Yavanna groaned in annoyance and distress. This creature only spoke when it wanted to, and never answered her questions. But it stared directly at her, its greenish yellow eyes glowing every couple seconds. Her head throbbed every minute she spoke with it and was within the same vicinity as it, but she needed answers. And she was also trapped.
Yavanna wanted to believe it was all a dream, just another one of her dreams, but deep down she could feel that this… creature was real. Despite how inhuman it was.
She spun in the middle of the patch of grass, only a thin layer of mist covering her feet. The colossal stones that surrounded her made her shrink slightly. They loomed far into the mists above her and threatened to topple if she breathed at them wrong. She opened her mouth to ask the creature another question, when a sound disrupted the ghostly silence.
Her head snapped to look at her right and saw a shadow behind the stones, hiding in the mist. Her skin grew frigid and she felt her nose go numb. With her heart pounding out of her ribcage, she spoke, "Who's there?"
No one answered but she saw them shift. She watched them in fear and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw another shadow directly ahead of her, then another, and another. She spun in a circle, her nervous breathing increasing as she saw all of the people surrounding her.
"It is only a mirror." The creature spoke, its strange, void-like voice filling the silence for a moment.
"I don't know what you mean by that." She said, frustrated with its cryptic words.
It tilted its head to the side, "Are you the one?"
Her hands flew in the cold air; she couldn't count how many times the creature had said the phrase and she was losing her mind. Her head ached and its layered voice did not help. "Stop saying that! I don't know what you mean." She said, a whine leaking into her voice.
In her peripheral vision she saw the shadows move, all at once. Her gaze flickered to the shadow on her right and she gasped upon recognizing the king. What was he doing there? How was he there? And why?
"What is this place?" She said tiredly, looking back at the creature. Its pale painted ears stuck out from its stringy hair. Its eyes glowed for a moment and the throbbing in her skull increased, she pressed her hand to her temple.
"A hidden place. One that contains the necessary elements to discern something prophesied long ago." It answered and she could only shake her head.
"I-I… that doesn't make any sense." She muttered, the pain behind her eyes increasing.
"Are you the one?"
"Stop repeating that! Please." She begged. She felt as though she was losing her mind; everything jumbled and mixed and blurred in her mind and the throbbing only made it more difficult to sort through her thoughts.
Looking at the image of the king she finally focused on it, trying to ignore the tall, foreboding creature before her. He was staring intently at her, his blue eyes piercing through the darkness and mist.
"Your majesty?" She asked in a tremulous voice. She saw his eyes narrow and straightened her shoulders, "What are you doing here?" She whispered, glancing over her shoulder at the creature whose eyes were watching her with its posture unchanged.
He looked behind her shoulder with searching eyes then back at her with narrowed eyes. "What are you doing here?" He echoed accusingly.
She reared back slightly and blinked, "I-I don't know." She grabbed her head and glared at the creature over her shoulder. "It keeps speaking to me."
She heard him huff as though he found her pain amusing. "And what is "it"?" He asked in a voice dripping with sarcasm.
She frowned, hurt at his disbelief in her, before she pointed to the creature who was watching their exchange with tilted head. Its green eyes watching her hauntingly.
"Th-the creature." She whispered, hesitantly nodding in its direction.
The king raised a brow and looked behind her before looking back at her with annoyance. His lips moved but she could not hear him over the voice of the creature, "This cursed dog is your guardian and you are his freedom. Treat him well, and your life will be completed."
She blinked and turned on her heel, "What?" She was supposed to treat the king well? Why should she? He had done nothing but treat her like the dirt on his boots. And why would her life be completed if she treated him well? She could live a full life treating him adequately, couldn't she? But the creature was gone.
"Hey, what are you-gah!"
She turned back around and saw the king glaring at the stones angrily. What had they done to deserve such hatred, she wondered as she stepped toward him tentatively. His angered gaze lifted to hers and he snarled, "What is this thing?"
She scanned the stones before her, her eyes not able to catch a glimpse of their tops through the dark mist. "I don't know. It said that this is a hidden place for something prophesied."
He raised his chin and narrowed his eyes, he muttered something that she couldn't hear and waited for him to say something. "Get out." He ordered abruptly.
She blinked and looked at where the creature had stood, then at the mirrors of the angry looking king. "Do you know what this place is?"
"Yes. It's magic and it's evil. Get. Out." He bit out the last two words and she bowed her head, not understanding his furious gaze. She obeyed him and stepped through the mirror without a problem. Looking up at the king, she could see that something was a problem.
"Go back through."
"Why?"
He raised and brow and she turned her head to roll her eyes before she stepped backwards and between the stones. It was her turn to raise a brow while he stared at the stones like a puzzle to be solved. He raised his hand to touch one of them and she followed it with her gaze. It was then that she noticed the markings on the stone, hidden by moss.
The moment the king touched it she gasped at the rush of blinding pain to her head and of the pain he seemed to be in. All of the reflections copied him and held their fingers. She looked up, squinting from the pain, and found that she was on her knees.
"Get up. We're leaving." She raised her eyes further and saw the king standing on the other side of the circle. She bowed her head, clutching it as the pain increased.