Elyon

Blindfold

And still the light comes. He shrinks back, ashamed. His royal clothes are in tatters, caked in filth and blood. His skin is raw, chafed, and oozing where the chains have cut into it.

Why is the light brighter? Doesn't the bearer of the light know they are bringing shame with their light? The darkness was better, it hid the chains, it hid the stench and the filth. No, this is cruelty, to reveal the true state of things. Better to hide in darkness than know that chains are choking him.

.....

Red groaned as he stretched, cracking his neck. He'd fallen asleep on the floor, he noted. Odd, but then the past couple days had been odd.

Or had they? He frowned, sitting up. His memories seemed fuzzy for some reason. Something about a spider. He shrugged. It was probably nothing more than stress that had brought on a few hallucinations. Standing, he passed his hand in front of the lightplate. The room brightened a little, but only to a dim glow. His mouth turned down further. If his lights hadn't been properly changed, some drone was going to spend a few weeks in the dungeons. Opening his door, he hovered out into the hall.

To his surprise, the same dim glow greeted him in the hall. Frowning, he peered into the half light, surprised to see drones and soldiers moving freely and easily through the darkened hallway.

Pausing, he considered. His room had been uncharacteristically dim, and so was the hall. One was plausible, both together unlikely. In fact, as he strained his eyes, he could almost make out folds of fabric in front of his face...

Chuckling, he reached back to untie the cloth from his face. "Very funny, Pur. Blindfolding, so original. Try again when you've got something more..." his hands froze at the knot. Something in his spooch had frozen into a hard knot. Suddenly the last thing in the world he wanted to do was take off the blindfold.

This is ridiculous, He scolded himself. I probably look like an idiot walking around with a blindfold on, I have to take it off to see right.

Don't. Bad things will happen if you take it off.

Like what, I'll be able to see where I'm going?

Bad things. Terrible things. Irrational fear plagued his mind. It's not so bad, the blindfold, it's comfortable, isn't it?

Irritated, he gritted his teeth. What is my problem? Why is taking this thing off such a big deal? It isn't, and I'll prove it. With a deep breath, he jerked it off.

The first thing he noticed was the snake coiled around the body of the drone to his left. The second, a batlike wolf-faced creature hovering over a soldier marching down the hall, dive-bombing his head every few moments, squeaking incessantly. The third, was that every single Irken in his line of sight wore a blindfold.

Instinctively, Red glanced down at his hand, where his own blindfold lay. As he stared at it, he noticed it shimmered with dark threads that seemed to draw light into them like little lines of black matter, absorbing and devouring it. Tiny little insects raced up and down its folds, spinning more black lines as they scampered. Repulsed, he flung it away.

It arced through the air, fluttering to rest in the hands of the cloaked figure from the night before.

My Tallest, I would strongly urge you to reconsider.

"This was from you?" His voice rose. Around him, Irkens glanced up, confusion crossing their faces.

We cannot speak here without you looking foolish, they cannot see me. Come. The figure turned and walked into Red's quarters. Stunned by its audacity, Red followed, ready to order it out of his personal room.

What he saw in his room arrested his tirade and left him speechless. Chains hung from every wall, thick and rusted, draping from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. The floor was cracked and dry dirt. His bedstead had become a shambles of rickety wood and a motheaten mattress.

Cruel, isn't it? You are forced to see a world at war you were never meant to see. The figure sat where the jewelbug table used to be, replaced now by a pile of ash. His cloak, Red could now see, was woven from the same strange material as the blindfold had been.

"You know what's happening to me?" Red croaked. "What is this? Am I going mad?"

No. It would be easier if you were. Your eyes have been opened to a war. One, I must point out, that has nothing to do with you.

"But why, and by who?"

Why, I do not know. And who, does not matter. The figure straightened, holding out the blindfold again. I know it dims your vision a bit, but it also blinds you to the happenings of this war. Again, it has nothing to do with you. You would do well to just take this and forget what you've seen. If you continue to watch, you will be forced to choose a side.

"I don't have to choose any sides!" Red exclaimed. "I just want to have normal vision!"

The closest to normal vision we can offer you is this. He held out the blindfold insistently. Your eyes have been opened, this is the best we can do. And as for not choosing sides, he snorted. Remaining neutral will become increasingly difficult the more you see.

"Well, whose side are you on?" Red demanded. "And what are these sides?"

I am restrained from speaking to you about such things. I am only here to offer you this. He set it down and began walking toward the door.

"Hey, come back!" Red charged after him. "You can't just leave me without a full explanation..." Crashing through the door, he blinked. No one walked the halls. No drones, no soldiers, and no cloaked figure.

Turning, he stared at the blindfold, resting on the mound of ash in his chain-bound room. Did he really want to see this? This alternate vision of his room? These strange creatures hounding his workforce? Yet on the other hand, did he want to walk around groping for walls and handholds the rest of his life?

Exasperated, he grabbed the blindfold and shoved it in his belt. He would decide later, maybe. Perhaps the figure was wrong. He could remain neutral in this strange war he knew nothing about, surely. All he had to do was mind his own business, which currently involved tracking down an annoying little SIR unit. With a jolt, he realized this new vision might help him find the little bot. He hurried toward the new wing, wondering what he would see when he got there.