Reflections of Light

Cloaked

Maddie couldn't help but grin enthusiastically as Nyx stepped through the door.
"Hullo, glad you could clear a gap in your busy schedule for little old me!"

Her visitor chuckled softly also. "Yes, well, things happen as they happen, it it just do happens I happen to be here today."

She walked over and perched on the edge of Maddie's bed, pulling down the grey hood she was wearing off of her face.
Maddie noticed that what she'd initially thought was a coat, was actually quite an elegant woollen shawl, softly cut to hang approximately thigh length.
It's design harkened back to an older era, and Maddie couldn't help herself thinking of the whole image as akin to something out of a fairytale, like Red Riding Hood visiting her poor, sickly grandma.

Maddie mentally smiled ruefully. Guess that made her Grandma.

Nyx looked around the room. "Wow, it's dower in here. Do they let you out at all? Or are you the crazy one in the attic?" She teased.

"No, I am allowed out. It just takes work getting me from A to B, as it were. Luckily, there's a door to the garden just down the hall. Still a pain to get to, though."

The dark haired girl clicked the heel of her ankle boot against the side of Maddie's bed as she thought on what to say.

Maddie glanced at them. "New boots, huh? Nice. Very classy.
The shawl-coat-thing new too?"

"Relatively. So, Evelyn not exactly the most attentive nurse, I gather?"

"Well... Not exactly... But she's got a lot on her plate, from what I gather, anyway. Emilia's told me some stuff. Something about this kid Evelyn and Vivian was looking after or something?
But  his real mum turned up and stole him away, and now everyone's freaking out because they don't know where she's taken him, or something like that.
I don't know. None of my business really. "

"Tricky situation." came the reply, followed up by a shrug. "Probably all just a big mistake though."

"I don't know, sounds pretty serious if it's true."

"Two sides to every story. Mistakes are there to be learnt from. Every problem has a solution, you just have to find it."

"You're spouting some rather flowery stuff today. You taking a philosophy class or something?" Maddie chuckled.

"No. I'm fixing a mistake." Dark, serious eyes bored into Maddie, their gaze cold and calculating.

Something connected in Maddie's mind.
"Wait...!"

Alysha lunged, one hand going to clamp over Maddie's mouth, quenching the sound, the other catching Maddie's oncoming arm mid movement.

Maddie squirmed, twisting her wrist to break Alysha's grasp, attempting to shriek through the hand at her mouth.

Alysha rolled her eyes, blocking another swinging fist.
"Quit wriggling already. You're going to hurt yourself."

"I'd rather that than have you hurt myself!" Maddie yelled, yanking herself out of Alysha's grasp and struggling away.
"Pretending to be Nyx to get near me, how cruel can you get...!"

"Actually, never once did I say I was Nyx. You just assumed. That one was not my fault. If anyone fooled you, it was you."

She grunted as a stray hand collided forcefully with her shoulder, before snatching it out of the air and pinning Maddie's arms down onto the bed.

"Maybe I should just kill you. It'd solve the problem just as well, and make my day a hell of a lot easier.
Ah, well. Who knows, if this goes wrong, you might just die anyway! And what a pity that would be.

Look, Sweetie, after this, you're going to thank me. If all goes well, trust me, I'll have done you a favour."

Before Maddie could move, could even go to scream, Alysha lunged again, grabbing Maddie by the back of the head and twisting it up towards her, bringing her hand down to press the small blue shard hidden in her palm between Maddie's eyes.

Blue light bled from the stone, shining in beams through Alysha's fingers, burning brighter and brighter.

Maddie went to cry out, but no sound came, as what felt like burning claws, reaching into her mind, wrenching at what felt like her very soul, ripping, pulling, tearing, clawing at her very being.

Until... In a flash, she was just... Floating.

Blue-grey most swirled around her, caressing her softly.

Immediately, her eyes snapped open, realising what had happened.

Alysha slipped the crystal into her pocket, patting it to make sure it was secure.
"Hush now, we're just taking a quick trip."

She took one last glance around the now empty room, smirking at the thin layer of silvery dust now scattered over the bed.

That was a mystery for housekeeping to puzzle over.

Smirking, she strode out, skipping happily.