Days later, I am still just as dumb as I was the moment I started taking these awful classes. I think Lady Miranda has had me thrown out more than three times, and Mr. Vigilance has turned each class into a “brainstorming” period where he basically lectures the entire time over the possible meanings of my dream. Not the real dream, of course, so it wasn’t even slightly interesting.
The only times when I enjoy myself would have to be when Griffin is by my side. He visits me for lunch and always makes me laugh so that I choke on my bland PB&Js. He is becoming my best friend, understanding and caring about me more than anyone else in this boring place. I am starting to think that having him as my only mate wouldn’t be quite as bad.
Walking towards the garden where I eat my lunch, I spot him leaning against the statue near the doors. He smiles when he turns to look at me, a smile so unguarded that it makes my heart flutter. He quickly strikes a pose, kneeling in front of the statue’s outstretched sword with a wounded expression.
I start to laugh, running over to him. “Watch out!” I yell, “You are going to get hurt!” I leap in the air and push him out of the way. We crash into the wall, his body shielding me from any damage. I look into his brown eyes with relief. He seems to be the most human-like person here, and I love that more than anything.
“Get… up,” Griffin groans, trying to push himself off the floor. He looks hurt, but the twinkle in his eyes betrays the truth.
“What were you thinking, getting in front of that soldier?!” I roll off of him, shaking him by the shoulders. “You could have died!”
“Would you miss me?” He winks, slowly standing up.
“Yes. I would miss you so much,” I say sarcastically, drawing out my syllables. Afterwards, I yawn, and his grin reappears.
“Are you bored with me already, Chosen One?” he teases, and I punch him in the arm. He knows I hate it when he calls me that.
Offering me his arm, he leads me out into the garden. The nervous butterflies return as we walk, upsetting my stomach.
“Are you ready?” He whispers in my ear, a low sound that makes me shiver. I know exactly what he is talking about.
“Ready as I will ever be, I guess.” I look towards the walls, away from him. Griffin frowns a little.
“I know this must be nerve-wracking. What are you worried about?” he asks, leading me to the benches underneath the tall willow tree. Flowers surround us as we sit down, and I open my lunch bag.
“I’m not sure. It is just this uneasy feeling I have. I don’t know if I am ready.” I grab my sandwich, staring at it silently. The delectable scent reaches my nose, and I nearly gag.
“I’m sure you are more ready than you think.”
“Or maybe you have more confidence in me than you should.”
A minute passes with no words. I quietly put my sandwich up and he starts to eat his own. It is a comfortable silence, a silence I can bear. With Griffin, I always feel at ease.
“If you want, Mona, we can do it now. Get it over with. I know that the Council has had it ready for ages,” Griffin comments nonchalantly over a mouthful of BLT. “They just wanted to wait until you decided to come. Of course, the deadline is tonight, but you could have-“
“Really?” I ask, a little more eager than I should be. I have been dreading this ritual for days, unable to keep the nervousness from swallowing up all of my thoughts. “Let’s do it, then.”
I marvel at how I spoke of this matter so calmly. The way I said it was about the equivalent of “let’s play ball!” or “let’s eat some cake!”. I guess it is just the overwhelming desire for everything to just be over. To forget… him, to move on with my life.
“Griffin, wait for me, will you?” I ask, standing up quickly, “I have to do something, and then we can go.” He nods, and takes another gigantic bite of his sandwich. Turning from him, I head over to the fountain around thirty feet away.
For a minute, I stare at the glassy water, my reflection wavy in the ripples across the surface. Hesitantly I put my hand in my pocket and pull out a tiny slip of paper. Unfolding it, I look at the striking portrait once again. My thumb smudged the edge of his face, and I quickly shift it away.
I returned the notepad to the old lady, whose name is Cassie, by secret. I snuck into her new room and left it on her bed. However, I could not part with this picture no matter how hard I tried. I eventually tore it out, stealing away the precious lady’s guardian angel.
But now, it is time.
My heart twists in pain violently as I raise my thumbs to the top of the picture and carefully bring them out in opposite directions. The tearing sound makes my eyes start to water, and before I know it, the deed is done. My heart is ripped in two pieces just as easily as the paper was.
Now the job gets much harder.
Let go.
I squeeze each piece of the paper tightly in my fists. It seems as if my body will not obey my mind’s commands.
Let go.
Finally one hand opens, and the paper flies until it lands on the blue water. It floats for a while, and then the water swallows it up until it is shriveled and the face is destroyed.
Only one piece left.
Although it may seem like a small matter, at this moment it seems like the world depends on this one action. My grip slowly loosens in the other hand, sweat appearing on my palm. I never imagined that this would become so hard.
Let go.
The paper flies in the same direction that the other did, and soon shrivels in the same manner. Strangely, it feels as if I have been temporarily released… almost energized at its completion. Not exactly what I expected.
With energy I didn’t know I possessed, I walk over to Griffin, who probably saw the entire incident. “Okay,” I say firmly, “I am ready.”
I finally let go.
We reach the entrance of a small room after a short while, having traveled slowly but surely. It seems to be in the heart of headquarters, several flights of stairs underground. It is kind of creepy, knowing that with every step I am taking I am getting closer to becoming a brand new person.
It is hard to imagine what I will be like when it is over. Will my personality change to what it was before I met… him? Will I keep everything but my memories?
Griffin keeps trying to explain the process of the ritual, but I get distracted by the curious designs that are dancing across the walls of this hallway. There are no other doors besides the one at the very end, which is rather strange. The door itself is huge, decorated with similar designs around the edges. The whole layout of Headquarters confuses me. It is rather like a castle upside down, with a single, plain floor above ground and many more beautiful floors below.
We enter through the door, and I am surprised by the simplicity of it all. There is nothing in it besides a few chairs, a desk and cabinets, and a small bed. It rather resembles a normal hospital room, and even that seems more homely than this one. It is very different from everything else I have seen on this floor.
An old, yet striking lady is murmuring to herself, seemingly stirring together a strange concoction in a large mixing bowl. She is dressed in all black and has beady eyes, with dark hair that stretches to her lower back. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that I have just seen a witch.
“Mona, meet our herbalist, Marsha.” Griffin smiles at her, and I extend my hand cautiously. She turns to look at me, stares at my hand for a minute, and then turns away.
My cheeks burn as I hastily drop my hand to my side. Griffin doesn’t seem to notice my embarrassment, acting as if she hadn’t just snubbed me in front of him. “She will be taking care of the ritual, Mona. You have nothing to worry about. She is the best of the best.”
He obviously expects me to be eased by this knowledge. Honestly, it upsets me even more. This lady looks like she could kill me. Not only kill me, but not care about it in the slightest.
“Leave.” A small croak comes from Marsha, and we both take a step back. “I must deal with her alone.”
Marsha. What a w!tchy name.
Griffin shakes his head. “I’m sorry Marsha, but the Council said-“
“I do not care what the Council said!” She shakes her head definitely, her voice cracking on every other word. “I am doing them a favor right now, and they know it.”
Griffin stares at me pleadingly. “Yeah, yeah, I get it,” I mutter underneath my breath, “go wait outside.” Smiling, he pats me on the head and walks out of the door.
“I’ll be right here! Call if you need me!” He throws over his shoulder, and then the door shuts with a frightening CLANG!!
Now I am alone with this scary w!tch-lady. I knew I never should have gone along with this.
She gestures to the bed, and I quickly scramble upon it. The energy I had before is completely gone. How did I lose my confidence so quickly?
“Mona, I am going to have to ask you to relax,” she says calmly over her shoulder, “I can feel your teeth chattering like footsteps on a rainy day.”
What? What did that analogy have to do with anything?
She finishes her mixture, and then takes a cup out of the cabinet and pours some of the concoction into it. “Parsley, Gingerberries, Red Snaps, Fargleweed, Cabbage, and Tawniberries. Pretty normal ingredients, except for the Gingerberries, until swirled together for thirty minutes, boiled for ten minutes, and then allowed to fester for three days. Now it serves as a concoction that is so potent you cannot drink but a sip before the agony overtakes you. It is the first step to ridding yourself of your mate.” After explaining, she takes a dropper and dips it in the cup. I am only thinking of one thing.
Gingerberries?
GINGERBERRIES?
“Secondly,” she continues, “I have to take another thick mixture, using extremely rare ingredients, and spread it across the mating mark you wish to remove. I have been informed that this mark is near your neck.” Stepping over to me, she places the dropper on a small bedside table and went to get something else.
“Afterwards, I will use Fargleweed to soothe your evaporating mating mark and the pain in your chest. However, it may continue regardless for hours. Even if you are hurting after I am through with this step, I must give you the elixir or it will never be complete. This is the potion that messes with your mind, fiddling with your memories and truly making you forget him.”
“Let’s get on with it then,” I mutter, lying back against the single pillow. “Bring on the pain.”
She smiles, a wicked smile that chills me to the bone. “As you wish.”
A few minutes pass as she arranges things on the table. I spend time thinking about what I was going to lose. Throughout this process, will I lose myself? Why did I even agree to do this?
Oh yeah. The pain.
That is so funny to me, and I start to laugh. So in order to escape from the pain, I must drink something that gives me pain. What a messed up world.
Marsha arches an eyebrow, and I shrug. “I’m weird,” I offer as an explanation. I’m sure she thinks I’m cr@zy now.
I think she is ready, for she is picking up the dropper. “Open up, Mona.” Obediently I do as she asks, closing my eyes in the process. The word why keeps flitting through my thoughts.
Why, why, why, why, WHY?
A small droplet of liquid hits my tongue, and I begin to scream. It seems as if my body is on fire, lit into flames by that one single spark. She was right. The pain really does overtake you.
I can feel Marsha’s hands on me, forcibly holding me down. Strange bindings are suddenly around my feet and arms. Anger at her sears me like a red-hot iron. What the crap was I thinking when I agreed to do this?
Crashes were heard outside, along with shouting and other strange noises. I barely notice, mainly because I am busy writhing in pain.
“Not too much longer dearie,” Marsha cackles, her aged hands spreading a gooey paste around my neck. At about this time, an even larger crash occurs, and I can hear Griffin yelling, “Guards! GUARDS!”
I think Marsha has messed up for some reason, because now I can feel the paste on my shirt and jeans. Some of it gets on my belly and sides because my shirt had ridden up slightly. The burn intensifies when this happens, and I am unable to stop from screaming again.
“What are you doing to her?” A voice anxiously asks, a voice that is familiar to me. “What are you doing to Mona?!”
Marsha doesn’t say anything from the silence that follows, and then croaks in my ear. “Drink this.” A cup touches my lips and a sweet liquid slides into my mouth. Not much, though, but something knocks the cup from my lips.
“Stop!” Another voice yells, and fighting ensues. I finally decide to open my eyes, to figure out what is going on.
A face hovers above me, streaked with moisture. It takes a minute for my eyes to focus, but then I realize it is him. My body starts to shake and stars dance in my vision. “Mona, it’s me,” the familiar voice whispers, “Xavier. I came back.”
A strange exhilaration fills my body. He… he came back. For me. Somehow it is impossible to believe.
“I may not ever see you again,” he whispers, “because the guards are coming this way to kill us. But I had to see you just one more time. I love you. I can’t live without you.”
My heart nearly explodes.
Through all the burning pain, I focus on my one desire that rises above the others; the urge to escape… with Xavier, with Griffin, with everyone. Somehow, I needed to save them all. Even if I die in the process.
Places appear before me randomly. The werewolf mansion. My orphanage. My school. Strange valleys, and creeks, and towering mountains that I have never seen before.
Another vision settles before me, a vision of dark rivers and forests, vast oceans and dark grey skies. There.
I reach for it, grasping for the place that has haunted my dreams since the very first Shifter attack. The others cannot reach us there. We will be safe.
In my strange state of delirium, I run and catch it in my hands, and then stare at it, expecting something. Anything.
And then something happens.
The light from the place grows, consuming my hand, my arms, and my body. It sucks up everything, until nothing is left. Surely I have gone mad. What have I done?
My consciousness leaves me as I finally pass out, due to the agonizing pain.
What a nightmare.
****************
TO BE CONTINUED
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