Crowns of Flame and Ice - Book One

(35) The Red Truth Hidden Beneath Blue Lies

"It's okay Anala. You will return soon" a warm glittery voice sang. I appeared to be wrapped in complete darkness and I felt utterly weightless. Was this a dream? A shimmering shape of red light flickered ahead of me, it swirled and looked inviting and cosy. "I know you must be very tired right now, but I wanted to meet you" the floating mass of red light whispered. I blinked, there was a talking mass of firey light in front of me. "Who are you?" I asked, my voice sounding foreign and far away. "I am you, but not" it replied, I fought the urge to tell it that it wasn't being helpful. But then I snorted, it was a ball of light, of course it wasn't being helpful.

"There is little I can tell you now, you have not yet come far enough. I hope we don't meet again soon, but I do wish to talk with you more" the voice murmured. I frowned, or thought I did as I asked "where am I?" The floating mass flared, illuminating the space a little more. It seemed to just continue into an endless night. "You are in a place I can only reach when you are on the brink of death" it answered calmly and I started to panic. Then it added, "but don't worry. I sense he is with you, you will be safe at his side." My frown depended, Quilo? Gods, was he here? Was he too in this space between life and death? The voice laughed, a sound that reminded me of warm sunlight, "do not fret child, he is not here. He is where part of you stays in the land of the living." I had even more questions about that, how could I be in two places at once? The orb of light shimmered slightly, "stay with your prince Anala, you will figure it out together in the end." It seemed to dim and shiver as it added, "although I do fear that you have a lot more to face. But you are strong child, stronger than you know." I opened my mouth to ask what it meant but the shape vanished and I was again plunged into darkness.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The faint chatter of birds was the first thing I noticed as the blanket of darkness was gently pulled away. Then I felt warm buttery light travel across my face, heating my skin. I became vaguely aware that I was wrapped in soft, warm sheets that smelt faintly of peppermint. My fingers twitched and I was grateful for the fact that I could feel them because of... what had happened. My eyes shot open revealing a smooth white ceiling and a floral sconce hung on one wall. A faint breeze drifted over my face that smelt faintly of roses and I sighed into it. A flicker of pain tugged at my back where Owen had whipped me, and after that Quilo had done the same thing to him.

I heard the faint rustle of material next to me and my eyes followed the sound. They found a very tired looking Quilo sitting in a deep green armchair, his eyes fixed on me. His clothes were all rumpled and creased, I didn't think I'd seen him so unkempt before. His hair was not a tidy mass of white peaks, it instead stuck out all haphazardly, like hands had run through it over and over again. "You look like you were trampled over by a team of horses" I rasped, voice gritty from disuse. He smirked, "if I looked like I was trampled on by a team of horses you look like one." I blinked at him, "what?", trying to make sense of his poor taunt. Quilo chewed on the corner of his lip, "like a horse." I blinked at him again, had he really just said that? The faint sound of laughter travelled to me through the nearby open window, it made me smile a little. "How unoriginal" I responded flatly, doing a very good job at not bursting out into a fit of laughter. "Look, you've literally just woken up after days of being asleep and I didn't want to annoy you into attacking me."

I stilled, days asleep? "how long have I been asleep?" I asked, trying to sort out the mess of my mind. Quilo continued chewing on his lip, "three days." Three whole days? Gods I must've been injured badly. Then I remembered Quilo, how he'd cut down those guards. I went to stand but Quilo stopped me with, "what are you doing?" I paused, willing my heart to chill the fuck out before it lept out of my chest. "I need to check something" I answered, rolling my eyes when he shook his head. I rolled back into bed, "fine, come here." Quilo stood and groaned like it had been the first time he'd done so in a long time. He approached cautiously and I hid my smile at the thought that he considered me a threat.