Scared of the Dark

Panic

We were pulled- more like dragged-into a large outdoor area that resembled a sort of town square, and it was packed with people. We were on a platform with three fancy-looking chairs, and Hannah whispered to us "Sit on either side of the middle chair" I looked over to my sister. I had only just noticed a chain around her neck, one that resembled the necklace I had been given with my clothes. I could tell by my sisters aggravated expression that she would much rather punch the woman and run. But Hannah seemed to know quite exactly what she was thinking, and spoke about it "If you run, trust me, it won't be me who ends up killing you. And I don't want to have to chase after your killers later alright?" My sister gritted her teeth and nodded. I nodded quickly. How could she be so calm? We walked from behind the chairs and sat down, and noticed a loud cheer as we sat down. What for? Another question to add to the list, I guess. I didn't like all the eyes on me though. I felt so unbelievably out of place and didn't want to mess something up even though I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing. Nonetheless I sat on the fancy chair and kept looking towards my sister who was very annoyed by all of this-not knowing what was going on or what she was doing here. Soon enough though, there was a huge roar of the crowd. I turned my head and looked over to the left. A man walked towards the middle chair, wearing red and gold like we were. Although it seemed more fancy somehow. Also, atop his head lay a bejeweled gold crown. Between the grand look of his chair, the yells of the crowd and the crown on his head I concluded that he was the king of these people. But, it also hit me that he must not be a loved king, because what I though were appreciative cheers were really snarls and hisses and boos aimed toward the king. Either the townspeople were ungrateful or the king was a horrible one. Come to think of it, the crowd has cheered at me and my sister. And it mustn't be a coincidence that we are sharing company with a king. Were we princesses here? It made the most sense, but then why had Hannah called me "Creator" Alice? Was that equivalent to princess here?

Eventually the roars of the crowd stopped and the King cleared his throat. How ever, before he could speak, there was a loud bang! and a poof of smoke in the middle of the crowd. There was a person in the middle of the square pointing something at the king. There were gasps from the people nearest the figure and as the smoke cleared it was revealed to be Hannah pointing a gun at the king. Hold on...a gun?! She aimed to kill him? What does that mean for me and Cassy? I looked to her to find her looking back at me, with the same panicked expression. From the square we heard a triumphant-sounding call-"And now, the fall of a king!" And before I could blink, a bullet flew from the barrel of the gun, and there were drops of blood on my arm and dress. My ears rung a bit. I tried not to look. I really did. But I ended up turning around and looking anyway. He lay on the ground with a shocked expression and blood coming from his forehead. But when he stopped breathing, he...faded? He shriveled away into dust and was blown away by a gust of wind, and all that remained was the blood stains on the floor that surrounded him. Then the lights went out and it was suddenly pitch black. Anything but the dark, anything but the dark! I backed up, bumping into something and cowering away, hating not seeing. Darkness and the unknown were my worst fears. And yet here I am, in a foreign world to which I was teleported toby a stranger in the purest form of darkness I think I've ever experienced. To add to this, there were sounds of fear from the crowd...but wait...a breeze hit me and I recalled that we were outside. It was as if the sun had been switched of in an instant. A hand grabbed my arm making me yell and jump away. I needed to find my way Cassidy and get somewhere safe with her. But a harder pull on arm dragged me away. "Let go!" I demanded.
"No, we leave now-"was it Hannah speaking?
"My sister is still-"
"Oh fine, but we should hurry it's not safe anymore. The Scarlett Guard are almost here by now"
At this point I didn't bother asking about that because I had my sister to worry about.
"CASSIDY!" I bellowed in the darkness.

No answer. No audible one anyway, the scrambling people from the crowd were still yelling and causing chaos. I yelled her name again but heard nothing. I was panicking, shouting like a madman and turning my head around lots trying to hear her voice. After a little while, Hannah grabbed my arm again and turned me to her.
"Listen, she might have already left with another one of us. Let's hope for the best and meet her there ok?" For someone who had just shot a king in front of his people she was very good at calming me down. But I had no alternative to believing every word she spoke to me being that I didn't know anything else about this place. I trusted her and she took my hand and said "Two, to Under Valley!" There was a flash of white again and the light of day shone into my eyes again. It brought me relief but not completely; relief would be seeing my sister safe and unharmed. I took in my surroundings. Like the name of the location implied we were in a balky that stretched quite far out, with yellow-green grass reaching over four feet tall ending a bit below my shoulders. From the looks of the sun was about to start setting, which made me worry. What if I couldn't find her before it got dark? I tried to suppress my panic but it grew every second that I didn't hear her respond. I was running around now, aimlessly scrambling through the tall yellow grass. . In my running around I tripped over something-perhaps my dress- and tried to pick my self up. Tried being the key word. My head fell upon a rock with a thud. To my surprise, it didn't even hurt. No, not in the slightest. But after I got up for the slightest second an immense pain surged through my brain. I felt for a bump but there was none. I heard a name call for me which for the smallest moment I imagined as my sisters voice. Alas it was only Hannah. Hannah...wait. Her name isn't Hannah! My brain swirled with new information... Images surged through my vision in a frenzy as I unintentionally strained myself to collect information. Every vein, every artery, every bone and every muscle hurt beyond measure. I would scream but my voice was out. And then, after what seemed like years but was actually less than a second, the images left and I was on the ground in the valley with no trace of pain left, clutching my knees and closing my eyes. But that wasn't my reaction the the pain.

It was my reaction to the information that had just been shoved into my mind.