Chapter Six- Bound to the Ring
Elsa returned to her palace with the troll grandfather, who had asked to take a look at Tyson Greay personally. "This worries me," Pabbie had said, "When strong magic like this is repressed, the consequences are dire." Pabbie clutched the box with the ring tightly. He had identified two of the crystals, the blue and red to be sacred troll crystals given to the children once they came of the age of adolescence. Their properties were indeed magical, but they had never been used in such ways as the ring. The purple crystal, however, was unknown and held very strong and very dark magic. Not only did it contain Greay's mystic power, but his life force, which explained his illness afterward. Pabbie urged Elsa to hasten her return to the castle, as being separated from his life force would definitely kill him.
Anna found Greay face down in one of the halls, barely breathing, a weak, deathly, ragged gasping. He was unconscious, and Anna felt no pulse when she pressed her finger to his neck. She ran to find the royal doctor, who might be able to help. When the doctor arrived, Greay's breathing stopped. The doctor said Greay's heart had failed and he was dying. After trying to resuscitate him, the doctor slowly stood, with a grim expression in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I've done all I can. I must call it, Mr. Greay is dead."
The doors exploded open as Elsa and Pabbie entered the hall, rushing over to Greay.
"What happened to him, doctor?" Elsa asked.
"Heart failure, ma'am. Strange, for a man of his health and youth," The doctor replied, "But I'm afraid it's too late to save him now."
Pabbie took the ring from the box, and with a sigh, placed on Greay's finger. After a long minute, Greay's chest rose and fell slowly, and he began to breath. Pabbie looked to Elsa sadly.
"This ring is forever bound to him. Their fates are intertwined. If he is separated from the ring, he is removed from his life force, and thus will die."
"Is there some way to extract it? Destroy the crystal, and put his life back in him?" Elsa asked.
"I'm afraid I don't know. I've never seen this before. But I would advise against attempting to destroy the ring. If you destroy it, you may give life back to him, or you might disperse it to where he cannot get it back, ever. Perhaps, worst of all, the destruction of the ring might also destroy the life force, and Greay will die. The ring must stay with him." Pabbie sighed, saddened for Greay having put himself in this situation.
"What would make him do something like this to himself?" Elsa wondered aloud.
"I don't know, but I can find out. I can look through his memories, his mind; experience his life through his eyes." Pabbie responded, and then put a hand on Greay's face. He seemed transfixed, seeing nothing of the real world around him. Shock and horror spread across his face, and a single tear ran down his cheek. Anna pulled Pabbie's hand from Greay's face and Pabbie immediately snapped from his trance.
"Oh…my God…" Pabbie choked, holding back tears, "I… have never… seen… so much pain. Never have I seen someone so permeated in pain, someone who felt so entirely alone."
Greay twitched, moaning in unconscious slumber. Elsa wondered what awful nightmare he was living in his sleep.
"He is so afraid. Everywhere he has gone, people have despised him. They have always thought he was a monster, since he was six. He has even begun to believe the things they have called him are what he is. That's why he did this. He's so afraid that he will be forced out again. He just doesn't want to hurt anymore, but he's always hurting. He's gone to the point that he doesn't even want to live anymore, and he has tried… to end it all." Pabbie continued, dazed by the horrors that were the life of Tyson Greay.
Elsa stared at Greay, wishing there was something she could do to help him, to save him from his nightmarish life, the emptiness that threatened to swallow his world, and consume his very soul. She understood, to a degree, what he was feeling. She was so afraid of hurting others that she would go to any length to escape. He was afraid of being hurt, because he knew he could only take so much before he would finally erupt.