The One Who Was Chained

18

The coldness seeped back into my body. I sat up, seeing the empty bowl beside me. Whatever was in there had induced some kind of dream. It seemed too real to be a dream. It was more like-

"A memory?" Alan asked. I whirled around. How did he get here so fast?

"What was in that water!" I demanded.

"Dust from the chains that held Joan Arthurs at the bottom of the well." My mouth was hanging open. Those chains... those chains... no. It couldn't be. "The chains are a curse, Mairen. You of all people would know that."

"So you knew all along that it wasn't me." I whispered, shaking.

"Of course I did. The chains were yours though, so every bit of evidence pointed to you. Except for the ones that I removed from everyone's memory."

"Who is Millie, then?" I was still in shock.

"Millie is another victim of the curse, or was, rather. Her chains were passed on to you after she died. But her soul remains, forever bound by her memories."

"And how many others are trapped? How do I free them?"

"Mairen, you can't free them. Because one day, you will be trapped alongside countless others. With memories, comes magic. In a different form, of course. Which is why I took the necklace from you."

"...Because it will give you the power to turn memories into dark magic." I finished for him. I had never known why he had wanted the necklace. It's uses were limited. But that made it all the more powerful. "You'll pay for this, Alan. I don't care if it's by me or by dark power. Magic always has a price, and whether you like it or not, it will come for you."

"Foolish girl." Alan laughed, a crooked smile emerging onto his face. "You cannot claim anything you do not know. My work here is done. Thanks for being my first test subject." I watched as Alan walked down the hallway, up the stairs and out of sight. My fingers closed around the clay bowl. I hurtled it across the cell. As it made impact with the back wall, it shattered into a million pieces that rained down over my head.