Captivated

Prologue

Prologue

The moon reflected off the mirrors that created a wall around the courtyard. I stood with the boy, my small fingers twisted in his as we stared at the weapon that would one day become mine. We had snuck out of our beds, as all children do, to see the object of my destiny, him just as fascinated by my future as I was. We stood, holding hands, with my white blond hair down to my knees, and stared at the pedestal. Silver light from the moon echoed off the podium, shattering into a thousand fragments like glass that shone brightly on all the mirrors, creating the illusion of light. I’d always felt safe in the courtyard, but on this night something felt wrong. I shook off the hanging unease and grasped the boys hand tighter. “Someday,” I said gazing at the glittering treasure on the pedestal. “Someday it will be mine and we’ll defy the darkness together.” He grinned at me; the imitation of his smile in the mirrors around us was somewhat eerie in the silence of the night. A thought whispered in the back, speaking of danger, warning me to hide. But the thought came too late, and my hand was wrenched from the boy’s. I tried to scream, but a hand was clapped over my mouth. I saw my mentor, and watched her lips form a spell. My attacker fell, and I was set free. “Run.” The word was barely a whisper, but I heard it as though it was spoken loudly. I searched frantically for the boy, the one who had been stolen from me, but he was gone. Pain clenched my heart, and though I was but a child, I knew that I had lost a rare sort of love. As I ran, a single shining tear slid down my face, and with it fell a dream, a hope. I whispered his name into the darkness. I would find him. But my memory of him, and this night would be forgotten. After all, the screams of the dying are not something that parents like their children to remember.