The End

Chapter 2- Violet

   The footsteps echo quietly as we travel farther and farther down the stairway; every few steps, a small lamp on the wall lights up, illuminating intricate carvings in the worn cobblestone walls.  I can hear the sound of an underground river growing louder and louder as we proceed.  I can't tell how long we've been walking but eventually the staircase starts growing wider too, until it opens up and we're standing in the glow of some kind of underground city. 

I can't understand why Jacob called this place "the village"; it's huge.  Small houses, connected with stilts and winding staircases, cling to the walls of the massive stone cavern.  The river that I'd heard is now a roaring waterfall, spilling powerfully into a river that winds it's way through the city below us.  A magnificent castle in the distance is connected to a bridge that spans the entire width of the cavern, high above the city, and huge crested banners hang from the bottom of the bridge .  

  The wide wooden balcony we're standing on is so close to the falls, I can feel the mist gathering on my arms.  Two heavily armed sentries greet us   At some point, the tall, dark man named David leaves, so it's just the three of us when we reach a white brick building; the hospital, according to the sign in the front. Jacob lets me down into my feet, and I follow him and Chrys through the doors.

   Once inside, I sink, shaking, onto one of the poufy chairs, trying not to disturb my shoulder; the pain hasn't left me, but I'm almost used to it now. Jacob goes straight to a young woman behind a desk, and I close my eyes and listen to them talk.

   "We need to see Dr. Nichols immediately."

   "Is this another emergency?" The woman sounds a bit bored.

   "Yes, is the doctor available?" Jacob presses.

   "She has just finished her last patient, in fact," another woman's voice replies. I open my eyes to see a smiling woman with greying blonde hair that is loosely tied back; she is wearing a tight, short-sleeved grey shirt and black pants.

   "What's happened this time?" The woman asks Jacob, still smiling. "I swear, Kingston, you can't go a day without bringing me another injured person."

   "It's a dangerous job," he replies lightly. "Actually, I found this girl in the forest. A skeleton shot her."

   Dr. Nichols glances quickly at me and the arrow in my shoulder. "Belong her back here, then, and be quick about it."

   I follow them down a hallway to a spacious office, where Dr. Nichols motions for me to sit on a round wooden table in the middle of the room.

   "We'll need to get rid of this first," she comments; with a sharp silver knife she carefully cuts off shoulder and sleeve of the short black dress I am wearing. I watch nervously as she then turns to open a cupboard, rummaging around inside until she finds a clear bottle. The pale, golden-pink liquid inside sloshes merrily in its glass container as she pours some onto a clean cloth and begins dabbing the bare, bloody skin around my wound.

   "This is a healing potion," Nichols explains as she works. "If I gave you anything stronger, your flesh would try to start healing with the arrow still attached; this, however, will simply knock off most of the pain. This way I will be able to take out the arrow, and it will be considerably easier for both of us."

   She turns again, this time pulling what looks like a pair of very large scissors from another drawer. Seeing my expression, she laughs. "Don't worry, love. I've done this enough times on wounds worse than yours. You'll be okay." With that, she positions the giant scissors behind my back, where the tip of the arrow is sticking out.

   She tugs on it a bit—which, thanks to the potion is uncomfortable but not entirely painful —then I hear a loud snap which can only be the sound of the wood being cut. Finally she pulls each side of the broken arrow out.

"There, that part is finished." Nichols assures me. I watch her wash the wound with a darker pink potion and bandage the whole thing up. "All done!"

   "Thanks," I say. I realize that this is only the second time I've spoken since I woke up in the forest.

   "My pleasure," Nichols beams. "By the way, love, you have very pretty eyes. I've never seen eyes with that violet color. What is your name?"

   I open my mouth, then shut it quickly. What is my name? I don't remember anything about myself —my name, where I came from, or what I look like. "I... I don't know," I tell her truthfully. Her eyebrows cinch together. 

   "You don't know?" 

   I shrug. "I know I woke up in the forest, but before that..." I shake my head. "I don't remember a thing."

   "I don't think she's from this village," Jacob, standing near the door with his arms crossed, speaks up. "I know I haven't seen him before, and neither has Chrys. I was on watch tonight and spotted a flash of light near the edge of the forest. I grabbed two others and we ran out to investigate, and that's where we found her, about to be killed by a skeleton. As soon as we got rid of the thing, I noticed this..." Jacob draws the shades over the windows and glowstone lamps in the room, so we are enveloped in darkness.

   Nichols gasps. "That's...she looks like..."

   "Yeah," Jacob says solemnly. "That's what I thought."

   "What are you talking about?" I ask, confused and slightly irritated. I hear Nichols feel around in her cupboards, then she presses a small mirror into my hand. I'm not sure why she gave me a mirror when we are sitting in almost total darkness, but I bring it up to my face anyway...and my mouth falls open.

   My eyes are shining with a soft light, illuminating my lashes and cheekbones slightly with a gentle violet glow.