"Third...level...civilization..." murmured Cacy. She was in a deep coma for a week now, talking about foreign concepts in her sleep. If she were awake, she would see that she was in a small room, a closet to the right side of her bed, a mirror to the left. A wooden door with a silver knob stared down at her from the other side of the narrow room.
Unbeknown to the girl in the green hoodie, she wasn't in a place she knew or even could've heard of. And also against her knowledge, the person that would be in charge of her stay in this foreign place was being decided right outside her room.
Three priests in different coloured robes argued away. The priest in purple pointed out that as the only girl from the group she would be most fit for taking care of the stranger. The priest in blue tried to say that, as someone with experience training those with weak magic power and as someone that fits into that category, he should be in charge of her. But the priest in red angrily disagreed, insisting that someone so weak shouldn't be in charge of someone who will be the hope of so many people.
The argument was three days old. Across meals, before and after prayer, and even during combat practice they argued. Even now when they were supposed to be checking up on the young girl.
Of course, no one but the four priests had a say in this and only they knew of the matter. After another five minutes of arguing, with each of them getting so desperate that they were bringing up whatever embarrassing stories they could remember about the other, the final of the four priests had his say in the matter.
The priest in grey ruled in favour of the blue priest, then left without another word. The red and purple priests followed grudgingly, and Stanford was now alone to bathe in his victory over the two. But more importantly, he was left to think of what to say to the girl once she woke up.
He stood there, contemplating his speech when he heard a blood-curdling scream from within the girl's room.
Stanford almost unhinged the door in his rush to get into the room. The young girl was far too valuable for any harm to come her way. At the moment, that is.
The girl, who saw Stanford almost break the room's door, was now very much awake. Awake and panicked. Her bright brown eyes darted around the room, her heart threatened to break through her chest. She stood to the left side of the room, and almost knocked the mirror off the wall when Stanford entered.
He noticed her panic instantly, danger and fear flashing in her eyes. "Please, do not be frightened. You are here as a guest and will by no means be hurt in any way" He tried to calm her. His voice was smooth and calming, purposely of course, but his words were rushed and not thought of well enough.
His voice did not convince her.
She stopped her frantic movement, but her heart thumped more than ever. She stopped looking around the room in a panic, but panic still sparked somewhere in her eyes as she focused on the blue robed man that entered the room.
"Thank you." The words came out of his mouth with a sigh. His mind was blank, he had not a slither of an idea of what he was supposed to say or do. Anything that would arouse suspicion was out the door and anything too straightforward may overwhelm her. He decided to go with the simplest approach.
"As I expect that you have quite a few things you want to ask-" he sat on the floor, cross-legged,"-about this situation, I ask that you direct any inquiry you may have towards me."
I hope this will help her trust me.
"Okay then," she was as suspicious of the situation as ever, and far too panicked to sit down, "Whats your name?" "Stanford." "Okay then Stanford, Where on earth am I?" "That would be best saved for later." She shrugged, "Okay then."
She pulled out something from her pocket, a pen that was deemed safe to keep with her. She held it in a balled-up left hand, the blunt side to the mirror that now regretted being placed there.
One moment there was one mirror, the next it was a million smaller ones smashing onto the floor. Cacy picked up the one that looked easiest to handle and pointed the sharp tip to her wrist. A wrist used to this position. A wrist with many scars on it. A wrist with a lot of sadness and anger inscribed into it.
"Where am I?" She was braver. Her eyes sparked with familiarity. She was calmer than before and her heart was barely heard over the detaining silence. Stanford's face remained neutral. His expression stoic.
"I still think it would be more appropriate to save this conversation until later." She was now feeling impatient. A scarlet droplet dripped down her marked wrist.
"You are quite self-destructive, you know?"
Cacy felt a gush of something surrounding her and hurried to stab herself. She winced out of habit from the usual sensation of pain, the ripping of flesh, and leaking of warm liquid.
But when she looked, she had not moved her right hand.
"Now, any OTHER questions?" his voice was decisive, stern, and confident.
Cacy didn't hear him. Her breathing quick and shallow as she thought about what happened. Her heart beat as she considered the possibilities. She was thrilled
How did he stop me from stabbing myself? what was that gush of air? those thoughts occupied her mind.
Finally, she manages to ask," Why am I here?" "For the people," he replied simply.
Cacy was far from satisfied by that, but before she could say anything she was already following Stanford through a stone corridor lit by torches that seemed to stretch on forever. They walked in silence; Stanford ,not wanting to put her on edge, didn't say anything. Meanwhile Cacy's thoughts were a mess of wires that could not be untangled. Finally, they reached the end of the corridor. It led them to a golden door decorated with carvings that depicted vines.
It opened by itself intriguing Cacy even more and revealing a large room with seemingly no roof. Because of that, moss and vines settled into the wall as their homes. The floor was replaced by a lake, except for a small island in the middle and a bridge leading up to it. Cacy's mind cleared up as she took in the room, butterflies fluttered in her stomach and her breathing steadied. A warm feeling was now in her chest.
She moved forward, and the ability to control her body came back just as a weight was lifted off her shoulders. She walked along the path, mesmerized by the colours produced from the sunlight reflecting off the water into seven different colours. The air around her was damp and cool, but became dryer and warmer as she reached the island.
Waiting for her there was a piece of armour made of pure gold, black ink decorated it similarly to the door, and a ruby was placed in the middle of the chest plate.
Cacy approached the armour slowly, careful not disturb to its sacredness. Excitement sparked in her eyes, and her heart threatened to burst out of her chest as she came close enough to touch the metallic surface.
She stretched her hand, mesmerized by the armour. Too focused on it to realize that Stanford was now covering his eyes, that something was shining through her hoody. A bright, white light with a void the shape of a dragon. It reflected on the ruby but still went unnoticed.
Her heart beat harder than it had ever beaten, and butterflies in the millions fluttered in her stomach as she made contact with the gold surface.
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Stanford peaked at the result of his experiment. He had predicted some of the results, but success was still not sure.
The last of the blinding light reflected off the water poured out of the roofless room.
The light was less intense, and Stanford could now check the results of his operation. He looked at the source of the light, a girl whose dark, rich brown hair floated gently. The ruby had an identical symbol on it to the light it had reflected.
The girl herself felt way too many emotions all at once. Confusion overtook the rest, though.
The only other emotion that could be felt from her was excitement. She wore a nervous grin that spanned across her face, and trembled from just considering what was happening.
Warmth radiated from her, filling the room with a comfortable feeling.
Success, thought Stanford.