Reign ✔

XVII

The floor was falling apart.

I was falling apart.

Falling. . . Falling down.

I was shouting. But then, someone caught me by my wrist.

I stopped falling and looked up to encounter with the greatest shock of my life.

The one holding me, saving me, was I myself; just with longer hair and wrinkles.

I knew it, rather guessed it, who she was.

She was none other than my mother. I knew she was. She had to be. And just when I widened my mouth, my eyes jerked open.

Barren land. When I look around, all I see is a barren land stretched over miles. And at the end, the castle stood. But this time, I didn't get those corny feelings; that usual churn of my stomach and that usual lump in my throat. Probably it was because I was in pain.

Pain.

There was blood on my head. I tried to reach up but no, my hands wouldn't come. I realised they were tied with metal cuffs, to a metal rod. I was kneeling down on the floor. Beside me was Eliza. Oh! How broken and fragile she was. Her beautiful skin was the victim of numerous knife cuts. The dress was drained in red blood. Everything was just. . .just so dangerous.

"Eliza," I feebly called out to her.

No reply.

"Eliza!" I called out again, this time a little louder.

Still no reply.

"Eliza!" I shouted. When no reply came, I gave up and hung low. The world around me was spinning as I tried to go back into the past; think of how I got here.

I remembered being in the tree house with Eliza, practicing to spar withher. And then, iI remembered going in to find Eliza but instead, finding her unconsciousness on the floor. And then, someone had hit on me. A sharp pang of pain shot through my head. The truth was too much to take. Lazily, I wait, spinning myself from side to side. I tried to free myself, but breaking the metal was out of my league.

Then, I heard a voice. "Sarah. . ." it was so low, so feeble, so fragile, I could hardly hear it. But I instantly recognized it.

I turned around to face her, "Eliza!" I exclaimed.

"Sarah. . ." I knew she was trying to tell me something.

"Eliza, are you alright?" That was all I could think of to say.

She tried to pull out her hands but the rings caught it halfway. She sighed and crumpled low.

"No."

I wanted to rub her, to make her feel better, to rub away her pain and make her like before. Elizabeth had got thinner, like a suction was taking in her skin. She was a horrible sight. But to help her, I couldn't.

"Eliza, listen to me." I ordered. "Look at me!" She didn't. But her body was shaking, trembling. And I knew she was crying.

"Eliza, I dare you to look up at me!" I shrieked, tears pooling around my eyes. I was so weak.

"How can I?" She finally answered in a croaky voice.

"Why, have you seen a nightmare?" I tried to humor up the situation, like Eliza had once told me. She said that no matter how hard a situation might seem, a little joke always helps. So, I applied her theory. Only, it made her sob more.

"I have failed you, my dear," she sobbed.

"Failed me? How"

"I was to look after you but now, I'm going to die. And I have failed you."