°° The shadows Of Skotia°°

Chapter one

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It all happened way too quickly. In one moment, we were in a heated argument, our voices clashing as we tried to out-yell each other to make our points clear. It was terrible-an eruption of all the frustration, angst, and resentment that we'd been bottling up, all resistance broken.

It wasn't our first fight, but none had ever been as heated as this.

"My biggest mistake was not letting you die there!" she cried, chucking a bottle at me. I could only barely dodge it as it broke at the wall behind me.
Tears streamed down her face as she kept yelling" why won't you just die! Just die!."

She made to pick another bottle and that was it.

A flicker, a shadow, and several voices speaking in languages that didn't sound human. In a millisecond, she was lying in a pool of her own blood. Everything happened in a blur.

It took me a moment to realize something had happened. I couldn't remember anything, just fragments, like a shattered mirror. The room spun around me, and the air felt too dense to breathe. My head pounded as I struggled to keep my eyes open.

Outside, I could hear the soft rumble of thunder.

What just happened? I thought to myself.

I collapsed. Right next to her, in her own blood. I lay there alone with her body on the hard floor. The cold, unyielding tiles pressed against my cheek, grounding me in this horrific reality. I couldn't do anything. Couldn't shout, couldn't move, couldn't even cry. I just stayed there, listening to the rain patter on the roof and the thunder rumbling outside.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly. Each second felt like an eternity as I stared blankly at the crimson pool slowly spreading around us. My mind was a chaotic whirlwind of fragmented memories and jumbled thoughts.

Did I just kill my mother? No, that's impossible.

I allowed myself a few thoughts before slowly losing consciousness, hoping and praying it was all a nightmare.

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I awoke to the sound of voices-faint at first, then growing louder. They overlapped, creating a confusing cacophony that echoed in my mind. I tried to move my arms to cover my ears, but they felt like lead. I tried to speak, but my mouth wouldn't cooperate.

It was raining slightly outside, I wondered how much time had passed.
Gradually, the voices became clearer.

"You need to send her away... Always been a delinquent... Never listened to her mother... Oh, poor Caroline..."

One voice, stern and feeble, said. I recognized it as Ms. Vam, the landlady.

"I understand... But I'm not going to take her to jail... She's only a child..."

Another voice, more gentle yet firm, responded. It was a woman, but one I did not recognize.

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking against the harsh light. I was no longer in the living room but in my own bedroom. The transition was jarring. How did I get here? The last thing I remembered was the cold floor and the sound of rain.

At the doorway, I was met with four pairs of eyes.
Two belonged to two tall, dark, middle-aged policemen with stern expressions. They were both holding two umbrellas each which now dripped on the wooden floor.
The third was a handsome woman with striking green, cat-like eyes, dressed in an outfit reminiscent of the 1920s, her expression a mix of scrutiny and concern. And then there was Ms. Vam, in her usual woolly jacket and floral gown, her face a mask of anger.

The four of them stared at me. I stared back for a brief moment before I realized where I was and remembered what had happened.

My mother was... dead. I shivered and blanked at the realization.