Strings - Camp NaNoWriMo 2017

«Castle in the Woods - 2»

Aurel woke up in a too-bright room. Warm sunlight streamed in through a window, illuminating a soft carpet and a large, canopied bed. Aurel lifted herself off the floor with a groan, shielding her eyes. Her hair was matted, plastered to her face, and there was a dull ringing in her ears.

"Selphie," Aurel breathed, finally remembering. "What did she-" she mumbled, trying to rise to her feet, all in vain. Her limbs felt like rubber, unable to hold their own weight.

Aurel inched towards the door, hitting a weak fist against the wood. "Selphie," she called, voice hoarse. "Selphie!"

Nobody seemed to hear. Fear and adrenaline flooded Aurel, giving her a burst of strength. She used the door frame to stand herself up, and tried the handle. Locked.

Shifting to last retorts, Aurel threw the full force of her body against the door, attempting to break it down. Again and again she charged, until she could feel the dull pulse of a bruise creeping up her side.

"Aurel..." a voice sang from the other side of the door, creeping out of the silence. "Please don't do that..." Rushing footsteps pattered towards her.

Aurel charged one last time, but the door swung open just before impact. Her momentum carried her forward, once again landing her in Selphie's arms.

"Now, now," she chided, gazing down into Aurel's wide, terrified eyes. "We can't have you hurting yourself..." Her gaze wandered off, sweeping up and down Aurel's body.

"Perfect," she murmured to herself. "It's perfect."

Aurel tried to move, but found that she couldn't. It was as if every single muscle in her body was locked in place.

"Now," continued Selphie softly, oblivious. "I hate to do this in such a vulgar manner, but for now, it'll have to do." She gave an almost imperceptible flick of her fingers, and Aurel felt the feeling return to her right leg. "You're going to walk with me," Selphie explained. "Please do try and cooperate. You only have one functioning leg. If you try to kick me, or struggle in any way, you'll fall. And that would be unfortunate, wouldn't it?" Selphie smiled, reaching a hand down to tenderly brush a lock of light brown hair from Aurel's face. Aurel wanted nothing more than to flinch away. "Got that?" Selphie swung Aurel's arm across her shoulders and hoisted her to her feet.

Aurel reluctantly limped along, using Selphie's support like a crutch. She imagined every step taking her closer and closer to her doom, whatever that may turn out to be.

"Selphie?" a voice called from somewhere in the castle.

Selphie froze.

"Selphie, I know you're there."

Selphie breathed in deeply and raised her voice in a response. "I'm busy!"

There was a pause.

"Who were you talking to?"

Not it was Selphie's turn to hesitate. "Myself," she finally called. "Leave me alone, Evelyn."

Clearly, Evelyn didn't fall for it. A few seconds later, Aurel heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

Selphie cursed under her breath and started to move faster, but Aurel refused, planting her heel into the ground.

A figure rounded the corner. Aurel's eyes flicked upwards to get a better look. Before her stood a stunningly beautiful girl wearing a faded blue gown. Her hair was pinned up with all kinds of beaded trinkets which brought out the sparkle in her sky blue eyes.

"Again, Selphie?" she asked, her full lips tugging into a disapproving frown.

"This doesn't concern you," Selphie growled in reply, trying to move forward, but Aurel wouldn't have it.

"Help..." she called as loud as she could manage. It came out a raspy whisper. "Please help."

Evelyn sighed melodramatically. "Come on, Selphs. Leave the human. We can talk about this over a game of Whispers and Wizards! You'd like that, wouldn't you?" She offered up a smile.

For a second, Selphie almost seemed tempted. The she shook her head wordlessly, turning back towards Aurel.

"She's too busy upholding her illusion to fight me," she told her with a smirk. "It's not real, you know. The dress, the jewelry."

Evelyn huffed indignantly. "Fine then. If you're going to be mean about it." She turned away in an angry flurry. "And don't even think about using my rooms for your projects!" she called over her shoulder.

Aurel watched Evelyn leave, stunned. Selphie leaned towards her. "You didn't honestly think she would help, did you?" she whispered, a smile playing at her lips. "Evelyn cares more about keeping her hands clean and maintaining appearances than anything else. She'd never go out of her way to do anything for anyone." They started walking again. "Except me, of course," continued Selphie. "I have my ways. We get along ok, I guess. I mean, most of the time we're either fighting or ignoring each other or playing Whispers and Wizards." Selphie led Aurel into a room. "Have you ever played? It's my favorite game."

Selphie helped Aurel sit up on some sort of cross between a bed and a counter in the corner of the room. It was made of intertwined wood and vines, and had verdant plants growing on and around it. Aurel wasn't entirely sure why she was going along with all this. Maybe it was the way Selphie's voice seemed to sound just right, like the soft flow of a river. Or maybe it was how the sunlight caressed her back, enveloping her in warmth. Or maybe it was the sweet smell of chocolate, which had grown a lot stronger ever since the two had entered the room. Aurel smiled, inhaling deeply. Selphie smiled too. She walked over to the door, shutting and locking it with a key that dangled off her neck from a leather cord.

"Now, isn't it nice here?" asked Selphie. "Just you and me. Please, lay down." Aurel obliged, resting herself upon the surprisingly soft bed of plants.

Selphie strode up, tracing her finger along Aurels' features. "You're perfect," she said once again. "You height, your build..."

Aurel smiled, closing her eyes.

"I've never had anyone like you before. You're... something special." Aurel felt delicate fingertips brush across her skin.

"Yes... we'll get along just fine, you and I," continued Selphie. Her voice seemed to fade away, little by little.

"But for now... sleep..."