Chapter Sixteen
The mountains are tall and welcoming. The wind whistles past, seeming to whisper, 'Fly. Fly. Fly." The open sky beckons to me just as the ground almost seems disappear from my feet. The freedom of flight is almost within my grasp.
But, it cannot be. I am trapped here inescapably. No bars rest in the windows, nor chains hold me captive; for there is no opening. There is no light, no window, and no air. No escape is possible, no calm is possible. Darkness, fear, sorrow, and hopelessness rule here. They always have, and they always will.
I never thought I would be here again. I apologize if I seem overly pessimistic, but one cannot help but look on the darker side when the future holds nothing but darkness and entrapment.
The mountains remain, and the wind whistles over their tops. The sky continues to beckon, but the ground swallows me whole, enveloping me in darkness inescapably, immovably, eternally.
There is no escape from this darkness. It follows me everywhere, clawing out with its grasping hands when I try to run and cooing soft words into my ears while tending to the injuries thereof. Remus...
I am more alone than I have ever been, and yet I am never alone. A great loneliness weighs upon my heart, but I will never be alone. The presence of darkness, of silence, of cold is not a person. It cannot be else I would not be so alone, so forsaken. Hands may hold me and confine me, but I am alone.
There are few who can change that. If Voldemort recruits us, I will be released, if only in a small way. If Vaeldin allows me more freedom, he will watch me far more closely. If Albus finds me, he will be no match for Vaeldin.
If one glimmer, one single whisper of sound were heard, I would have found it by now. There is none, and I can no longer make any. What I would give for just a single word spoken, a single sound amidst this unending silence!
...Help me, Albus...Please...
...Remus...
ooooooooooooo
Albus staggered back a step before sinking into a nearby chair. His eyes stared straight ahead in shock. Quietly, he said to himself, "How?"
"Albus, where has he taken her? Can we follow him? How do we fight him?" Remus asked earnestly, rushing over to the Headmaster's side.
"We cannot fight him, not on our own. He is too powerful. We'll need help," Albus said pensively, trying to think through the overwhelming feeling of failure.
"Who can we trust?" Remus asked, beginning to pace. He was beginning to calm down, at least.
Albus turned to him and said bluntly, "The Order."
"Voldemort will find out if we go to them," Remus said, shaking his head.
"Do we have a choice? Voldemort might try to recruit Vaeldin and Lin," Albus pointed out.
Remus sighed and paused in his pacing. "The next meeting is tomorrow night. We'll need to organize this as quickly as possible."
"I'll come up with a way to find her. Worry about convincing them to help," Albus said. After all, he was the one with the vast number of years of knowledge.
Remus nodded and started to walk out. However, he stopped and turned back hesitantly. "...Albus?" he asked tentatively.
"Hmm?" the far older man asked, already searching through his large rack of memory phials for anything that could help.
"Promise me you'll find her," he said, nearly breaking down again.
Albus looked up wearily and said with complete honesty and sincerity, "I promise."