"As soon as you believe you are a monster is when you become one."
After many years of war, the kingdom of Edria is finally in an era of peace--peace obtained by one thing and one thing only.
A deal.
King Regol has made a deal with the devil, or r...
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This is not what death feels like.
Unless breathing comes with death.
My mouth felt like my tongue turned to sandpaper. It was dry, sucking all moisture from it.
Water.
With eyes still closed, I tried to move my arm. I strained, telling my muscles to work. The only movement I got was a small twitch of my fingers.
"Mmh," I moaned. My eyelids cracked open, letting a small sliver of light hit my eyes.
It was like the sun.
I squinched my eyes shut again, escaping the harsh light. Slowly, I let the brightness hit me again, it not being as overwhelming that time.
Where am I?
The only light in the room came from the moonlight that shone through a window. It hit the walls, making them faintly shine like a jewel. A desk with a green-covered book sat next to the bed I was in. A dresser was in the corner.
The room was sparse, arranged like mine was in the castle. But, there was no way I was inside the castle. Everything looked different--calmer. Tamer. Lighter.
I reached across the bed to the desk, finally able to move my arms. I grabbed the book and flipped it over so I could see the cover. The squiggle lines took a minute to get into focus, but when they did, I racked my brain, trying to remember what each symbol meant.
Ele--ven Chims.
No, Chimes.
Eleven Chimes.
A held in huff of air escaped me. Am I in the castle? Why don't I recognize it? What happened?
I braced myself with my arms and started to swing my legs off the bed. The world spun around at a dizzying speed and pain raked up my side and across my chest at the small movement.
"Ah." I winced and grabbed at my ribs. "Bad idea. Laying down it is."
Careful not to disturb myself any more than I already had, I slowly lowered my head to the pillow. The merry-go-round of blurs slowed to a halt.
With my right hand, I touched my forehead. Everything feels different. Off.
My body felt lighter somehow. Not the same. Like I was smaller than normal. Something was off in my hearing, too. Everything was too quiet.
I held up my hand and examined it. It was still long and thin, pale with lack of sun. I extended my fingers, looking for the claws that should have come with.
Nothing.
I stared at the nothingness in amazement. Maybe I'm just tired.
I felt my ribs again, seeing how badly they were injured. It hurt to barely touch them.
