Broken Souls

A Mistake

Thranduil narrowed his gaze down the long path that stretched through the gardens, having only just caught the quiet sound of someone speaking. All he could see was a dim figure in the dark, only illuminated by a soft blue light around the person, as well as the sharp glow of a nearby torch that they must have taken with them for whatever it was that had led them out here in the dead of night – it explained the missing torch on the rack he had just passed.

He was keeping quiet, ensuring that they wouldn't hear him when he got closer, although he heard no speaking anymore. Were they alone or not? He continued down the path, noting them facing away from him so they couldn't see him coming. The closer he came, the more he realized that the person was in fact a female.

A female with pitch dark hair, soft curves and a face he knew all too well as he finally reached the space where she stood.

Kiera.

However, she was different than usual. The soft blue light surrounded her upper body in a soft mist and her mouth moved as if she spoke, yet no sound emitted. But it was her eyes that made him even more suspicious, with a bright white blaze laced over the orbs where he normally would see piercing blue irises. Around her he saw a simple pattern in the earth, a drawn circle to mark her space. To him it looked like magic. A ritual, perhaps. Was Kiera even the person she had said she was?

The thoughts that had nagged Thranduil for days flared to life like a silent storm, reminding him of the distrust he now felt towards her. She had far too many secrets it seemed, none of them he knew even a fraction of, and she had cursed at him before lividly leaving his study only a few hours ago. What was this, then? Did she spend every night here? Why were her eyes now clouded in gleaming white and her body surrounded in a blue haze?

Too many questions poured through his mind as his eyes narrowed, waiting for something to happen, and he knew he needed his answers now. No more games. So, it was a great satisfaction to see the blue mist disappear and watch Kiera's eyes return to their usual aqua blue color as she gasped and rapidly blinked, as if she had been in a daze and didn't know where she was.

Thranduil was closer than comfortable for her when she realized she wasn't alone. "Shit." She whispered and the King huffed bluntly.

"In deep, yes." He snapped at her, then grabbed her by the arm as he pulled her back towards the palace. "I need a word with you."

Kiera hardly even winced at his tight hold, but she did try to pry his hand off. "Listen now, I can walk by myself!" She told him, writhing to be free of his iron grip. She could tell he was fuming; he had seen what she had done – but how much of it and had he heard the conversation? Now she had to deal with the consequences and find a solution very fast.

"What a surprise to me." Thranduil quipped in reply to her protest, but his jest fell short of his mood. He didn't loosen his grasp nor let her walk on her own, and it was obvious Kiera was irritated by it. Thranduil couldn't care less.

"Then let me go!" She snapped at him, but to no avail as he dragged her out of the gardens and back through the corridors, steering towards his private study.

Her mind was still circling the end of her brief visit to wherever she had been, the sight of the small piece of paper with the two words finally making sense to her. As she curled her fists together, she felt something in one hand and knew instantly that it was the list. Kiera couldn't even remember where she had let it disappear to in her room, but knew it was all she had come with on her first day, tucked away in her pocket.

Occasionally, she had thought of it and pondered on what riddle that was and how exactly she was supposed to work it out, but now it stood clear: It was a death list. It was a tool for her, something for her to figure out her death and remember. It was far too easy for 'jump' to be the cause, firstly, it was clearly meant to be a list, and the first thing couldn't possibly be the answer. Secondly, she couldn't think of any possible way for her to have jumped to her death in her previous life – for the times she had considered ending it all, which had always been altered by her best friend Rose, that had never been an option; it took too long.