The Raven

The Sickness

                                                                                 Two Weeks Later
                                                                                        Madelyn's P.O.V.

        I held a thin tissue to my bleeding nose. I'd been sick since I came home from the hospital a week ago. Well, that's what Dad called it, but I knew better. I wasn't going to let them lie to me again. I'm not a child; I can handle this. They called me 'insane' and 'fragile'. I've seen what's real. I know things that so many people taught me were fiction. I can prove it. I'm not insane. 
        I watched as the blood began to pool in my hand, seemingly mystified by its ruby color. It flowed down my arm in a slow-flowing pattern and dripped onto the old, white carpet... The carpet! Dad was going to know that I had another nosebleed, if it didn't stop soon! I rushed to the bathroom and tried to clean the blood off of my hands. It was all over my face and arm, some had gone down my neck and soaked into my shirt. Shit... He's going to find out and send me back! I know what they'll do to me! I can't do it again! At least mom was there the last time....
        I cried. For the first time in seven years, I cried. I cradled my head in my bloody hands and cried. I felt hot tears stream down my face as I fell to my knees and sobbed. I cried for everything that I'd bottled up, every time I wasn't allowed to cry, and every fucking time I had to be "the dutiful daughter" and do what was best for the family name. I despised what I have made myself become. I was ready to release my anger, grief, and worry on everyone who had ever lied to be or though I was "too fragile" to display the burden upon. I. Am. Sick of it! I quickly stood and swayed on my feet, suddenly lightheaded. Placing my hand on thee sink, I regained my balance. 
        "Never again... I won't let them treat me like a child!" I screamed looking my self in the mirror. I slammed my fists on the sink and bowed my head. "So much blood... Red, wrath and anger. Black, death, destruction, nothingness and everything at once..." I murmured looking at the mixture of tears and blood on the porcelain. 
        The door slammed open and there stood my father; his features dark and angry, then softening and morphing in concern. I saw this through the mirror staring at his reflection. 
        "Liebling?" He turned me to face him. "Are you sick? Don't lie to me," He said concern floating across his features, but his voice as cold as steel. 
        "N-no..." I murmered looking away from him.
        He grabbed me by the hair and made me look at him. His blue eyes analyzed me; as if I were a specimen under a microscope. "I'm calling Dr. McKeany," He released me and walked away.
        I fell to my knees and cried. I can't do this. They'll kill me this time; I know it! I have to leave... Somewhere, just to escape for know... to be free! I sobbed into my hands, the top of my head resting against the cabinet door. He hadn't called the doctor yet; he was cleaning the blood off of my carpet. He has to know; I know he does. 
        "Go take a shower then get in bed." His nonchalant voice carrying through the doorway. It sounded like his words were swimming through jell-o, almost as if I were underwater listening. 
        Another headache. The pain pulsed through my head starting behind my eyes. My insides twisted with worry, or was it just nausea? I didn't have much time to decide before I vomited up the little contents I had in my stomach. Blood and bile burned the back of my throat, as my vision clouded with black spots and lost focus. He was by my side in an instant; he held my long curls out of the way and rubbed my back soothingly. The chink in his armor was becoming more evident. I collapsed in a sitting position beside the toilet and wiped my mouth. Tiny flakes of dried blood drifted to the floor by the miracle of gravity. That's just what I need! A miracle to get my out of this web of lies...
                                        Midnight that night 
                                                Dreamworld
        I was seven again. Running happily through the forest with my mother; an image of absolute beauty. Her dark hair flowed behind her, while she chased me laughing. Her hands were extended outward, and she stopped abruptly. Her face washed white with fear; she pulled me behind her, as she threw herself at a dark figure. "I am your sacrifice! Leave my daughter alone!" 
        The figure disappeared and the ground caved in beneath my mother. I caught her hand and tried to pull her back up, but I was too weak. "Mutti!"
        She had tears in her eyes, and I could feel them burning down my cheeks. "It's all right, my love. This is a price we all must pay someday... I hope you can forgive me one day." She released the handhold and gravity pulled my mother from my grasp.

                                                Reality 
        I woke up in a cold sweat my nightshirt clinging desperately to my back, just as I had done to my mother's hand. I slid out from under the covers and stumbled into the bathroom. I turned the cold water on in my sink and splashed the cold water on my face. My eyes began to focus in the dark bathroom, the only illumination I had was that of the moon. I rested myself on the heels of my palms and looked at the mirror.
        I gasped. A message was written there. It read: Soon you shall fly free, Kind. Until then, behave. 
        Below it was Slender's symbol. I hope the substance that the message was written in wasn't blood, but I had a sneaking suspicion it was. Fear struck me to the very core, and I raced back to my bed and cowered under the covers. This must be a dream...

Kind= child (German)

Liebling= darling (German)