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

Chapter 20

Arden's face turned stony and whether or not he realized it, his hands tightly clenched the material of my dress.

"Jade, my darling, why did you run away from me?" Mercury's taunting voice asked. Filled with horror, I slowly met the eyes of my disgusting uncle. He stood a few paces from us with a confident smirk.

"How did you find me?" I asked meekly.

Mercury chuckled as he approached. Arden's grip around me grew even tighter as he took steps back to keep the distance. "Jade, you have much to learn about this world, this realm. The minute you stepped outside, out of Arden's protection, I could feel your presence. We do in a sense have the smallest connection, being that you're my niece."

He sickened me by even acknowledging me as family. "If I'm your niece, why are you trying to marry me?" I growled.

"We are not going to entertain this any longer, Jade," Arden said, guiding me further away. Mercury remained close behind us.

"You think I won't be able to follow you, wherever you're going?" Mercury asked.

"After last time, we have more than enough precautions taken to keep you out," Arden said.

"Ah," Mercury said. "So you've learned from the dear parting of your mother."

Arden charged toward him in a rage, leaving me to my own devices as I collapsed to the Dort. Mercury's arrogant smirk never left his face. A blue light sledge hammer formed in Arden's hands. Swinging down, he sent Mercury flying backwards.

Arden panted as Mercury chuckled and rose up from the ground. "Are you done throwing your tantrum, King of Euphoria?" A chain of the blue light flew out of his hand and fastened into Arden's chest. He let out a scream and clenched it as Mercury dragged Arden towards him. Mercury's fist collided with his face which let out a horrifying crack.

"Stop!" I screamed, stumbling to my feet. My knees immediately gave way and I fell onto my face. Gripping the dirt, I pulled myself forward as Mercury repeatedly ripped into Arden, beating him senseless. Arden fell as Mercury delivered the final blow. His body went limp and he faded away.

"Figures," Mercury spat. "Of course he wouldn't be stupid enough to come out here with you physically present." He glared at me. "I'm sorry, but I must punish you before you're back at his castle."

Arden... please... get me out of here.

Mercury used the same chain he did on Arden on me to wrap around my throat. I let out a pained gasp as he dragged me by my neck towards him. I gripped onto the chain weakly. He wrapped it around his wrist and lifted me onto my feet. I clawed for air as he tightened it around my throat. "I should've dragged you off when I had the chance all those years ago. Look at how much trouble this has caused me."

I heard the blue light blade fizzling into form without even having to look. I squeezed my eyes shut as it sliced through my body like butter and burned.

The smell changed back to the crisp scentless one in the simulation room. The pain from my attack was gone, but I still felt weak. Arden was beside me, holding me steady. He remained silent as he guided me back out the room.

Zander and Arden held each other's eyes for a moment and then Zander nodded.

"Let's get you to your chambers to rest, hun," Zander said as he pulled me away.

My mind finally put itself back together and I looked at him, horrified. "You're trying to fight him?"

"Yes."

"He easily took you out!" I said, dumbfounded. "And you expect to defeat him?"

"I let him."

I laughed humorlessly. "You let him? What is this, a video game? You lost and you're trying to save face? He pounded you into the ground!"

"Give me a little more credit," he said sharply. "If I let Mercury see what I could do, he'd be better prepared for the war soon to come. He needs to think I'm weak."

I digested this information while Zander led me out of the room. I clung onto him weakly as we stumbled down the hall together. We walked past my room and I wearily looked up at him. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere temporary, just for tonight," he said. We walked towards a set of stairs that led downwards into cool air. The smell was musty as we walked. We stopped at the landing where a steel door stood. Zander pressed a code into a keypad in the wall and the door swung open to a bare, windowless room.

There was an all white bed with all white sheets and all white pillow cases alongside all white wallpaper, with an all white sink and all white toilet next to it in the left corner of the room.

Zander guided me to the bed and laid me down on it. I looked at him questioningly. "It's just for tonight, Jade."

"This looks like a cell," I whispered.

"You've done nothing wrong," Zander said. "This is just a precaution." He tensed as a spark of the Blue Light flew from my hands and zapped into the wall, leaving a streak of black smoke in its wake. I hadn't a chance to blink before he was out of the room and the door was slammed shut. I heard a lock click in place.

I began to tremble in fear. He bolted out of here and caged me in. What was going on?

Jade, do not panic, Arden's voice ordered. Think of this like a fever after being infected by a virus. Your body is not used to this energy within you, and the human mix in you is going to react very badly.

A whimper left my throat as another spark zapped into the wall, this one more forceful than the first. A small cloud of dust puffed out of the wall where it was hit. What does this bad reaction entail?

Unfortunately some more pain. And at one point, a full on spasm of electricity coming out of your body. I don't know how bad this will be. My mom went through this at a similar age. She had a bad reaction to the Awakening as well, except she was pure Antikan. That is why I've locked you in this cell; I have no idea how much worse you will be compared to her. This environment is designed to withstand your reaction.

Three bolts scattered in all directions sprung out of me and shook the walls. The pain he was talking about definitely began to sizzle to life. It felt like my nerves were flaring and throbbing. With each intensifying ache, the thicker the bolts shooting from me became.

I was so afraid. What if the walls around me gave way from the force of the energy escaping me? What if I charred up from the inside out? I was indeed feeling hot—like I was burning actually. Was I going to die?

Talk to me, he ordered.

I'm in so much pain.

No, not about that. Let's try to focus your mind elsewhere. Close your eyes and listen to my voice.

I did what Arden asked and shut my eyes. Two zaps of energy forced their way out of my body causing muscles to spasm and tense. The movement hurt enough for me to cry out.

Jade, I'm here for you.

It hurts.

What do you miss about being back on Earth?

Really? His way of distracting me was by reminding me of emotional pain instead? I couldn't come up with anything to say to him before I lost control.

The pain was everywhere as my muscles locked and jerked with the constant array of light streaming out of my body. My bed frame collapsed beneath me and the bedding slowly crumbled apart. The mirror above the sink shattered, the walls around me cracked, and the castle seemed to rumble.

I couldn't handle the pain scorching my senses. I lost consciousness.