Lady Sandrilene fa Toren was scared.
There, she admitted it. She was scared. Of what, you ask? Nothing more than the dark, of course. The memories of her time in the cellar, in the dark, still continued to haunt her. Were it not for the rock that Briar, Daja and Tris had given her, she was sure she wouldn't have made it for so long.
She was a noble, yes, but even such people have their fears.
And hers was the dark.
She ran her fingers on the magic rock once more, feeling its soft, soothing glow as she choked back a yelp. She was lost now, it was getting dark and she couldn't find the others. She tried mind-speak, but noone replied to her calls. Lark and Niko would probably have noticed by now.
Alone in the forest, she sat down on a rather big rock and clasped her stone tightly. If she were to lose it...She wouldn't even think of the consequences.
Then what happened next was the unmentionable, for her, at least.
The rock went out, its magic long gone, dead.
Sandrilene fa Toren was now alone. In the dark. She dropped it, knowing it was useless. She whimpered a bit as she tried to weave threads of light, like the time at the cellar, but failed. Her hands dropped to her sides limply as she continued to bite her lower lip in fear. Her light was gone, what was she to do now?
She hugged herself tightly, crawling into a ball on top of the rock. She was alone and afraid, alone and afraid, alone and afraid...She heard some rustling behind her, but she was too afraid to turn around and look. She heard an owl hooting, but she felt the same.
Alone and afraid, alone and afraid, alone and afraid...
Sandrilene fa Toren began to listen in the dark. To try overcome her fear. She listened to the soft breeze blowing by; to the owl hooting once more; to the rustling leaves behind her.
Little by little, she grew to be familiar with these sounds. On top of the rock, she no longer curled up herself as a ball. She just sat on it as comfortably as she could. The sounds gave her comfort, knowing she wasn't at all alone. She rock still lay in her hands, another comforting thing for her.
Sandrilene fa Toren was no longer afraid of the dark, and was soon in the arms of Lark, who was beside one Niklaren Goldeye, Trisana Chandler, Daja Kisubo and Briar Moss. While she was glad that they had found her, the most important thing was-
Lady Sandrilene fa Toren overcome her fear of the dark.
Sandrilene fa Toren was no longer alone and afraid.
The rock rested in her closed fists, an important instrument in her success.