No P.O.V.
A lone figure crossed the desert in the night. Driven away from her cavern by scorpions, she walked through the desert, expecting nothing but the stars, the moon, and the night sky to keep her company.
Surprisingly, across the plain she saw a ship. It rested on the sand, not damaged. More surprising was the girl could sense nightmares there. Strong ones at that. Curious, she continued toward it. The deck was empty, and the girl continued into the hallways. Letting her black hand guide her, the girl soon came to a room where another her age slept. The sleeping girl was tossing and turning, sweating from her dreams. The cloaked girl pitied her. Carefully, she placed her blackened hand on the other's forehead.
Immediately she drew her hand away. The nightmare was strong, much stronger than any others she had felt. After a few breaths, the girl put her hand back on the sleeper's forehead. This time, the girl who slept awoke, eyes wide with fear. She opened her mouth to scream, but the cloaked girl hushed her, putting a finger to her lips. The girl was still afraid, and might have screamed anyway if the cloaked girl had not begun the process. Almost unwillingly the other girl's eyes closed and she drifted back into slumber, her nightmare resting in the palm of the cloaked girl.
Breathing out, the cloaked girl turned to leave, only to find a sword at her throat. Three boys slightly older than her were in the doorway, and a fourth held the girl at swordpoint. "What did you do to my sister?" He asked. His voice was low, but the anger in his voice was clear.
This was new to the cloaked girl. Most whom had found her in her work screamed or tried to grab her and kill her. In fact, looking closely, the girl could tell the boy with the sword was barely restraining his anger, possibly since he thought what she had done to his sister could only be reversed by her.
"Nothing to hurt her. I only took away her nightmare." The cloaked girl answered, hoping for them to leave her alone, but the sword was only pushed further to her throat.
"What are you talking about? I want the truth, and I want it now!" The sword might have cut the girl's throat, but at present the nightmare resting in her palm went into action. Jumping out of her hand, it became its true form, a man and woman. Interestingly enough, the others in the room could see the figure, not just the girl. The boy with the sword at her throat paled and lowered the sword, giving the girl an opening which she took, running deeper into the ship to hide. The boys tried to follow her, but she was faster, and made it to another room.
Closing the door behind her, the girl turned to find an old man there. Terrified, the girl let out a slight squeal before realizing he was fast asleep. Sighing with relief, the girl tucked the folds of her cloak near herself and hid in the shadows, sleeping until morning.
Hours later...
The girl woke to find the old man gone. Assuming she hadn't been found, the girl rose and looked out the window, only for her jaw to drop. The window revealed clouds, meaning they were flying. A pit formed in the girl's stomach; escape would now be almost impossible.
Calming herself, the girl slipped through the hallways, nearly being found twice except for her use of shadows. She found no way to leave, so after a while she returned to the room where she had slept.
To her surprise, upon entering the old man from before welcomed her. "Hello. May I ask who you are?" His tone was kind, but the girl remained alert, and partially scared.
"I don't have one." She said slowly.
The old man merely smiled, pouring tea into two small cups, offering her one. Cautiously she took it, sipping. The warm flavor soothed her slightly, but not enough to keep her fears at bay. He gestured for her to remove her hood, and the girl did so, revealing her black hair.
"Why did you board our ship?" The old man asked.
"I... felt the girl's nightmare." The girl answered. She was afraid he might not believe her, since the boy from last night hadn't, but the old man simply nodded.
"So, you are the Mistress of Nightmares?" He asked.
"I have no such title." Now the girl's speech was confident, since she had never heard of the title.
"Perhaps not by your own intentions. But people have noticed you and your work. Now, I have no intention of forcing you to leave. If there is nowhere else you can go, then by all mean, you are welcome here." The old man assured her.
At what cost?The girl wondered, but nodded all the same.
"I will have Nya show you where you can sleep." A minute later, the sister of the boy who had threatened her the night before entered the room. Her eyes widened, remembering the cloaked girl from last night, but Nya said nothing until the girls were walking down the hallway.
"Y-you're the one from last night, right?" She asked shakingly.
The other girl merely nodded. "What more do you remember about it?"
"Y-you were in my r-room... And when you pressed my forehead, I felt all... well, warm. I was having a nightmare, and when I went back to sleep it went away..." Nya finished. "How did you do that?"
The other girl looked away. "I can see them. Allof them. The shadows, the nightmares. Yours, theirs, everyones."
Nya looked flabbergasted. "How..." She began but the cloaked girl shrugged.
"I've been able to do it since I was a baby. It comes naturally," She explained.
"Right now... Can you see anything?" Nya asked.
"No. Your nightmare is gone, in the air now." The cloaked girl answered.
"Is... is it going to come back?" Nya asked worriedly.
"It's gone. Well, it still exists, in the air, but you won't have it again. Eventually, when you die, it will vanish." The girl reassured Nya.
"Okay... Here we are." Nya opened the door to a simple bedroom, and the cloaked girl sat on the bed.
"So, what's your name?"
"I don't have one." The other girl answered.
"But everyonehas one." Nya insisted. Truth be told, the cloaked girl did have a name, one that suited her well now.
"Enola." *Yes, I know this is from the book series Enola Holmes! I read all of the books, which is where I got the name! I don't own the copyright, Nancy Springer does! So no reviews saying I stole the name!*"I guess it fits. It's 'alone' spelled backwards."
"I think its a nice name." Nya said encouragingly but this did little for Enola. She read the books of her namesake and could remember the saying repeated over and over: You will do very well on your own Enola. *AGAIN! NOT STEALING, QUOTING!*And for her, it was true. "Lunch is in an hour, if you're hungry." Nya closed the door, leaving Enola to ponder.
Part of her wished to run until she lost sight of the ship. The other wanted to stay. But the shadows in the corner of the room disagreed.
Come, escape Enola. Go back to your work, the work which helps so many...They whispered. By the time it was lunch, Enola left only to be left in peace.
The atmosphere at the table was mixed. Nya, the old man, and a boy dressed in green by his side were friendly enough. The other four boys, though, were the ones who had caught Enola last night. The boy whom had held her at swordpoint seemed especially angry. Keeping her head down, Enola wondered if the shadows were right, as they had been in the past. It was a blessing when lunch ended, allowing Enola to excuse herself quickly and return to her bedroom.
The shadows, more active, continued speaking. Leave, leave this place. Enola, you must leave.
Until you give me a valid reason, I won't.She answered, but it was half-hearted, and the shadows snorted. Enola ignored them and crawled into her bed.
Elsewhere on the Bounty...
"Are we sure she's not working for Lord Garmadon?" Jay asked only for Nya to scold him.
"Jay, that's rude! She's just scared, and who could blame her after Kai held her at swordpoint?" She countered.
"Nya, what was I supposed to do when I saw someone we didn't know sucking a black mist out of you? Stand there and watch?" Kai asked.
"Kai's right. What do we know about her?" Cole put in.
None of them realized Enola, unable to fall asleep, was outside, listening to the entire conversation. Her heart plummeted hearing it, and she began crying softly before running back to her room to sob. This is worse than the asylum!She thought to herself miserably.
Escape here, then. Go back, Enola!The shadows sang.
She refused to listen to them, curling into a ball and continuing to sob. Finally, a kinder tone came to her mind.
Enola, this will never do. A voice at the back of her head told her. You haven't cried in years, and you don't need to start now.
Then what do I do?Enola asked, miserable.
You stay. And you prove to them you're more than just shadows. Nya can already see that- prove it to the others.The voice replied.
Sniffing, Enola had to admit the voice was right. Wiping away her tears, she stood up from her bed and went to the kitchen, finding Nya there.
"Hey, could you help me with this?" Nya asked. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. "So, is there anyone else? Like your family?"
"I... haven't had a family in years." Enola admitted.
"Are they dead?" Nya asked gently.
"No... When I was put in an asylum at twelve, they disowned me." Enola said slowly. Thinking of her family hurt her a great deal.
Nya's jaw dropped. "Why were you put in an asylum?"
"It's a long story. But when I was, my parents didn't want anyone to know their daughter was there, so they stripped me of my last name and never contacted me." Enola told her.
"Oh my god! That's horrible!" Nya shivered.
"I would think I'm better off than before. They never really cared." This was a complete lie- Before it, Enola's parents had loved her. "Besides, you lost your parents to death."
"How'd you know?" Nya asked.
"Remember, the nightmare. Your parents are your nightmare because you miss them." Enola reminded her.
"Can I ask you something? Why is your hand black?" Enola shifted uncomfortably.
"I was born with it." She lied. Further conversation was stopped as they finished dinner and set it out. It wasn't surprising that Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane refused to touch it as though it was poisoned until Enola ate her plateful.
After dinner, Enola was in her bed, trying to ignore the shadows whisperings. Three hours later, when they refused to stop, Enola left her room and headed to the deck. There were faint nightmares occurring on the ship, but it wasn't enough to call her attention. Even this far from a city, Enola could feel the more pressing fears.
A muffled shout caught Enola's attention. She sought out the source, and found it to be Lloyd. Placing her black hand on his forehead, Enola drew it out, and surprisingly Lloyd did not awaken. She cradled the dream for a moment before releasing it, and heard a soft sigh.
Thank you, Queen.The voice told her.
I-I am queen to no one.Enola said shakingly.
Oh, but you are. You are the Queen of Nightmares and Shadows. You have helped my son. And now I wish for you to return to the side of darkness, where you belong.The voice implored.
No! Who are you?Enola asked.
Lord of Darkness, or course. The voice answered.
Trying to remain calm, Enola dashed out of the room and went to her bedroom, panting. Locking the door, she went to her bed and shut her eyes, trying to block out everything else. Just leave me alone, ALL OF YOU! She screamed with her mind, finally be able to fall asleep.