The Divine Warrior

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Her Decision

Her heart was pounding against its cage, threatening to break free; threatening to break apart. She couldn't open her eyes. She was stuck in the blackness that had become her inner self.

When her eyes finally broke free of their slumber, she realized that she was face-to-face with the body of her dead father. Blood seeped from the hole in his throat, and the reddened skin sagged against the visible bone.

Divinia tried to pull back, but she couldn't get far enough. Something kept pushing her closer. She kicked her feet, trying to back herself up, but a heavy stone wall of nothing pressed against her spine.

Her father's eyes flew open, and he crawled to his knees quickly as his head lulled to the side, not having the strength and support from the muscles in his neck and throat to keep it up. Skin flopped to the floor like worms coming up through the dirt.

"You let him kill me, princess... Why would you allow him to do this to us? It is all your fault and there is nothing you can do now but come with me. I forbid you to leave. You cannot leave me.

He fell over and gripped her ankle, blood pouring from his neck.

Divinia screamed and turned over, trying to claw her way from his grip, but he was too strong.

"No, daddy. Please! I could not stop him! It is not my fault!"

The laugh she'd loved hearing over the years, was morphed into a disgusting howl. As she turned to face her dead father once more, he was no longer there. However, Dreven was in his place, his breathy laughter taking over her ears.

"No daddy, please!" He rolled his eyes, laughing harder, "Come with me, beautiful princess. I can make all of this go away." He showed off his disgusting brown and yellow teeth in a menacing smirk.

"Never! I will never go anywhere with you! This cannot be real... this is a dream, and I want to wake up right now!"

She kicked more and more; and darkness fell upon her once again...

***

"Divinia? Divinia, honey, wake up! It is just a dream, my darling. Please wake up. Divinia!" She heard her mother's distressed voice, trying to wake her. Her small fingers were rubbing against the smooth skin of her cheek, wiping the wetness of tears from the corners of her closed eyes.

Her eyes rolled slightly as she tried to open them; and finally she gained enough strength to pry them from their bonds. Her vision was blurry at first, but she was eventually able to see each feature on the face of the beautiful woman leaning over her.

"Oh, praise to the highest Heavens; the Lord has answered my prayers. I have been beyond worried about you. We all have..." Divinia peered over her mother's shoulder, noticing a few of the maids whom she was close to, along with Alazar and another man, who was a stranger to her. She didn't get to study his features, because her mother continued to speak, "You have been out for longer than you should have been; nearly two days, my dear. That cruel bastard of a man, pardon my French, must have hit you harder than he did me... do you remember what happened?"

Memories started rushing back, and she cringed as she pictured the look on her father's face as he fell to the floor, bleeding from his throat. Her bottom lip trembled and she bit down on it gently, nodding her head.

"I know, my sweet child. I know." Cecily said softly, pulling her daughter into her arms as tears fell from her eyes. They held each other for mere moments, crying together softly.