Watching With Closed Eyes

Elu heard gentle steps approaching in her direction, she didn't bother looking up she continued to stare at the flowers in the small garden.

"Love, let's go back inside. Papa's going to show you something." Her voice held an edge of hoarseness and cracked slightly as she spoke. Her right hand fiddled with the ring on her left hand anxiously. She kept her gaze locked hard onto her hands afraid of looking at her.

Elu looked up at her with suspicious eyes, she knew what was coming and part of her couldn't believe her own mother would do this. Someone she trusted and looked up too.

Now that she was looking back she could see all the flaws of the woman standing in front of her. She had always held her in such a high regard that none of the things she did or said stuck out as bad or wrong. Everything she had done was always right. Perfect even. But now she saw her in a new light.

"Can't you just show me?" She dared her to answer, a slight growl escaped her lips mid-sentence followed by a glare.

Polaris flinched her face held so much guilt Elu couldn't bare to look at her any longer. She let out a pained scoff turning on her heel and marched back towards the house in a blind rage.

When she entered the house there stood her father Lennox, his eyes were dark and his face held no emotion. He just stood their in a brooding way that made her shiver in her place. Her rage that flooded her so suddenly left her body just as quickly.

"follow." He called out to her in a stern tone, he patted his leg like she was a stupid little animal that would come if he called her. She made a face and scrunched her nose at him in protest not that he noticed or cared enough to do anything about it. 

It almost felt like a trance had over come her like she had to take a step forward or the world would end. Her body moved on its own as heart begged her head to stop over and over to no avail.

His eyes began to glow as he raised his hand drawing some magic characters in the air which summoned a portal. Without turning to see if she followed him he stepped through the doorway and kept walking, so like a stupid little animal, she followed him through the portal. 

When she walked through the other side Lennox had already entered the strange eerie building that rested on a small hill. The building that resembled an abandoned looking barn, was very well hidden in a grove of bamboo, ivy, and ferns. She could vaguely recall the building from her memory but not much about it itself, everything from her childhood was a blur.

She carefully took in the wooden walls of the barn, the dips, the blotches, and the small holes that littered the floor most likely from small creatures. The roof had massive holes with more rotting wood that was starting to crack from the pressure.

She wondered to herself how much longer the building would be able to keep standing without collapsing in itself. An intrusive thought popped into her brain daring her to kick at one of the walls to see if the entire roof caved in. She eyed a piece of the wall for longer than a minute before forcing herself to look away.

Towards the back of the strange building was a door on the left side and what looked like a linen chute door right next to it. Lennox opened the door and disappeared for a moment behind it before reappearing with another small girl in his hands. On her chest rested a large magic circle, her brown red hair was heavily matted like a rat's nest, but her eyes...her pink eyes made her sway in place and a sick feeling formed at the pit of her stomach. Pink eyes that haunted her even now. She couldn't form any memory of this, she remembered a girl, the real princess but not like this.

Elu closed her eyes but she couldn't wipe the memory of the lifeless girl's pink eyes out of her head.  She felt numb, the world faded to black but she was awake. She knew what was happening but she couldn't see or feel it happening. Like everything seemed to go by in a blur she didn't remember her father making another magic circle on the floor, nor did she remember watching him take the magic and life force out of the girl and give it to her. When she finally came back the girl in front of her seemed peaceful almost asleep; her hair was curled beautifully no longer matted and her eyes were closed. 

Lenoxx bent down and whispered a soft prayer, "find peace and rest well with her majesty young one."

He nodded to himself quite pleased with his prayer, he raised his hand and using his magic he incinerated the girl into a pile of ashes. He bent down forcing the ashes into his hands before he whispered something Elu couldn't quite hear herself and blew on the ashes spreading them into the wind.

Elu watched the small black dots fall to the ground and spread all over. For a split second she swore she saw a small girl standing in front of her with a smile. The small girl grabbed the hand of an older lady and they walked away together hand in hand.

She wasn't sure why she was feeling better sweet. But part of her felt peace knowing the little girl was safely returned to her mother, though it was sad to see such a small girl go that fast.

She wasn't sure when it happened but Elu started feeling an immense amount of pain. It almost sent her to the floor as wave after wave of pain crashed over her. Her head spun and her eyes stung, burned almost her sight faded in and out and before she knew it the world went black.