Into the Forest

Chrysanthemum

     I'd been floating for what seemed like eternity. What was this place? I couldn't move, couldn't speak. I was just here.
     "Hello?" I thought into the void. It remained still and black.
     I sighed mentally. How boring! This had gone on too long. What had even happened? I couldn't remember.
     After a time - who's to say how long or short - I heard fighting. It was so distant that I could barely hear it, but it was there. 
     'Hey!' I called out again in my mind. 'I'm over here! Help me!'
     But help never came. Once, I thought I saw a figure somewhere above me, but that surely couldn't be; it had to have been a trick of my mind...
     Other sounds came and went, never bringing aid.
     Where did I remember being before here? Was it Fythe, or outside the cave? A distant crash distracted me from my thoughts.
     "Chrysanthemum?" called a voice. "Where are you? I'm here to help you."
     'Over here!' I called with my mind, not knowing whether it would work or not.
     "Ok," the voice replied. "I'm going to follow the echos of your thoughts. Keep thinking; and hurry, as we do not have much time!"
     'What's going on here?' I thought. 'Do you know why I can't move, or speak? What is this place? Who are you? How to I know you'll actually help me? And...'
     I could hear footsteps now, and soon a kulsentii was hovering over me.
     "Oh, thank goodness I've found you! I've been here on and off for weeks!"
     'Where is here?' I demanded.
     "We're inside your mind," he replied, as if it were nothing. "I'm Cythene, kulsentii of Walo. Your friends are all waiting for you on Earth. Are you strong enough to move?"
     He touched my arm and I felt like a great weight was lifted off of me. 'How'd you do that?' I asked aloud, standing. He looked so much like Koultho had, yet far kinder. His dark eyes held no anger in them, and I knew he could be trusted.
     "Magic, dear child. Now, let's go. A dark force is after us here. I've stalled it for now, but you'll have to wake up to eliminate it."
    "You look hurt," I commented, my voice creaky from lack of use. "What's in here? How did something get in my head?"
     "It's dark magic to try to kill you slowly and painfully. Do you know of a dohl named Khyla? This is her doing. I initially thought that she was the one acting in here, but it's a shapeshifter. It's an ancient vylyh, one who has seen and defeated many before it before. If you can find the strength to wake up, it will be forced into the real world, where we can kill it with numbers while it struggles to acclimate to reality. I'm injured, but I'll be fine so long as we move."
     I nodded and followed him. Everything here was the same: pure black as far as I could see. A void. "If we're in my head," I began, "then why is it so empty? I know I'm not dumb enough to be empty headed."
     The kulsentii stayed quiet for a moment. "Becca and a few others rescued you and the other arydium from the dungeons at Fythe. Fern was ok, just shaken up; Juniper was badly hurt, but fixable. And you..."
     "And me what?" I was starting to tear up, expecting something bad, though I didn't quite know what. "Am I dead?"
     "No," he said quietly. "I fear it may be worse than that. It's hard to say, but it appears that you won't be able to use magic. More than likely you'll be disabled in other ways as well..." He trailed off, avoiding eye contact.
     I stopped walking. "I... I just learned that I was fae not too long ago, and my magic's been taken away from me now?" I cried uncontrollably for a few seconds before pulling myself together. "Why?" I sobbed. "Why me?"
     The kulsentii came to me and hugged me. "A friend told me you're the key to saving the world. They're but a spirit protecting a cave these days, but their magic is still strong. They can see the future, the past, and all possible outcomes. In a world where you were not disabled, something in you would prevent a barre from destroying all mankind. Otherwise, we're all doomed."
     "What's with this talk of a barre?" I questioned. "That word sounds familiar, but I can't remember where from." We began walking once more. "So if we get out and I can't use magic, what then? How do we deal with whatever's even going on out there?"
     "I don't know," Cythene admitted. "All I know is the Spirit says you're the key, Chrysanthemum. They say we need you, injured or not. Plus," he said, trying to lighted the mood, "if you never come out of this coma, I think Becca might murder us all!" Becca... I should have known she'd be waiting for me, but it hadn't crossed my mind. There was so much happening. But the fact that this fae knew her, knew of her impatience, meant I could trust him.
     It grew harder to walk the further we went. Pretty soon it was all I could do to shuffle my feet along.
     "I know it'll be hard," Cythene said, "but you must carry on! You can't let them win!"
     I forced my legs to move, but the struggle was eventually too much. I began to tell Cythene that I couldn't do it, that I wouldn't move one step more.
     I looked to him. His form was wavering ever so slightly. "Are you ok?" I asked timidly. Something felt wrong here.
     "I'm alright," he grunted, barely audible. "Let us stop for a break. I need to sit."
     I sat next to him in the void of my mind, waiting.
     Nothing happened for some time. I eventually grew impatient and stood. "We should move. There's no saying where the shapeshifter is, and I don't know enough magic to be of much assistance." He didn't move, didn't so much as look up. "Cythene?" I asked.
     His eyes were open, but unmoving, unblinking. "Cythene?" I said more frantically, pushing him slightly. The kulsentii fell over with a thud, nothing more than a shell. "Cythene?!" I shouted louder this time. "Please, you're scaring me! Get up, we have to move!"
     He jumped up quickly, as if I'd startled him, knocking me down. "Chrysanthemum?" he said deliriously. "What's going on? Why do you look so scared?"
     "I thought you were dead!" I screeched, relieved, as I stood back up. "What happened?"
     He shook his head slightly as if to fight off sleep. "I'm unsure. All went black, and then I woke up. Did I fall asleep? I'm not that weak or tired..."
     A hiss came from behind us. "What was that?" I asked, terrified.
     "The shapeshifter," Cythene replied. "Quickly, let's move!"
     He grabbed my wrist and we were on our way. He moved faster now, seemingly motivated to find the way out. "How far are we?"
     He glanced my way as we ran. "Not too far now. Notice how it's getting lighter? We're close!"
     I pushed myself to my limit, running as fast as I could despite the weird weight that slowed me. Sure enough, the space around us slowly began to lighten, eventually reaching a light grey color.
     "Chrysanthemum," Cythene panted beside me, "There's the exit. Over there," he pointed to an area of pure white. "Do hurry now. It's close!"
     I pushed ahead, my energy restored by the promise of going back home. When I looked back seconds later, I noticed Cythene standing in the same place I'd left him. "Come on," I yelled across the gap. "We're so close!"
     He smiled at me, but looked sad. "It's fine," he said. "You must go on without me. It's near. You have to go. But me? I'm old, I've lived my life. If it comes to it, I'll give my life to keep you safe - the Spirit of the Cave believes in you, and so do I. I grant you the rest of my power, child. There is a good chance you'll need it in the battle to come. If the shapeshifter doesn't come back for me, I'll see you on the other side. Once you wake up, I'll be forced out of here anyway." A roar cut him off. "It's here now! Please, just go!"
     Despite how all movies with this sort of situation make it seem, it's not actually all that hard to leave. Some unknown terror lurked nearby, and I could not use magic. What other choice did I have but to run?
     And so I did, right to the white light, and into it, and through it, until the strangeness of my empty mind had melted away entirely, being replaced once more with black.
     But this was a different sort of black; the kind of darkness you can leave. The sort of black you can come out of.
     My eyes opened to a group of thylasee hovering over me, as well as some familiar faces.
     "Chrysanthemum!" Becca shouted as she smothered me in affection. "Never do that to me again!"