Now we jump many years into the future. In this chapter, Christine is in her twenties, whereas in the previous chapter, she was about six and her brother was about ten. .About.
Chapter 2 Eyes
Conversation buzzed unpleasantly in the throne room. It hung in the air like a poisonous fog. Christine sat upon the cold throne, adorned by a lavish gown and heavy gems. The venoumos cloud seeped into her lungs, laboring her breath. Looking throughout the hall, Christine gazed at the courtiers that filled it. She knew what they said. Mad they called her. Crazy as a loon they said. Their words flew at her, pecking at her mind like a flock of angry birds. They were swooping at her head, stabbing at her. They opened wounds in her flesh, in her mind. She was bleeding..bleeding..
"Christine," a voice whispered in her ear. Christine started and the fowls vanished. Turning her head that was weighed down by the crown that she so abhorred, she looked up at her brother who was standing behind the throne.
"Christine, do not let them bother you. They are nothing but a bunch of fussy old fools," he said, his soft brown hair falling around his face. "Do not worry so. You are so much better than they could ever hope to be." He kissed her gently on the forehead and whispered, "I love you my dear sister."
Christine gave him a grateful smile before turning back to the hall. Her eyes swept the room before settling on a dark corner. She saw a flash of yellow, and looking closer, she realized that it was a pair of eyes peering at her out of the gloom. The light of the hall gleamed in the yellow orbs, dancing with a mischevious glint. They became whirpools of yellow stars, glowing softly like candles yet brilliantly like suns. She was spinning down, down, sucked into a sea of yellow. The stars became grinning demons gnashing their teeth, jeering at her and demanding her blood as sacrifice. Stamping their deformed feet, the demons shrieked as they melted in the blazing flames that consumed her. The flames were licking at her skin, hissing as they burned her. Christine shrank away from the blinding ring of fire, trying to escape its crackling laughter that danced mockingly in her mind. Then she was spinning into a void of darkness. She was drowning in the smothering blackness and in her own terror. Chrisitine choked as panic closed her throat, the black tendrils snaking up her nostrils and filling her lungs as she fought futliely. Then the terror gave way to calm. The tendrils receded and she found comfort in the darkness. She drew it around her like a blanket and drifted peacefully. Enveloping her, the darkness began to give off a glowing warmth. Soon, it was radiating with intense heat,throbbing like a heart, in tune with her own.Christine realized that itwas the darkness of her madness, of her pain, of her loneliness that she fought so hard to hide from the world. Then she heard the heartbeat of another approach. Its beat rivaled her own and filled the pitch black surrounding her. Its beat grew louder and louder until, with a burst of blinding light, it fused with her own. Together, the two burning hearts banished the darkness and Christine slammed back into reality.
Gasping and wide-eyed, Christine searched in vain for the yellow eyes. They had disappeared into the shadows of the court. Christine did not know whether to be terrified or comforted.