Innocent Sorrow: A Tale of Twisted Hearts Book One

Chapter Fifteen

Feli stared down into the dark tunnel that stretched out before her. In the waning light of day, she could only see the first few, earthen steps that lead down into the pitch blackness. Feli quickly realized she had nothing to guide her for she hadn’t known how dark this place would be… She didn’t have long to ponder this problem though for before she could even begin to think of some way to light the pathway, Valkea started to walk into the darkness. With every step he took, the walls lit with soft, blue light that seems to be from the very earth itself until she took a closer look. Lining the walls were long vines with beautiful blue blossoms that shone with an internal light; these vines were both beautiful and intriguing but Feli knew she didn’t have the time to study them. Instead she hurried after Valkea; her bare feet making no sound as she padded after him though the chill of the ground seeped into her skin and made her shiver. She noticed how he tucked his wings against his back; his ears falling back with irritation and quickly realized that, for whatever reason, he did not want to be in the underground world they were entering. Feli reached a hand out to her pet, brushing his flank with soft, soothing fingers in an attempt to quite his anger. It seemed to work as his ears slowly pricked forward and his movements became smoother instead of the rigid, tense walk of before. Time seemed to stop as they were swallowed up by the near pitch blackness and Feli wondered just how deep under the castle they were and why no one had ever noticed this before. In her heart though, she could feel a foreboding sense of dread the further in she got and knew that it was this very thing that kept people from entering…

After walking for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes and well after her feet had gone numb from chill, Feli saw Valkea stiffen again. From his chest, a soft growl rumbled continuously but he continued forward for a few more paces before stopping short, Feli nearly tripping over him in her haste. She couldn’t see much past where they stood and the vines wouldn’t light up if they didn’t go further so she was stuck waiting to see what had startled her pet. The deep growl grew in volume till he was all but snarling. All sound stopped though as a deep voice rung out clearly in the darkness. “Seems he doesn’t like me despite being a gift from me…should I feel bad for that?” the voice stopped for a moment before continuing on. “Oh, how rude of me to forget my manners… Welcome, Princess Feli; it certainly took you long enough.” as though in response to those words, the vines that extended further into the darkness lit up, momentarily blinding her with their brilliance. Feli could hardly believe her own eyes when her vision cleared. Before her stood rust mangled bars that rose from the ground and met the top of the tunnel well above her head. The vines, with their light emitting flowers curled around the outer edge of the cage; for that is what it was, a cage. The bars were bent at odd angles as though an incredible force had pushed and banged against them and in the center; the bars were pushed completely out of the way. In their place was a gaping hole in which Haydn stood in all his glory.

He was much like she remembered from her eleventh birthday, long chocolate hair tied in a low ponytail and olive toned skin that was both exotic and strange. What made her cringe was the blatant disgust in his dark eyes as he looked at her; as though just by existing she enraged him. It took her a moment to find her voice but after swallowing a few times in the heavy silence, Feli regained her words. “I came to release you…” She wasn’t expecting the harsh, barking laughter that met her ears nor the steely glint in his onyx colored orbs. “Huh, you changed it… In the past, you said you were here to free me, save me! Now you are just here to release me? You really are Feliciana…” he laughed again though it was a bitter sound and stepped past the rusted out bars. As he came closer, she could see his outfit consisted of a forest green tunic and black slacks. Across his chest, he wore a black, leather chest plate and on his shins he wore leather bracers; he looked as though he had been preparing for war.

Feli held her ground and stared back at him with equal fervor, not one to ever be dominated regardless of her role as a female or a princess. “I’m not Feliks and I cannot save you since he already did that long ago…” She trailed off as she realized the only thing standing between her and this dangerous man was Valkea. As she spoke, he raised an eyebrow and when she stopped, he smirked. “Yes, that’s true, you aren’t Feliks…but that eye tells me he is close to the surface. Tell me, is he trying to take over your body or is your left eye twitching for some other reason?” Feli slapped a hand over her left eye, blocking the red orb from sight as she tried to block out the pain that throbbed through it. She grinned in response to his words once she composed herself. “Yes, he seems to miss you dearly…I sincerely apologize for getting in the middle of that but this is my body and I don’t feel like handing it over just yet.” She felt Val’s tail swish against her leg and knew he approved of her words. Haydn’s laughter was cold and nearly manic as he took another step towards her, forcing Val to push back against her legs and raise his hackles in anger. “You act so important…don’t you realize you have outlived your usefulness? Feliciana was only needed until your body was able to contain the Spirit of Fire. Now you should kindly step aside and allow Feliks and I to reunite!” his eyes blazed with anger as he spoke but Feli could only see a man begging for something he couldn’t have… “I’m sorry but I will not hand over this body. For you, my existence may be a thorn but there are those that do actually need me and there are many more of them than you. If I could give you back Feliks while keeping my own life, I would but it just isn’t possible.” She shook her head. She felt sorry for this man, this spirit that had imprisoned him-self here just to wait for this very moment and yet it wasn’t how Haydn had expected. Haydn’s fist collided with the earthen wall making a muted thud and causing dirt to crumble from it but Feli kept from flinching through sheer will power.