Chapter 2

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Elaine

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          The first thing Elaine felt when she woke up was pain. A lot of pain. Pain that racked her body so hard she couldn't lift a finger even if she wanted to. There was no strength in her limbs as if she didn't have control over her own body, and she just wanted to fall back asleep again. The last thing she remembered was also pain, though a totally different breed of it. Before, she could feel heat course through her whole body from where her wolf had slashed and bitten her. Her whole body had throbbed, and her skin felt sensitive and numb at the same time. Even though that pain had felt unbearable, it paled in comparison to what she felt now, as if her body was fighting itself, devouring itself.

          She couldn't take it anymore. Elaine let out a guttural scream and tried to wriggle around to escape the pain, but her body wouldn't listen. She tried to yell out "Stop, please just make it stop!", only it came out as in incoherent whimper. Why won't the pain stop? What did I do to deserve such a slow, torturous death? It wasn't fair. After 3,000 years of labor, I'd finally found freedom, only for it to be taken?

          Through the haze of pain, she could vaguely remember she'd have never felt that way until she'd met the boy. She'd been a willing slave for her family, devoid of any desire for herself. Then Viole had come and for the first time since she'd taken the name 'Kaiser,' she felt like she was more than just a puppet, that she was human. She had dared to hope that she would be free.

          It's all YOUR fault! Why did you have to give me hope? Why did I decide to use my freedom to help you in a WAR? Why would you give me this freedom and then take it away from me after I just got a taste of it?

          The pain was too much. Elaine could feel the darkness crowding the edges of her vision. If I was going to die anyway, then you should've killed me on the Name Hunt Station, before I remembered my name, before I remembered why life was worth living.... She closed her eyes and succumbed to the darkness.

          The next time she woke, Elaine was blinded by light. Once her eyes adjusted, she looked around her. She was lying in bed in a small but beautiful room. It was fully furnished and neat, with a small table with flowers in the center and art lining the walls. The room looked like it could've been a room her family would use to house important guests.

          Elaine tried to get up out of bed and onto her feet. Her body felt stiff as if she hadn't moved for days on end, but once she got up, her body started to feel limber again. She could feel the strength that was absent the last time she was awake flow through her arms and legs again. She could feel no wounds on her body and she felt strong. In fact, she felt stronger than she's been in her life. So this is what it feels like to be dead. This is the afterlife. Everything looks and feels perfect, TOO perfect. My body feels like it's humming with power but also feels light at the same time. Seems kinda lonely though... At that moment, the door to the room opened. Startled, she stared at the open doorway as Viole walked in with a tray of food and water.

          "Viole, what are you doing here–," Elaine started.

          "Elaine! You're finally awake!" Viole said at the same time. "You were asleep for so long, I was starting to worry that it hadn't worked after all."

          The confusion was visible on her face. So I'm not dead? Where are my wounds, where's the burning sensation I felt in my body earlier? Wait, how long have I been asleep? What's going on? "What do you mean? Worried what hadn't worked? Viole, where are we?"

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