Hidden - The Hidden Chronicles - Volume 1

Chapter Four - She Was Fire

Sunlight tingled teasingly on her skin, warming the cold room as she rolled to her back, not yet opening her eyes. To open her eyes would mean losing the moment, this peaceful, tranquil moment, and hurtling back to reality where sorrow and consequence danced hand in hand. The blanket was heavy and the bed was soft but she knew it couldn't last. Stretching her back she willed her eyes open. The room looked the same as it had last night, but somehow felt different. It was less foreboding in its colors and design, and a bit more luscious. Darkness always had a way of coating everything with a tinge of fear, just as light had a way of making locked rooms seem welcoming.

She felt stronger this morning, but hollow, as if she were but a shell, a vessel being operated by someone else. Her movements were basic; walking, breathing, seeing. She didn't feel like speaking. She felt, perhaps, that even if she tried her words would not escape. They would remain trapped in her throat, a prisoner to her sorrow. She pressed her hand to the bottom of her neck, rubbing in small circles.

The dull aching burn of her muscles reminded her of all the tears she had shed the night before and of Adel, who she would never see again. He would think she abandoned him. That she did not really love him as she swore she did. That she no longer cared for him - or his punishment. What would his punishment be? Would it be as horrible as hers?

Could it somehow be worse?

Oh, Adel, she thought as she conjured his perfectly chiseled face by memory. Beautiful dark eyes that burned with such intensity it was as if you were looking at a fire itself. You could almost feel the heat radiating from below his lashes if you dared stare long enough. Tall and strong, yet, soft and gentle. Fierce if need be. She had feared him once, before she heard his voice. Everything Adel said was like music. He held a grace to his words and a voice so beautiful your heart would skip a beat, your breath catching, held prisoner within the bone-white bars of your ribs. Her Adel, who loved her to a fault. Who gave her such happiness as she had never known before. Who gave her a baby. A baby who would now be taken from her, whose fate was not sound. Mara knew that she would do anything she must to protect her child, her last tiny piece of Adel and his love. What she would do if need be, would be punishable by death. In comparison, death did not seem so horrible a fate.

Finally sitting up, she noticed a table across the room placed in front of the large open windows. Someone had opened them while she was sleeping. It was a little unnerving to know that she had slept so sound while someone, anyone, had been in her room opening windows and who knew what else? On the table was a shining silver food tray. Suddenly her stomach rumbled, as if the idea of food had reminded it that she hadn't eaten since the day before yesterday. Her stomach had been in turmoil, twisting and knotting, fluttering all day and night, mirroring her mind. The vast wooden floor had a slight chill to it as she stood from the bed. Her legs felt stiff and alien, as if she had never used them before. Walking gracelessly to the table, she wondered and rather hoped it had been Avaneese who had slipped in, leaving the shining silver tray behind upon her exit.

As she got closer to the window the sunlight grew stronger, wrapping her in its brilliance, warming her to the core. She closed her eyes, allowing the energy to tingle through her, traveling from her hands to her shoulders, to her chest and stomach until finally finding its way to her feet before consuming her entire body in its warm, strong familiarity. Mara felt physically better, but her heart was still heavy. At least her appetite had been restored this morning. Placing her hand on the top of the tray she lifted the lid slightly exposing the contents. Waffles. Her mother had made her waffles on special mornings when she had been a child. Now she made them for herself. It was oddly one of her favorite comfort foods, instantly soothing her, reassuring her. Her heart panged and she longed for her mother and the safety she had come to represent. If she had still been here, would Mara have done what she had done? Thinking about it, she realized she would have. She loved Adel, and her mother would have known that.