Madeline

Madeline: Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Madeline's hands went from shaky, to trembling. The world swirled wildly inside Madeline's head. "You." She took a step backwards. Her eyes are wide with confusion and terror. Her mouths were quivering. She felt as if her soul was being torn apart slowly and painfully. "I... I don't understand." 

He laughed. "After all these years we've spent together, haven't you noticed something odd about me?"

That sweet auburn hair, those sparkling green eyes. Mischievous smile that can never be erased from Madeline's memory. His slender fingers are playing with shards of his broken mask. For a moment, everything made no sense for Madeline. But at last, it became a little clearer. The one she thought was going to be there whenever she needed help, the one she thought was her best friend, was now trying to kill her in another dimension. "Mark."

Mark grinned sinisterly as he heard his name being called. "Oh, you do remember me, don't you? I thought you have forgotten my name. Well, you didn't expect me to be here, did you? What a surprise." He cackled like a maniac. 

Jack and Daniel both asked, "Who is he?" But Madeline didn't reply, as she was too startled. She just looked at Mark, as if Jack and Daniel weren't there.

"How did you get here? I... I thought humans on earth weren't supposed to be here."

Mark threw the shards into the air, and as gravity pulled them down, he snapped his fingers and the shards levitated mid air. "Have you ever had the urge to just go home and enjoy the feeling of your neighborhood? Well that's how I felt." he snapped his fingers again and in an instance, the broken shards moved towards his hand as if pulled by a magnet. "This, is home. I belong here, and I came from here." 

Madeline shook her head. "I don't understand. I thought, I thought you were also a student at Harvard. You told me you came from Nashville." 

"And you believed in that lie?" He laughed. "Well, it was true, since Ivan told me to go to a place called Nashville, so typically I came from Nashville." 

"Why does Ivan send you to Earth?" Madeline's eyes were filled with tears of frustration. Her feelings were a mixture of confused, angry, sad, and desperate. "Was it to track me? To keep an eye on me? To find the long lost Black Raven Enchantress?" Madeline shouted in desperation. 

Mark smiled wickedly, "Well, just when I thought you were just an innocent little idiot. Yes. You're right. Ivan gave me a quest. A quest to track the Black Raven Enchantress and kidnap her. Which I did." 

All the memories flooded into her mind. "You tricked me. You tricked me! You said you befriended me for who I am! You said you'd always be there for me! For a moment, I believed that true friendship does exist. I believe that you were sincere about your feelings!"

Mark smirked. "Well, since I came to Harvard, I saw you. And I saw something different about you. I sense something different. Your sense was made out of magic and incredible strength. So, I tried to think about a way to be near you so I can keep an eye on you. So I tried making friends with you. After awhile, I'm sure you are the Black Raven Enchantress, so I kidnapped you. At first, I wanted to just kill you off since you're kind of annoying. But Ivan told me to get you alive." he played with the shards again. "Do you even think I would be friends someone like you?" 

The world fell apart. Madeline felt betrayed and stupid for believing he had been her true friend. And now it all made sense. Mark was the one who kidnapped her into this Realm. His intention from the start was just to kidnap her, absorb her power, and then kill her. And Madeline felt anger starting to rush through her veins.