The Seven Keys of Areid **COMPLETE**

Chapter IV: The Third Guardian

(I have like, three chapters waiting to be uploaded, so don't you worry about this being incomplete! I have a lot to tell you, ma cheries, but you'll have to wait until the end of the chapter :D)

Adalira woke to a pinching sensation in her lower back. Groaning, she didn’t even bother to open her eyes. She didn’t want to find out where she’d ended up. It usually wasn’t anywhere good. But, she reasoned, as she stretched on the rock hard bed, at least she’d had a good dream. Typically her dreams ran red with blood and plagued by death. This dream, however, was nice. Satoju and Evoranjela – Ranji – they had been something else. Kinder than any she knew, and beautiful inside and out. An odd purring sound caught her attention, and silently dreading whoever faced her, she opened her eyes.

The elfin maiden was caught by surprise. Instead of seeing the usual cloudy, intoxicated gazes and lewd expressions, her vision was fragmented by cheerful sunlight. Adalira shrugged as she hefted herself off the ground. While unlikely, it wasn’t as if she’d never woken up outside before. Some people, despite vulgar and lecherous, enjoyed the purity of the outdoors to cleanse away the sins that occurred there. It wasn’t Adalira’s personal preference, but nobody ever cared what an elf wanted, especially in these situations. She dusted off her dress habitually and discovered that for some strange reason had black stains and the lingering scent of oranges. This wasn’t abnormal; people were strange. She didn’t ever control what they did. But now she needed a new dress, and now wouldn’t be able to buy her freedom for at least a year more. A childlike query cheeped curiously, drawing her out of her angst and causing her head to lift from her ruined dress:

“Who are you?” the voice asked her. Adalira couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from, or whether it belonged to a male or a female. As she searched for the speaker, she realized she was not, in fact, outside, but in a black tunnel with warped walls. The sunlight was actually a luminous sphere the size of a carriage wheel hovering unsteadily near the low ceiling. This room appeared quite similar to the tunnels of her dream. This, Adalira decided, must have been the inspiration for her dream. Now all that remained to be seen was who on earth wanted to know who she was. Evidentially, her question was about to be answered. Rising out of a tiny corner was a young girl, possibly eleven. Her skin was a pale, new yellow like a butterfly’s wings. Her hair was a glossy butter yellow and ended at her jaw in a bob. Her clothes could have been considered skimpy if it weren’t for the youth wearing them; a banana colored tube top and a little wrap skirt. Her eyes shone the color of new coins, and strangely, a tufty tail swished interestedly from behind her. Twitching feline ears resided closer to the top of her head then towards the sides. The young cat girl tilted her head curiously.

"Who are you?” she inquired again. Adalira stuttered over the words as she struggled to respond civilly.

“I…I am…My name...my name...is...Adalira, my name is Adalira," she finally managed to spit out. The young girl tilted her head to the other side, her tail spiraling curiously behind her.

“Adalira,” the girl spoke, testing the name out. Suddenly, a blindingly bright, joyous smile, a literal beam of sunshine, spread across the young cat girl’s face. “I love your name!” she cheered, clasping her hands together. Adalira smiled weakly, nothing comparable to the beautiful smile.

“Thank you,” she replied. “May I know your name as well?” Adalira ventured.

The smile grew bigger across the girl’s face, and she spoke, the childlike joy positively radiating from her voice. “My name’s Amine!”

The shining yellow light filling the room grew brighter, and a metallic shine caught Adalira's eye. Around the young girl's neck, like a little collar, rested a perfectly normal, albeit fancy golden key. Adalira felt her heart plummet into her stomach as she realized with a queasy lurch that her labyrinth and dream had been reality. A slight breeze of relief washed over her as she realized that she was not, in fact, at a customer's place of residence, and all at once that feeling was blown away by the violent tornado of fear. She trembled slightly as she looked frantically around, and the young Amine raised her eyebrows curiously.