#ed1717
1
0
1
Sept 9, 2017 19:51:41 GMT
5
Lev
191
August 2015
admin
|
Post by Lev on Jan 24, 2016 21:59:39 GMT
For an instant Theolandra was frightened by the presence of Holly's power, feeling submerged in its gentle pressure as if under water. She waited for the cruel trick that would reveal the child's true allegiance to Timore - their similarity in power couldn't be denied. The Lady hardened herself at the thought, hand on hilt again, waiting for the girl to make a wrong move. But Holly seemed more concerned about dodging debris and dusty artifacts that littered the floor. The longer Theolandra waited for an ambush the less fear she felt, the more muddled her opinion of Holly became. She was truly dealing with a child. She squinted and used her free hand to soothe a growing headache, rubbing her temple in small circles.
Shortly after climbing the stairs, the two entered a new room, pristine and carefully maintained. Holly waved Theolandra off to one direction, silently mouthing her intent to search one side while she took the other. The Lady scanned the room once over. There weren't any personal belongings left out in the open, and only one tall wooden dresser to search. She tip-toed to it, searching each drawer from the bottom up, pulling them delicately to avoid making any noise. They were all empty save one. An rusty iron key was resting untouched in the middle of the top drawer. Holly said they needed a key to get out of the mansion, and Theolandra had a feeling this was it.
With some difficulty, she grabbed it and whispered. "Holly, I think I-"
"Sister...
Theolandra twisted round with a small gasp, knocking the drawer and dresser into the wall with her back. Timore's ghoulish persona blocked the doorway. The queen straightened her back in a challenging response. She shot a troubled glance toward the vanity, wondering if Holly had felt the pawn's presence and had a chance to hide. The false Timore also took notice of the girl's frozen form before he spoke again.
"I see you've convinced one of my children to your cause. A valiant effort, she really does want to help you, but little Holly has no idea what she's talking about."
"What have you done to her? Why is she here?" Theolandra interrogated, pushing off of the dresser. "Whatever you're planning will not work, brother. Release me and the child," she urged. "Whatever animosity you hold can be solved civilly."
|
|
inherit
10
0
Jan 17, 2019 22:10:26 GMT
4
blacknoise
I don't have kik.
273
Aug 14, 2015 15:19:56 GMT
August 2015
blacknoise
|
Post by blacknoise on Jan 25, 2016 6:37:12 GMT
The faceless projection laughed mirthlessly in the face of the defiant queen. Gliding over towards Holly, the smoke-like being placed a hand gently on her shoulder. Frozen in place, Holly neither moved nor reacted, she couldn't stop him even if she wanted to. As a grim, shark-like smile spread across the projection's features, the voice of Timore echoed from it once more. "Always with the questions. Holly here is simply, paused, for lack of a better word. I've restricted her conciousness so that she cannot move nor think, she has no idea I'm even here. As for why she's here, did she not tell you? Maybe, perhaps, she's forgotten once more. Holly is the last of my lineage, the last of my first generation of creations to roam the world. Did you not see-" Reaching behind her hair, Timore brushed it away to reveal a small, black mark on the back of the child's neck. It looked almost like an infection, a horrific tumor that ate away at the flesh. "-my mark? She belongs to me, down to the very soul I formed within her. Just like humans belong to Den, though he is admittedly less possessive than myself...
You are so dense, Theolandra. Answer me this, do you fathom how few answers you truly have, dear sister? Can you grasp the understanding of how weak you really are without the Divines? You can't even sense the illusion all around you! I'm not imprisoning you! She is! This little beast closed her mind off, shut down, and hibernates away her pain. She wakes only to eat and relieve herself before returning to her endless slumber. Here, in this terrible dream, she thought she could escape me and pretend that everything is still ok.
Pretending that her forest isn't burned down, pretending that she's not the only one of her kind, pretending that I'm still her friend. She dreams of an escape where everything is back to 'normal,' where she can go back to the days of the beginning of time. Dreaming of a dream.
There's only one way out of here, dear sister. Sacrifice. Maybe you can convince this foolish child that her happy time passed thousands of years ago. Convince her that the hell she tries to shut away is all she has left. Show her how all of her friends are dead and I don't care about her anymore. Wake her up to a horror more devastating than any nightmare, the truth.
Or, get out the easy way." As Timore spoke the words 'the easy way,' he reached down and gently slid his finger across Holly's neck. Laughter, genuine and horrifying, filled the room as Timore faded away. Suddenly, as if she had never stopped at all, Holly moved and spoke once more. Her voice sweet, quiet, and innocent, like that of angel. "You found it! Let's go!"
|
|
#ed1717
1
0
1
Sept 9, 2017 19:51:41 GMT
5
Lev
191
August 2015
admin
|
Post by Lev on Jan 31, 2016 2:51:50 GMT
When Timore flashed the ghastly mark on the back of Holly's neck Theolandra confirmed her suspicions about the girl's powers. She was a direct product of Terror, a Child of Fear in every way. His influence spread under her pale skin like a blight, its long black fingers stretching and threading around her thin throat like the beginnings of a noose. The sight of it disheartened the queen. She knew what the mark of a Firstborn meant, the tribulations and tortures that it entailed - especially one so tragic as Timore's. Holly was beyond saving.
She was just a little girl, alone and scared, clinging for hope in a world that'd been forgotten by the ambition of her betters. Theolandra couldn't help staring at the frozen creature. The ugly puppet's explanation fanned the flame of Theolandra's alarm, setting up new mirrors that would reflect the similarities between her reality and Holly's dream. What she saw was brazen, and what could be was more concerning than she would dare to let anyone know. The ghoul's final statement trapped her even further.
"There's only one way out of here, dear sister. Sacrifice. Maybe you can convince this foolish child that her happy time passed thousands of years ago. Convince her that the hell she tries to shut away is all she has left. Show her how all of her friends are dead and I don't care about her anymore. Wake her up to a horror more devastating than any nightmare, the truth. Or, get out the easy way."
Timore's taunting laughter sent a cold wave down her back, and she could feel the cloth of her tunic sticking to her chilled skin. His message was horrifying, but Theolandra had known the Firstborn too long for his methods to be unpredictable. Kill Holly and free yourself for the sake of your people, or compromise their safety for the sake of one forsaken child. The answer was impossible.
"You found it! Let's go!" Holly rejoiced with hushed celebration. She grabbed Theolandra's lithe hand and started for the door, but the queen did not move.
Theolandra held her ground, a troubled expression taking her features. She couldn't meet Holly's eyes. Her heart sank when she felt the small tug of their disconnect, and the little girl's hand fell away from her own. The Lady imagined the confusion on Holly's face as she watched little feet turn to face her for an explanation. Suddenly the weight of the sword on her hip became incredibly apparent. It pulled at her belt, and her ears began to ring angrily as if the metal was demanding release. It blared and screamed, bringing hot pain to her eyes. But she could not cry.
Theolandra gathered herself as best she could before speaking. "Holly, my friend, this key," she took a short breath and gripped the iron key harder in her right hand, "it doesn't get us out of here, does it?" A moment of agonizing silence passed. Then Theolandra knelt down to match the child's height, gripping Holly's icy shoulders gently and meeting her sweet, wild brown eyes. Tears threatened to boil over again. "Holly, I need you to be honest with me. Friends tell the truth, right? They help each other. Friends don't tell lies," she coached.
|
|
inherit
10
0
Jan 17, 2019 22:10:26 GMT
4
blacknoise
I don't have kik.
273
Aug 14, 2015 15:19:56 GMT
August 2015
blacknoise
|
Post by blacknoise on Feb 1, 2016 4:11:54 GMT
Holly stayed silent as Theolandra spoke. Her cold shoulders barely felt the warmth of the woman's hands as she lowered herself. What did she mean the key wouldn't get them out? Why wouldn't she follow her? They just needed to get to the door, why was Theo doubting her? They just needed to find the exit.
Find the exit.
Immediately after Theo finished speaking, a flash of recognition passed across Holly's face. With that flash, the girl's own image flashed and, for one brief moment, seemed to blur into someone entirely different. Holly's eyes were suddenly so sunken, so bright, and so sickly yellow. Her skin a dark navy, like a stormy evening sky, her hair in tatters and falling out. Through her skin, her bones could be easily seen poking through, stomach distended from malnutrition. Despite these changes, she was still a little girl. But she was not human.
Tears flowed unbidden from her eyes, and gently she reached up to them. The second she touched her own face, her for jolted back to its original state and she tore away from Theolandra. Confusion etched across her face as she started backing away. Her voice shaking and scared, she spoke.
"Y-you're scaring me, I don't, don't understand. I've only been truthful to you, we're friends, why would I lie?"
Her face seemed entirely innocent, but the truth was known to Theolandra. The mark of Timore claimed the soul of this being, but what that actually meant in relevance to their situation was up to Theolandra to decide.
|
|
#ed1717
1
0
1
Sept 9, 2017 19:51:41 GMT
5
Lev
191
August 2015
admin
|
Post by Lev on Feb 10, 2016 23:22:09 GMT
Theolandra felt a small charge surge through her fingertips when Holly's skin darkened, and her grip emptied as the girl's muscles seemed to dissolve beneath her hands. Haunting yellow eyes swam in black pools like withering day-lilies floating through the inky, shifting abyss of Abandon. The sight was horrifying and pitiful. Hope of salvation was thinning as rapidly as the hair that fell from Holly's head. The queen had to bite back a frightened gasp. If she didn't wear a strong face, Holly wouldn't have a rock to stand on when the world fell at her feet.
"Holly, I-"
"Y-you're scaring me, I don't, don't understand. I've only been truthful to you, we're friends, why would I lie?"
Holly jerked back, her image flickering between illusions like lightning in a thunderstorm. Denial and panic wrapped their ugly roots around the child's mind, seeding themselves so that their claim on her could not be shaken without force. Theolandra didn't rise from her kneeling stance. The thread of camaraderie stretched between them as Holly widened their distance, threatening to break under the pressure. Familiar faces flashed across The Lady's mind, more strikes of lightning trying to break through the impending squall. Story Burgess, and Alice, her sister; Corianne, Heidi, and Elise. Lia and Harris Authern, too. Their faces waited for the queen's incompetent hands to protect them, falling through her fingers until she clenched her fists.
"I am your- We are friends, Holly," she struggled then swallowed. An idea. "Do you like to dream, Holly?" Theolandra didn't wait for an answer. "I do. When I wake I try my hardest to retrace my steps, remembering everything I can until the moment I fell asleep the night before." The Lady watched the girl for a moment, careful not to pull the thread. She hoped that her voice wasn't trembling with the weight of desperation. "Can you do that for me, Holly, my friend? Can you tell me about your last dream, and the moment you fell asleep?"
|
|
inherit
10
0
Jan 17, 2019 22:10:26 GMT
4
blacknoise
I don't have kik.
273
Aug 14, 2015 15:19:56 GMT
August 2015
blacknoise
|
Post by blacknoise on Feb 14, 2016 15:49:31 GMT
AmbianceHolly listened well to Theolandra, her innocent eyes staring directly back at the older woman. She sounded almost desperate, what was going on? She was asking about dreams, Holly's dreams. Averting her eye it's, the girl took a slow step back towards the wall as Theo finished speaking. Her voice trembling with apprehension, she replied, occasionally stopping in her narrative only to will herself to continue moments later. "I don't like to dream, I never have any good dreams... It's always the same nightmare, I'm in a bed I don't recognize, in a burrow that's not mine, inside a dead forest. There, I feel like I'm dying. The forest burned to the ground and weeds have overgrown where beautiful flowers once bloomed. The trees won't come back, even grass has trouble growing. It hurts me to see it, but it's not my forest, it can't be. Suddenly, I have to leave, I have to run. I'm very hungry. I have to steal food from a farm, it's so far away but it's the only place close. The farmer is mad, he must be, because in my last dream I had to kill one of his dogs that came after me. I think it was his favorite.
I see him sitting on his roof, trying to look for me, but I won't let him see me. When I get what I need, I go back. There's no time to explore, no time to cook, no time to do anything, I have to go back. I have to go back to the burrow, but it's not my burrow, I would never take so little care of my burrow. The burrow is in the dead wood forest, but it's not mine, I would never let my forest die. I eat and lay down in the bed, the one that is not mine. It could not be mine, I would never take so little care of my bed. Then- then- I lay down to- to- sl-"It clicked. Slowly, Holly's hands reached up to her face. Gripping the sides of her head, she dug her nails into her skin and screamed. She changed once more, back into the monster with skin of deep blue. Her hair in tatters, her teeth forming like jagged rocks made for tearing and ripping flesh. Yellow and sunken, her eyes stared straight ahead, as if she was looking right through Theolandra and towards something behind her. As her hair fell out, her voice began giving out. She could not scream anymore. Instead, small, pained whimpering sounds pulled themselves up from the bottom of Holly's throat. Sinking to the ground, Holly pried her nails out of her own head as thick, oily blood began running down her fingers to her hands. Softly, she hugged herself and cried.
|
|