Pain.

It wasn't a foreign concept to me. Since stepping through the wardrobe I have felt pain in its various forms. But it was the final act, the final sacrifice I had to make that tore far too deeply into my soul.

It was too much.

I remember falling away from them; the people who loved me most and would have understood the bleeding of my heart. I didn't let them see it, though. Through the years as a queen and the years of a child I had mastered the art of building walls. So I made the finest wall around my soul, and closed off my heart to the Voice that called to me. The pain in their eyes was unbearable, so I closed off my heart to them as well.

Now I stand here in front of their graves, and the wall I had so perfectly constructed was crumbling. This was a new pain; a pain so unbearable I could barely breathe without breaking down into tears. The pain brings back physical senses, and I can feel the drops of water falling on me as the rain comes down in torrents around me.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

I never wanted to lose all of them.

At last the pain crushes my body and I crumple to the ground in a heap of sobs. There is nothing left.

Wait...

Who is that standing next to me?

That glow...

I recognize it, but I cannot place where it is from. The form of a little girl in a white dress seems unaffected by the water cascading down. Her hair reminds of me of the golden rays of the sun. The white dress that covers her body falls just above her knees and creates images of new snow. But that is not what makes my heart shudder.

It is her eyes.

They are the deepest blue I have ever seen, deep enough to rival the ocean. The sorrow I see in them is enough to sadden the happiest person, but there is also an indescribable joy that could overwhelm the most depressed of spirits. I couldn't comprehend why she stared at me in such a way. As I begin to open my mouth to inquire who she might be, a bright smile appears on her face and she extends her small arm in my direction. A delicate hand pauses in front of me outstretched, as if waiting for me to take it.

I hesitate as my soul screams to flee and withdraw back into my own world, but I catch her eyes again. This time they are expectant and sure, as if she already knew what my choice would be. I reach out and place my hand in hers.

And the world disappears.