Chapter 2:
He killed her. Killed my Mapiya. My big, beautiful horse. My only friend. I had raised her since she was a foal since I could walk. We were bonded, a spiritual connection. A piece of me died as well.
"Killed her, killed her, killed her, dead, dead, dead, she's gone, he killed her, killed my pretty Mapiya, she's gone gone, gone, gone, dead my pretty Mapiya is dead, she's not coming back, she's gone, gone, gone, dead, oh she's dead and not coming back, never, never, never, my pretty Mapiya is dead." I mumbled over and over again as I rocked back and forth with her head in my lap. I sobbed into her mane and breathed in her sweet horsey smell that still clung to her skin. I looked back, and even though I knew my pretty Mapiya was in the spirit world, seeing her flank lying still broke me. I threw my head back and wailed. It was a wail of grief and pain, sorrow, anger, remembrance, and love. Love for my beautiful horse who would never run the plains again, who would never jump or run with me on her back again. My wail cut off and turned into sobs, sobs that racked my whole body and made me shake. I cried my eyes out, yet I still had tears. My grandmother told me that when you feel like your eyes can cry no more, but the tears keep coming; those are tears from the soul. My heart shattered into a million tiny pieces, and I was sure that nothing could put them back again. Winikiya, a little voice in the back of my head said, could put me back together again. But I didn't care.
Suddenly, rage evaporated all my sorrow and filled me up, like molten lava inside me, threatening to spill over. I stood up, gently placed Mapiya's head on the ground, and stomped over to where Jareth stood with a shocked expression in his eyes, as if he couldn't believe I was so sad over such a "small" thing. He probably had never loved anything in his entire existence. As I stormed over to him, he looked kind of scared. He should be, he had just killed the thing I loved most in my life.
I stood in his face and screamed at him, "BRING HER BACK! You bring her back right now! Bring her back!"
"I can't, Kiya. She's dead." He said calmly and bluntly.
"Yes, y-you can! You're a v-vampire! You can do anything! Now bring her back!" I shouted at him, outraged that he was telling such lies.
"Flattering, how you think I can do anything. But no, Kiya, even I cannot bring her back. You should have thought about that before you lied to me." He said calmly.
"Y-you really c-ca-can't, c-can y-y-you?" I said, shaking.
"No, Kiya. I can't."
At this I fell to the ground, sobs racking through my body, making me convulse. The tears came back now, streaming down my face in larger quantity and volume now. My screams of pain rent the air. With a concerned expression on his face, Jareth leaned down. "Kiya, Kiya are you okay?" he said, reaching his arms out to me. "D-don't. Don't t-t-t-touch m-me. Y-you m-mo-monster! G-get away f-f-from me!" I said, still shaking badly. I managed to crawl over to Mapiya and started scratching at the ground next to where she lay. Jareth strode over. "What are you doing, Kiya?" he asked. "I-I'm dig-digging a g-grave f-for her." I said. "Well at that rate we'll be here all night." He said. He then began digging so fast that he was just a blur. In a matter of minutes, he had dug a grave 8 feet deep. He then gently picked her up and placed her in her grave. I shakily stood up and stumbled to the creek. I stumbled and fell, drenching myself in the cold water. It was freezing cold, but at this point, I didn't care. I stood up and went to the pile of roses and tried to pick them up, but they fell out of my weak grasp. Jareth sighed and picked them all up and was across the creek in a flash. I crossed, falling again, and shoveled them into the grave, covering her. Jareth then shoveled the dirt back into the hole.
"Jareth." I said. He was at my side in an instant. I flinched. "Yes, Kiya?" he said. "Bring me that rock." I said, pointing to a flat slab of stone at the bottom of the creek. He lifted it as easily as if it was a feather. "Put it here" I said, pointing to the space above the grave. He laid it on the ground. I knew by now that he would do it faster, so I dictated what to carve on the flat stone. I had him write a traditional parting message in Native Sioux. It went like this:
(In Sioux first, then English)
O, our Father, the Sky, hear us and make us strong.
O, our Mother, the Earth, hear us and give us support.
O, Spirit of the East, send us your Wisdom.
O, Spirit of the South, may we tread your path of life.
O, Spirit of the West, may we always be ready for the long journey.
O, Spirit of the North, purify us with your cleansing winds.
I took one last look back and prepared to walk the long distance home. Just as I turned around though, Jareth grabbed my arm and swung me back around. "And just where do you think you're going?" he asked. "Home" I replied, confused. My voice sounded dead. "What did you think I came back here for? To visit?" He laughed, a cold, hard sound that chilled my very bones. "No. You see Kiya, although you may not love me, I am in love with you. You will become my wife and after that I will turn you and you will be my mate." He smirked at my reaction. I was shocked. "W-what?" I stuttered. "That's right, you heard me. Now, I'm sorry about this next part." He said before he pressed his thumb with pressure on the base of my neck. I uttered a small cry before passing out.
