Chapter 4 - 4. Banished

I tried begging and pleading, but in the end it did little to stop him from metering out his punishment. I tried to run away, far away, but he found me. This time he wasn't letting me go.

I was trapped under his arms and couldn't move my legs, as all of his weight sat on me.

I looked into his dark eyes and the love that once was there, was no longer. There was hatred and evil within him now. His heart was cold and dark and he was tired of me. I, who loved him, was now a nobody to him.

Then I heard his voice start to speak the banishment charm and knew that I wasn't long for his world. He would banish me forever and forever he would be rid of me. I would no longer be his problem.

Excruciating pain shot through my body as I watched my hands start to fade, before my eyes. My voice, started to waiver as I started to oscillate from here to there and I felt the energy course through me. Pulling me. Stabbing at me!

Suddenly, I was no longer there! Trapped! I was trapped in the in between as my body faded and reappeared. As the banishment took hold, I came smashing down in the middle of nowhere.

I lay somewhere! Where?

Broken.

A hollowed soul of who I was! For I was no longer her! I was a nobody!

I was banished!

I had nothing left! Not even a name!

No past! No family! No life!

No memories of the sweetness of life, of love.

I had emptiness and lots of it. Forced to lay on the frozen ground, with my broken bones, I knew I needed to get to safety. But how? I needed blood, and lots of it but where would I find it in this frozen hell scape?

I remembered that I was a Schatten and I knew I needed to stay away from humans. I retained my knowledge of fading and the need for blood to heal, but there was little else for me to go on.

Rolling over was excruciating but I managed. Sitting up, I scanned the landscape and wondered where the banishment sent me. Not that it mattered for my knowledge of the countries, lands, governments, etc was also taken from me.

My next feat was to try and stand and I managed to hold my weight for a few minutes before I collapsed again. I wasn't going to survive if I didn't get to a safe place to heal and I started to panic, as the blackness to hold of my weary brain.

I can't tell you how long I slept upon the frozen ground but as the darkness lifted, I found myself laying in darkness upon a hard, cold surface. As I tried to move, fear overwhelmed me. I was bound and shackled in irons.

Whoever found me, knew that I wasn't human.

Tears started trickling down my face as I realized that I had gone from one evil master to another. I couldn't wipe the tears away as they fell, and I jumped when a hand softly touched my face. Gently, the tears were wiped away.

A voice in the darkness asked, "What is your name?"

I gulped in nervousness, not sure what to say. Finally, I whispered, "I have lost me name. I am a nobody."

A deep voice from the darkness spoke out loud, taking my breath away as his words cascaded over me, "No, you are my somebody. Calm yourself down and you will sense what I speak of."

It hit me like a ton of bricks!

MINE!

He was my soulmate, then why was I bound to the table? Where was I?

His hand brushed away my unruly hair as he replied to my unspoken words, "My dear, I shall call you Cassandra. As for why you are tethered, well you are a rouge and rouges are never trustworthy. I have my people scouring the earth to find out who you were. Before then, you shall remain my prisoner and I shall not mate with you."

I tried to catch a glimpse of him as he walked away, but to no avail. I cried out, "What's your name?"

From the darkness I heard, "Stefan."