Ariadne has always been a dreamer. Her mother would always say she was away with the faeries.
Until one night, an envelope shrouded with magic lands at her doorstep, inviting her to the dance of the damned in the enchanting land of Altoria.
It's m...
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Ariadne turned from her mother's body. Her hands trembled and her throat constricted, air was scarce and she struggled to gulp down more as her voice vanished.
She didn't care as the world kept turning. She clicked her fingers and it stopped. The stars winked out and the moon hung low in the sky as she slowly stood. Her knees shook and her skin burned. Something itched beneath her skin, clawing to get out. Ariadne grabbed at her skin, scratching down her clothes. Where her nails touched fabric, cloth burned away.
"Ari please, do not do this..." his voice was weak, ragged.
Ariadne ignored him, as her arms jerked sideways and gold light laced with flames danced atop her skin.
Ariadne was gone past the point of caring. She was no longer trapped in her body as her eyes scanned the grounds around her. The night air was still, frigid; ready to break.
Everything was in pin sharp focus. The blades of grass cut the sky, tiny hairs along the blades caught her eye. A small black beetle crawled slowly across it. She looked skywards and the remarkable tapestry of stars that greeted her. They hadn't disappeared, just dimmed. With her new eyesight, she could see past them to a shimmering wave of silver laid behind the sky.
The veil.
"Ari... Ari.. What have you done?"
The voice was pained, empty. She could sense the frailty of it gasping in the air.
"I shook off what held me back, you should have known," her voice was rich, deeper almost a growl.
Ariadne took a step forward and the grass gave way beneath her feet. She looked down, where her feet should have been were long, black talons. When she opened her maw a loud screech tore the air.
"Ari... Listen to me, this is not you," the voice was black velvet and belonged to something ancient.
It tugged at her core.
The itching sat beneath her skin now, it went down to a light buzz. Her eyes swept downwards as the grass whispered.
It was pulling its body across the ground, crawling towards her.
What a frail thing.
Breakable.
"Ari. Remember, please."
It pulled itself hand over hand. Fingers clawed at the ground, slowly gaining on her.
Images blossomed in her mind.
A man. A street filled with bustling people. A woman stood next to the man. Her arm came across his chest as a carriage swept in front of him. His foot hovered above the path.
"You did that. You saved me..."
Another scene, a tan willowy woman with golden eyes and a white gossamer gown, her arms enveloped around the woman from before. Her feline chin rested on the woman's shoulder as happiness shone bright in her eyes.
