“You fascinated me, cloaked in shadows and secrecy”

It was an effort even to leave the confinement of blankets that surrounded her. To leave the warmth and protection they offered after these long years. But she did, just as a slumbering part of her, buried so deep she barely saw it, woke up and said good morning.

But it was not a good morning. No, indeed it was not. The skies outside were ringed with black, the sun blocked by a sea of endless clouds. But a little voice in her head urged her to get up. To pick up the book that she had been reading. To pick up where the bookmark was, and to finish it. To learn all she could about that story. About the girl who had given her life to forge a weapon so bright, that it had brightened up the world. About a star whose power had fallen from the gods themselves, so that they too could bestow a gift on the child. A very powerful one.

And so she did. Lifting herself from the fort of blankets and pillows, she slid out of bed, the black silk pooling around her feet. The nightgown she wore did little to protect her from the cold wind that echoed through the house, its mischievous voice whispering in her ear. Urging her to read the story. To see. To learn. To understand. The wind teased her silver hair to blow in the phantom breeze; coaxed it to come out and play.

She slipped into the chair at the end of her room just as she lifted her head, and placed the book in her lap, opening it to the page where the weathered and worn pages gleamed. Delved into a land of fantasy, where no one would fear the monster beneath their skin.

                            ~

The voice was back, but this time it was speaking in a soft, willowy voice. The window, it whispered into the vast emptiness of the mind. Lifting her head, she looked at it with a tilted head in question. Go to it. Open it. See child. Blinking slowly, she left the book on her chair, the bookmark back to doing its job; as she went to the window and pushed the blinds away, revealing a world of shadows and pain and agony. She could see the pain and anguish floating in the air, calling for her. Asking her to taste it, to feel it. The town below was dark as Hellas realm, without a light to be seen. The stores were dark and covered in cobwebs, with the people trapped in them. A flicker of fear curled in her gut and when she blinked, the whole illusion was gone. The voice was laughing in her mind, a harsh wicked sound, that was still dainty and feminine. When this world is reduced to nothing but ash between the stars, we will still be here. In the darkness. Ruling over the living dead. The voice faded back into the depths of her mind, into a place where not even she could willingly reach. But the soft, harsh, wicked laughter, echoed long after the voice in her mind had disappeared.

The albino haired child lifted her hands to the blinds, opening them more until the entire room was bathed in the light of the dawn, the wrap around windows that circled her tower-like room glittered, reflecting the stores that shined below in the city. Lifting her head, she watched as the stars wink from the sky, their faces shining so bright that the darkness in her recoiled and hid. She raised her hand, as if to grab the stars, to steal their light to rid herself of the darkness in her; but before she could, another voice entered her thoughts, and caused her hands to clench unconsciously. She could sense the danger that emitted from him like an aura that demanded respect, the cunning way he spoke caused her hair to stand on end. Her clenched hands turned white before she dropped them both to her sides.

Death is coming upon swift wings of night. The glory is coming at dawn. Be ready to fight; the last star is a dwindling light. He said into her mind. His tone was sad, but the warning lurked under it, rearing and demanding attention.

The willowy voice was back, dragged back up when the cunning one spoke. Stars only die when the demise of kings comes into play, and her voice trailed off as if lost in thought. Her voice, even as it still kept its lilting tone, had taken a grim turn, the light and airy sound used as if to cover up what she was thinking.

“And what does this have to do with me?” The girl asked, her ocean blue eyes looking around the room, as if searching for an answer, that very well may be her demise. Dark red walls greeted her wandering eyes, the scratches, and gouges in the stone walls evidence of the monster inside her. What it could do when it took control over her body, her mind, her thoughts, and her feelings. The twin bed, still unmade, met her eyes as they continued their trek around the room, the wooden ends smooth to the touch. The hanging chandelier in the center of the room glowed red from the scones around each candle, the black details causing shadows around her room.

With a blink, the room changed. Its walls were a pristine white, brighter than the sun. The carpet on the floor a soft, pale, creamy white rather than the deep red she had. The walls were covered in pictures of her and her father, and a black hole opened up in her heart. The infinite sadness coursed through her, leaving her gasping at the feeling of knives stabbing her heart repeatedly. Doubling over she kept gasping for breath, hearing the voices in her head greedily latch onto her emotions; to harness them into a power that would be so strong, nothing could stand against it and survive. To grow stronger, and stronger from her pain. Her misery. Her guilt. Her grief. Her sorrow.

Because you my dear, the male started, a blurry image appearing in her mind, the image slowly coming into focus. Her eyes widened, and fear flooded her already overrun senses. Her heart pounded in her chest, fast enough that she thought she would heave. Her breathing turned erratic, even as she shook her head and tried to calm her racing heart. Tried for her sake and others. The female was back, speaking the rest as if making sure each word was ingrained in her mind. She refused to believe it, even when the female repeated the statement over and over and over again as if it was a chant.

You, my dear, are a holder. The changer of fate. The wanderer of worlds. Someone who can challenge anyone on this earth and win, challenge the gods and arise victoriously. Someone who will destroy this world, to forge the next. The one that truly belongs here. You, my dear, are a growing darkness in this world of borrowed light.