The Girl of Many Worlds | (Story formerly known as "Multiworldcial")

Chapter 19

Back upstairs in the castle, as Arden tapped away on the screen to start up a simulation, he paused as he looked my way. "Jade, I wanted to thank you for the way you handled that situation in The Haven."

"Oh, it was no biggie," I said.

"I requested you not humiliate me earlier and you respectfully acquiesced."

I tugged on the cloth of my dress. "Of course... you made it clear there would be consequences if I didn't."

"You weren't thinking about the consequences, you were thinking about how I felt." He looked between me and the screen before he mumbled, "Thank you."

Zander clapped his paws together, the sound muffled, before saying, "I'm glad to see the two of you getting along. I was informed there was some tension earlier by Camilla." He patted me on the shoulder with a soft smile.

"Yes, it has been resolved," Arden said and then addressed me. "Okay, Princess, it's time we begin your training. Come."

We made our way into the simulation room, the door echoing shut behind us. Zander's voice boomed through the microphone, saying, "Ready, sire?"

"Ready. Load it up."

I closed my eyes so the shift wouldn't be dizzying. The smell around me meshed from crisp to grassy as the air warmed.

I opened my eyes to a large tree looming in front of me. The trunk was bulky and wide as it twisted up towards the sky. Its branches were gnarled and bent in odd shapes. I saw this place before... in my dream!

The cluster of trees all around us resembled the one in front of me. They were barren of leaves, and looked as if they'd been dead for years. The smell wafting from them was rotten. I crinkled my nose in disgust. "Where are we, Arden?"

"Witherland," he said. "This place is dangerous. It's the only area where you can connect to the Blue Light directly... along with some other trials."

"But this is only a simulation... we're not actually here, I thought? So anything that happens here doesn't actually happen."

"The simulation room is not limited to just simulations. We are projected into these woods. What you see is actually happening in real time. We just have the privilege of being here without fear of permanent injury."

"Why are we here?" I asked.

"Something most people wish they had the ability to attempt." He walked towards the area where the trees huddled tighter and the smell intensified. I stayed close on his tail, nervously glancing around us as the trees curved inward, all pointing towards something unseen.

It'd become increasingly difficult to maneuver our way through the dead bark covered trees. I fought the urge to gag anytime I brushed against them and their crumbling bodies.

Finally, Arden stopped in front a circle of trees. They curved inwardly and acted as a shield to whatever lay in the middle.

"Only those with the gene to harvest the Blue Light will cause the trees to open," Arden said. "Go ahead."

"And what happens if you don't have the gene?" I asked.

"Roots shoot into your chest, directly into your heart. This will end, and we'll be back in the simulation room."

My heartbeat quickened and I took many frantic steps back.

"Princess, you have the gene. No need to be frightened."

"Do you know that for sure?" I asked.

"No... but you definitely do have it."

"Arden please... I don't want to feel that pain."

"You have to trust me," Arden said. "Go on."

Ah, yes, I'll just trust him because he said so!

Anxiously, I stepped forward. The trees shifted. The ones closest to me twisted around to face me, their bark defying all the laws of physics and acting like skin instead. A strange sound emanated from them and took me a second to realize what it was.

Breathing.

Deep, throaty breaths could be heard as the trees swelled and shrunk simultaneously—they looked too alive.

My gut was screaming at me to run. With my heart hammering in my chest and adrenaline pumping through my veins, I hardly felt the power to move forward and all the power in the world to flee. The roots came funneling out the dirt and aimed at me.

"Arden!" I spun around, morbid fear filling me. He wasn't behind me. Instead, I was face to face with other trees that had not been there before. I was completely surrounded.

The roots wrapped around me and a whimper escaped my throat. I felt so pathetic. I wanted to fight but the pure strength of my news bonds told me it was a battle I would not win. I was wrapped within its confines, as I was spun towards the now separating trees—separating! The slightest relief flooded into me. I guess Arden was right. I had the gene.

I was dragged towards a bright, glowing blue ball. The giant orb sat half out in a bowl-shaped hole dug out in soil. The trees closed behind me, leaving me completely covered in their circular prison.

The light below vibrated intensely. I watched in awe through slightly squinted eyes as it started to rise. As it did, I realized it wasn't an orb at all. It was infinite.

I had been staring for so long that I hadn't realized the roots were wrapping around my face. I flinched and screamed, but my cries were muffled by the branches around my mouth. Just as I thought it couldn't get any worse, the light shot into my chest.

The pain was excruciating. It felt like currents on currents of electricity was flowing through me all at once. I couldn't see anymore, nor could I move as I was at the absolute mercy of the energy in front of me. All I could do was continuously let out muffled screams on deaf ears.

***

I don't know when the pain stopped. I just remember feeling different. Energy pulsed within me. It spread within my body and embedded itself into my organs, my veins, my capillaries. A connection to the earth around me came to me like a sixth sense I didn't know existed—I was connected to the blue light. I knew it was a weak connection, albeit my excruciating experience, given the new sense. And because of it, I knew I was weak.

Not just physically after that whole ordeal, but in terms of the power within me. 

Daylight streamed around me as the trees parted. The roots dragged me back out towards the area where trees were less congested. They placed me down on the ground and my legs buckled beneath me. Arms wrapped around me before I landed. I saw the rings around his fingers and knew who it was.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm tired," I whispered. "Why didn't you warn me that's how it'd be?"

He didn't have a chance to answer before a spine chilling voice cooed, "Look who we have here."