Screams.
All I could hear were screams. Feet rushed passed me about fifteen feet away. I blinked.
Darkness.
...
I couldn't have told you how long I laid there. It could have been minutes, hours, or days. But for once, instead of being imprisoned in my nightmares, it was just nothingness. As if I was truly sleeping for the first time in a long time.
I tried to move but my body screamed in pain. Or had that just been me screaming? Rolling over onto my back was excruciating. "Mom?" I yelled as I stood up slowly. "Mom!?" My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness so I could see my surroundings completely.
Ruins of an old house were circling me. A crunching sound came from underneath me when I started walking. It was glass. Shards of it were scattered everywhere. My eyes caught sight of my skin which was cut and bruised all over.
"Hello!?" I yelled out. I didn't know where I was or how I had gotten there. Fear encompassed my entire body causing me to stop in my tracks. Something was wrong. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up straight and bumps came up on my skin all over. My heart dropped into my stomach, telling me to run. Fight or flight kicked in, and for some reason, my body and mind knew I had to choose flight.
I didn't know where to go. I couldn't tell why I was scared so I stood in the same spot, petrified.
A blood curtailing scream echoed all around me and I started running. My legs pumped faster than they ever had. It didn't matter where I ended up, just that I ended up somewhere else. Everything was a blur. My body ached and my vision was blurry.
I couldn't get enough air into my lungs, my lungs that were burning with a need for rest and some cold water. I couldn't tell where I was, everything was spinning.
Darkness consumed me again.
...
"Faster! We have to reach Queen Red before sundown."
The voice sounded far off. My body was rocking in a horribly uncomfortable way. "Uugghh." I tried to move but I couldn't. My entire body was strapped down. "Wher-"
"Shut it, you traitor." The woman's voice was different from the first. It sounded closer as well. I opened my eyes, but shut them again. Wherever I was, it was much brighter than the place from before. "We should just do away with her now. The Queen-"
The voice I heard in the beginning popped in again. "And who are you to decide what Queen Red would wish?" She sounded firm, like she was in charge.
I kept slowly opening my eyes little by little to adjust them to the sun. My headache was so bad, even seeing the sun through my eyelids hurt.
Time went by slower. I couldn't tell if I had been there for minutes or hours at that point. I kept fading in and out. Catching snipits of conversations.
...
The sun started to set off in the distance. I could finally open my eyes, but the only place I could look was up. The sky danced with vibrant red, orange, and pinks. The beautiful colors couldn't distract me from the fact that my stomach was turning and everything was in pain.
"Open the gates!" Their voiced were blurring together at that point. "Inform the Queen we have a traitor!" Her shouts echoed in my ears, making them ring.
I had learned to just shut up when they decided to flip me over and carry me upside down for God knows how long.
The gates creaked open and we started moving again. As we passed under it I shut my eyes. The pain in my head had become too much and If I hadn't shut my eyes and tried to let sleep take over, I would have thrown up and passed out anyways. Might as well skip the puking part.
...
I rolled over in bed. Pain coursed through my body causing a groan to escape my mouth.
A cold rag ran over my forehead and continued down the side of my cheek and neck. The coolness of it felt good against my throbbing head and hot sticky skin.
Realization hit me and I jumped away from whoever was touching me. There was an outcry of pain from so many places on and in my body that my heart skipped a beat and oxygen was trapped in my throat.
"Talia!" I couldn't think. "Come quick-" My ears started ringing and my vision started to blurr in and out.
I felt pressure on my face. All of a sudden I could hear and see again. My body crashed against the bed but this time I didn't feel any pain.
I heard a sigh from beside me. "Thank the Kingdoms your alive!" A woman sat beside the bed. Her pure red hair cascaded in curls so far down I couldn't see where it ended. Her complexion was pail but her eyes were a vibrant blue. The way her plump red lips matched her hair made me jealous. She even had a long sleeve dress with a corset top and ruffles that partially blended in with her ringlets.
There was no fear in my body. "It's ok. Your going to be ok." I tried to speak, but my voice wouldn't work. "It's completely normal for you to have trouble speaking at first. There is so much I have to explain that it's probably best you cannot use your voice at the moment." She looked passed me to the other side of the bed and my gaze went with her. "Thank you Talia"
I hadn't even notices the other woman until then. "Anything for you your highness." She stood at about seven foot tall, maybe more. Her black hair was down except for the front pieces that were tied in the back to keep them from her face. She wore a white dress, but when I looked up to make eye contact with her, she had no face.
My body was still. As she stared leaving I noticed that she wasn't walking, but rather floating. The white dress almost went to the floor, but faded out before they could touch.
"Addison" I looked back over to the woman. "I am the Red Queen, and I believe you are one of my decendents."