Shattered

Prologue/Backstory

A/N: Sorry I kinda got carried away, this was just supposed to explain the backstory, but I liked writing it a lot so it miiiiight be kind of long. Happy summer break!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

        CRASH. A light, a spark! BOOM... I was thrown against the floor. I tried to get up, but I couldn't breathe. The air was foggy, and I finally realized it was smoke. No I thought Not now. She can't come now. I coughed and slowly crawled out the door. A figure ran towards me, but it was too hazy to tell who it was. They knelt, and I tried to speak. I had to tell them to save my daughter! But I couldn't breathe. I gasped and rolled over. Then the world went black. I dreamed of a dark figure. She was speaking, but I couldn't hear her. She seemed frantic. I tried to talk, but I was frozen in time. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

        I woke up with a gasp. I was in an unfamiliar room that smelled like roses, lying on a bed. My lungs feel like they are going to explode from lack of oxygen, but when I tried to breathe, my rib cage rattled. I gasped for air and looked up. My head was pounding, every movement is like the blow of a sledge-hammer to my head. I winced and sat up slowly, breathing heavily, and got a jolt of fear, followed by pain, when I realized someone was standing a few feet away from me, looking concerned.

"I was truly afraid you weren't going to wake up, but I am glad you seem to be okay." He smiled.

        "Thanks for your concern" I replied, "But who are you?" I looked at his head in astonishment. He was wearing the king's crown.

"Wait..." I said hesitantly, "Are you the king?"

He chuckled. "That I am, Lynnia"

"How did you know my name?" I said, surprised.

"It is my business to know the names of the people I rescue from fires" He replied, faking his best heroic pose.

I laughed, then stopped abruptly and started to cough.

"Well then, you should get some rest. You can sleep here in the guest room." He said, looking concerned again.

        I fell onto the bed and was sleeping before I hit the pillow. At first I had pleasant dreams of flowerbeds and roses, but darkness started seeping through the sky and soon I heard a hissing voice through the fog.

"You will never get your daughter back if you don't come to me." I saw a faint outline of a person through the smoke.

I backed up. "Who are you, and what do you want from me?" I said uncertainly, fear plain on my face.

She spoke in a voice that sent cold shivers down my spine.

"You know who I am," she hissed, "I heard you lost your daughter in that unfortunate fire. " She screeched in what I guess was supposed to be laughter.

I panicked. "That was you?" I stepped back and tripped over black vines that were starting to grow from the flowerbed. Before I hit the ground, I slammed my eyes closed and I woke up, panting and covered in cold sweat.

It was dark and I was shaking from the dream. It was just too real for me to dismiss it as any normal dream. I knew who she was of course, but I didn't want to admit it to myself. I would think about it later. Then, a knock on the door. I sat up.

"Come in!" I said. The door opened and a maid came in.

"The king wishes to see you in the dining room" she said in a quiet voice.

"I heard what happened with the fire, are you okay miss?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." I said impatiently. "Is there food? I'm starving."