Until Forever (1st draft)

Part the Twenty-Fifth

She was losing her mind. There was no question about it. Even when she tried to clear her thoughts and logically process some self-assessment, she realized that this action alone removed any doubt. How foolish was it to ask yourself if you're going crazy when you fear you that are?

One minute she was relieved to still be alive, thrilled that she had more time to spend with Nellaf. Then in the next moment she was overwhelmed again by the aching grief of her mother's death and Steekbunk's brutal murder, wanting nothing more than to be swallowed up by a deep hole that would hide her from the outside world forever and keep her completely numb to all feeling.

That is, of course, assuming that Steekbunk Lowbone and everything else in Daysheen was actually real and not just the unhinged imagination of a splintered mind. She would never truly know if she were lost within an alternate world of inexplicable beings and cataclysmic scenarios, or within a spiraling descent of madness leading toward complete mental breakdown.

Though her heart soared whenever Nellaf came near, she couldn't bring herself to even attempt finding her way back out of the stupefying fog that enveloped her brain. Nor could she force her body to get up from Nellaf's bed. She was breathing, so her body was still performing its basic functions to sustain her, but there was no mental or physical initiative to decipher and correct her predicament.  Nellaf had saved her from the swamp, but even he seemed incapable of saving her from herself.

As she lay there staring at the ceiling, a faint melody reached her ears and she recognized it immediately. It was the same beautiful voice she had heard before, right before Steekbunk had kidnapped her and brought her back to his own home.

His home that was now completely destroyed, scattered like discarded trash all around his butchered body. Geneva sobbed again, rolling onto her side to hold her stomach because it felt like she was going to get sick.

The perfect intonation of the distant voice caught her attention again, overcoming her paralyzing anxiety, calming her surging emotions. It was the same song as last time, the same enchanting voice, and it had the same impact on her. Goosebumps danced along her body as she sat up and listened more closely. As before, the muted singing was coming from outside the room, in the direction of the door she had found but never opened.

She swung her legs off the bed and stepped through the curtains, walking quietly on bare feet to the door. She started reaching for the doorknob, then paused and looked behind herself, even though she knew there was no way Steekbunk could intervene this time.

Turning the knob as slowly as possible to prevent any sound from interrupting the heartfelt performance, Geneva eased the door open and peered within. It was a small windowless chamber connecting the bedroom to another room on the opposite side. There was an open doorway parallel to the one where she stood and she could see Nellaf reclining in a ridiculously plush armchair with his head back and his eyes closed, obviously completely soothed by the angelic singing.

Geneva pushed the door open a little more and saw that the only furniture in the connecting chamber was a table positioned right in the center. Atop the table was a thin-barred cage made of a burnished silver metal, and seated within the cage was a Faerie, singing the hypnotic ballad. The Faerie looked over at Geneva with a start, pausing mid lyric, then whipped her head around quickly to look over at Nellaf before resuming the song where she had left off. There was no noticeable reaction from the young man so the Faerie turned back to face Geneva while she continued singing.

Geneva started to walk into the room but the Faerie frantically shook her head no and held out her hands to signal the girl to stop. Geneva complied, though she was confused why this beautiful little creature was locked in a cage and looked so distraught. Eyes wide, the Faerie continued her song as she tried to shoo Geneva back into the other room with her hands. Unnerved by the sadness in those little eyes, Geneva defied the wishes of the prisoner and entered the room. While the Faerie continued singing, Geneva retrieved a key on the far end of the table, the only other object in the room. She unlocked the cage and opened the little hatch.

"Now explain why—" she started to say, but the Faerie flew out of the cage like a bolt of lightning and pressed Geneva's lips together to shut her up. Still singing, she looked over at Nellaf who did not stir. The diminutive songstress now made a circle by joining the tips of her right thumb and forefinger, then slipped the circle over the ring finger of her left hand. Geneva furrowed her brow in a look of confusion. The Faerie repeated the gesture, then pointed at the girl. What was she trying to say? Did she want Geneva to put on a ring?

Oh, the ring! The Faerie Tail Ring!

Geneva fished the ring out of her pocket and slipped it on a finger. Instantly the world changed, as if she had put on a pair of eyeglasses with colored lenses. Her vision was still as clear as before, but a yellowish haze added a strange perspective. The Faerie hovered in front of her, repeating the chorus once again, pointing in the direction of Nellaf. Geneva looked through the doorway and gasped out loud at what she saw.

Nellaf was gone! Or had changed. Or...something. In his place was a demonic looking creature that filled her with terror and revulsion. He...it...was still reclined in the chair...its body appeared to be the same build as Nellaf...but its head...its head looked nothing like the handsome young man. The sexy mane of tousled hair was gone, the flesh had turned pallid like a corpse, and the features looked more reptilian than human. Along the bald head and down the back of the neck, small folds of flesh had been pinched and pulled taut, held in place by metal hooks that punctured the folds and were anchored to each other.

What was happening?

Geneva regretted it as soon as it happened, but she couldn't help herself. She screamed at the top of her lungs, causing Nellaf's grotesque replacement to leap up out of its chair and stare at them with hollow eye sockets that were like looking into the bottomless depths of Hell. Geneva became dizzy looking into that stark blackness, and she staggered backwards through the doorway. The Faerie flew right in front of her again, the beautiful song now long forgotten amid the roiling chaos.

"Geneva Maxwell!" the Faerie shouted. "You must flee! Now! My singing was the only thing that could calm the dark soul of Kraw the Fallen! Now he will kill you! I will give you as much time as I can!"

The Faerie flew in a tight arc back into the connecting chamber, brave and defiant in the face of such a terrifying threat. But she didn't give Geneva much time at all. A long black tongue, thick and oily, snapped out of the creature's mouth as the lips stretched open impossibly wide to reveal tight rows of needle-like fangs. The bulbous end of the tongue shot across the room and slapped into the Faerie's body. Then it retracted and the Faerie was gone into the gaping mouth; all of her except one of her wings which fluttered momentarily before getting sucked inside. The horrible crunching noise that followed triggered a gagging whimper from Geneva, who violently pried the ring from her finger and flung it across the room where it clattered out of sight. She no longer wanted to see the horrific reality its magic could reveal.

She slammed the bedroom door shut and leaned against it, her heart pounding so fast that she couldn't catch her breath. Twice before she had sought death. But not this time. Not like this.