Asunder

Chapter Two: A Betrayal

Chapter Two: A Betrayal

Something tickled her face.

Lark moaned, swatting at her cheek. The sudden pain in her arm took the breath right out of her and she struggled to open her eyes. It felt like they were glued shut. The light tore at her. Gasping, she rolled, shielding her face until the tears stopped rolling down her cheeks and the light did not burn as much. A squirrel looked at her curiously for a moment before skittering away.

She grabbed at the wall, hauling herself upwards, but the moment her feet touched the ground she swayed and fell against the wall. A shadow of fear passed through her as she blinked the stars from her eyes. Why was she in the tower? Why were her legs so wobbly?

Why did it feel like she hadn't opened her eyes in years?

She needed water. The thirst was ravenous and it tore into her throat violently. There was hunger, too, so bad that it felt like her stomach had been carved empty with a knife, but it was the thirst that hurt the most.

Lark stumbled down the stairs, head spinning. When did she get here? How did she get here? How long had she been here? Near the bottom, a step gave out below her and she tumbled the rest of the way, battered, thrown against the floor. Too exhausted to mutter a sound, Lark gasped silently and pulled herself up.

Everything was green. Moss and vines covered the walls and confused animals scurried away as she ripped away the plants that had grown over the entrance.

Fog.

The memory sprung back at her but the fog was gone now. It must have been just last night when it hit but it felt like it had been thousands of years ago, like her body had gone through rain, sleet, heat, and snow.

Rubbing at her aching head, Lark stumbled in the direction of the lake but the path wasn't there. Spinning, she searched the grounds, but there was no sign of where she and Prince came in last night. How was that possible? She knew these woods, she played in them as a kid and trampled through them in her youth!

She dove through the brush, branches scratching furiously at her arms and bare skin. Each breath pained her lungs and made her sea stars but she still drove into the forest, switching her search to the castle. Eventually, she spotted the towers in the distance and she kept her eyes on them, running.

There was an emptiness in her head, her lungs, her stomach. Everything looked different, nothing looked right, it was all off. There were more weeds than she remembered and the grass was overgrown, the trees drier.

She kept going until the trees were gone and the castle stood in front of her. Lark slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle the noise of horror that came out. The proud castle that she knew every crevice of, the delicate, intricate castle that served as her home...was decrepit. As morning light spread across the lawn, it illuminated the crumbling walls and the darkness within the broken windows. There was not a soul in sight.

It was incredibly quiet.

A deer nibbling at an overgrown garden froze and stared at Lark, dashing off.

Ivy crawled up the sides of the castle, a deep green. It was thick, nearly covering the stone walls completely. The gate was lowered and rusting and the double doors into her home were wide open.

She couldn't breathe.

Her footsteps were thunderous upon the dusty cobblestone bridge through the gates.