Alexia stared after them in anger as she remained seated on the forest floor. She was exhausted. She was frustrated and she was super pissed.
For some reason, she felt emotional. The situation with Damon had stirred up emotions within her. She could only helplessly watch them leave. As much as her insides screamed at her to fight them and not leave them; she could do nothing. She only watched them leave.
His eyes had felt like fire burning into her. An involuntary shiver washed over her and all her emotions danced in her head.
She felt scared and alone. She felt abandoned and sad. She felt angry and pissed. Everything came at her and she didn't know it when tears welled up in her eyes. She tried to fight it. She hated her own tears. It reminded her of how weak she felt beneath.
She was weak beneath and she knew it. It was her weakness that made her lose her grandparents. She loathed her weakness. She abruptly got on her feet as she could take it no more.
A storm had begun in her head and she didn't know just how to end it. So she did the only thing she could think of doing.
She ran.
As she ran, she could hear the multiple voices in her head. She could hear her grandparents' scream. She could hear Zedicus' voice as he explained the prophecy. She could hear her parents' voices as they tried to convince her to give in. She heard Ciara's irritating voice ring in. Then lastly, Damon's voice joined the multitude of voices already screaming in her head.
She thought her head was going to explode. She thought she was going to break and come apart.
The wind whooshed past her as she ran through the woods. Bushes and twigs snapped under the influence of her feet and the rest of her body. She felt the wetness of her own tears on her cheeks.
It was just too much to handle.
How had Damon's stare caused all these buried emotions to climb to the surface? It was as if he was affecting her very existence.
The sun had begun to set. The sky was turning golden and the light of the sky was beginning to fade away.
Suddenly, she missed her step. She tripped. She fell.
She tumbled down the forest floor. She kept rolling until she hit her head and lost consciousness.
***
Everywhere was dark. Alexia couldn't make up a thing. She tried to feel around but there was nothing to feel. Only emptiness awaited her. There was no sound. There was no feeling. There was just numbness.
"Alexia. . ." Her name echoed throughout the darkness and broke the silence.
"Who's there?" Alexia called.
There was no response.
"Alexia. . ." Her name continued to echo in the blinding darkness.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" Alexia called but there was no response.
Only her own voice echoed and went on for minutes before it finally died down. She could hear her name no more. There was just emptiness.
How had she gotten here? What had even happened? She asked herself as she squeezed her eyes shut in the aim of remembering.
Slowly, her memory came back to her. She had been running. She tripped and fell. Has somebody kidnapped her and brought her here?
Could it be those three extinct Werewolves that had kidnapped her again?
But the aura here felt different and strange. It didn't feel like it was them. This place had a different feeling. It was both disturbing and comforting.
She felt around her body to find anything that could help her but there was nothing. Instead, she found that she was wearing different clothes.
It was extremely strange. Whoever had taken her had made her wear a freely flowing robe. She could bet all her knives that the robe was white.
Who had brought her here? She asked herself the question again.
"Alexia. . . " The whispers began again.
This time, she stayed silent and listened. It seemed to be coming from a particular direction. So she followed it.
It was then that she realised that she was standing in shallow waters. She hadn't noticed the water before. Infact, it hadn't been there before in the first place. It was as if the water just appeared out of the blue and blended in like it was always meant to be there.
She decided to push it aside and focus on getting to the voice which kept on calling her.
"Alexia..." It called again and echoed through the dark void.
She followed it blindly with her hands outstretched to feel what was before her before going on. She kept walking and pushing herself.
Suddenly, she saw white light up ahead. The voice seemed to be coming from that direction. She increased her pace. She wanted to get to the light faster.
The light on the other hand was bright and strong yet the darkness seemed to be piercing the light. It was as if the light and darkness were battling yet they existed together.
Alexia soon reached the light. It stood tall before her and was as wide as an average human. The light was floating in space and it stretched high above her. She couldn't even see the end of it.
The closer she inspected it. The more she realised that it wasn't just any light. It was a burning white light.
"Alexia. . ." The light vibrated. She gasped as she realised that the voice was coming from the light.
"Help her. . ." It vibrated.
Alexia stared at it in confusion. She was still too shocked and surprised to speak. She stood unmoving as the numbness of the place sipped into her bones.
She kept her eyes fixed on the white light. She couldn't look away. It was almost as if she was in some kind of trance. The light had somehow found a way to imprison her.
Slowly, a face began to form in the light. Alexia widened her eyes as she remained fixated on the image.
The face finally finished to form. It was a woman with brown skin. Her curly hair was packed up in a bun above her head. She had full, thick lips. There was a birthmark on her back.
A phoenix.
The moment she registered all this information, she fell back and lost consciousness.
* * *
Alexia gasped awake. The sun had long set and it was already dark. She was laying on the forest floor where she had fallen earlier. She sat up and she felt a migraine pierce her head.
It had been ages since she had such migraines. The fall must have provoked it. It pounded hard and she held onto her head. It felt so heavy and for a moment, she thought her head was going to fall off her neck.
She struggled to her feet. The moment she did, a wave of nausea hit her hard. She staggered back but thankfully fell to a tree. The tree supported her and kept her standing.
She took deep breaths as she took her time to get back her energy. She needed rest. She was exhausted. She didn't even know if she could walk home.
The sooner she called for help, the better; she thought to herself.
She didn't want to bother her father. She could find her way home. She was a very strong Huntress after all.
She struggled as she placed one foot before the other continuously. She started to make progress and she smiled. She was satisfied with her efforts.
Suddenly, her dream came back to her. Had it been a dream or reality? She had never had a dream like that before. The dream had felt too real.
It felt like reality. She had really been there. She still felt the shivers and numbness of the place. It was strange and amusing. Disturbing and comforting.
Was it just a dream or was it more? The light had told her something. It had told her to protect a woman. Who was that woman? She had a birthmark of a phoenix. She had seen that same phoenix somewhere but she couldn't seem to pinpoint it.
She exhaled sharply. One moment, everything was okay and the next; she was having strange dreams about light and helping a woman.
What did it all mean? What did the Light goddess have in store for her? What was written in her destiny?
She was never one to question what was written down for her before. She never really cared but times had changed. The tides had turned. Her life was not the same life she used to live.
As much as she wanted to deny it, she had realised that she was a part of the prophecy which was slowly knitting itself together.
What she needed to understand was her role in all of it. What was the plan? What was in it for her? Was it working in her favor? Or was it working in the interest of the Moon goddess?