Inner Demons

CHAPTER VII

"Sleep. Those little slices of Death. How I loathe them." -Edgar Allan Poe

I stepped through the wall of light and into nirvana. I had to blink to adjust my eyes to the splendor. It was magnificent. Small creatures with wings were flying about, performing beautiful dips and twirls. The ground was covered in green, as far as the eye could see. Lush grass that looked like it would be a wonderful bed. Flowers stood as tall as a man, vibrant and in bloom. Even the trees moved - not the normal swaying in the wind, but actually moving. The closest one to me waved at me, I was sure of it.

My companion had kept walking while I just stood there, utterly dumbfounded. 

"Hey!" he shouted at me, dragging my attention to him. "You coming, or what? We don't have much time left before you wake up." 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," I say, taking a moment to register his words as I walk. Once it sets in, I stop dead in my tracks. "Wait. What did you just say?"

He groaned out of frustration and ran a hand through his dark brown hair. I hadn't even noticed that it was brown until that moment. I hadn't noticed anything about him, really. He was pretty intimidating - covered in scars, with a patch of one eyebrow missing, and an almost permanent furrow in his brow.

"Why can't you just come with me and not ask questions? How hard is that?" he asked, turning away and proceeding in his walk to an unknown destination.

I groaned and trudged behind him, going back to looking at the beauty around me. This place was amazing. Was it truly all a dream? It felt real - that creature that we had left behind certainly felt real. We walked for what felt like forever, but was probably only an hour or so. We walked under moss-covered bridges, past flowing rivers of purple, and by countless creatures and plants that I couldn't even name. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life, and I never wanted to leave. I felt at home.

Climbing over a large hill, I spotted a tower, looming menacingly over the land. There seemed to be no entrance or windows except for at the very top. A red flag blew in the wind atop the tower, flowing and dancing on the breeze as though it were alive somehow. I looked at my companion, who had stopped as I did to look at the tower, and raised a questioning brow.

"Alright, so I may be about to piss  you off by asking a question, but we're not going in there, right? And if we are, how the hell are we getting in?" I asked, pointing to the tower. 

He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, starting on his path toward the tower once again. I stood rooted in my spot, glaring at the back of his head.

"You know," I quipped, growing increasingly frustrated, "this whole 'let's just ignore the silly girl' thing is getting super annoying. Could you, oh I don't know, maybe answer a question or two from time to time?" 

He continued forward, obviously ignoring me. Prick.

I groaned and followed him. The closer we got to the tower, the larger the pit in my stomach grew. Something about this place was telling me to run. Something about this place was wrong.

We reached the tower and it felt as though a bowling ball was resting in my abdomen. I stared up at it, finally realizing just how small I was in this very large world. I looked at the stone walls, examining them for a possible trick door or lever, but nothing. Placing my hands along the walls, I felt the roughness of the stone and the softness of the ivy that was wrapping its way around the base.

I turned back to my companion with a flabbergasted look on my face. "Alright, there you have it. Completely solid. What are we supposed to do now?"

His crooked smile was his only reply, it perfectly matching his crooked nose. He walked toward the tower, and without hesitation, walked straight into it. My heart sped up for a moment thinking he was going to get a concussion from walking face first into a wall, until he disappeared into it.

He was gone.

"Seriously?" I question to the space where he just was. "What the hell? You're just going to disappear into a wall and leave me behind? I'm pretty damn sure I can't walk through walls, last time I checked!" I was livid, angry at him for leaving me alone. Then I heard it; gears shifting and clinking into place, like a large door unlocking. The stonework started to move, becoming a large archway in the wall of the tower. I gawked at it for a moment, stunned at the magic of it all. I had to be dreaming. There was no way that all this was real.

"Well...? Are you coming?"

I looked to the right and saw my companion leaning against the side of the archway, a smug look on his ruggedly scarred face. I wanted to punch that look right off of him.

"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled. "Hold your horses. I'm coming, Mr. Disappears-into-the-wall."

He chuckled and turned, walking further into the darkness of the tower. I followed him, trying to catch a glimpse of what was around us but it was far too dark. We walked for a few moments, taking twists and turns that reminded me of the maze he rescued me from.

"You know, we've been walking for forever and I still don't know your name," I burst out. "My name is Magdalena, in case you were wondering. Friends call me Magda or Mags."

"Bash," came his brusque reply.

Bash. I rolled it around in my head. It certainly fit the warrior in front of me.

"Nice to officially meet you, Bash," I stated, trying to keep up with his long strides.

Abruptly, he halted, causing me to slam face-first into his back as if it were my own personal bumper pad. I took a step back and rubbed my nose, feeling it ache from the collision.

"Seriously, what the he-"

"Be quiet." He turned to glare at me, his silver eyes gleaming.

I made a sound to argue, but his glare deepened and I closed my mouth. I glanced around him and noticed the door in front of us. It was a dark, thick wood with an intricate metal design.

"Before we go in, we need to set up some ground rules," Bash instructed.

I nodded my head and gave him a look to continue. 

"When we go in you are not to touch anything - and I mean anything. When you are addressed, you bow and keep your head down. Please, do your best not to look him in the eye."

"Him? Am I meeting someone?" I asked, wondering what could possibly be behind this door, hidden far beneath a tower in a fantasy world. 

He cleared his throat and looked away. "My King has asked to meet you." 

I couldn't help but laugh. "You're KING?"

He nodded. "Yes. The king of the pixies. He'll know what to do with a wayward fairy like yourself." 

"Pft. Yeah, okay. Wait - what did you just say?"

*****

Sorry for such a late update! I know it's definitely been a few weeks since the last update. I'll try to get chapter 8 up faster than I've put up this last two! 

You guys have been amazing for sticking around! Feel free to comment/vote if you want! :) anything is greatly appreciated. 

Thanks again Lovelies! And happy new year!

Em