This Is Darkness

[Fennec]

I really hope someone actually reads this....


Nothing. I can feel nothing. I have nothing by which to help me know where I am. Everything is Darkness and silence. But wait... Yes, there is a sound, slowly growing in volume. Screaming. So many people screaming, screaming for me. Screaming my name. Bek. Now I can smell something. Smoke. Choking, burning smoke. And flesh. The smell of burning flesh and blood is overwhelming. Now I can feel. Pain. So much pain. I feel as if I'm on fire. Sight. Everything is fuzzy, but I can make out the shapes of people hovering over me. Wait... I know these people. Atarra.. Garrehtt? And Sam. My Sam, crying and screaming at me to hang on. I try to move, to speak, but I have a feeling that all that comes from my mouth are moans of pain. The pain! Why am I in pain? Something is pressed against my lips and I shake my head, whimpering miserably. They want me to drink some foul medicine. But still they force me to drink. It does taste horrible, but now my vision is fading again and the Darkness is taking hold of me once more. One piercing scream fills the air... then I am gone, swallowed by the Shadows.

Waking, falling. I cannot tell the difference between the two. Everything is always dim and slow and fuzzy. But I can see and hear and smell and touch. And taste, unfortuneately. Each time I sense I am awake, someone forces me to drink more foul medicine that makes me sleep again. I want to see Sam so badly it hurts. Or maybe that's just my injuries.

[Fennec]

I wake fully for the first time in... Ah, I don't want to know how long. But as my vision clears of the medicine-induced haze, I see three people. Garrehtt, my older brother sitting in a chair by my bedside. Sam, sitting beside me in my bed, holding my hand. Atarra, my wylf mentor sitting in the corner of the room in her wylf form. Sam is the first to see I am awake. "Garrehtt! Atarra," he exclaims. Suddenly I am being pelted with hugs and kisses. I feel pain wherever I am touched. "Stop! Please, it hurts," I say in a hoarse voice. They all pull away, looking ashamed but happy.

[Jenna]

I like it. (:
Continue, it's good.
But may I ask what a "wylf" is?

[Fennec]

Wylf= Wolf. The setting of the story is in a different World named Syllaurieia. (sil-ar-ee-uh) Wylves are a magical race of creatures that can control the elements if gifted so by the Sky-Painters. Sky-Painters are like gods or goddesses; they create the Worlds from their imaginations and desires.

[Jenna]

Oh, thank you for explaining this. (:

[Fennec]

No problem. I'm happy you have questions. :3

[Fennec]

I have mooooore!

Sam and Garrehtt look ecstatic. Atarra, still in her wolf form, crawls into bed next to me and rests her great furry head by my side. I smile and run my fingers through her gold-and-black streaked fur. I have to stop because even the slightest movement sends shockwaves of pain through my body. I grimace and rest against my pillows. "How long have I been asleep," I ask. My voice is so hoarse that it sounds like I've been gargling sand. Garrehtt grabs a glass of water from my nightstand and hands it to me. I gulp it down gratefully and repeat my question. Sam and Garrehtt share a look that makes me nervous. Sam speaks first. "Well Bek... Your injuries were so serious..." He trailes off and Garrehtt finishes for him. "The healers said you might not wake," he says sofly, tears starting to pour from his eyes. I sigh and, pushing back the pain, hug my weeping brother. Garrehtt has always been a sensitive boy. He is my older brother, but doesn't look or act it. He is very tall, and has shoulder-length black hair that curls around his face. His eyes change color with his mood, because his father was an elf. He has a very young face, making him look to be sixteen. I, on the other hand, am unreasonably short with silver-gold hair that falls to my knees, and silver gray eyes. My face is the face born for a warrior queen; high slanted cheekbones and a small, pouting mouth. Long, straight-bridged nose and wide, alert eyes. Garrehtt and I are as different as north and south.
When I pull away from Garrehtt, Sam gives me a hug as well. He pulls back only enough to kiss me. "I knew you would wake," he reassures me. "I knew I would see those lovely silver eyes again." I smile and close my eyes, breathing in his familiar scent. He smells like he always does; like first springs' rain and home. Sam is my king-to-be. I've known him since before I can remember. He is taller than me, with dark blond hair that falls into his amber-colored eyes, and a mouth that you rarely see frowning.
My thoughts are interrupted when Sam suddenly sits back and folds my blankets back. I look at him curiously. Garrehtt explains, as Sam has already disappeared into the next room. "We need to treat your wounds once a day." I find it hard to believe that Garrehtt will be staying in the room if there will be wounds involved, and Atarra has already gotten up and padded out of the room.

[Fennec]

Suddenly I blush as the thought of Sam treating the more... private areas of my body invades my mind. I shake the thought away as Garrehtt leaves and Sam returns with his arms full of different medicines. I supress a groan. I now know exactly how long this will take.

To my great surprise, I only have a few burns here and there, and two cuts on my back. The reason for the pain is even more surprising, and extremely horrifying. The burns are Fireling burns. Firelings are the Darkling Master's evil pets. Even a minor burn carries enough poison to kill. That fact that I've lived through more than one with normal medicine has shocked the healers. Still, it has taken me a very long and medicine-hazed two weeks to wake fully. They'd given me herbs to sleep every other time I woke because the pain was too great. I'm surprised to be alive. I wonder if the Sky-Painter of Syllaurieia has had anything to do with it, and decide it must be so. I'd have died if she hadn't. There is no other way to cure Fireling poison that I know of, anyways.
I am now able to walk, but only very short distances, like crossing my room. Then it's back to bedrest and long naps. (I'll need to train for weeks to make up for lost time, to my great displeasure.) Today, I was allowed out of my room. I can only walk down the hall and back to my room, but I have a great feeling of accomplisment afterward. "Maybe tomorrow I'll run a marathon," I say dreamily to Sam and Atarra as I climb into bed. They chuckle and Sam ruffles my hair, ignoring my protests. Then I hear a very familiar voice from my doorway. "Well, isn't this a pretty picture?" I freeze and look very slowly toward the door. I clap a hand over my mouth to muffle my scream.

Muwahahah... Cliffhanger.....

[Jenna]

More.
Now.
Now.
Now.
Now.

[Fennec]

i think ill make you wait.

[Fennec]

I never thought I would see his face in Syllaurieia again. It has been thrre years since he betrayed his brother and his kingdom by stealing half my council and bringing them to the Gloomas in Nay-Car-Di-Cod. He was supposed to be banished.
Sam steps forward as if to protect me. Atarra shifts into her wolf form and pounces onto my bed, snarling at the man in my doorway. Sam is the first to speak. "Sym... what brings you to Syllaurieia?" Sym grins and strolls closer. "Well, my minions died off so I decided to visit. A man can't miss his only brother?" Atarra growls threateningly and Sym rolls his eyes. "Shut up, mutt." I sit there with my hand over my mouth, staring like a fool. Sym looks exactly like Sam, but his eyes are black. Now those eyes are looking at me and some hidden emotion passes through them. "Bek," he says softly, smiling. My heart jumps. "S-Sym. I believe you were banished from Syllaurieia three years ago," I accuse weakly.

[Jenna]

More pleasereeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

[Fennec]

Annoyance passes through his eyes. "Yes, I was banished. I know what I did looks horrible but it was for a good reason! Why am I always the bad twin? Why is he," Sym motions to Sam, "The one everyone fawns over?!" He is furious. I am regaining my composure, and draw myself up, glowering. "Maybe because you brought half my council to the Gloomas. Then left them for the Darklings and their Fireling pets," I say coldly, my gaze unwavering. Sym flushes red and turns his back to me. I can see he is trying to calm himself down. He turns back to me and says, "I would very much like to explain everything to you, Queen Bek. But I don't think Atarra and my brother are too keen on letting me speak to you in private." A growl from Atarra and a hiss of anger from Sam confirm this. I look down at my blankets and scowl, debating my options. Sym is playing on my greatest weakness: curiosity. Damn. Why does he have to know me so well?
I could order the guards or Sam and Atarra to put him in the dungeon. But then I wouldn't know why he took my council. I could maybe have him bound and guarded until I could speak with him. Many more possibilities run through my mind. I pick something similar to option two. I look up.
"Sam, post guards outside my room and bind Sym's wrists. I will speak with him in private, there will be no arguments," I say, knowing Sam would protest. Atarra and Sam stare at me as if I am insane. "That's an order," I say, using my most commanding tone. Atarra glares and flicks her tail, hopping off my bed and trotting out of my room. Sam bows stiffly. "As you wish, love." After one last whithering glare at Sym, Sam storms out, slamming my door behind him. I am alone with Sym.

[WalrusFaces (Layla)]

More pretty pwease wiff cherries on top?

[Fennec]

Lol if you wish.

Sym and I stared after the two for a moment. Then Sym turns to me and speaks. "Well. I wonder who pissed in Samuel's wine this morning!" This makes me giggle. Sym smiles and pulls a chair up to my bedside. "Why is it that you only giggle for me?" I stop my giggling and think about this. My answer is, "Because you're always more at ease around people than Samuel is. Especially around me. Why is that, Sym?" He raises his eyebrows and thinks about this. "Because you don't annoy me like everyone in these goddamn Worlds."
Annoy him? This makes me slightly angry. "How do 'not annoy you'? I'm the one who rules this World. I am just like everyone else." Sym smirks at me, which makes me feel like a child. "No, you are different than everyone else. At least... in my eyes." I am about to ask him what that means, but three guards burst into the room and restrain Sym. He looks over his shoulder at me. "Bye-bye, sweet Bek!" The door slams shut, and then I am alone. I realize something as I lay back against my pillow.
Sym is truly insane.

[Sponsored content]