The Twilight Princess

Six

Something stirred in the distance. Zoey crept closer with caution and curiosity. "Ah, there you are, child." Once again, Zoey encountered the woman. She seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. "Just who are you, and what do you want with me?" Zoey demanded answers. "Don't you see, I am your mother," the woman bent down on her knees. She place her hands in Zoey's. "No you're not. I, I, don't believe you." Tears filled Zoey's eyes, and dripped down her cheeks.

"You don't have to believe me, but you should," the woman started to stroke Zoey's hair, but she stopped her. "You're not my mother. My mother is...... dead." She couldn't bear to speak the words. She would always get a pain in her stomach, as if someone punched her there. She gulped.

"That's what you think. That's what they told you. It doesn't mean it's true." Zoey looked up at her. "Then, then, why are you here? At the palace?"

The woman reached out her arm, and touched Zoey's chin. "To search for you, my dear. Oh, how much you've grown." Zoey crossed her arms, frowning. "Prove it." The woman looked as if someone had told her that dogs grew wings and flew to Mars. "Prove what?"

"Prove that you're my mother." The woman was silent. "I knew it. You're not my mother," Zoey snapped. But deep down, her heart felt like it was about to melt. She had to keep it together.

"Wait! I do have proof. Follow me," the woman told her. "No," said Zoey sternly, hands on her hips. "I don't believe you." She started to walk in the opposite direction, but suddenly stopped. She tried to move her legs, but they just stayed in place, as if they were glued to the wet stone floor. She couldn't move. Then, Zoey's throat started to feel like it was getting tighter, and soon, she could barely breathe. She gasped for air.

"Remember the spell, young one? No?" The woman had her head held high, with hands on her hips. She smirked evilly. Zoey turned around. "That's better. Now come on. This way."

The woman led Zoey down a dark hallway, torch in hand. She took a right. They entered a large room, filled with wooden ladders and shelves full of books. Zoey guessed they were in a library. The woman climbed up onto a ladder, and lined her black nails along the books, until she came across the one she was looking for. She took the book off the shelf and climbed back down.

It was blood red, with gold text engraved on the front reading "THE TWILIGHT PROPECHY." The woman opened up the book and flipped it's pages. It seemed to be really old, since the pages were ripped, crinkled, and stained. There was a picture of a pond on one of the pages. It looked strangely familiar.

Zoey's brown eyes grew big from behind the black frames of her glasses. It was the same pond that she was forced to jump into earlier! "Um, what is this?" The woman didn't answer. She just kept flipping through pages, until she came across a certain one and paused.

"Ah, here we go darling," she exclaimed with a touch of excitement tickling her voice. "Just what I was looking for." She tapped her finger on the ragged page, eyes searching the faded text. Zoey tried to peer over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. But she slammed the book. "Stop it, wondering eyes," the woman snapped. Zoey's eyes fixed on the woman's slim, shadowy figure. There was just something off about her. "I just want the truth," she said simply.

They gazed into each other's eyes. Finally, the woman said, "Prilla." Zoey's lowering head darted right back up. "Wha—?"

"Prilla," the woman repeated. "That's my name. You had asked earlier. But, I, well...." Her voice drifted off. Her gaze turned to a large nearby window. The full moon shined from behind the shutters. Zoey slowly approached her. She set her hand down on the woman's shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

Prilla turned to face her. "You wouldn't understand. You're just a dewdrop, after all." She signed, and suddenly started to actually seem a little sad. Zoey patted Prilla's shoulder. "I want to try and understand."