Eight Intertwined II

242 - Lady

Primrose's entire body betrayed her as soon as she stepped through the Gate of Finis, and the world around her twisted with sudden brutality. She wanted to call out for her friends and ask for their help to stabilize herself again, but her lips refused to move. Somehow, she already knew they would not be there when she opened her eyes once more. 

Sure enough, Primrose opened her eyes to find herself on her own. She was standing on a small platform of red stone before an altar holding a burning blue flame. She let out a thin breath and looked into the void that surrounded her, hoping that it would give her at least an inkling of a clue as to what she was meant to do now... But she came up short. Primrose shook her head in frustration and started toward a set of steps hidden entirely in black fog. Maybe she would be able to find them if she went through the fog, but she wouldn't be able to reach them if she didn't know where she was going. 

Primrose summoned a small light spell to her palm before she lowered it into the darkness. The light flickered for a few seconds before fizzling out once it had touched the fog. In other words, Primrose probably wouldn't be able to navigate through the smoke even if she wanted to. She would just have to find another way to get out of there... Not that she really knew where to start. 

"Primrose..."

Her blood ran cold at the sound of that familiar voice... But it couldn't be true. She couldn't actually be hearing Simeon of all people. He was gone. Primrose had stabbed her dagger into his chest, and she had made sure to make it hurt in his final moments. Simeon had ruined her life in more ways than she could ever hope to count. Simeon had killed her father and led her down the dark path of vengeance she had come to know so well over the last decade. Primrose had been pulled along by his desires for years, unable to truly escape his shadow. She was happy to be free of him, and she never wanted anything to do with him ever again. 

"Primrose..." 

There it was again. Primrose turned around to look at the altar, feeling as if the voice was coming from that direction. In the end, her eyes fell to the dancing blue flame before her. Simeon was waiting for her inside of the fire, wasn't he? Primrose was sure of it even if she had no hard evidence to back up her suspicions. She needed to face him again if she was going to get out of there. Why else would the blue fire be there right in front of her? Why else would she be hearing Simeon's voice here of all places? He wanted her attention, and he wanted Primrose to have to face him once again. 

Primrose took a step forward with a shaking hand. She needed to face him if she was going to understand what she had found herself in the middle of, but she didn't know if she would ever truly be ready for it. Primrose had struggled enough to muster together her courage to face Simeon before, and that was when all of her friends were there at her side. Simeon had been terrifying enough when she knew the rest of the travelers were behind her to make sure she didn't lose her nerve. Now, Primrose was all alone, and she didn't know how she was meant to look him in the eyes. 

But this was what it would take to reunite with her friends again, wasn't it? Primrose wouldn't be able to reach them again unless she was able to escape this darkness, and that started with fighting Simeon. She needed to push through him in order to reach the place she knew she belonged. Simeon terrified her, but Primrose couldn't let him hold her back forever. She needed to keep fighting. She owed it to herself to keep fighting and to make sure she could finally claim her own life after all her years under his thumb. 

Primrose didn't ignore the way her hand shook when she reached out for the blue fire. Instead, she allowed herself to be empowered by it. If she was afraid, then that meant she was still alive. That meant she was able to feel fear to begin with, and that was something she needed to enjoy. She was there whether she felt ready for it or not, and she was going to make the most of it. She would push through Simeon however she had to, and she would get back to the rest of her friends. She had come too far to back down now.