Deadly Secret

Locked Away

Esther despised the cold, stone walls locking her in.

She wished mother would allow her a glimpse of stars and rain, sun and moon.

Instead, she was trapped.

A frigid, stale breeze circulated the tower, courtesy of one of Lady Gisela's Gusters, and Esther's only company was a stupid stuffed alicorn. No matter how much she hated it, she still whispered stories and tales and dreams to her companion, because it was only slightly less pathetic than speaking to herself.

"How do we escape, dearest?" she stared at the inanimate object, willing it to speak. When it refused to talk, Esther continued, "Mother doesn't need me for much longer. I suppose she's planning to dispose of me,"

Silence.

"I don't suppose you could teleport us out of here? Isn't that what alicorns do? You're pretty useless. Maybe Prince Charming will swoop in and save me? Defeat the dragon? Rescue the damsel in distress? Luna! I'm not pretty enough to be a damsel in distress? That's a low blow,"

Luna stared at her, as much as a shimmering blob was capable of staring.

"If you weren't so huggable, I'd throw you out a window, Luna. Oh wait, we don't have any windows," Esther glared at the stuffy, "I beg to differ! I am not going insane, and no, this is not worse than talking to oneself! Though I guess if I was talking to myself, at least I'd be talking to a living creature..." the girl trailed off.

She wondered where Lady Gisela was. The last time she'd seen her... Esther shivered.

Mother wouldn't stop ranting about moonlarks and legacies.

"Luna, Luna, Luna," she muttered, "You do realize what's happening, right? The speeches, the excitement, and her visits are becoming increasingly infrequent... Her son— my fellow experiment— he succeeded," Esther's voice faltered.

He succeeded. She... had failed.

What now?

"I'm not going to run away, you ludicrous alicorn. I wouldn't know where to start. Find my purpose in life? Defy my crazy mom? You're the crazy one,"

But... the idea held appeal. The young girl shut her eyes and envisioned herself and Luna staring at a midnight sky stained with whorls of stars. There was a picture book she recalled that had been filled with images of grassy knolls and sunshine, and Esther stretched out her hand, desperately hoping for the fabled warmth of a summer day. Of course, none came.

It was foolish to imagine that anything other than these stone enclosures would be her fate.

Even so, Esther stood up and dragged Luna to the small doorway where gnomes brought her meals and mother pranced through while visiting. She stretched out her fingers. They brushed a cold, invisible wall.

"How am I supposed to break through a Psionipath's forcefield, Luna? Oh wait— it's impossible," venom laced her voice before a new idea occurred to her. The gnomes.

Her heartbeat raced as she thought of possible consequences for assaulting gnomes and attempting to escape her cage. But... wasn't it worth it? To be free?