ONE POINT FIVE (1.5 in the Amnesia Archives)

Chapter 2

Sarphi's POV

I panicked. As soon as I heard the rustling behind us, I moved towards the wall, expecting to lean against it and lurk in the dark shadow which it provided. Instead, I fell straight through the wall, landing flat on my back whilst my legs remained inside the stone structure. I looked down at my body with wide eyes, before I heard the shouting of the city's guards from inside.

"Halt!" several voices called almost in unison. The guards sounded breathless, probably from their attempts at finding us. They couldn't have gotten tabs on us already, so maybe they were castle guards and we'd gotten unlucky.

I shook my head and pulled my feet away from the bricks, shivering at the idea that I had just walked through a wall by myself. Movement below me caught my eyes, and Onyx came out of the wall, his tail wagging and tongue sticking out. He looked proud.

"I know," I whispered to him and patted his head. "But how do we get back?" I knocked on the walls, hoping that the guards wouldn't think much of the noise, if it was even audible at all. The wall was very solid. I could hope and pray that Aknon also had the ability, and he suddenly became a master at it, but I doubted it with the state of his head.

"Yes, sirs?" Prin asked in a voice which sounded like the epitome of innocence. I assumed that she made her beautiful eyes wide and began fiddling with her fingers. "Is there something wrong?"

"You mean to tell me you didn't hear those bells?" one of the guards asked, disbelief clear. "You are trespassing on palace property, miss. This is grounds for arrest."

Prin gasped. "But royalty belongs in a palace," she said, sounding like a child. "Do you even know who I am? Who we are?" I could imagine her pulling Aknon's arm, trying to bring him into the conversation, but also clinging onto him to calm her nerves. "My name is Princess, and I deserve to live in a palace."

The guards were silent for a moment, before some began to snicker. "Princess, eh?" one of them asked before clearing his throat. "What's daddy's name? King?"

I had to cover my mouth to stop myself forms nickering.

"Yes," Prin replied plainly.

The guards stopped laughing, seemingly shocked by the news. "You've got to be kidding me," another one of them said. These guards seemed a lot more casual than the one who had initially spoken. "Sweetie, you don't have any say here. It doesn't matter if you're royalty or a street rat. You don't belong in this kingdom."

I balled my hands into fists and punched the wall. I had hoped to bang against it and catch their attention once more. Instead, my hand went straight through the wall, grabbing something and then pulling it back in my shock.

That something happened to be Aknon, who had let out a rather girly screech as he was pulled backwards by the fabric of his coat.

"Where's Prin?" I asked in a hiss. I stared into Aknon's eyes, wanting to shake the confusion and shock out of them. "Aknon?"

He blinked a few times and gestured back towards the wall. "The other side of it, what do you mean where is she?" I guessed his sentences had gotten mixed up, but I knew what he meant.

"I thought that you'd be holding her," I exclaimed. I didn't want to tell him that I hadn't actually expected for my arm to go through the wall. Worry coated my features as I heard the unsheathing of swords and loud voices on the other side, declaring that Prin was a magic user wanting to kill the royal family. "How are we going to get her out?"

Onyx barked and pushed my leg once more.

I shook my head down at him, moving from foot to foot as my anxiety skyrocketed. I knew we only had a few seconds to get her out of there or they'd run her through. But I didn't know how I did the thing. Aknon was here, and he was trying to think, but it was impossible. He could do something to distract them maybe, but he's exhausted, and I didn't want to carry him away from the kingdom, or for him to sleep with his injury.

"Kill her!"

My vision flashed black, and my skin was coated in a cold sweat as I charged towards the wall, ready to crash to the floor and be in a similar situation as Aknon. Instead, I ran straight through it.

I grabbed Prin's hand, and we charged towards the guards, going through them one by one. The thought of running through people's bodies sent a shiver down my spine, but we were through the guards within a matter of seconds. I pulled her towards the wall again, a few feet away from where we originally were.

"Aknon, hurry!" I yelled behind me. I hoped that the noise was his and Onyx' quick footsteps, but I also heard several weapons colliding with the wall. "We don't have time." I didn't say that to anyone in particular, my eyes were narrowed on the path ahead of us, praying that there would be a sign to lead us somewhere safe.

I heard a gasp from behind me, but I didn't turn to look as I continued to sprint. I made sure I could still hear the footsteps behind us, and that we were all safe, but I was too concentrated on one foot going in front of the other, getting as far away from Daemofer as I could.

I didn't know when I collapsed to the ground with exhaustion, only that we were in a dark forest far away. Prin was breathing heavily, and Aknon fell down beside me. We were all groaning and complaining, but we weren't being chased anymore.

"That was close," Aknon commented as he leaned against me, his head on my shoulder. "Far too close."

"You're right," an eerie and familiar voice said in front of us. Our father was peering down at us, with their arms crossed over their chest and a frown on their face. "It is rare that I leave my domain." Those words made me angry., as though we should be honoured that they had actually left their domain to potentially help us. They could've done that twenty years ago, and actually brought up their children. "It seems that you caused quite a stir." They bent down, kneeling beside Aknon and placed a hand on the back of his head. "I do not share the unique miracle talents of healing, but I can try."

Aknon flinched away slightly, causing Dwi to hesitate, but either way, they rested their hand back on my brother's head and began muttering under their breath.

My brother's weight became heavier on my shoulder, and I noticed that his eyes were closed. "Why is he sleeping?" I asked, a concerned frown on my face as I moved my arm to rest around my brother in a protective hug. I knew I couldn't do anything against a god, but I really was tempted.

I didn't notice that Prin had sat down beside me until I felt her hand on my other shoulder. "He's resting." I could tell she wasn't quite sure, but she remained hopeful that Dwi knew what they were doing. She would probably be the first to think of a parent being hostile to their child, given what she grew up with.

I sighed and nodded, watching as Dwi continued to try and heal Aknon. The reluctance I felt weighed on my shoulders like a blanket. I tried to stay rational, as I knew I couldn't do anything right now.

Onyx came over and lay across our legs, causing me to let out an involuntary chuckle at the cuteness and the strange warmth he gave off.

"Will he be okay?" I asked Dwi after several long minutes. I didn't want to have any kind of conversation with them, but the awkwardness and tiredness was getting to me. I just wanted to make sure that Aknon would be fine before I slipped asleep myself. Being in the presence of the deity of curses and shadows wasn't the most comforting situation to be in, but I felt somewhat safe here.

"He will be fine. Get some rest, little one." Dwi's voice was soft and gentle, unlike the other times they'd spoken. They put their other hand on my head and stroked my hair a few times. It almost made me cry due to how similar that could be to a father comforting their child. But that's what this was, my father comforting me.

I found my eyelids drooping closed as my head fell backwards, leaning against the bark of the tree, as the cawing of crows and rustling of the wind in the trees filled my ears.