Kaija: Queen of Stone

13

Mara

I didn't fight him. Instead, I let him go, unsure of what I had done or if it was my fault. I thought perhaps I had said something, but was unsure what it could have been. I opened the door and stood in the doorway, watching him until he disappeared like a phantom. Gone, almost like he was never here to begin with. Just like a dream.

I closed the door, facing the room that was stranger in the night time. It was the first night inside of the castle's wall in a dead woman's room. My victim's room.

Even though I tried to display power as Mara, inside, as the lost girl, I was quaking. I slid against the back of the door and curled my knees to my chest. I flung my head into my hands and groaned, my body ached.

I did not want to be the Kaijan people thought I was. I did not want to be an enemy to my own people, but the more I thought of the word, the more it became familiar and I feared the lost girl buried in my mind.

Sleep did not bless me until Hona left my weary mind alone. He was constant, a warmth to my thoughts. I knew it was a foolish thing to ask him to stay.

Once I could push him away, I settled into the bed, lying against the line of pillows while escaping under the silky grasp of linens. It was a comfort compared to the cots in the cellar. Sleep pulled me down, falling until I was in an unfamiliar land made for dreams. Even though I knew it was a dream, the scene setting before me was familiar.

Constrained to fabric walls, I found myself saddled on my knees, wearing the brown ragged dress I had worn in the river. I stared around, remembering I had been here once before. Last time I could not locate the owners of the voices, but this time, they appeared, their backs facing me.

From their appearance, it was a man and woman. The man wearing robes of black threaded with gold. His hair was white like snow, falling to the nape of his neck in delicate waves. The robe touched the ground, melding with the woman's long golden dress embroidered with black. The woman's hair was a similar white, shining more silver like the moon. Her hair curled in ringlets, touching the small of her back.

Instead of the voices sounding around me, they did not come at all. I could not move around the dream last time but this time, when I could move my fingers and shift my legs, I was able to. Standing under my feet, a ruby carpet appeared lined with fantastical designs that even my mind couldn't comprehend. I wasn't sure where I had seen these people before or where I was, but the familiarity was growing like it had every time I heard of Kaija.

I stood, my knees shaking as I collected herself. I walked forward, feeling as if I was walking in the river once more, the water wading over my feet. I looked down, expecting to see water there, but there was nothing to be seen.

Continuing forward, I approached the two people standing with their backs to me. I walked to the side, curious what their facial features entailed, but I did not see the front of their person at all. A blank white wall appeared, separating me from the moment. I walked through it, my footsteps numbing my ears.

"Tara."

I awoke in agonizing pain.

Confused, violet lines developed like in the kitchen and when Jonga tortured me. I panicked, scratching at my arms to get them to vanish but they appeared more vibrant with each scratch. The further I tried to fight the itch, the stronger it became, driving me to the threshold of insanity. I winced, it coursed through my veins, leading to my chest. I dug my nails into my flesh, trying to get rid of the itch but it grew stronger and stronger, pulling deeper inside my body.

I leaned back as my body began to culvuse. An intoxication of power flooded my veins as a blood-curdling cry escaped from my lips. My back arched as fiery liquid drowned my blood. My flesh burned and boiled. Clawing at my arms once more, I tried to peel the skin with my nails, desperate to relieve myself of the itch. I wept harder, the anguish taking over.