Chapter 17
Keira
The room was dark and haunting, like night that fell on a dead world.
I recalled how much I hated this room. They called it the room of pain for a reason.
“Tell me Keira, what would you do if you were placed in a difficult situation and these were your only supplies?” asked the woman I feared more than life itself.
I looked down at the table before me, illuminated by a dull firelight above my head. It held only four contents; a bottle of a familiar dark liquid, a jar containing a baby crested cobra, an axe and a knife.
My tiny hand wrapped around the grip of the knife and I admired its make as it glinted in the dull light.
“Why the knife?”
I didn’t dare say the words I wanted to. I always liked blades more than poisons.
“Because I can get out of any situation with a knife,” I answered with as much a steady voice as I could muster. A hint of cowardice, I remembered, would leave me starving and scared.
She assessed me with those fierce eyes. Took in my small frame in an ill-fitting bodysuit, my red hair wild.
“You rely too much on the skills you pride yourself on and so you don’t bother learning the others.” I opened my mouth to object then shut it immediately as I saw the warning look she gave me. “Perhaps you need a bit of encouragement, child.”
My throat closed up. “No. Please.”
She got up and turned to where I knew the heavy, creaking iron door was and I was hot on her heels, tears spilling down my too chubby cheeks.
“Please no. I can’t, I’m scared,” I cried.
She whipped around and I flinched at her blazing eyes.
“Scared means weak, child. You have much to learn.”
And then she was gone, the door slamming shut behind her as I heard the lock fall into place and the firelight went out, darkness consuming me.
I woke up with my throat hoarse from screaming and was thankful that I warded my room so that no one heard.
My flimsy white nightdress clung to my skin and my hair was stuck to the back of my neck. Breathe. You’re out. You’re out. Just a dream.
Getting up from the bed, I threw open the balcony doors, letting the cool breeze soothe my skin.
My eyes burned from tears shed in my sleep and I found my cheeks wet. The cheeks that were no longer chubby, no longer pulled up in a smile. Long gone were the cheeks of a six year old girl.
I pushed the thought away as I let the distant crashing of the waves calm me.
To be continued…
I knew it 😍