-Silhouettes-
-Part Three-
In her dreams the young mouse maid found herself wandering the halls of Saint Ninians, lost with the twisting corridors of her own subconscious. She was looking for something, something of great importance, but she found nothing save for long empty hallways, twisting endlessly into the dark. The church was dark, only a few lamps still lit at such a late hour, glancing up she felt the moon high above her, it must have at least been midnight.
Where is it? Ciel muttered silently as she walked down the hall, eyes flicking left and right in search of her elusive prize, she felt it, she knew it was nearby.
"Where are ye?" She demanded in a soft voice as the corridor curved sharply to the left and suddenly she found herself in the main aisle of the church, finding it lit brightly by candlelight.
What the? There, on the pedestal where a statue normally stood, sat somebeast wrapped in shadows, staring up at the ceiling, seeming to look through the stone and into the sky. Moving carefully the mouse maid made her way slowly down the center of the aisle, glancing around at what must have been hundreds if not thousands of candles lining the church pews, lighting up the entire room with a soft yellow glow.
"Hello?" Ciel whispered softly as she moved within a few feet of the creature.
"We are safe here." The creature whispered as it stared up at the ceiling. "This is a place of light, no darkness can tread this path. The shadows cannot come." It muttered cryptically in a soft, effeminate voice, a long gray cloak hiding most of its features, only the face revealed to the world. It was a vulpine, definitely a female, with black fur as dark as the night.
"Who are you?" Ciel asked, confused by the vixen's words, staring at her face, trying to place it.
Who indeed? She muttered silently, wondering where she had seen the fox before, there was something oddly familiar, but the vixen cut off hr thoughts with a reply.
"I am what is left. I am the empty pathetic shell. I am all that remains of she." The vulpine answered cryptically, a look of disgust present on her face as she spat out the words, hatred towards herself plain to see. With a glance at the mouse maid a grin spread over the vixen's face. "I am what you shall soon be. I am nothing at all. The beginnings of everything."
"What?" Ciel asked, confused by the vixen's words, it was all gibberish to her, just a beast rambling on about nonsense.
"Do not be afraid, all shall make sense soon." She replied with a knowing smile, bright blue eyes shining beneath her black fur as she stared into Ciel's eyes, almost as though she was trying to tell her something more. There within the blue orbs was desperation. There was something more to be said, something that remained silent, buried within the vixen.
"Sana?" Suddenly the mouse maid realized where she knew her from, the fur was different, but she knew it had to be the vixen, there was nobeast else it could be.
"Not anymore." The vixen replied before glancing behind Ciel, a look of fear coming over the vulpine. "You should go now, they are coming."
"Who's comin'?" Ciel asked, glancing behind her to find nothing, the church lay empty save for the two of them, the main door sealed shut for the storm.
"You shall see, but not now. You must go now." Sana repeated, more urgent this time, a tiny twinge of fear in her voice as she slowly stepped off the pedestal onto the floor next to Ciel, a look of determination spreading over her features.
"What is it?" The mouse maid demanded, following the vixen's stare to the door where she found her answer. There it stood, just before the door, a shadowy silhouette filling up Ciel's entire field of vision as it walked slowly towards them, the candles disappearing into the shadows, darkness overtaking the light as it came closer, threatening to swallow the entire world.
This can't be . . . It just can't be . . . Ciel chanted silently within her mind, staring up at the horror that stood before her, the shadow-beast."You must go now." Sana pleaded softly, staring into the shadow's 'eyes' if they could be called that, great pools of darkness, but Ciel stood rooted to the spot, staring up at her nightmare, this figment of her imagination that stood before them. Suddenly it lunged and Ciel felt herself falling, shoved out of the way by the vixen as she took the blow, the world falling apart slowly, leaving the mouse maid in a world of nothing, reality slowly creeping back in as her eyes fluttered open slowly and she found herself lying in a soft bed, golden rays of sun light streaming in the window. It was a new day.
What was all of that? The question echoed in her mind softly, the dream still fresh in her mind though she wished the nightmare would leave her, images of that horror still there. The question stuck, echoing softly, always unanswered.
---
At such an early hour the kitchen stood mostly empty, save for the otter guard of the church, John, who stood at the oven, flipping a batch of flat cakes idly. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, Ciel wandered into the kitchen a confused sort of look on her face as she glanced around, searching for something that could not be found.
"G'mornin', Ciel." John said with a tired grin as he watched the cakes slowly brown before glancing up at the mouse maid to find her looking quite pale. "Ye feelin' all right?"
"Yeah, it's just . . ." She replied, pausing to glance around the room, as if she were fearful of somebeast listening in. "You ever get one o' those feelings?"
"Hm? What d'you mean by that?" The otter asked, setting his spatula down on the oven as the cakes cooked, turning to face the mouse maid.
"I'm not sure. It's jus' that somethin' jus' don't feel right." Ciel muttered softly, a look of confusion on her face as she tried to work trough it all. "Somethin' bad. I don't know . . ." She said as she collapsed onto one of the benches, shaking her head slowly.
"Don't worry, ye probably jus' had a bad dream or summat. Everything's fine." The otter replied, hopping up onto the table next to the mouse maid, patting her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her as she sat with her face buried in her paws. "What was it anyways? I don't think I've ever seen you like this . . ." He asked, a bit curious, Ciel had always been a strong beast, he knew it had to be something big for it to have gotten to her that much.
"I don't know, it was just . . ." She paused for a moment to take a breath, calming herself, trying to gather her thoughts. "You ever had one of those dreams where it seems like it's the end?"
"No . . .can't say that I have. I mean, I've had one of those 'falling' dream, but everybeast has those." John muttered in response, shrugging his shoulders before moving back to the oven, sliding the done flat cakes off onto the counter to cool, the other beasts would be waking up soon.
"Nah, that's jus' your fear of heights talkin' to ya." She smiled a little, trying to be more casual, the effects of the dream finally starting to wear off. "I'm not even really sure what it all was. There was just this shadow . . .I don't know, it just gives me the chills thinkin' 'bout it."
"Shadow?" John asked, glancing up from the oven, a look of interest on his face, staring at the mouse maid
"Aye, weird kind of shadow . . .and the vixen was there too . . . " The mouse maid muttered, sorting out the details slowly in her mind as the bits and pieces began to fall into place before she glanced up to find the otter's eyes boring into her. "Meh, but it's jus' a dream though, right?" She mumbled with a shrug, avoiding the otter's stare, his eyes unnerving her as she sat there shuffling nervously. "Right, John?"
"Yeah . . .just a dream." He echoed the mouse maid, shaking off the weird feeling he had gotten when she had said those words, the was something about it. "Maybe you should tell Father Samuel once he gets up since you need to speak to him anyways. Perhaps he could help." The otter said, taking on a more professional tone as he began to set the tables, but he was worried, Ciel knew that much, he always tried to lose himself in work when he was nervous, even when they were dibbuns.
"Okay, I guess. Here lemme help ye, can't have ye workin' yerself ta death." She said with a hollow laugh, she was nervous too, not quite sure what for, but she knew there was something to be anxious about.
All just a dream. All just something pointless, meaningless dream. Nothing more. She whispered to herself silently, chanting the words over and over in her mind, hoping that doing so would make it true.
Nothing, but a dream? Lies . . . A voice at the back of her mind whispered, its words lost within the corridors of her mind, smothered by her conscious mind. Everything would be all right, that was what she was to believe. Everything would work out in the end. That was the way things were.---
Everybeast, only about a half dozen beasts being around excluding the Father and John, was well on their way to finishing their breakfast when Father Samuel finally appeared from his chambers, walking into the kitchen with a dark ambience about him, an almost saddened look upon the old mouse's face.
"G'mornin', Father." John bade him in a cheerful tone, but there was worry apparent in his tone. "Is something wrong?"
"No, my son. Just this storm, can be quite depressing for a beast getting on in their seasons. I'm just wishing for this winter to be a quick one, that's all." The old mouse replied, but John really didn't believe him as the Father sat down at his usual spot, the otter serving him a fresh stack of flat cakes, looking the mouse over, trying to figure out what was eating at him.
"Don't worry, Father, I'm sure it will be." John said with a smile, trying to reassure the mouse.
"Well, at least the sun has smiled upon us this day, that at least we can be thankful for." He answered with a fake sort of smile, trying to end the conversation on a more cheerful note.
"Yeah, I suppose that is cause for a bit of cheer." The otter replied with an equally fake smile before shifting the conversation. "So how is the vixen today?"
"Oh, she's fine. The rest did her well, I just checked her a few minutes ago, she was resting quite comfortably. Her foot paws have healed up nicely too." The Father said, perking up a bit now that he had something positive to speak of.
"That's good to hear, Father." The otter said before turning to find several empty tables, dishes needing to be cleaned and tables cleared. "Looks like I've got a bit of work to do for now though, I'll see you around noon time." With that the otter left, going about his kitchen duties, worry still driving him on. Father Samuel sat, watching for a moment, shaking his head for a moment at the otter, he knew the signs as well, but he shrugged it off and went about his breakfast.
"Father?" Just as he was finishing his meal a feminine voice broke the soothing silence of the kitchens, breaking the old mouse out of his thoughts.
"Yes, Ciel?" He asked, glancing up to find the mouse maid standing there, shuffling her footpaws nervously as she glanced around the kitchen.
"There was something I wanted to tell you . . ." She began, pausing to see the Father's reaction.
"Go on." He urged her, curious.
"Last night I had the strangest dream and I haven't been able to shake it." She started again, trying to find the words to explain, but finding herself unable to put them together.
"Tell me about it, my child." Father Samuel said, giving her a comforting smile.
"I'm not sure if it meant anything, there was this shadow and the vixen . . ." She went on, explaining the dream in as much detail as possible, as the old mouse waited through it patiently.
"Perhaps . . ." He began once she had finished. Finding that he to was at a loss for the proper words. "Perhaps this is not so much a dream. I had a similar dream last night and such happenings can not be tossed away as mere fantasy, but of course dreams are always written in metaphor, one can never completely trust them to be exact." The Father continued, standing up from the bench, beckoning for the young mouse maid to follow as he moved into the main church building. "Is this the place of your dreams?"
"Yes, but also no." Ciel answered, taking a look around, focusing for a moment on the statue of their creator. "That wasn't there and there was somethin' else, somethin' different. Everythin' seemed ta be darker, shades of gray I suppose. The vixen was here." Ciel trailed off, fearful to be standing in the same spot as she had in her dreams, it was almost as if it made the fantasy reality. It was making the false true.
"Yes, she does seem to be tied into all this somehow . . .as if she was of the shadow, but somehow opposed to it . . .a light in the darkness as it were." The mouse muttered, trailing off into silence as they both stared up the main aisle at the great doors to the outside, that was where the darkness came from, that was the place.
"Father? Ciel?" A voice snapped them out of their thoughts as they found John suddenly beside them, a panicked look on his face. "Quickly, come with me." He ordered them both, taking off like a bullet bound for the back rooms.
"What is it, John?" Ciel called after him, catching up with the otter quickly as Father Samuel hobbled as quickly as he could with his weathered body. "What is it?" She asked, as she stood by his side in their makeshift infirmary, the otter staring at the fires.
"Just look, Ciel." He said, pointing as Father Samuel caught up with them.
"The vixen . . ." The old mouse whispered in a knowing tone.
"Yes, Father . . .I know what ye mean . . ." There before them the vixen's bed lay empty, everything gone from the room. "Did ye check 'round, John?"
"Yes, Ciel. She's nowhere to be found within these walls . . ."
---
Have to get home . . .
Have to get there . . . Plunging through the snows, Sana fought her way on, a dark rage pushing her onwards through the pain in her foot paws. She knew what she was doing, she knew why, she knew where to go, she knew how. She knew it all save for what she needed to know. Have to find out. Need the truth.
Folly, vixen. A voice whispered in the back of her mind, echoing within her skull. You already have your truth. You have left your answers on the path behind you. There everything lies. The nothingness from within.
No, that isn't truth . . .She whispered back silently, fighting back the rage that threatened to consume her, a darkness buried deep within her. It cannot be . . .
Do not worry, vixen. The transition shall end soon and all shall be as it should be.