The Pain in My Heart [Completed]

Chapter Forty-Five

~Crista

I can't tell if the vision before me is a dream or reality.

I creep down the stairs, each step echoing in the vast silence. It's quiet... a little too quiet. The smell of mold fills my nose and the dampness of the air makes my breathing constricted. I can't imagine being down here for more than a couple minutes, nonetheless a couple of months.

And then I feel it. A pull... like a magnet that is drawing me down the hallway. I plant my feet into the dirt ground and force myself to stay behind Zaria. But her sharp ears aren't deceived and I know she can hear the change in my pace.

She stops, and maybe it's my nerves from being down in the dungeons or perhaps it's the feeling of unease as I'm about to formally meet the man that's been messing with my mind, but standing behind Zaria right now makes my heart skip a beat.

She was one of them, and something like that changes who you are. She broadens her shoulder and straightens her back. Was she always that tall? She squares herself off and I never noticed how strong she is.

Looking in the cell she stopped at, an older man hunches in the corner. He looks to be in his late 60s... maybe 70. She lowers her face and stares. She doesn't say anything, but her eyes narrow and her jaw clenches. The man notices her and his voice is gruff when he speaks, like he hasn't used his voice in a very long time.

"What do you want?"

She shrugs, stands straight, and walks further down the hall.

Utterly confused I quicken my pace and follow her, and that's when it starts... the dream. But it's not a dream this time... I have to remember this is real. This isn't a dream. So, why does it feel exactly like it?

My vision starts to blur and fade. The edges start to go dark and I can only see right in front of me like a tunnel. My breathing becomes even more labored and my heart starts to speed. It pounds in my head like the beat of a drum getting louder and louder.

Zaria turns around. The green of her eyes is the only thing that catches my focus. She opens her mouth, but all sounds are echoey and canned. She comes closer, and it's only now that I notice I'm hunched over on the floor. She towers over me.

"Crista," she says, though it's only a guess. By the whites of her eyes and the movement of her lips, I can only guess she is saying my name.

She looks around and panic is written on her face. The glimmering wall just a few paces away holds her attention for a split second before she looks back at me. There are questions in her eyes I don't know how to answer. And even if I did, I wouldn't know how to tell them to her.

My mind slows. Thoughts come and go like soft clouds floating in the sky. None of them really have any meaning or importance.

"Save me."

My mind clears for a moment the second I hear his voice. Save me. "I'm trying," I whisper in my head, knowing it will probably get lost before he can hear it.

"Don't you die on me!"

I hear a shout loud enough to break through the echoes. Zaria cradles me down to lie on my back. I look up and see the dirty ceiling. This really is a prison. Every day I would look out my window to pass the time. I'd look up at the sun and the birds. I'd watch the branches of the trees sway in the wind and watch the leaves and flowers sprout from plants.

It was a reminder for me, or... that's how I thought of it anyway.

Without my magic, I felt like nothing. Just like the trees when they lose their leaves. That's the reason people love them so much. They adore the bright colors and the lush greenery. They pick the fruit that the tree bears and make beautiful meals to share with everyone.