A Song of Darkness

Chapter 2 Part 1

I walked for what felt like hours. The void was endless and stale. My senses felt heightened and yet non-existent at the same time. I ran, walk, and even crawled to the edge but I only found a black void. Somehow there seemed to be light with yet no source. It was a confusing realm. "Hello?" my voice echoing through the nothingness.

    Stopping at the faint sound of fabric moving, I turned to see a figure begin to form. Blurry at first, but as it walked forward, no not walk. The gaunt looking thing glided on nothing. The man was gaunt, cheeks hollowed from age, and his skin sagged from his body.

    Thinking he was going to hit me, I flinched away from his boney finger raised to pass my shoulder pointing to something behind me. Looking back, I was surprised by what I saw, a green wooden door with a colophi etched into the center. The gangly man swept towards the door, motioning for me to follow. I could feel a tether like gravity pulling me towards the door, with each step towards it the light underneath the door became brighter.

"Go"

I eyed the man; this was the only word he would say to me?

"Just go through?" I hesitated, forcing my arms to stay at my side even if they wanted to reach out to feel the cool wood of the door. He just stood there.

"Fine." Somehow my body reacted before my mind. Pushing the door open. The wood was soft like the forest floor and almost weightless. Relief washed through me as I was flooded with light and warmth.

    It was a bathing house. With multiple communal pools all of stone. It was rather luxurious for a community bathhouse. With the glow of the dozens of candles and steaming pools.

    I was taken aback by the young woman bathing in the pool. She was naked and washing in the water with her back to me. Her muddy brown hair spilling down her back and flowing in the water. I looked down and saw that I was in my normal clothes with a white tunic and brown pants, yet no swords or daggers. Damn.

    I walked around to the other side of the pool, her humming of a common lullaby drawing me to her. It was so familiar but I couldn't quite catch the song. She seemed not to have notice my movements around her.

    When I finally came to see her face, I froze. Keitha. It's Keitha. My sister was somehow bathing in this pool. I haven't seen her in nine years, she was 17 now. Her body had filled out while she almost doubled in height. Her cheeks hallowing into a sharpness that I never imagined her to have.

    She seemed startled when she finally looked up. Pulling a cloth over her chest to preserve her modesty, "Who are you?" She said it with a distinct coldness that I was a little taken back. She moved away, going to the steps and grabbing a thick robe. I stared in awe. Its her.

She repeated, "I will scream if you don't tell me who you are!"

My throat went dry, "Keitha- "

"How do you know my name?' She pulled her robe tighter around my waist while eyeing me.

    A small laugh escaped my throat, "Ha, of course you wouldn't remember me. The last time I saw you was nine years ago."

    She eyed me up and down. Focusing mainly on my hair and eyes. Then it clicked in her mind, and her eyes went wide. "Brina?"

    I cringed away at the sound of my old name. No, it was never my name. My voice was sharper than intended, "Its Rhiannon now." I thought her eyes couldn't get wider, but somehow, they did. "Rhiannon?... why that? Where have you been? Why did you leave?"

    It was my turn to be taken aback. Me leaving? What in the seven hells. My anger rose, all the memories of my life in Aduantas resurfacing. My jaw was tight as I spoke through my teeth, "I don't know what those filthy people you call parents told you. But I did not leave on my own accord." My whole body was tense, Keitha slowly moved away from me. Her eyes were wide as she clutched her chest. "No, Ma told Priamos you ran away and he went after you. Both of you never came back."

"Lies," my chest tightened, and anger rose, "That day was burned into my memory sister. Being pulled out of the barn and sold off like deformed farm animal. They accepted barely the minimum. You really think I would willingly leave Priamos and you?"

    Tears welled in her eyes as she took steady steps towards me. She was light as a feather, but she was still hesitant. When she finally reached me, I looked up at her face. She was now taller than me, and her lean figure contrasted my short-rounded frame. She cupped my face before she braced her arms around my shoulders to crush me against her chest. "The past is the past. I'm grateful to the gods that you are here." My arms hung limp at my side as the questions flowed through my mind. Did she just completely dismiss me being sold off? Did she actually know?

    I pulled away from her, my body tingled from the warmth of her body. The corners of her mouth pulled into a frown. Her mouth opened but I interrupted her thought, "What are you doing here." She looked around.

"I- was brought here for my betrothal." She said it with such a manner of a fact like I would have already known.

"What- "

"Yes, Rhiannon," she now sounded like her mother, "some girls choose the role of motherhood and being a wife."

    Of course, she would get married. It was one of her greatest wishes as a child. The gowns and food she would have if she married rich. "Who?"

    She scoffed, moving to the wall and began to pull on a violet dress. It was beautiful, making her seem even more pure than she already was. "One of the Duke's in Asling."

"YOU HAVEN'T MET HIM?" My shout startled me. How was I being so concerned for someone that I haven't seen in years. Was she really my sister? Killian is more of a brother to me than she was a sister to me.

    She drew away, walking towards the exit. I followed wondering why she was dismissing me so easily. I was her older sister, and I would say I did have more life experience compared to her.

    When we finally stepped outside, the air was thick with moisture. The sun had just set causing the sky to deepen into a berry blue and the stars began to barely wink into existence. I hadn't realized that while we were talking, she has managed to fully dress herself in the darkest of green dress.

    "Keitha, wait." When I reached to gram her grab her arm, it was cold. Too cold. Especially since she just came out of a steaming bath. She jerked away baring her teeth, "Brina or Rhiannon whatever your name is. I don't know why you are here. But if it is to criticize me on my normal choices for life. Then you are not welcome."

    I have never seen or heard her this angry. She was seething, her eyes hard at me. "I-...," what was I going to say? That I did understand her need to be normal. That ever since that first night with the pigs, I have wanted to escape and become a normal girl with a normal life. I looked away, down the rows of buildings. Where are we? She took my silence with a huff and began to walk the opposite way of the town. "Keitha stop, where are you going?"

    That seemed to stop her, but it seemed impossible how far we were now. The road out of the town was lined with trees that proved to make it even darker. Blocking out the munificent sight of the moon and stars. As she turned, a wide girl spread. Unhuman grin, wider than what I was thought possible. What the seven hells? Cocking her head to the side, "You humans are so gullible." Her laugh was light and piercing, causing me to take a step back. I tried to examine her stance and grin...

But she lunged.