Maidens

The Library of Prisoners

Ravini stared at the immense stacks of shelves filled with jars and objects. What could this mean?

"Cayden?" she called, "What's all this?"

Cayden, equally struck, stared at the rising, spiraling chamber. Without a thought, Ravini shifted into the center of the room, where there was a small stand. Surrounding the stand were all the curved shelves, forming a circle around the it. Spiraling ladders and wooden steps led up to the higher shelves, while the lower shelves were filled with so many objects, it appeared cluttered.

"What do you suppose all this is?" Cayden asked Ravini.

Ravini, still angry at her friend, refused to answer and strutted to the opposite side of the room to a jar with what appeared to be a four leaf clover. She opened the jar and picked up the glowing clover, which zipped out of her hand and set itself directly on the stand. Suddenly, a phantom of a person's face appeared. It was a girl with soulful dark eyes and blazing, frizzy red hair. Her pale skin was mottled with freckles and her small mouth was turned up in a panicked frown.

"Who are you? Are you lost? I'm lost, can you help me?" she asked.

Cayden looked at Ravini, who avoided her gaze. The phantom girl couldn't have been more than twelve years old.

"What do you need help with? What do you need to find?" Cayden asked when Ravini looked away.

"I don't know. I've been stuck in that miserable jar for so long. The last thing I remember was a beautiful women, bulky and older than you two with long reddish brown locks. Anyway, she said some strange words and ZAP! I became a four leaf clover, stuck in that stupid jar. I don't know how long I've been in there. What year is it? It's not more than 500 is it?"

Ravini whipped back around, alarmed. "No! It's the year 2087! You've been trapped here for more than a thousand years!"

Cayden looked worried as her gaze shifted upward. She climbed up a ladder and reached for the top jar, nearly toppling over in the process.

"Catch!" she yelled down at Ravini, who caught the jar in her hands.

This one had a strange voodoo doll in it, that looked like, like a woman version of Brenden! She had the same peachy skin and green eyes, but instead of blonde hair, she had Cayden's black locks. Could they be? No...

Cayden jumped down as the spectral shamrock girl stared down at the two fifteen year olds.

"That's my mother. I saw her in a vision that Brenden showed me," Cayden explained.

"She looks a lot like Brenden. Are you sure you two aren't twins?" Ravini laughed.

Cayden's brows crinkled in puzzlement. "No way! Hey, Shamrock!"

The misty girl pouted. "The name's Irene. Who's that you got there?"

"This?" Cayden said, shaking the jar. "We need to know who this is. It's the last jar."

"Ah! That must mean she's the most recently captured. Looks like the collector found a way to turn people into doll versions of themselves. I was trapped in a clover. Wish I was a newer prisoner."

Cayden dropped the jar in shock, allowing the glass to shatter, as the blonde haired woman materialized in front of them. Unlike Irene, this woman was real, and not a specter.

"Who's there?" the woman said, whipping out a knife from her pocket. Ravini turned to Cayden, who was overwhelmed with emotions. If only she, Ravini, had found her mother. She would give anything for that! Even though she hadn't told Cayden, there was a secret in what Brenden had showed her. A secret she intended to keep. Instead, Ravini watched bitterly as mother and daughter were united.