1 Prologue (Part One)

I was slumped against a hard cobblestone. Its rough texture gave no comfort to my current state. If it was daylight or dusk, I couldn't tell. It seemed to me that I was sucked into oblivion where time was of no significance. A gush of pain jolted my mind from drowsiness. Feeling as if my whole body was thrown into a herd of running Pegasus. My heartbeat quickened, what in the world have I been doing?

I slowly lifted my body into a more desirable position, that's when I noticed I wore nothing but what seemed like a torn white dress. I somewhat find it amusing. I am usually not fond of wearing one. Trying to assess my situation, I took time to scan the surrounding. Clearly, I was not in my bedchamber, but this also has four corners which only meant, I was abducted or, I crashed myself into a dungeon. I decided to settle on the former. I find it comforting to have someone to blame other than myself right now.

A few meters form where I was located, an oil lamp was struggling to keep its last sparks of light. Well, at least I was not the only one fighting in this godforsaken place. With all the strength I could muster, I forced myself to stand, right foot carrying my weight. Carefully, I maneuvered my left foot only to be surprised to see a glint of silver shackle fastened around my ankle. I frowned, trying to remember what had occurred prior to this strange happening.

Just as I was about to process everything, I heard footsteps and a set of keys jangling in the air. Instead of being agitated, I felt utterly confused. Even though there's only limited light in this four-walled room, I knew for a fact that there's no door. From hereon, I could see another burning light a few hundred meters from the nearest oil lamp in front of where I was standing. And if my instinct was right, it would lead to another portal which definitely was the way out of here. I could've even escape if not for this unannounced silver shackle, which I could not even fathom why it's silver in the first place.

But I knew something's terribly wrong.

With renowned determination, I close my eyes and let myself focus intently on the noise. The footsteps and the jangling sound halted in an abrupt manner. I was again engulfed by silence.

I inhaled sharply when I heard a creaking sound on my right wing, as if there was a door lying underneath its wall. Realization dawned on me in a swift motion, and I couldn't help but cursed. No, you don't get to use Salamanka on me and just get away with it.

"Yasas, Reya." I spun my head quite forcefully and was greeted by a pair of insolent eyes. Taunting and haunting me. Impossible! My mind screamed. Something must have triggered my brain for I saw flashes of past events that will forever cause havoc not only in my dreams.