Dark Prince Rising

Eight

There was no light, but he was used to the darkness.

He knew exactly how to maneuver through the complex system of tunnels and stone halls, even though it was so dark that he couldn't make out the shape of his hand if he held it two inches from his nose. He'd been in relative darkness for as long as he could remember. The only time he was allowed to see was when he had done something very good. He liked seeing.

Memories of sight filled his mind, and he smiled into the darkness as he walked. Usually, when he was allowed to see, his Mistress was with him. Not always. Sometimes she was busy.

Once, he had been shown to a room with multicolored fungi and creeping lichen on the floor, a glowing yellow stone the size of a chamber room suspended on a cloud of air near the ceiling. That had been his favorite reward, that room. He had been very good for his Mistress that day.

He pushed further, trying to remember if he'd seen any other light that he had enjoyed. His memory was sensitive, so he usually didn't try to push it. When he did, he would only become angry and confused and gain a splitting headache, and sometimes a punishment. But he hadn't tried to remember very far in a long time. Maybe he would be able to today.

Slowly, he reached further into his past, groping blindly through the thick fog that obscured most of his life to try and find some light. He stopped walking, pausing in the dark hallway with a slender hand on the stone wall.

Suddenly, he found one. A flash of light filled his mind, blinding him with its vivid color. He gasped and fell against the wall hard, grasping at the cool stones as he sank to the floor.

The ceiling was blue, and it was so far away that it seemed like he couldn't touch it. There was green fungus under his feet, but it was soft and bendy. Another person was with him, a child with long, golden hair and big eyes. She was making a strange sound, a sound he'd never heard before. It was sort of like crying, but... happier, somehow.

"You're so silly, Rennyn," she said, smiling up at him. Her eyes were filled with such strange emotions. Adoration, like he adored his Mistress. Joy, a joy he only felt when he had done something good. There was another one, an emotion he couldn't name. It made him feel... warm.

The memory began to slip away, and he clutched the sides of his head as pain began to replace the light. "No, no, no," he groaned, desperately trying to hold onto the light for just a second longer. But the fog was stronger than he was. It rolled in and squeezed the light out of his mind, bringing with it a sharp, agonizing pain that shot from the center of his brain down his entire spine.

He curled up into a ball in the dark hallway, shivers wracking his body. His fingers pressed into his ears, as if he could hold the happy crying and the little girl's voice inside by force. "You're so silly, Rennyn."

White spots began to dance before his eyes with every beat of his heart as the pain grew stronger. He fought it, gritting his teeth to fight back a scream. He was stronger than the fog. He could hold on to this light. "So silly, Rennyn."

Footsteps shuffled against the stone floor somewhere down the hall. Someone was coming. They would find him and bring him to the Mistress. She would punish him for this. The white spots began to go more grey, and then he began to feel like he was falling. This was a familiar feeling. He would awaken some time later, and the pain would be more dull.

He would not tell his Mistress about the light. He would hold on to it. It was important for him to hold on to the light. The little girl's voice was the last thing he heard before reality slipped away.

"Rennyn."

***

Cira frowned. Something was still... off. "Where were you going to take me, then?"