Enchanting

Chapter 4

When the doors opened, I could not believe my eyes. This place...it was someone's worst nightmare. 

The walls were lined with cells that were filled with elven spirits. But they weren't trapped by bars, instead of metal pillars there were bubble-like substances that were colored red. All of a sudden, a sick feeling rose within my chest. For the first time since I'd been here, I lost all of my bravado. 

"Are they-?" was all I managed to say before the prince cut me off.

"Trapped behind their own blood? Yes, an elf's blood is an extremely dangerous substance, and it betrays it's owner. An elf's blood is forbidden to be touched once it has left the protection of it's owner's body." 

"But, why?" I asked pleadingly. 

The prince did not answer me right away, not until I asked him another question. 

"How come you were able to manipulate the-" I stopped, still not able to accept the truth. 

The prince turned to me and smirked; I could tell that he felt this all disturbed me deeply, and he was enjoying it, the twisted villain. 

"I happen to have special privileges..." he trailed off, turning away from me as he studied the elven spirits. 

Suddenly I regained my defiant spirit as I saw he wasn't going to tell the whole truth. "Oh, come off it! If you weren't going to tell me anything, why did you even bring me here?" 

Prince Shirogane faced me again. "To show you this." He started off on a brisk walk down the foreboding hallway. 

I reluctantly followed behind, not being able to avoid staring at these poor, trapped spirits. They looked sorrowful, demented, the pure face of depression. As I walked on, I noticed that all the spirits' auras were colored either green, blue, red, or white, or even a mixture of two of the colors. 

"Why are the spirits colored differently? What does that mean?" I asked to the prince, who continued to walk ahead of me. 

He decided to not answer that question either. I held back an exasperated sigh, as this place seemed to be holding it's breath. It was unsettling, and I didn't like it as much as I didn't like the prince touching my necklace. 

"Here." The prince suddenly stopped in front of a cell, seemingly at random. "Take a look for yourself. Do you recognize the being held here?"

I turned to look inside the cell, trying to not focus on the bubble of blood surrounding the captor. My eyes widened in shock, then disbelief, which turned to panic and anger.

It was Matt, or rather, Matt's spirit. But, something wasn't right. His ears were pointed, and his facial structure was different, it was more slender and elegant compared to a human's. His neck and fingers also seemed to have elongated as well. An expression of pure misery resided on his face. 

"What have you done to my brother?" I asked furiously, turning to the prince, a snarl eminent on my face.

Prince Shirogane simply shook his head. "I have done nothing except extract his spirit from his body."

"Then, then why does he look like, you?" I asked, more frightened than angry at what Matt looked like now. 

"He has always been this way, he has elf blood coursing through his veins, he always has," the prince explained, acting as though this was something I shouldn't find hard to understand. 

"But he's human! I'm human! That's impossible, neither of us ever showed any physical or mental sign of being of the elven race!" I protested, even though in my heart a sickening feeling bubbled to the surface, and I knew it was true. 

"Defiant and persistent as always," the prince responded, "don't you know that no injury or change made on the body can mark the soul?" 

"Then, why did we never show it? Why do we look human?" I asked.

"I would think that by now you would have figured out the answer," Prince Shirogane said, lifting a perfect eyebrow.

I turned back to look at Matt, studying his face. He showed no sign that he noticed or recognized me. 

"Matt?" I asked tentatively, hoping he wouldn't lash out at me. He made no response. "Matt." Still nothing. 

"Why can't he hear me? What's wrong with him?" I demanded, yelling at the prince. 

"The blood barriers prevent any communication from the outside," he said simply. 

"Well, can you let him out? I want to talk to him!"

"I cannot."

"Why not?" My blood was boiling beneath my skin at this point. 

"The spirits are designated to be released at a certain time."

"And when exactly is that time?" 

"Only the High Priestess knows."

"Take me to her then! I need to speak to my brother!"

"The High Priestess will not change her plans that she has had in place for generations for the request of a simple human girl like you." 

That's when I lost it. I leapt at the prince, and even though my hands were still tied up, I attempted to swing my fists at his face. It wasn't a very good attack at all, because it was very much anticipated by the prince.

Prince Shirogane didn't miss a beat as he snatched my bound wrists, he spun around and smashed my body into the brick wall behind him. My spine hit the wall with a sickening crunch as the air was knocked out of me. I tried to break free of the prince's grasp as I struggled to breathe. 

"Now, now," the prince chided as he whispered into my ear, his voice dangerously low, "what ever could have made you think you could attack me and succeed?" A chuckle rumbled deep in his throat, causing chills to run down my spine at the sound. "I have never had any intention of hurting you, but now you have given me reason to." 

Quicker than a snake could have moved, he sunk his teeth into the side of my throat, his long, sharp canines piercing my skin. I let out a strangled whimper, trying desperately not to scream. I was determined not to show any more signs of weakness. Tears of pain threatened to spill over as I tried to blink them away, squeezing my eyes shut. 

I felt the prince's teeth finally dislodge themselves from my flesh, but just as they left I felt my hot blood stream from the bite mark, causing the wound to sting and burn. 

The prince released my wrists, staring into my eyes for a few seconds before stepping away from me. I watched as he licked my blood from his teeth, and suddenly I felt dizzy and nauseous. 

"Next time you attempt to harm me, the punishment will be more severe. I hope you have learned your lesson," Prince Shirogane said gravely as he turned to leave.