Tragic Innocence

Chapter 40: Singing Pond

            Pentulla lay wide awake, every muscle in her body strained tightly.  The very bed she snuggled in was once occupied by Shen himself, her Mikash’s very own father…

            She shook her head with disbelief as she gazed at the softly fluttering shadows--upon the ceiling above her--cast by the leaves dancing within the bathing silvery moonlight.  Feelings began to eddy around her, sending her into a vortex of emotional upheaval.

            It was no coincidence that she resided here, once where Shen had been secreted.  This could only mean that she was truly meant to find Mikash, wherever he was…

            It had been several lengthy moments when sleep finally began to tug stubbornly upon her lids.  Blackness readily awaited her at the corners of her sub-consciousness as they fluttered shut, winning the engaging battle that she had so valiantly fought.  Sleep hurled her deep into a nothingness as her body twitched and trembled with full cooperation of sleep.

            Pentulla felt herself walking, though there was entirely no impact of her feet pacing upon the ground.  Tall trees flanked her at ever side and the Enon was barely seen as shafts of swirling golden light.  Peace and joy permeated her every pore and the breeze only amplified her alertness of her surroundings. She felt the urge to sing and she indulged her impulse.  Music, lilting and poignant, ensued forth from her mouth as she began to sing.  Energy seemed to gather around her like a warm blanket as she continued her languorous gait through the dense forest.

            A soft rustling pricked her hearing and she turned to find nothing but swaying vines clinging from the ancient trees above.  Feeling confident, she lifted her chin and felt the enchanting music float from her very soul.  The snapping of a twig nearby caused her to turn again, but without breaking a note.  There, to her expectation that she had no explanation for, stood a dark shadow of someone who listened with absolute pleasure.

            Pentulla smiled and continued her nonchalant strolling, tossing her long silvery tresses over her shoulder.  She knew that someone was following her, but it did not cause her any alarm.  In fact, she felt a thrill zip up her back and end with the prickling of her flesh.

            She paused in her steps and dipped her head back, feeling the soft tickling of her hair against the backs of her legs.  A warm presence lingered so close behind her that she slowly turned to face it.  There, to her curiosity, stood a very handsome elf who ogled her with spellbound absorption.

            Pentulla felt her heart heaving with pain as his face suddenly came to sharp clarity.  It was Mikash.  He was older and the light behind the stormy gray eyes had been smoldered to nothingness.  His lips were not warm and smiling, but rather hardened with an unexplainable edge.

            She could feel a cold and unwanted sensation approaching her from behind as it sent her into a blatant panic.  It was the feeling of death and overwhelming loss.  She shut her eyes and called out in fear.  Then, when her eyes opened, the elf was no longer gazing into her soul.  Rather, he lay face down in a dreadful pool of blood by her feet.

            Pentulla screamed as she hurled herself off the bed, her grasp remaining tight to the covers that had encumbered her.

            “Pentulla!” Crow darted into her chamber and found her wrapped tightly by the foot of the bed.  “Are you well?”  His gaze took in the scene of a tousled bed and tangled covers.

            Pentulla gazed at him with wide and fearful eyes.  “I killed him.  Oh, I killed him!  How could I do such a dreadful thing as that?  I killed him…  I killed him!”  She wailed loudly and rocked back and forth, her knees tightly tucked beneath her chin like a lost child.