Ah. So now we get to figure out what's wrong with Romeli the Demon. :D

well...actually.... D:

Song for this Chapter: Chemo Limo -- Regina Spektor

Disclaimer: Romeli is mine. The rest I'll give the credit to TP, and I own James too. :huggles James:choke:

Chapter 13: Stuck

"Where is my daughter?" asked a furious Numair as he strode into the mess hall. Daine, who was right behind him, looked just as mad.

Romeli was lying on the mess hall ground with Alanna swooped over her. Faleron of King's reach was watching the stone white girl from a distance. Her friends, who refused to leave, were standing close to each other as they watched their friend. Numair and Daine quickly ran over.

When they saw her up close, the first thing they noticed was her skin, white against the wooden floor of the mess hall. Her eyes were open wide, but glazed over, seeing nothing. The hypnotized state of her eyes were not as disturbing as their color, however. Instead of her usual blue or green, they were a blood red.

"Alanna what's wrong with her?" Daine asked as she crouched to the ground. Numair also kneeled down, his jaw firmly clenched.

"She's stuck in her mind," Alanna said as shivers crept up her spine. Everyone made the sign against evil on their chest.

"How is she stuck though? And—where?" Numair asked, avoiding Romeli's eyes. He couldn't bear to look at the tortured gaze. Instead, he reached for her hand.

"Don't touch her!" Alanna warned as she slapped Numair's hands away. Her face was grim.

"Why am I not supposed to touch her?" Numair asked with a hoarse voice. He was growing impatient, and he had too many questions that needed answering.

"She's unstable," Alanna told them. "If you touch her like I did, you get this thing in your mind. You go to where she is now, and it's hard to get out of." To make a point, Alanna held up a bleeding and bandaged hand. "This is what happened when I touched her."

"How are we going to get her out?" Daine asked with a pale face. She came as close as she dared to Romeli.

"The only way that I can think of is if someone went in there and got her out. A part of me fears that it would be a suicide mission. Getting out alive seems...impossible," Alanna said with a pale face. She looked into each of their eyes.

"I'll do it," Numair said. "I know her well. I raised her. I also have a feeling it will take someone with the Gift to go in there."

"How about me?"

Everyone turned to the unexpected voice behind him.

Tim brought his hand to his forehead and Whave shook his head in disbelief.

"I have a healing Gift, and she may need healing in there. We're really good friends and we're close—please?" A lone tear trailed down his cheek, but he didn't seem to notice.

As much as it hurt Numair to put Romeli's life in such young hands, he knew it was for the best. He nodded and stood up.

James walked over slowly and sat down next to Romeli. Slowly he placed his hand on her shoulder. He cried out in pain as he felt his blood escape through his pores. He pushed it back and forced himself into Romeli's world.

OOO

After the haunting vision of the rope, Romeli found herself in a green grassland with large trees scattered across rolling hills. It was so peaceful here.

Little did she know peace was the last word the land before her was.

You just wouldn't agree with me would you, said the malicious part of her mind. Romeli was no longer in control of the voice however. She had no control over anything here—trapped in her own mind.

Go away, she wailed. I don't need you! I never did!

Don't you realize? I'm your friend, your buddy. We could live in this land forever you know. We could play fun games together. All you have to do is choose death. Die and be happy! Give me the key!

Never! I will never be on the same side as you!

Fine! If you will not choose to be with me, then I will have to kill you myself!

A jolt of pain on her side made her look down to a long gushing wound. There was a sword floating in front of her. Again it struck, this time at her leg. She saw the demon's tactics.

To kill her slowly and painfully.

She found herself frozen as the innocent surroundings blurred. Romeli's stomach dropped as the area around her transformed into a stone room with no windows or doors. The smell of blood made her dizzy.

I can be your friend you know, the bone-chilling voice whispered in her ear. Let's play a game. If I hurt you I get one point, and if you hurt me, you get one point. And if one of us kills the other, it's five. It's two to zero already. Better catch up!

I hardly think killing each other a game! Yelled Romeli to the hovering sword in front of her. Sweat began to form on her brow. Her side began to sting. The wound had cut deep.

That evil voice laughed hard. Romeli brought her hands up to her ears, but it was no use. The laughs were in her mind. She screamed as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Your wrong my friend! This is a game!

Romeli tried to fight it, but even in her mind, where she thought that everything was safe, the demon could not die.

She fell to her knees from a sudden impact on her back. She felt blood trickle down her wounds and drip on the cool floor beneath her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get up again.

The childish voice started to sing, its melodies screeching through her ears like nails on a chalkboard. Three to zero! I'm winning I'm winning! Better catch up, or you'll loose!

Romeli tried to get up again. It was the only way she could fight off the madness burning inside her. But she was immobile.

Funny really, being killed by your own mind, the demon laughed again. And to think that your Gift started all of this.

My gift did not start this, Romeli whispered. She hadn't the heart to retort, and her voice was feeble.

That's where you're wrong. Your 'oh so powerful Gift' made me. It's too powerful for your own good and you know it. Once you're gone, your Gift will own your body, and I will control the power. Bow to me Romeli, give me your power!

Romeli felt a push on her upper body as the force tried to bring her to the bloody ground. She tried to fight it, but she could no longer control it.

After torturous battle, her head was to the wet ground. She felt the cold metal of the bloodstained sword on her neck.

At last you're mine! cried the voice. Romeli closed her eyes ready for the end. She felt the metal begin it's pressure on her neck. I win!

Right when she couldn't take it anymore, the sword lost its pressure and was knocked out of the way. She heard a clatter of metal against ground in the distance.

No! roared the voice.

Romeli felt the pressure on her release, and her body slammed against the wall behind her, knocking the wind out of her. Unable to regain her breath, she felt emptiness surround her. She had to stay awake, but her heavy eyes couldn't help but droop slowly.

There was one last cry of the tortured voice, but she felt completely numb. The last thing that she saw was a pair of green eyes staring into her own.

OOO

"I think they're coming back," Daine said as she saw Romeli's eyes gently fade back to their natural colors.

James flinched and his eyes grew wide. He quickly let go of Romeli as tears ran down his face. No matter how much he tried to erase the pictures from his mind, he couldn't.

Alanna went to him quickly and helped him up. He looked at his friends and saw that they were staring at him fearfully. Forceful hands bandaged his bleeding hands, and led him towards the door and probably towards the infirmary. He stole one last look at the slowly waking up Romeli. How could she go through so much? How could she endure so much pain?

At last he was out the door, and towards the Healing Wing.

OOO

The flash of the grayscale noose flashed through her mind, but it was weaker. Now more than ever did she hate that rope. When her vision cleared, she saw the ceiling of the mess hall. Was it the mess hall? Or was it just her mind playing tricks again?

She broke out into tears and quickly sat up. Everything that happened had taken its toll. She grew sick vomited on the floor. After wrenching up her meal, she wiped her mouth, digusted.

"Romeli!" cried a familiar voice. She looked up into her father's face. It looked so familiar. She knew him; she was safe in the palace.

"N—Numair?" The word felt different on her lips. Her voice cracked as more tears rolled down. She hugged him tight, at first she was afraid that she would pass through him like she was a ghost, but he was real.

She sobbed into his shirt and inhaled his wonderful scent. "Please—get her out of my mind," she choked. "She—She's killing me! She wants me." Numair froze as he held her.

"Great Merciful Goddess," whispered Daine as she came over to her and hugged her tight. "Romeli, you have to be calm," she said when she heard cries of the People in her mind. She tried to calm them, but many were still restless. "Someone get Sharpfang," Daine ordered. The snake was always the one to cheer Romeli up. Ryoku eyed the girl uneasily before rushing off to the Salmalin Suite.

"Dad, what's wrong with her?" Whave asked as he came to his father. Faleron was stone white as he stared at the girl.

"I don't know," said Faleron as he watched Alanna, Daine, and Numair carry Romeli to the infirmary.

OOO

"Sharpfang?" Romeli asked when she saw the snake that Daine held. She gratefully took him and held him close. Endless tears ran down her cheeks and they began to soak the infirmary blanket. Daine, Numair, Alanna, and her friends all crowded around the room. None of them were sure what to do. They wanted to comfort her, hold her, anything to stop her tears, but space also seemed essential. James was sleeping on a bed next to Romeli's.

Romeli what happened? Sharpfang asked. You're different. I smell fear.

I'm afraid. I'm afraid of everything. That demon in my mind wanted my life, but what she left me with is much worse. Her breathing was heavy as it tried to catch up with her galloping heart.

You should rest, said the snake. You need your energy, and your friends are worried about you.

More tears rolled down her face. I can't Sharpfang. What if I go back to that place? What if she is still there? I want her gone.

Suit yourself, the cobra told her indifferently. He was in no mood to argue with someone so upset and unreasonable. When you fall asleep, I'll hold the fort.

Romeli tried to smile, but she could not. The fear coursing through her veins seemed to paralyze both her body and mind. Her body still trembled, shaking with memories.

Your 'oh so powerful Gift' made me. It's too powerful for your own good and you know it.

I win!

Better catch up!

Her eyes grew wide. If my Gift made that monster, then it must mean that the powers I hold are too much...if I use my Gift, she'll come back. I can't do this anymore, I just can't. A life like this is not worth living.

No matter how much a part of her tried to deny it, she was completely right. Her life was a mess, and death didn't seem like such a bad choice after all.

"Please someone help me," she mouthed to the ceiling. Maybe if she pleaded enough the Gods would strike her with a bit of sanity.

Neal came at a run through the infirmary doors. His eyes were filled with worry as he rushed towards his son. "James you idiot," he said. Ryoku and Tim who were also by James came over to their father.

"What did he do this time?" asked a woman from the doorway. She was a beautiful Yamani with long black hair and brown eyes. The only aspect of the woman that rivaled her elegance, was her skill with Yamani weaponry.

"Lady Yukikomi," Alanna welcomed gravely as James's mother went to his side. "It's a very long story," she said as she stole a glance at Romeli. The green haired girl was trembling and crying silently as Numair and Daine tried to calm her down. Numair lifted up one of Romeli's hands to expose a bloody one. Her nails had pierced through her skin.

Neal rushed over to Romeli. All signs of what might have been disapproval due to her previous visit were thrown out the window when he saw her state. She was a complete mess.

When he summoned his Gift to heal the wounds on her hands, she shied away and cried some more, holding onto her cobra tightly.

"No—please," she said as she stared at his dark green fire in fear. "She'll come back!"

"Who is she talking about?" Neal asked, shaken, as extinguished his Gift. Instead, he bandaged her hands.

"We have no idea," Numair answered. His face was pale white and he was also slightly trembling. "She was stuck in her mind and then she came back like this. I had no idea that she was—like this when we first arrived."

"Can't she tell us? And what is wrong with James?" Yuki asked as she stroked her son's hair. Neal rose his brows in inquiry.

"She needs to calm down before she can tell anyone," Daine said as she stroked Romeli's hair. Her daughter leaned her head on Daine's shoulder. After only seconds, her shirt was wet in tears.

"As for James, when Romeli was stuck, the only way to get her out again was for someone to go in and get her." Alanna said. She was standing by James. "He insisted, and they both came out safely. Well—almost," she added as she looked at Romeli. Her eyes were wide as if she could see something far away. "As for your son, nothing is wrong with him except for bandaged hands, and slight shock. He's just tired."

Neal nodded as he sat down on a chair with a sigh. It was a load off of his mind to see that James was okay, but Romeli was a different problem.

When he first set eyes on the young lady, he thought she was perfect. She had all of these extraorfinary powers—even plant magic! As for the pitless Gift, Neal couldn't even count how many times he wished his powers were stronger. She had so many unique things abut her: smart, bold, persistent, and a fighter...yet perhaps this perfection was merely an illusion.

There must have been countless times that Romeli had fights with her complex mind. Her Gift, sure it was strong, but with strength came the dilemmas, responsibility, and control. Perhaps it was too strong. What if her Gift tried to rule her body? Romeli seemed to be a strong willed girl. Her life as a being so exotic and different probably taught her to be so. But she still had feelings, as every human did. They were just hidden behind her beautiful mask. Her mind was so complex that it was a danger to her body, and now, as he saw the consequences of her power, what was once jealousy to be just like her evaporated into thin air.

As Neal thought this, he stared at the girl. She looked empty, like someone had cracked her open, only to scoop out everything inside, leaving nothing but a shell. Now she was left with nothing but the exterior, and of course, fear. How could she live like this?

A groan from James brought him out of his reverie. He quickly rushed to his son.

His eyes were open and alert. He seemed to be fine except for shadows under his eyes from the night's events. His friends rushed to his side.

"Where's Romeli?" James groaned as he looked around. The crowd around him blocked his view.

"Well erm," Sereem started. His face was pale and worried. "She's kind of out of it right now. She's over there." He pointed to the bed next to his.

James turned to look at Romeli. She was covered in sweat and breathing heavily. Her wide eyes stared down at her blanket. When James saw her, tears brimmed his eyes. What he saw in her mind would never leave him.

OOO James in Romeli's mind OOO

Her mind was horrifying. There were so many corners in it, he thought as he walked down a very long hallway. There were thousands of doors, with all of them labeled with differently. As he passed he remembered doors about her childhood, memories, animals, interests, fears.

When he passed one, he noticed a sign that said Secrets. He stopped and stared. The door was very different from the rest. Its dark ebony color seemed to drag him into its darkness. His body, as if entranced by the deadly yet beautiful door, shook to turn the knob.

Something told him that on the other side were the answers to all of his questions. His mind throbbed in curiosity. Something about it—it was so dangerous and secretive. He wanted that door. He wanted everything inside. He wanted to know the answers to what his mind longed for.

He ever so slowly brought his hand up like he was about to touch a shying horse. The knob was cold in his trembling and sweaty fingers. The touch made him shiver in delight and fear. He broke out in a chilling sweat.

This was it. The secrets that Romeli had been hiding from everyone, the reason why Romeli was stuck in her mind in the first place. Why he asked so many questions about her. He would finally know what he had been wondering since he first saw her in the crowded ballroom.

His grip slowly tightened on the knob as he prepared himself. With sweaty and slippery palms, he twisted the knob.

It was locked.

It was a relief almost. Maybe the horrors of her life were never meant to come out of her lips. Maybe Romeli didn't want people to get hurt. A part of him was irritated at the door before him. He wanted to know. He needed to know. Maybe he couldn't trust her after all.

He let out a sigh and continued his search for Romeli. His walk soon turned to a stabbing run as a voice in his head told her that it wouldn't be long until Romeli would die.

Die in her own mind.

At last the voices stopped him in front of a door. It was dull and held the color of rotting wood. There were scratches and dents covering its rough wood. When he traced his finger along the scratches, they matched up with his fingers—nail marks.

It was labeled The Chaos Room.

With out even thinking, he turned the knob and ran through the door praying to the Gods that Romeli was in there, and alive.

She was there all right, soaked in blood and sweat as she lay on the ground. A sword that made his insides churn hovered over her neck, about to make its final plunge.

He tried to scream, but no sound erupted from his mouth. Instead he did the only thing he could think of. He ran over and knocked the sword away from Romeli right before it bit down on her neck.

No! Screamed a horrible voice. He froze at its screech, shuddering.

The voice seemed to have hands as well, for a force threw Romeli to the wall. She collapsed to the ground, breathing shallowly.

He did the only thing he could think of: fight back.

He picked up the sword and cried out in pain as an evil power filled him. He forced it back, holding on strongly before stabbing it into the pit of evil before him, hoping he didn't miss. The thing screamed again and went silent.

He ran over to Romeli and looked into her gorgeous eyes before they fell.

OOO

"Romeli?" James asked. His voice cracked as he said her name. He stared at her as he waited for an answer. Maybe there was luck for her yet.

She stopped crying at the sound of her name, and turned to the person who called it. His bright emerald eyes. They were so familiar; she had seen them before.

"James?" she asked. She was surprised by her own voice. She hadn't recognized that it was her talking at first.

"Romeli. She's gone. She won't come back," he told her, sure of himself.

"You're wrong James," she whispered. "She can't leave. She'll never go."

"Romeli-."

"Please," she pleaded. "I know."

No more tears slid down her blotchy cheeks, they would have if she had the heart.

The demons came out to play with her mind, but what they stole was so much more.

Just to make things awkward:

Moose noodles

Replies:

Wild-wizard-women: Yay! You thought it was depressing! That's what I was aiming for! Lol. I'm sorry about the moose thing, apparently my uncle (who ships moose) won't send me any. Grr. I'm glad you understood that chapter. Yea it was a pretty slow moving chapter and nothing really happened in this chapter too, oh well. HaHaHa I'm the master of evil cliffhangers—that are evil!

Nothing else worked: well yea there's nothing really to say since I e-mailed you and stuff like that. Don't worry I'm trying my best.

HyperLittleCat: Yea I like loose yourself too, but I'm not really a fan of rap. I really like rock too, and heavy metal and punk rock. I liked that line too, I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote it, but it sounds cool. Mm. The CIA and FBI checked my house yesterday, they said something about looking for an illegal moose on the run :looks guilty: my fault. But really guys…AMENDMENT FOUR! I have my rights-even if I am a moose.

Hi: Yeah same here, which one is your favorite, I like the Chaos Thoughts one, and the Ball one was kinda cool too.