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Chapter 6: Confusion

Struggling to keep her eyes open, she forced herself to open her eyes. She heard the sound of the rain hitting the roof and realized she was in the attic of her house. She looked over and saw she was still in the same burnt dress from the previous night. She laid on a soiled mattress with no covers. Her clothes, in a heap on the floor next to the bed. Chilly, she shivered and cringed in slight discomfort. She felt the laceration on her head and glided her hand over the crusted blood on her head. Feeling around her hair, she pulled out the bobby pins and felt a sense of relief on her head. Her hair came down in curls. She fingered through her hair and picked at the dried blood on her head and looked around the room in confusion. She pushed her heels off her feet and placed her barefoot on the frozen floor. Hearing nothing in her house, she made her body off the mattress on the floor. Standing, she shimmied to the attic door. Touching the doorknob, she immediately took back her hand as she was burned from touching it. She looked at the door and began to yell:

"Mom!" she yelled and banged on the door. There was no answer. She slammed and repeatedly slammed on the door, but no one answered her. She looked down at her hand to observe her burn and saw nothing. She poked her hand to check her own insanity; she felt nothing. She continued to bang on the door and thought for a moment. Looking down at the doorknob and, once again, grabbed it. Feeling the intensity of the burn on her hand, she gave in and let go. She looked down at her right hand and watched the chardness of her hand heal within seconds. Grabbing hold of the doorknob again, she held on. Feeling the heat of the doorknob, she hesitated to continue holding. Trying for as long as she could, she giggled the knob and felt the block of the lock on the door. Letting go, she felt the relief of the heat on her hand. Once again, she watched as the wound healed itself.

Moving away from the hexed door, she moved over to the window and looked out. She saw nothing but a quiet street. She looked down at the unlocked window, trying to pull it up; she was then electrically shocked and sent down to the floor and across the room. Healing herself, she thought for a moment and looked at the window. She then jumps to her feet, runs as fast as possible at the window, and attempts to break it with her fist. In the window's rebuttal, she is shocked and then sent across the room. Moving back over to the door, she laid down and pressed her head against the cold wooden floor. Peering her eyes through the gap between the attic door and the floor, she looked out and suddenly gasped as she saw the eyes, Thorn, watching her. She pushed herself off the ground and slammed on the door with her fists. Pounding on the door, she yelled over and over again,

"Let me out!" she screamed.

She heard nothing on the outside.

"Thorn, let me out!" she screamed again and again. She looked up at the attic ceiling and noticed a small hole on the upper left-hand side of the roof. Tiny droplets of rain dripped down the pillars and onto the floor. Knowing Thorn was watching her from below the door, she quickly grabbed articles of clothing and dropped them on the floor directly in front of the gap. Quickly moving over to the hole, she tried to climb up but was unable to reach it. Pulling old furniture over, she piled each item high and climbed up to the very top. Stepping carefully onto each item, she finally reached the top and grabbed hold of the hole. Pulling at each end of the hole, she broke the roof bit by bit to escape. Hearing a commotion from outside the room, she heard the doorknob single. Quickly, she climbed down, moved all the furniture out of the way, and waited for whoever was on the outside of the doorway to come in. The door finally peered open. Walking in slowly, Thorn slithered in through and looked at Ella, who stared at her with hate. Thorn, covered in blood, stood there, smiling.

"You've got something on your face," adds Ella as she looks at Thorn. Thorn rolled her eyes and looked down at Ella.

"See, you still have your witty sense of humor," Thorn said as she rolled her eyes. "You will lose that soon; most lose their humanity by day eight," she admits.

"Day eight?" asked Ella; she noticed the door to be open. She moved closer to the floor to the door. She hesitated each time, knowing she probably wouldn't be able to get out.

"Yes, day eight. Day eight is when the madness appears, or suicide, each one is fine with me," she laughed. Ella confusingly looked at her. "Oh, don't look so confused; you know what I want, hand it over, and I will make your death quick and easy, just like falling asleep."

"Or, I stay alive, and you let me leave," Ella sarcastically said again. Quickly turning around to Ella, she ran to her, grabbed her head with the blood hand, and squeezed her face tightly.

"You will die, along with everyone in this country" she pushed Ella's face down, and she backed away. Ella whipped the blood from her face off. Looking at the blood on Thorn's face, she hesitated to ask, but barking up the courage, she said:

"Who's blood is that?"

"My dads," Thorn answered quickly. "He was easy to kill," she admits. "It's always easy to kill those close to you, they'll never see it coming, and when they do, in that moment of watching the trust they have for you leave their souls...is priceless," she said as she licked the blood off her fingers. She smiled devilishly. Now, for the first time afraid of Thorn, she felt the heaviness of fear weigh down on her heart.

"How..- Before Ella could finish her question, Thorn laughed. "I chopped off his head and stiffened his magic out of his body and into my wand.

"But why?" She gasped.

"Because he would get in the way of what I want."

Hesitating to know the answer, she looked up at Thorn, who was still licking the blood off her fingers, and asked: "What could you need so badly that you would kill your own father over?" Looking into Ella's eyes, now wholly catching her attention, she looked and smiled; the smell of blood ran through Thorn's breath and overcame the attic. "You," she said. She looked ahead and saw the door open. She grabbed hold of her wand and blasted the door. The door broke into a million pieces. Tiny pieces of wood splattered across the attic floor. Looking at her, she sensed the actual danger she was in.

"Me?" she cried.

"Yes, and the best part of me needing you is I need you alive," she said. A sense of relief came over Ella and nervousness because she had no clue what Thorn would do to her.

"Until I have what I need from you, I will sifen the magic out of every living thing I can grab hold of, all while watching this kingdom crumble by my hand."

"They will kill you," Ella thought. The thought of Thorn dying brought slight happiness to Ella.

"They will try but fail," told Thorn. Thorn turned her head around and looked outside. "You, your friends, your family will all die by my hand," prolonged Thorn. "You will never escape this jail, you will go crazy, and you will beg me to end your life, but I will keep you alive for as long as I need you. I will sifen the magic from your body. Once I possess the magic from your soul, you will die a long and painful death." Thorn walked away from Ella. Her feet stepping on the tiny wooden shards on the floor.

"See you in six days," she whispered as she exited the room. Laying on the cold wooden floor, Ella stood at the ceiling, staring into nothingness. Gazing into the wooden panels of the roof, she felt the room spinning ever so slightly. She tilted her head and closed her eyes.