When Emerald woke up, it was just as dark with her eyes open as it was when they were closed. She groped for something, anything, that would help her understand where she was. Curiously however, she realized she was on a mattress on the floor. When she reached out with her other hand in the other direction, her palm pressed up against a grimy wall. It felt slick and wet. The feeling made her cringe.
Not wanting to touch it any longer, Emerald pulled her hand away from it and sat up.
Hello?
Nothing. No response from anyone.
Why is it so dark? Why can't I see anything?
No one was there with her in the darkness.
A terrifying thought crossed Emerald's mind, and for a moment she wondered if she was now somehow blind.
That stupid witch! She did this to me!
Hello? Hello?
She's awake, ma'm.
Emerald could feel her eyes shoot up open at the sound of a new voice.
Good. Leave us.
Emerald heard a metal door swing open. If she could see, this would've been the time when she would attempt to escape. She was better than this. She was smarter than this.
She stayed where she was. Because she couldn't see a damn thing.
Comfortable?
Why can't I see anything? What have you done to me?
Even though she couldn't see the stranger, Emerald knew that she had narrowed her eyebrows.
I've taken something from you that you'll want back. Stealing is always easiest when you can see. Your sight is a gift that helps you succeed in what you do, but now it's gone. So what will you do to reclaim what is yours?
I will kill you.
Suddenly, a group of long, slender fingers grabbed hold of Emerald's neck, and she could feel herself get lifted off her feet so that she was thrashing in midair.
That's not the answer I was looking for. For your sake, try again. What will you do to reclaim what is yours?
Emerald felt herself fall perfectly back on the mattress on her butt, and she coughed several times to get her breathing back.
Submit. Submit, or you will die. Your blood will be all over the walls if you don't comply.
Those were her own thoughts, not telepathic words from the stranger. Even her own mind, which had been her partner through the hardest of times, was begging her to cooperate with the woman.
I will do as you say.
There was a chuckle. One that sent rattling shivers down Emerald's spine.
Good. You'll start tomorrow.
Start what?
When the stranger replied, her voice was further away. Your future.
After what felt like an hour of fitful sleep—
What time of the day is it?
—Emerald heard something land on the floor next to her with a wet sound accompanying it.
I brought you food, the woman sneered.
It was when she said this that Emerald realized how hungry she was. She immediately sat up and started feeling the ground for whatever had been given to her. Her hand came across something that felt slick and smooth and when she picked it up, it was light and stringy near the bottom.
When Emerald realized what it was, she dropped it in horror and used her hands to crawl back onto her mattress.
No. I can't.
I thought that this is what you did to survive.
I lied, okay? I was just trying to get you to go away.
I can see through your lies. I never said I would give you a feast.
This was a time when Emerald's stomach was louder than her conscience. She would think that at this point, her conscience had been singed because of all the times she had done wrong.
You're stronger than this.
So why do you hesitate now?
Do you want to taste real food again?
I do. You do.
Yes.
Then eat.
Emerald felt her heart sink and her stomach cried out again. She crawled forward, picked up the meat, and sank her teeth into it.
Later, Emerald was sitting cross-legged on the floor in a different room. She was still blind, but the air was cooler, as if a breeze was coming in from an unseen window.
You will question everything you know.
The woman was standing behind her. Emerald finally knew her name now. Cinder.
Emerald was shivering, as if the breeze was enough to freeze her over.
Cinder knows best. She knows what I need. She'll take care of me.
Now get up.
Emerald got to her feet, making sure to stand straight for her new master.
I have with me the ring you stole. It's like I said. Stealing is an art of patience, and in a pinch, it requires sleight of hand. I will test you on your ability to steal.
I need to see first.
No you don't. If you're so good at it, then you can do it with your sight gone. All you need to do is listen.
So then, where is it?
Contained in a small jewel box locked in a room guarded by two men on the outside and two on the inside. You have to find a way to get in and take it, but the guards can't see you or even know you're there. Do you understand?
How? How can I pull this off without—without being able to see?
Use your Semblance. Trust in your ability to accomplish your task, or no one will trust you.
Within minutes, Emerald was in the vent above the ceiling of whatever building she was in, she still didn't know.
All you need to do is listen. Right.
Cinder had given her instructions on which directions to take while in the vent, but of course she couldn't see, so she had to feel around to figure out when she had reached the turns. She kept her body close to one end so that her shoulder was constantly brushing up against the side. She would know when she was upon a turn, at least on the left.
Cinder had only given her the instructions once, and only in single terms.
Left, right, right, left, right, left.
Very helpful.
It seemed simple, but Emerald was only able to feel against one side. The vent shaft was wide enough that she would have to move to the other side to check. Of course, if she listened closely, she might be able to figure out when it was time to turn based on the air she would feel coming from a particular direction.
For now however, she felt claustrophobic. She felt stuck, and it was her worst feeling. The air was muggy, and she could feel droplets of sweat coursing down different parts of her body. Some dripped in her eyes off her hair.
Finally, her shoulder slipped off the wall and Emerald realized she had reached her first left turn. She took it, struggling to fit her body through. It was like the worst maze she had ever taken. When she was younger and innocent, her papa took her to a corn maze at the Vytal festival in Minstrel, and instead of staying with papa, Emerald foolishly scampered off to try the maze herself. It was a large one that stretched out for several acres, and one of the ruling council members in Minstrel had to go in with Emerald's papa himself to use his special ability of tracking distant heat signatures in order to find her. Once Emerald was found, her papa took her home right away, and she never got to go to another festival again.
I should've listened, papa.
Emerald shook her head out of her thoughts. There was no use dwelling on that now. Papa was gone, and he wasn't coming back.
The next turn was a right, then another right, then a left—then—then—.
What was supposed to be next?
Emerald's anxiety boosted even higher once she reached what she called the crossroads in the vent. She could hear air streaming through the vent on both sides.
No. No, please.
What was it? What was the next turn?
She said—she said left, right, left—right—.
Emerald's eyes bulged once she realized that she couldn't even remember the first couple of turns Cinder had told her. The ones she had already done.
She wanted to punch herself for allowing her thoughts to wander, because now she couldn't remember where she was supposed to go.
Then she felt herself getting pulled backwards by an invisible force. Her hands slammed down and there was nothing to grab to stop herself.
No, no!
Emerald's screams didn't stop her from sliding. Finally, she fell through the hole that she had crawled through to get inside the ceiling and landed hard on her back. Even though she couldn't see, she knew Cinder was staring down at her.
The instructions were simple. What happened?
I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please don't kill me.
With an inhuman snarl, Cinder grabbed Emerald by the throat and hoisted her up off her feet.
Don't beg. Only the weak beg for their life. What. Happened?
Emerald spent a moment trying to recollect her thoughts. Then—
I forgot some of your instructions. It won't happen again.
Emerald felt Cinder let go of her, dropping her onto her butt.
What caused you to forget?
There was nothing but silence from Emerald.
Well?
I was remembering something.
What was it?
My papa took me to a corn maze during an Autumn Vytal Festival. I remember getting lost in it when I tried to find my way through it.
This test was reminding you of that experience?
Yes.
And did it help you?
No.
No indeed. Your thoughts wandered off. Fortunately, I may have the solution to that problem.
What are you going to do?
Just relax. This is to help you.
What is it?
Quiet. Don't move.
Emerald felt a sharp chill bolt up her spine when she heard an animal-like growl.
What is that? What is that?
Something like a parasite attached itself to Emerald's face and she bit her tongue to keep from screaming. The only thing she could think of doing. The long parasite crawled its way around Emerald's face and went into her ear.
Once the parasite started walking on Emerald's brain, she could only hear one thing. Screaming. In her blindness, she could see memory flashes of things that had happened in her life before she became a homeless thief. She saw the face of her mother with her broken eye and her sweet, sweet smile. She saw her papa taking her by the hand and leading her along the hills right outside Forever Falls to get a good look down below. She saw the wind-whipped rain and the lightning on her first night alone. She saw the spilled blood of her parents, some staining her own hands as she sank to her knees in disbelief.
She saw she saw, and for a few seconds, she wished she couldn't remember any of it.
But that was what Cinder wanted, Emerald realized. After a moment more as the parasite relaxed itself in a part of her brain, she couldn't remember most of her own life before Cinder found her.
This is impossible.
Wrong. Anything is possible as long as you're under my care, Cinder replied.
Emerald lowered her hands from her head and stood up straight. Somehow she felt lighter, feeling as though if she jumped, she would float instead of land back on her feet.
She couldn't remember. It made her feel stronger.
Now go, and try again, Cinder said.
After Cinder told Emerald the directions one more, Emerald was back up the hatch and in the vent to crawl through the ceiling again and find her way to the room. Her hands went faster as she crawled and she tried to keep her mind steadily focused on the directions Cinder had given her. Quicker than last time, Emerald took the turn at the forked path that she got stuck at last time and finally made it to the hatch directly above the room containing the ring.
So now what?
She could hear the guards below quietly chatting. This was the time when she needed to use her Semblance. But what was she supposed to make an illusion of to distract the guards? And how was she supposed to conjure it up if she was blind? Creating illusions took concentration. She had to connect with the guards' minds, and it was always harder to trick two minds.
Since the guards were talking, Emerald realized that she would be able to get inside their minds by listening intently to their voices. It was like a means of travel to get inside of them.
…Do you know who doesn't have to stand guard in this bloody hot room?
I'm sure you'll tell me.
Jenkins. I bet Jenkins is sleeping right now, back in his rack with his big melon head on a soft pillow…
Finally, Emerald got it. She was in. It wasn't hard to decide from that point exactly what kind of illusion to create.
Hey, what in—?
Well hello, how did you get in here?
She's not talking. What's wrong babe, you lost?
While the guards were distracted by Emerald's fake model, Emerald seized the opportunity to start climbing down out of the ceiling and reach out for the jewelry box. She kept one hand held on to the hatch while her other hand reached out as far as it could for the box. Her heart leaped up to choke her throat when her fingers brushed across the leather bound case. She had to get the box and keep her illusion alive at the same time. She grabbed it and started pulling herself back up.
She's not talking. Maybe she's nervous, one of the guards said.
Did the Mrs send her?
Emerald felt her chest rise high and fall with each move she made to get further along through the ceiling again. She bit her lip to keep from making any delighted sounds. She made it.
I made it.
Back in the room where Cinder was, as soon as Cinder took the jewelry box from her, Emerald's sight flashed back on in a white light. She could clearly see everything again. The reality of that brought hot tears to her eyes.
Thank you, she said.
Cinder didn't reply, but she smiled under her crooked eyes, and removed the ring from the box. On the ring was the face of a Beowolf wearing a fearsome snarl that gave Emerald chills, even though the face was completely in gold.
Was that smoke emanating from it?
You did well this time, Cinder said. She wrapped her fingers around the ring and gripped it.
You used your Semblance, and you used caution. You did all of it without ever needing to use your sight. Your skills are exactly what I need for the tasks set for me to accomplish.
Emerald got down on one knee and lowered her head in respect. In respect to her new master.
My life is yours.
Yes, it is.
