The Prophecy of Five

I: 27 :I

Rayla

The darkness... the noise... it hurt... everything hurt.

Rayla couldn't think of anything else. She had snuck across the border pretty easily using a hidden passageway near one of the elven camps. No elves nor humans saw her cross. Everything was smooth sailing for a while. She had lost Callum's trail when he crossed over, but quickly found it once she made it across. He was on horseback, which meant he would be going faster than she had expected. Plus, he hadn't already been running the whole day. 

Rayla continued forward until the sun started to set. Knowing what little moonlight there would be to replenish her strength, she decided to find a nice tree and settle down for the night. Callum would have to stop too, and she would have no problem finding the prince in the morning.

Rayla had only been asleep for a few hours before she heard something. It moved swiftly through the trees, and it didn't sound like any animal she had ever encountered. She got up cautiously, her hands reaching for her blades in case she needed to fight. That was when the hooded figure emerged. They held a strange stick and a book. They didn't look too threatening, like a hiker who had gotten lost. Oh how wrong she was.

"Ah. Perfect. Just what I was looking for." the mysterious man said, "Somnus ad tenebris, capere praedam meum."

"Hey. I don't know what that means, but..."

Rayla's eyelids felt heavy. Heavier than ever before. She tried walking backwards but her legs gave out. She fell hard, hitting her head on a log. The last thing she saw was the mysterious figure approaching her as her eyes closed.

Rayla awoke in a dark room, a terrible noise coming from somewhere nearby. Her head throbbed in pain, now covered in dried blood from her fall. She also had a weird feeling in her throat, like a burning that wouldn't go away. She tried to get up and see where the horrible noise was coming from, but found her hands chained and shackled to the floor. Shuffling around, Rayla was able peered through the barred door only to see more darkness. A door opened somewhere in front of her, light flooded in and caused her to recoil backwards into her cell. A dark silhouette now stood in the open doorway.

"Well, its about time. For a Moonshadow elf, you really are a heavy sleeper." the figure said. It sounded like the same man she encountered in the woods.

"Hey! Where am I? Wh-" she stopped.

The figure smiled wickedly, "I'm sorry my dear, you'll have to speak up."

Rayla tried again. Nothing. No sound came out of her mouth. She rubbed her hand along her neck. It felt fine, but the burning was still there. "What'd you do to me?!" she tried yelling.

"Like I said, I don't know what you're saying. Maybe this is why." the man said, pulling out a small glass vial.

Inside was an odd little... thing. It glowed an unnatural yellowish color. The man uncapped the vial and out came the noise Rayla had heard earlier. She recoiled backwards, closing her eyes and covering her ears with her hands. It sounded like someone screaming. Like... her. The vial was covered and stored back within the man's robes.

Is that... my voice?

Rayla scurried forwards, trying to reach out with one hand as she tried to grab the jar. The man only laughed and stepped back, smacking her hand as he did.

"Oh I don't think so. My work is far too important and requires silence, something you would only disturb. You will get this back... eventually. Anyways, I have some friends here I'm sure you'll remember." Rayla watched as two smokey figures appeared from either side of the man. They were definitely elves and looked... strangely familiar. She covered her mouth in shock as two of her former fellow assassins approached her, no longer themselves. The way they moved, it reminded her of her fight with Runaan. 

"You! You... bastard! What have you done to my friends?!" she tried yelling,falling backwards further into her cell.

The man sighed. "You're really gonna try that again? For the third time, I CAN'T HEAR YOU. Friends, help our guest get the message please. I'll be back later."

The shadowy elves walked right into the cell, through the bars like they weren't even there. Rayla tried swinging at them but nothing connected. Her chained hands just passed right through them. She was kicked to the ground, one elf holding her hands behind her back while the other punched her in the stomach. Over, and over, and over. Through punches, Rayla could see the man turn around, closing the door behind him. That left her and the shadows of her former friends alone in the cell. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore and keeled over onto her side. Her stomach ached, her throat burned, and her heart was close to braking.

This is it. This is what I get for leaving. I'm sorry Callum.

Her injuries, along with her overall tiredness, eventually overpowered Rayla and sleep overtook her.

-----

She woke up several more times over what felt like days. Each time, she was 'greeted' by the shadows until she passed out. Moonshadow elf training was meant to instill confidence in a fight, but its hard to fight back when your hands are shackled to the ground and your enemies are made of smoke.

However, one time, things were different. Rayla awoke, the fresh cut on her cheek still stung from her last 'meeting'. The far doorway opened again, causing her to huddle against the back corner of her cell. Rayla watched was the hooded man approached her cell, a smaller hooded figure behind him. She tried her best not to move, as to not provoke her captors. A bucket of water was dumped onto the elf's head, triggering her intense fear of the water. Rayla panicked, shuffling around in her cramped cell, as if there would be another place to hide. The two people talked briefly, but she was too frightened to care what they said. She just hoped that whatever they were going to do, they'd do it quickly. She heard the door squeak and closed her eyes, preparing herself for whatever was about to happen, but nothing came. Rayla cautiously opened her eyes, revealing only the man still standing there.

"Don't worry. That was enough for tonight. Get some sleep now, elf. Tomorrow is gonna be a big day!" the man said, closing the door behind him. 

Rayla was now in the darkness again. Whatever 'big thing' the man was planning was not going to be good. She laid down on her side, her chains rubbing against her awkwardly. She closed her eyes but no sleep came. 

I'm sorry Callum. I love you.

She waited for what felt like forever. Thinking about her life, her family, her friends, how she would most likely never see them again.

-----

The main door opened, the silvery light of the moon and stars shining onto her face. This gave her some comfort, comfort that was quickly ripped from her as she watched the hooded man approach her cell.

"Well, I trust you had a good nights rest. Now, time to change the world."

She watched as he left, leaving the door wide open. There was some more talking coming from the doorway, but Rayla was too tired to care. After a few minutes, two of the shadowy elves walked towards her cell, opening the door and reaching forward. Rayla instinctively backed away, wanting to put as much distance between her and the ones she had once called 'her friends'. They instead removed the chains from where they were attached to the ground and pulled her forwards, out of her cell. She tried resisting, but to no avail. Light blinded her as she was pulled out into a large circular room, full of dark magic items, the hooded people from before, and... Callum?

There he was. The dorky prince she had come to love. Hiding behind a broken stone column. Or, he was. Rayla was being dragged forwards onto a wooden table... thing, when she saw him emerge from behind his cover. She was thrown down and chained to the table, unable to move. Callum raced towards her but was stopped by the hooded people. They spoke, but she couldn't understand what they were saying. It all seemed gargled up, like they were talking behind a waterfall or something. Her physical state, along with whatever dark magic surrounded the table, was making it increasingly hard to stay conscious. Her eyes fluttered, trying to focus on Callum. She fell onto her side, closing her eyes, her last thought being of Callum's drawing, before passing out.