.

Testing my arm carefully, I moved my hand to see if my arm was indisputably operational, and my endeavor confirmed it. Slowly, my limbs and then my entire body regained normality, so now, I just had to open my eyes.

"No," was the man's response. "He goes to North Academy."

When they began to flutter open, light cracked through like it flows through the bottom of a door. I was nearly blinded by the time they were half open when a light blasted into them, but I couldn't afford to let them close now. The people around me had to know I was reunited with the world, and that I was awake.

"I'm surprised his chancellor hasn't come to see him yet. Wouldn't he know if one of his students had been staying here for so long?"

Why in the world were they talking about Chancellor Foster? Hopefully my voice was still functioning. My eyes were now fully opened, but my vision was blurry. I mentally prayed my eyes would adjust to the bright, but warm and welcoming light beaming right next to me.

I thought about shielding my eyes, but when I looked around, I saw something similar to a slender tube stabilized from somewhere nearby, and it was secured into my hand by some sort of band. An IV! It didn't take long for me to realize where I was.

My thoughts were shattered when I heard a startled gasp. Alarmed, I looked up. Thankfully, my eyes had adjusted at that point, so I had a much clearer view. They came to rest upon two people. One of them was a young woman in blue scrubs, a clipboard in her hands that looked like it was just about ready to fall out. Her brown hair flowed to her shoulders, and her crystalline blue eyes looked at me as though a thorn was coming out of me.

I turned my head to the man next to her. One glance was all it took for me to recognize him as Chancellor Sheppard from Duel Academy, who looked at me with a welcoming smile, which seemed to ease my soul.

"It's good to see you're finally awake, Jesse," he said warmly.

How long had I been here literally in the dark? I attempted to open my mouth, but a memory struck my brain like a bird flying into a window…where was Alyssa? Did she…?

"Are you confused?"

Snapping out of a trance, I shook my head. The nurse bent down suddenly and stripped the IV from my hand.

"It's a miracle you've finally awoken," she said with a smile. She then removed a mask from my face, took my wrist, and helped me out of the bed. "We were getting so worried."

"What to do with him though?" I could hear Sheppard. "His parents are gone and Alyssa…"

I darted my head towards him. Where was she? I opened my mouth to speak, but at that moment, an unknown fear jammed my throat.

"Does he have any friends at North Academy?" the nurse asked.

It was at that point something silver arrested my attention. Alerted, I tucked my chin to examine it. A chain slithered down to a silver heart shaped object with a strange feather like pattern blanketing it. Although they were hard to see, I could see hinges on both sides of the heart. A locket? My hand snapped up to examine it, but Sheppard spoke again.

"Jesse," he said reassuringly. The same warm smile was still there, but it was also a beam of buoyancy. "Once you are discharged, come with me. I know someone who may be able to help you."


End of Preface.

If you are confused, please PM me and ask me nicely what's going on. I don't want to spoil the story for anyone else.

Venom Amaranth has left the building.