Dear Sophie

Drowning in Fire

The cloth was still tied around my head, my vision obstructed by its thick weaving. I was irritated. "Really, Adam? Faeries? I don't want to meet faeries, I want to talk! You said that we would talk!" I stomped my foot on the ground as if I was a three year old. Adams soft chuckles bounced off the walls, along with ringing noises that I couldn't put a source to.

"We won't have to talk, because the Faeries magic is powerful enough to take memories and project them into the minds of others, from your point of view, as well. If we do that, then we will only have to talk about our futures, not our pasts."

I was officially creeped out. I hardly wanted the faeries snooping around in my brain, much less Adam. I ripped our arms apart, and pushed myself away from him, my back hit something hard; bruises were sure to form. The ringing bells grew louder and louder. They thundered around in my skull until words started to form out of the swirling, blinding noise. I wanted to scream.

The words hounded at my head; pressure building up and collapsing and falling away over and over pulling at the words, tugging at my memories and carrying them away. I instantly recognized it as Faerie magic, for whatever was going on in my head was the ocean, a form of nature, and my memories and thoughts were seashells- the waves crashed against the beach of my mind, fumbling the seashells through the sand, until finally pulling them away forever into the vast water. Only a small percentage allowed to return to me, unless the Faeries forced them back into my head after they were either mutilated, or sharpened in focus. I don't know which would be worse.

Then the noise stopped. A hair-raising silence settled over the cave, the waterfall pulsating quietly on the opposite side of the cavern. Then my blindfold was being carefully peeled off of my face.

I wasn't even in the cavern anymore. I was in a room, about 10 feet by 20 feet, the only way in or out a closed onyx door. I sat in a chair made of the same stone, a crystal table in front of me. When I looked past the table, I noticed Adam stirring groggily, his face peaceful with the remnants of sleep still attached to it.

I looked back to the table, two clay bowls were perched on either side; one in front of me and one in front of Adam. Pearl liquid swam in the bowls, a non existent wind egging the ripples in the solution into small waves. The onyx door creaked open, and the silence was replaced with a twinkling flutter, which landed on the table in front of me.

The girl paced between the two bowls before finally looking at Adam, who was still dozing. She stood half a foot tall, with wings that sparkled when she moved. The wings were actual wings, with feathers and everything. But they were made out of something that faded in and out of focus. They shimmered and sparkled, the only conclusion that I could come up with was that her wings were made of Faerie magic, it was most likely where all of her excess power diminished to.

The girl fluttered over to me, her silver hair pooling on her small shoulders. She opened her mouth, and twinkling words tumbled out.

"Wake Adam, then drink the water in harmony. I will return soon." she gave me a quick nod, then jumped off of the small table, her wings catching her small figure before it could shatter on the floor.

My eyes flickered from the closing door to Adam, who was drooling. Reluctantly, I reached over to the boy and shook his shoulder; his eyelids blinked a few times before revealing candy-apple green.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. Tinkerbell wants to talk." I must have been making a face, because he gave me a huge, dorky smile when his eyes gathered to meet mine.

Adam completely ignored the fact that I was giving him the Look of Death, and started to look around the small room. "I've been in here before, but only once. It's where they healed my dad after he was beaten half to death by a Djinn."

I recognized the name with a horrified gasp. The Djinn are the trickiest of creatures to hunt, because they mind trick you into your supposed 'dream' universe. While they feed off of your blood and internal organs, of course. They only resolve to using physical force when absolutely necessary.

I leaned across the glittering crystal to Adam, careful not to spill the content of the bowls. My hand found its way to his, and I awkwardly patted it. "We should probably drink the Faerie juice, or Tinkerbell might blow a fuse." I motioned towards the bowls as I drew my hand back into my lap, suddenly very interested in a loose string on my shirt.

"On the count of three?" I looked back up at him and smiled, an unspoken agreement between us. We both reached out to the bowls, gingerly picking them off of the table. I smiled nervously and raised my bowl in a cheers motion, before counting out three on my fingers. both bowls were empty within seconds.

Nothing happened. "So what now?-" I doubled over in pain, wet gasps escaping my body. I was on fire, the heat drowning me, suffocating me. My lungs contracted, every breath a new burning scar on my throat. When I looked up at Adam through my tear-filled eyes, he wasn't doing much better. My vision wavered in and out, until swirling darkness took over.

I wasn't sure if I would live through it.
At that point, I really didn't care.