Tales of Aridia

Unfolding

I was warped away from the cabin, and thrown heavily onto a marble floor. I was brought to a familiar place, yet not knowing where I was. The walls formed around me, enclosing me in a long hall.Pillars lined the hall and huge glass windows reflected light off the marble. Behind me came a small squeaking noise. A baby lay in the centre of the hall in a casket woven and embroidered delicately. The child bore small plump lips and red rosy cheeks. The little girl laughed and giggled as I played with her hands and rocked her in her cradle.

Hidden from the laughter of the child and the beauty of the hall, a dark presence loomed over me.

The child began to change in unimaginable ways. The short blonde hair disappeared and grew into long brown locks, and her small chubby face stretched out to the maturity of someone who was older. The cycle continued on and as she aged every second. With every month she grew she would begin to edge closer to me until we were stood face to face like a mirror.

My horror turned into terror when our ages became similar. The girl had deep brown eyes, long silky brown hair and wore a long black dress. However, this was not the only thing I had noticed. The appearance of the girl was not similar, but rather identical. She was me.

She portrayed me growing up at every point in my life time, but something was wrong. Before she had been following my every movement, like a reflection, but suddenly she stopped. Her eyes watered up and her face turned a crimson red. Looking down, a patch of blood poured from her stomach. Instantly, she collapsed.

The hall around me faded and spiralled into a battlefield. The sky was lit with fire, and the screams were deafening. The battle was deep in the forest, hidden away from everything else.

The girl in front of me was lying on the floor, clutching her wound. Her twitching body lay limply, like the energy had been drained away from her. She stared up at the sky and a single tear rolled down her rosy cheeks. The blood surrounding her cold body reflected the night sky and the stars that glimmered ever so brightly.

An aching pain came from my stomach, and blood began to erupt. The never ending streams of red made me collapse onto the floor, clutching my wound. I felt light and dizzy, like I was hovering. I loosely swung my head to the side, facing the girl who mirrored me.

The girl pulled her hand away from the blood and pushed it up against an invisible barrier that separated us. "Help me," she whispered lightly.

The hand that lay on the barrier dropped and fell onto the ground. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and her existence faded away.  Then came the pounding of footsteps, a boy rushed over and flung himself beside the corpse. He cried in grief and held the body close to his heart. I couldn't see his face, it was masked with a sweep of black hair and flooding of tears.

My body shook violently as I awoke from the dream. I screamed and yelled, still holding onto my stomach. I was lying on the kitchen floor, the cold stone made me jump up onto my feet. Dizziness arose and I swayed back and fourth, luckily Max was there to catch me. "Stop it," I said pointing at the blood I thought was still pouring.

"Shhh," Max whispered taking me into the living room, "you're okay," he said. 

I held the cup of tea tightly, letting the warmth travel into me. A blanket was thrown over and I sat cowering on the sofa. Max tapped the wall nervously, waiting for me to say something.

"Who am I?" I asked. Max smiled shakily, "you're Robyn Woodlands, heir to the throne of Aridia," he said.

I stared down at the tea, stirring it with a spoon. "But...why don't I remember?" I asked. "A war broke out, a war that still carries on to this day. You died." He said. I looked at him offended, "I am very much alive," I said.

He laughed a bit and resumed explaining, "you died, but Selena resurrected you with no memory so it would be harder for people to find you."

The information was too much, I felt my dizziness creeping up on me again. Max paced over and sat next to me, reassuring me that everything would be okay. I sat there, wondering if it was real, or if I was indeed dead.

My sister Selena said, "when the time was right you would find your pyewacket again, and you would be able to return to the throne."

I gazed at him confused, trying to understand his unfamiliar language. "What's a pyewacket?" I asked.

"A pyewacket is a being of magic, it lives inside you. It's what makes you able to do what you did tonight." He said.

"What I did tonight?" I asked.

"Look outside the window," he said. I stared out, the sun started to break the clouds and shone down upon my front porch.  The wind had settled and a few birds nestled in a tree beside the house.

The policemen were still frozen, rock solid. They stood in the same place as before, unmoving. The only thing that moved was the gentle rustle of leaves and the birds that chirped soundly in their nests. All was quiet and peaceful.