ANGUIS

Chapter 25

There's an awful smell floating around the room. Taylor's eyes flutter open, her eyelids heavy as she scans the surroundings lazily. She feels like she has slept for fifteen years, her bones frozen as she tries to rise from the cold ground but failing miserably. She lets out a quiet whimper when her cracked hands make contact with the thorns of a venomous tree. Her fingertips bleed, crimson red liquids sliding down her weak wrists. She realizes she's standing in the middle of a dark forest: shriveled trees are staring back at her as if they were judging her, and Taylor just begins walking aimlessly, her head spinning. 

Voices start echoing throughout the woods, voices Taylor isn't able to recognize given her disoriented state. She puts her hands on each side of her head, squeezing her eyes shut as a terrible headache slowly but firmly develops. Wind in her hair, her body is overcome by shivers as the chilly air gets beneath the silky fabric of her blue and ripped dress. When she opens her eyes for the second time, she notices the lilac color that the sky is radiating. There are no clouds, and there is no sun to light up her path towards the unknown. 

"Taylor,"

The voice is behind her and is as soft as a pillow, cuddling the blonde into a sense of weakness. Taylor turns around and is surprised to see a small girl standing in front of her, a worried frown upon her pouted lips. The Queen tries to speak, her mouth molding into the shape of words, but nothing comes out from her. She knows who this woman is, she just can't recall her name yet. Long brown hair frame her angelic face perfectly, some of it cascading down her shoulder and upon her chest. Eyes as brown as a chestnut were filled with concern and confusion as they stare attentively at the blonde woman. "What are you doing here?" the small girl asks, taking a step towards the Queen.

Taylor fiddles with the hem of her blue dress, eyes darting from the ground to the stranger. Her lips quiver lightly as she tries to speak once again, but nothing comes out from them. The Queen looks at the girl with a question in her ocean blue eyes, and the brunette clearly gets the message.

"You don't remember me, don't you?" the stranger asks, moving closer to the blonde. Taylor shakes her head with shame, lowering her chin in order to look at the girl's bare feet. When the smaller of the two stands in front of the blonde, only then does Taylor realize their height difference. "I'm that girl that was always bullied in the playground, remember? They always offended me for my height, and I always had to stand there, absorbing their shameless insults. And you were there. With the other kids. But you didn't do anything for me, even though we were somewhat friends and you were the King's daughter. You could have helped me, but you didn't. You didn't do absolutely anything." 

Taylor wanted to apologize to the girl, but then the girl vanishes, her voice fading into the wind. "You didn't do anything," these four words echo inside the blonde's head, almost making her go insane as she begins moving her feet in a frenzied run. The trees are closing in, the voice getting higher and higher, trapping her as her mouth widens in a silent screech. As soon as she hears a collective growl behind her back, she notices that three hounds are chasing her, their sharp fangs on full display. When she falls to the ground, she falls hard, her nose bleeding and her knees scraped. When she feels the animals' teeth sinking deep into her calves, she screams loudly, but unfortunately no one heard a thing.

She wakes up suddenly, a quiet gasp escaping from her chapped lips as she frantically feels for her legs. She expects wounds and the feeling of a hot liquid against her fingertips, instead her hands touch soft and pale skin. It was just a dream. She looks down herself and notices that she's still wearing an equitation uniform from the night before. She must have fallen asleep while she was cleaning the horse stable. However, as she stands up on shaky legs and makes her way outside the eerily quiet stable, she's surprised to see the pitch black darkness of the night instead of the bright sunlight of the day. 

She furrows her brows, not understanding how this could happen. Taylor and Karlie had returned from Brandel at least six days ago, and the Queen has spent the last two days in the stables, taking care of the horses and cleaning the stalls. 

She's still shaken from the dream she's just had, and Taylor exhales softly when a chilly breeze brushes against her covered forearms. I probably should get back inside. Karlie could be worried about me right now. After taking a deep breath, she turns around and heads towards the castle, but just as she was about to step inside the stable once again, a strong hand firmly grabs her wrists, dragging her outside the building and into sheer darkness. She attempts to yell, but her mouth is suddenly covered by another firm hand, preventing her from making any sort of loud noise. She blindly grips the stranger's arms, trying in vain to break free from their unbreakable hold. However, seconds later, she feels a sting on the side of her neck, a voice whispering, "I finally found you, sweetheart,", before everything goes black.

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So, this happened.

As always, tell me what you think of this in the comments! In the next chapter, a new character will make his first appearence. Can you guess who was the one that kidnapped Taylor in the end? What do you think is going to happen in the next update?

Thank you so much for reading!