It had been a whole week since I got here.
A sort of routine had been established as the days passed by, I would wake up and have my study session with Ravella studying things like history, etiquette, geography, and language.
She taught me how to read books, write letters, and take notes.
She showed me how to draw and paint and how to make my own clothing out of cloth, fabric, and leather.
She showed me that it was alright to speak in an informal manner if I wanted to be heard, but if I were to address her formally in any way that wouldn't be polite to say what I was thinking.
As I went through every day of instruction and practice it felt good to have something constructive, useful work to occupy me besides wondering what was happening out in the wider world of the living.
I learned that it was alright to ask questions.
If my questions weren't answered properly, Ravella would explain why she didn't answer them immediately.
She always gave a truthful reply, even if it was a little harsh.
She was quite stern when she wanted me to remember something.
However, she could also be kind.
When she looked at me I felt warm inside as if I was loved.
Her beauty, her aura, her kindness. In other words, everything about her was beautiful.
From her hair to her eyes, her smile, her laugh.
Her lips were naturally thin, her nose straight, and her eyebrows arched in a slight way, But what made her truly outstanding was her temperament and her attitude.
She was extremely intelligent.
Every word she spoke was sharp, cutting.
She was straightforward and direct.
If she wanted something, she would get it.
She rarely hesitated, never hesitated in her actions.
Ravella's voice echoed in my head, I wonder where I'd heard that voice before, but at the time it sounded almost familiar...like I'd heard that voice before. Or like someone I've met before somewhere.
My thoughts were interrupted abruptly by the sound of knocking coming from downstairs.
At first, I thought I'd imagined it, and then heard it again.
The knocks sounded very much as if somebody were walking down there Somewhere. After sitting up straight in bed I stared at the ceiling for several moments debating whether to check if it really was the door or if I should lie back down in the covers and pretend to sleep.
Then the banging stopped as the night returned to being silent.
Sighing I decided that it probably wasn't necessary to go check who the hell was there at this hour anyway I hadn't left my room for two weeks after all,
I figured I could probably trust whoever knocked it would leave it be if I pretended to be asleep.
I simply turned around and closed my eyes, again falling back asleep.
I looked around the room and found that everything was… grey.
The walls, the chairs, the table, the wooden roof, the stone floor.
Additionally, everything had a misty quality to it.
Nothing felt tangible or real.
Hollow, even.
Holding up a hand I stared at it or rather into it.
It was bloody translucent, almost transparent and so thin you could barely see the bones beneath.
It looked as though someone had taken it out of a horror movie.
I could see the tiny veins moving beneath the pale skin like worms squirming underneath a frozen pond.
I was afraid of touching it, but I couldn't resist the urge and reached out my hand and stroked it gently.
Or tried to, at least. My fingers slipped through my own flesh and came out the other side.
This must be a dream, I told myself, the last thing I needed was to have some kind of crazy hallucination taking over my mind.
I looked around, my hands were shaking, and my stomach churned.
I had no idea what had caused this feeling of dread and panic, but I decided to push it aside to think of a plan to handle whatever this weird dream was, and what it meant.
Then, out of nowhere, I saw a black shadow appear in front of me.
It was huge, taller than most buildings I'd ever seen.
It was tall, broad, and strong. Its mouth opened slightly and it roared.
A loud booming sound came through the air causing my ears to ring.
It was laughing at me.
Laughter like that was something that I had never heard or experienced, and when it came to this particular laughter, I will admit that I am terrified.
Fear filled me until I am numb; I become so scared that I am completely helpless against the feelings threatening to overwhelm my entire body.
My heart began beating wildly in my chest, and blood rushes to my face as sweat runs down my forehead, I can hardly breathe. Everything goes blurry, colors blended in together, sounds disappear and nothing else remains except the cold overwhelming sense of terror and hopelessness.
then the shadow disappeared
"Well hello dear," said the darkness in front of me, "I am so glad that you're awake."
I knew that voice, the voice was very familiar to me, eerily familiar to me
I spun around and tried to pin down where the voice was coming from.
There was nowhere to look.
No sign of anything, no indication of where to start looking.
I felt like a fish out of the water as the dark figure laughed at me.
"I'm not sure you'll be able to find me by looking like that. I'm not there," said the voice.
"Who are you?" I whispered.
"I am your worst nightmare," said the voice. "Or Your sweetest dream."
"What are you talking about?" I said as I scanned the room once again, searching desperately for answers.
"ha, ha sweetness stop looking for me you won't find me," laughed the voice, "your fear, your need for reassurance, that's what keeps me hidden. You just don't know it yet…"
I was panicking as I searched for a place to hide as I tried to ignore the creeping sensation running up and down my spine.
"Maybe you should join me then. Talking to thin air isn't helping me," I asked trying to sound unbothered and braver then I felt
"What if I already have?" asked the voice, much louder and from the centre of the room
I spun around to find nothing,
"I don't understand," I said confusedly as my heart started racing in my chest, sweat dripping from my brow and running down to my temples, I turned around searching desperately for a hiding spot.
But, finding nothing I stood motionless waiting, watching as the shadow began shifting around the dull grey room like a ghost that had appeared out of nowhere.
After a while, I could feel a chill running down my back.
The shadow was becoming closer to me.
I felt goosebumps erupt across my arms as the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.
My heart pounded heavily in my chest as a strange sense of calm overtook me.
It was as if I were floating in the air above the ground.
I felt a sense of warmth spreading through me as I continued staring at the shadow in shock.
I began to laugh softly as a feeling of tranquillity washed over me.
Then the shadows began to morph, I could see shapes shifting under the grey surface that made up its form.
It moved closer, my breath began catching in my throat and a sudden chill ran down my back as the shadows slowly formed a human figure.
The shadows solidified, and I found myself staring at not much more than a darkened shadow.
"Do forgive me, but I think it's best if I keep myself in a… simpler form. It's not like you'll die of shock or anything, but you do tend to have problems when I show up in my normal form. You have a tendency to not believe what I say," said the gloomy, taunting figure with a very familiar voice booming through the emptiness.
A smile spread on my lips involuntarily despite what the figure in the fog had told me.
"It seems our meeting has finally begun," said the figure, "I been waiting long enough, even though this has happened enough times for my tastes"
"I have met you before?"
"You have my dear creator"
"I have?" I asked feeling confused
"Wait, creator?"
"Yes creator, wasn't it you who requested this meeting?"
"I did?"
"Oh yes it was you begged me to stop, wasn't it? So now we're here and I can do whatever I please," replied the shadow.
"I did?" I repeated again to shocked to find proper words
"Yes are you not the one who said you would do anything for me to stop?"
"I didn't say any such thing," I protested.
"Yes, you did darling," the figure said brightly.
"I beg your pardon?" I asked, still confused.
"Oh you wouldn't remember would you Darling," he said. "But I'll remind you don't you worry"
the figure shimmered before I saw my current self lying sprawled out on the ground, continuously muttering "please stop " while tears poured down my cheeks in thick streams, then image disappeared leaving me alone with this being
'the nightmares' I realized this was thing that was responsible for my nightmares,
before I could blow up on the thing
With a loud pop and crackle
A table and chair popped into existence beside me
"I'm sorry," it said with an amused chuckle, "this is the way these things always happen to me when I'm trying to explain things," the voice added
"Please, do have a seat. This conversation would be much easier if I didn't have to raise my voice. Quicker too. And time is important right now. I'm not sure how long I can stay here," the voice finished.