Hey to my few readers! Thanks you so much for your reviews, curlygirly, SparksofBravery and acomafan! I really appreciate your support! And to acomafan, that's not exactly where I was going but that's an interesting idea! C:
~leviofliccat
My long eyelashes slowly fluttered open, my eyes adapting to the dark. In the near pitch-black, I could vaguely make out the outline of a door, which was shut firmly. I looked around for the tiny source of light I was seeing with, but found nothing. Suddenly, brightness flooded the tiny room, immersing me in a bluish glow. I flinched back, and grimaced at the pain that shuddered through my leg. Shielding my face against the white light, I shuffled back a little, but left my leg where it was, the gash sticky and tingling from the sudden breeze. Peering between my fingers, I saw the silhouette of a tall, muscled fae, who carried some sort of large object. The door slammed shut behind them, engulfing us in darkness. I felt them move closer, and heard the faint scraping of metal on ice. I squirmed back more, hitting my back on the icy wall behind me. The noise grew louder and closer, and I drew my legs up to my chest, fear blooming within me, spiralling throughout my entire body, the pain in my leg forgotten. My breathing became staggered, my heart thundering, my blood pumping.
A loud, heavy laugh resonated through the walls of the dungeon, and in the faint light I saw a huge mace in the fae's hands, slowly moving up to above their shoulder, where they would bring it down with paramount force, right onto my head. I saw a flash of sharp teeth, and a glimmer of ravenous, murderous intent, and at the glowing pair of silver eyes that seemed to smile so terribly. My breath caught, and time seemed to slow. The light grew brighter, white and yellow and orange and red, all at once. I gritted my teeth, clenching my fists, leaving white marks against my hot skin. The mace was getting closer, down to my head, down to crush my skull. A fire I'd never felt before bloomed deep in my chest, blossoming out, pulsating through my arms, my hands, my fingers. My bright, fiery eyes shot up to meet the ones of the fae, and in the terrified reflection of his irises I caught a glimpse of a flaming girl, determination spread across her face. I gave him a sly smirk, before time resumed its normal pace, with me shoving my entire body up into his torso, grabbing the mace from his limp hands, and pinning him down with one arm.
Fire glazed over my eyes, my whole body radiating a strong, orange glow, my left hand bright on his chest. I raised the arm holding the mace, and glared straight at the shaking fae. My terror had transformed into pure fire, his eyes widening as my skin grew hotter. My face remained neutral, my gaze lazily flicking to my hand, which was slowly burning a hole in his tunic. He began to sweat, panic building up inside him as my fire burned closer and closer to his skin. I pushed harder, the mace blisteringly hot, slipping from my sweaty hand. The fae let out a terrible, howling scream as the heat started to burn his chest, right atop where his heart was. I growled, feral hunger gleaming in my eyes as I moved the mace to over his head, ready to bring it down.
Suddenly, a huge gust of freezing air burst into the room, extinguishing my fire and knocking me back off the fae. I hissed, my amber eyes darting around the room, searching for the source of the wind, before landing on the silhouette of a tall, slender fae. I scanned them, straining my eyes to see through the dark, the orange light no more. I didn't need to look for long, as the fae stepped into the dark, clicking their fingers to summon light into the room. I flinched, my eyes slowly adjusting to the brightness. I squinted at the High Fae as she leant over to peer at the fae on the ground, tunic smoking. I started to crawl towards them, but an icy glare stopped me in my tracks. Her blue-grey eyes seemed to glimmer in the cold light, like a thousand ice shards pieced together to form a sparkling crystal. Her gaze pierced through me like an ash blade, tearing my soul apart piece by piece. I held her glare, searching in those icy eyes for anything, something that would tell who she was, why she was here.
We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, until something in my brain clicked. My eyebrows shot up in astonishment as I recognised the shape of her eyes, the light in her dark pupils. My breath hitched, and I clenched my teeth as I watched the cold High Fae remember me. She narrowed her eyes, and breathed,
"Hello, Mysty."
Her gaze remained tough as she nudged the fae on the floor with her foot.
"Axel. Always such a lame guard. He never knew what he was doing. Well, for the few months he's trained."
He was panting heavily, still recovering from what I did. What I did. I thought absentmindedly. I gasped as I comprehended what had happened, and tore my eyes away from the female to stare in horror at the scorches on the male's chest. His grey tunic was smouldering softly, a pink patch right over his heart. I clapped a hand over my mouth, my eyes wide as I soaked in the situation. I thrust my hands out in front of me, staring at my warm skin, where I once held flames. I whirled around to face the female, still bound by shock, and cried,
"I'm so sorry! I-I didn't know what I was doing, and I-"
The High Fae simply stared at me with that same frosty look, and shook her head slowly. My stomach dropped to the floor as she snickered slightly, still shaking her head. I glared at her, putting my hands on my hips as she spoke.
"You're so stupid, you know." She smirked, glancing at the fae at her feet. "You were supposed to be punished for trespassing into Winter territory, taking it willingly, knowing what you'd done. You were supposed to be knocked out enough so that I could drag you to my residence and slowly torture you to death. It's not that hard." She narrowed her eyes at me. "But of course, as the stupid little Autumn fae you are, you have to come along and nearly kill this guard. You just have to make life harder for everyone, don't you?" She sighed, rolling her eyes. "I suppose you'll have to come with me. I'll have to hurt you first, though. Otherwise we'll look suspicious." She extended a hand. I didn't move. She sighed again, dropping her arm. "That is, if you want to get out of this miserable dungeon." I stayed standing a metre away from her, taking in what she just offered. Questions churned in my brain, pushing and screaming to get out of my mouth, but only one was allowed access.
"Why are you doing this?"
The fae sighed even more, putting her head in her hand. She looked at me under her hand, and laughed,
"I'm offering you freedom. A chance to escape from being a prisoner for the rest of your life in this hellhole we call Kallias' palace, and get back to your loved ones. Why do you have to be so stubborn?"
I glanced at her once again raised arm. Moments passed, and time stood still as I contemplated whether to take her pale hand or not.
Suddenly, a loud shout rumbled through the walls, the source most likely wherever was outside. Heavy footsteps thundered on the floor, getting louder every second. My heart pounding, I flicked my eyes back to the fae girl, and nodded once. She simply blinked in response as I grabbed her hand, letting myself be drawn into her arms, her cold breath on my neck, where she placed a tremendously light finger.
"This won't hurt a bit." I nodded again, and she pressed down on the soft part of my neck, sending freezing sparks down my spine, pain flaring in my head. I blinked at her slowly fading face, looking into those frosty blue-grey eyes once more. Her gaze was cold, piercing, as I heard the creaking of a door opening and yells echoed nearby, but deep inside those eyes I saw warmth, and caring. I smiled a little to myself, before closing my eyes one last time and embracing the icy pain.