Naryssa's Choice (The Fate and Destiny Chronicles Vol. 3)

Resurrection

For the first time in my life, I had begun to feel truly afraid as I realized who these people were.

I remember how I struggled against their hold as I shivered in the cold rain, my heavy breath visible in the air, but it was no use as the ring leader let out ominous laughter. "You're a long way from home, Princess" he said with a crooked smile as he kneeled down to level his face with mine as he roughly grabbed hold of my chin and looked me in the eyes while Caspian shouted at him. "Get the hell away from her Chandler! I'll kill you myself if you don't get your damn hands off of her!" Caspian threatened with a glare so fierce that if looks could kill Chandler would certainly be dead. As Caspian spoke his name, I recognized it. The name was familiar to me because I had read of it within Annabelle's journal. This was the man who had betrayed Caspian, Annabelle, and Darren at the church. The man who had once betrayed them in the past and who my sister also knew from their brief interaction in Anwar.

I spit defiantly in his face before I spoke up, "I am not afraid of you. Fuck off." I told him coldly trying to hide my anxiety. I was afraid but I refused to show it but to this day I am not sure if he could sense the lie in my words. If he had known that I was afraid. He wiped his face, switching immediately from flippant and casual to full on pissed off. With no warning he swung his fist, hitting me across the face in a painful blow that somehow, I didn't cry out in pain from, followed just as swiftly by him standing up and kicking me in the stomach as his lackeys continued to hold me still. I gasped and sputtered as I whimpered, wheezing for air as I did so, feeling dizzy as the pain hit me in waves as the cold continued to bite into my skin. "Watch the attitude, Princess" Chandler said as he laughed at me while I fought to catch my breath.

I was so focused on what this man was doing and trying to think of a way out of this I barely even registered Caspian who still tried to fight his way loose though he was running out of strength as he shouted. I tasted blood in my mouth and I realized I had cut the inside of my cheek and my lip was split open, the right side of my face throbbing and my stomach aching. As I fought the dizziness and tried to ignore the biting cold, I could feel my knees as they sank deeper into the thick mud beneath me. I couldn't hear what Caspian was threatening as Chandler, the man with the dark mocha skin and brilliant ice blue eyes, spoke to me once more. "I wish I could say I was sorry for this, my dear, but I'm really not..." Chandler said cruelly as he pulled out a dagger with a malicious gleam in his eye as he knelt back down in front of me. I was nauseated as I sat helplessly face to face with this man and the fear, I hadn't wanted to feel starting to take over entirely as I realized there was no way out of this.

As I realized what he was bound to do and I was helpless. I was at his mercy. I tried to pull my face away but he grabbed me by my hair with one hand to hold me still as he slowly dug the blade into my face starting just above my left eye brow. His cutting was methodical, careful to avoid cutting my eyeball, as he sliced down my face the warm blood oozing from the slice in sharp contrast to the biting cold as I screamed in pain. Tears began to run down my face as I whimpered and cried out, the deep bleeding cut a mimic of the one my sister had, which was exactly what he'd wanted. Only he didn't stop there. He released my hair as the blood streamed down my face, my left eye vision blurred with the red haze of thick blood, and as I watched him in fear the rain around us stopped pouring down. "You should have stayed at home, Princess." He taunted as he gently caressed my face with the bloody knife, just barely not cutting me with its edge as he did. He stood up and went around behind me where he proceeded to cut off my shirt, tearing it off me completely leaving me exposed.

"No! Stop! Stop!" I cried and pleaded as I realized what he was planning on doing. "Nyssa! Nyssa! Look at me! It's okay Nyss, everything will be okay!" Caspian shouted to me as he desperately tried to comfort me somehow and as I met his terrified gaze, I felt the first cut. It wasn't raining any more but I barely noticed as I felt ice cold while I let out an agonizing scream so intense it hurt to let out. It was suddenly like everything around me was in slow motion, like someone had slowed time. I didn't register anything except for the pain. I could no longer hear Caspians shouts, hell I couldn't even hear the agonizing screams of misery that I knew were still escaping me. All I could register was the pain that was so intense it was like my soul being ripped from my fucking body. Even having read my sister's experience I could not have been prepared for the feeling.