Shadows and Curses

Part 1

*Amaya*

Minutes become hours. Hours become days. Days blend into weeks and months. The darkness is never ending, the shadows are my friends and they know all my secrets. I don't know how long it's been, at least a few months have passed since I've seen anyone. Maybe they gave up on me, or maybe they're all dead and there's no one alive that knows I'm still here.

The cell I'm in is enchanted to keep me alive, food and water appear at regular intervals, enough to keep me alive and sane. Or at least it was enchanted, because it's been 5 days since it stopped delivering anything. At this rate, with how weak I am, even if I am fae I'll be dead soon, I can barely move as it is.

Today is no different, the tiny window on my cell is the only indication I have of time passing. The only thing keeping me sane is the shadows dancing on the walls, my only companions. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Once upon a time I was royalty, even if that title only served to give me pain, at least I was free. Until that gods forsaken day. My father was always cruel, for as long as I can remember his entertainment has been torture and pain, no one was safe from him, not even me.

When the cauldron was finally put together, things became infinitely worse. I'm not sure what it told him, what he saw on those murky waters, only that it was enough to curse me, to put me in a cell at the mercy of his guards and never lay eyes on me again.

I hope he is dead, I think he might be. None of the soldiers have come down to torment me, there's only silence outside where there used to be screams and wailing. As much as my luck has landed me here, I suppose I am lucky, they have never dared put their hands on me aside from a few beatings here and there, nothing I wasn't already used to. I don't know anything anymore, only that I can never be happy again, the markings on my back proof of that.

I used to sing to pass the time, old ballads from my childhood or tunes that would simply come to me. When I was a little girl I dreamt of going far far away from here, somewhere I could sing to my hearts desire, somewhere I could be free.

But the shadows have been different lately, almost sentient. I don't dare sing to them anymore. once my only joy in this hole, I'm afraid of what is listening. Some nights I swear I can feel it breathing, watching, studying me. Like a predator waiting for the perfect moment to strike. I think I'm finally going insane from hunger and thirst. Maybe I should just sleep, but I am afraid that if I do, I won't wake up.

But eventually the exhaustion gets the better of me, I can't help it when my eyes close and I drift into unconsciousness.

*Azriel*

Sleeping has become harder and harder, the shadows that once told me secrets and spied for me are now restless. My dreams are plagued by a single voice, there used to be some singing, but it is mostly silent now, save for the occasional scream. Its driving me crazy, not knowing who I'm hearing, the shadows don't answer me anymore.

Five months have passed since the war, the Hybern king is dead, everyone is trying to heal and find a new normal. But I feel stuck, just like the voice in my dreams sounds.

Its almost dawn, an time for another patrol on Hybern, me and Cassian go there once a week to make sure everything stays quiet. I guess you can never be too careful these days, not when the last war almost wiped us out.

I walk out of my rooms in the House of Wind, stopping in the dining room to grab something quick, winnowing long distances is very taxing, specially carrying someone else with me. I turn to the hallway when I hear steps, Cassian's loud voice carrying out to me.

"You ready, Az?"

"Yeah, let's get going."

Somewhere above Hybern

I winnow us closer to the coast then I usually do, something in me, maybe my silent shadows, makes me want to look closer. Something feels wrong, out of place.

"I think we should check the island, something is bothering me."

Cassian turns to me from where he was inspecting the shore, looking worried now "if you say so, let's check everything then."

We fly all around the island, it's not a big one and its pretty much deserted, the survivors from the war have fled afraid of repercussions. And there's nothing, not a living soul, nothing out of the ordinary, but I still think something is wrong. I got this far trusting my instincts, and I can't stop trusting them now.

"Az, I don't think there's anything here, there hasn't been anything here since the war."

I know that logically he's right, but I can't bring myself to leave yet. "Just give me a moment."

I close my eyes and focus on the shadows, trying to understand what it is that they want me to know. And finally, after long minutes, I feel a tug, deep in my chest, I open my eyes to see my shadows moving frantically, like they are trying to pull me.

"I think they're leading us somewhere."

We fly all the way back to the castle, through a broken window. I try not to look to closely at the throne room once we pass it, a lot of bad memories are tied to this place and I don't feel particularly inclined to relive them. The shadows guide us past corridors and stairs, until we finally stop at a door. I look at Cass, who seems to be thinking the same thing as me. Why the hell are we at the dungeons, and more importantly, what is down there?