Am I Still Dreaming? ~ Kingdom of the Immortals

Am I Still Dreaming? {11}

-11-

I go into my room, but I soon begin to feel overwhelmed. I don’t even know where to start looking for answers. What do I do? Close my eyes and ask Albert to appear so he can tell me his whole elaborate scheme? Just as I am considering it, I remember something my parents mentioned... 

Bonnie! She gave me a spell book! I quickly pull it out of my dresser and set it down on my desk. Where to begin? Now there were so many possibilities! Maybe a truth spell would work; the first spell I spotted was just a simple chant. Nothing else was needed and it didn’t seem too difficult.

I closed my eyes and decided to give it a try.

“Rain drops hold the secrets, 

Then splatter to the ground. 

The Secrets soak inside,

Where they're not disturbed or found.

“The hurtful words of others,

Are held inside the rain.

It's their secret though,

Because those words mask their pain.

“The ground is a safe haven,

For these abandoned mysteries.

And still the world fails to notice,

Like waking past the blowing trees.

“These people hide with passion,

Like they'd die if it was free.

But secrets will consume,

They won't know which them to be.

“But the rain hold some salvation,

Holds the proverbial aid.

And It masks all our secrets,

All the mistakes we have made.

“Everyone has a secret,

That they hope goes down the drain.

But secrets never go away,

They just hide until it rains.”

“Cute,” Albert appears in front of me with a smirk on his face. 

“Why are you poisoning the immortals?!” 

“Amber, I don’t think I should be answering the questions here since the spell you performed only affects you. Isn’t it funny how magic works?” 

“What are you talking about?” I narrow my eyes. 

“Shall I demonstrate?” He muses with a wicked grin. His green eyes remind me of a serpent. “Where did you meet Niklaus?” 

“In Wonderland,” I reply without thinking. After it is out, I use both my hands to cover my mouth. He can’t know that can I visit those places! 

“Are you immortal?” 

“No.” 

“Have you been to Wonderland before?” 

“Yes,” I can’t stop myself from answering. Tears begin to stream down my face, “STOP IT!” 

He shakes his head and slicks his dark hair back with the crooked smile that makes me shiver, “I think you will be a very useful specimen. While all the other immortals are dying, I think it is only fair that the Princess gets to watch the kingdom fall apart before you join them.” 

“Why are you doing this? I don’t even want to be immortal! You can’t-” 

“You have a point. I should make you immortal so I can kill you when the time is right,” He smirks. “The last batch of the poisoned elixir goes out today. I’m sure I can find some untainted elixir for you.” 

“Why are you doing this?” 

“Well, Amber, if I let you go, you could runaway and make a life of your own. You could have a child and that child could become immortal and the race could return. We don’t want that to be the case. It has been the hunter’s goal for centuries to cause the demise of immortals, and I will take great pleasure in being the man responsible for your death.” 

“Why can’t you kill me as a mortal?” 

“You are already capable of visiting the realms. Even if you aren’t immortal you are still a threat, but it is the hunter’s pack to only kill immortals. Have you been to any other realms?”

I keep my hands clamped over my mouth, trying not to answer as much as I am being willed to by every fiber in my body. I struggle for a few minutes until I gasp, “I’ve visited the Forbidden Realm and Silent Creek!” 

“Well we have places to be and immortals to kill, let me introduce you to your new home,” He grabs my hand and we appear in a dark room. It appears to be a cellar and I feel an unwelcoming chill crawl up my spine. The floor is concrete, but in the dim light I can see something dark and crusty matting the cold ground. There is a thin smell of rust in the air that makes me feel nauseas. I scream as Albert pulls me by the roots of my hair and then I feel him clamp something cold on my wrists and ankles. I move my arm to hear a rattling sound follow - he has made me his chained prisoner. How will I ever save the immortals now?

“Sorry, Amber, but this is for your own good. You’ll be a little rowdy after drinking, I don’t want to take any risks with you.” I start screaming for help, even though I know it is useless. Who is going to hear me? More hunters. “I’ll be back soon with the untainted elixir. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.” 

I look around anxiously for some sort of escape. I look around, but I can find anything. I spot a severed arm on the ground and I let out a terrified shriek as it dawns on my that this is Albert’s cellar where he kills and butchers immortals. 

I think back to the adventure I took to the Forbidden Realm when he explained why hunters killed immortals. They felt like you have no right to cheat life, so they went after the king and queen. At the same moment I felt completely defeated. Albert was behind all of this. His parents murdered my parents, and then he was able to create a potion to make me forget all about it. It would have worked if I didn’t have the ability to visit the Forbidden Realm and Wonderland and even Silent Creek in my dreams. Then, he killed Bonnie and poisoned the elixir. He was truly an evil genius. I didn’t have a fighting chance and we both knew it.