8 VIII~Labyrinth~

~I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscious approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death. (Leonardo Da Vinci)~

???

I slowly and silently made my way into Abaddon's office, looking for something they hold dear. He hit her last night and she forgave him! He should never hit her! She didn't even get mad! She just smiled up at him. The fool will learn that she is not his. I find a picture of everyone in this damned club hugging each other while smiling at the camera.

It's infuriating that she is with a man that is obviously not good for her but she doesn't even know I exist. I would treat her like the queen she is! Thinking about all of this causes anger to rise in me. Before I know it I have destroyed an entire room. Still not satisfied I leave the picture with a note on it attached to a mirror. I hope my actions do not frighten my sweet Islanzadi but I do hope it puts fear into that demon. I turn to mist and make my way back to her home.

~*~*~*~

"Why do you cry?" I sit cross legged on the cold, dirt covered floor of my cell. Currently I am trying to take the beauty's mind off the awful things that are happening to her. Every time I see her it is like this. Of course she never knows why she is crying until after she leaves. I am her friend and I want to protect her. So as long as she is here when it all happens and I take her mind off it... I can help her.

She wipes her tears away, "I do not know..." She looks at me with red tears filling her beautiful, colourless eyes.

"Do not cry, I am here."

She throws her arms around me, "Thank you Val. You are always here when I need you most."

Smiling I hold onto her tightly. I wish I could help her more. She still feels the pain of what is being done to her... I wish I could take it away. She begins to fade away and I know it is over for now. I have come to care about Islanzadi. She is all I care about.

I cover my mouth as a yawn escapes. Why am I tired? I do not sleep, I do not need to sleep. I lay my head on my arms as I close my eyes. Maybe I can sleep for just a while. As I open my eyes I am greeted by the sight of an unfamiliar garden, standing up I look around. I am surrounded by neatly kept rose bushes, the walls of red and white roses have narrow paths leading through them.

I start down the path directly in front of me and follow it until I get to a place where they split in three directions. "Which way now?" I inspect each entrance before I just stare at them in a loss. White roses begin to bloom on the entrance to my right and I make my way to it. "Roses seem like a good sign to follow."

I have no clue where I am or where I am headed but I might as well follow the path that shows life. As I get to the next split in the paths a slightly see through version of Islanzadi appears. "Hello Val. I was created in case someone were to enter here. I can answer your questions now."

"First off, where am I?" I am trying to stay calm but this is really weird.

"You are in the outskirts of Islanzadi's mind."

This brings up a whole different question than what I had, "What is she exactly?"

She sighs as if this happens often, "She is a banshee, the last living one actually. I will answer your next question as well. She was able to send her soul to you. When you did not flee or try to kill her she believed she could trust you. You began to wish to help her more than you already were and God allowed you to do just that. When those awful things are happening to her she will not feel the pain but you will, unless the pain is far beyond bearable. Her body is yours now and you are to protect her. Follow the white roses as you have been. Once you make it to the castle you will be able to see through her eyes and hear her thoughts. Simply ask a question out loud and I will answer."

She bows her head, disappearing. So now I am part of Islanzadi? That's not what I expected or wanted but... I can protect her now. I continue to follow the roses through the labyrinth of her mind until I reached the grand palace at its center. As I walk up the steps the door swings open for me. Pausing I stare, am I ready to see everything? Will she know I am here? Taking a deep breath I walk through the doors only to have them slam shut behind me. I jump slightly at the sudden sound. This should be fun.

As I walk through the halls I find that the doors are labeled with different monsters. Curious I stop in front of the door labeled 'Dragons'. I reach a hand out and open it. The moment I open the door I see file upon file of information, filling the numerous computer screens, on the dragon kind. How to kill them, how they fight, how they kill... all of it. I wonder if each room is like this. I stick my head into each labeled room and found that each one had files like at but there were some that also held memories.

Gargoyles, for example, she has all kinds of information filed perfectly on the large screens in each room but on one screen it shows memories of her time with them. They spar, laugh, cry, and talk. They are like a family. For each each gargoyle that shows up a separate computer brings up a personal file for them. Most of the other rooms had this, except the ones labeled 'Dragons', 'Angels', 'Demons', 'God', and 'Death'. The room labeled 'Banshee' was locked so I have no clue what she is hiding in there.

I come to another door, this one without a label. Curious I go up to it only to hear screams and weeping, like someone is being tortured. I frantically try to open it but the door doesn't budge.

Sighing I walk away as it all stops. I wander down a different hall. I stop at 'Battle', I wonder how she fights. As I walk through the door I am thrown into a very intense battle. I have never fought before so when I saw a man trying to run me through I did the only logical thing I could and ran. As my lungs and legs began to burn I started to remember 'Islanzadi's' words. "What the hell do I do here?"

"Do not die."

I roll my eyes at her words as I duck below another blow and continue running. "How do I get out?"

"Oh, that is simple." Laughing lightly to herself she waves her hand and we are back in the hallway. "I advise you not to go in that door again. They are labeled for a reason. I did not think you would willingly walk in there."

She shakes her head at me with amusement dancing in her eyes. "Why are there some doors locked?"

"Well, should someone be allowed in she does not want them in those rooms. Should someone force their way in all other rooms will be locked. She holds very valuable information and she will not let it get out."

I nod and watch as she begins to disappear again. I suppose I should begin my job. I walk around until I find 'Viewing'. This is where I need to be. Opening the door I seat myself in the chair in front of the large screen. I am seeing what she is seeing and I can hear her thoughts. The longer I watch the more I feel for her. Her life is like some kind of horror romance. These men around her are falling all over her but she doesn't see it.

Sighing I continue to watch until her eyes close and her dreams begin. Her 'dream', if you can call it that, is an awful memory. Now I know why she used to come to me all the time. If this were happening to me I would find a way to distract myself too. Somehow with all this crap happening to her she is still the sweetest thing ever. She is kind to everyone, in her own way, until they do something to lose that kindness.

Tonight she is having a particularly bad dream and right as her assailant brings the knife down we both jump, her awake and me out of my skin. She catches her breathing before standing from her bed and wrapping a robe around herself. She glides to a floor to ceiling window and pulls it open. When she does the gargoyle Goliath climbs in. "I heard you scream, my queen. Is everything fair?"

She seats herself on the ledge of the window as she nods. "The dreams are more frequent and vivid." She watches the snow fall on the quiet kingdom bellow. From her perch in the tower she can see it all.

A warm blanket is placed around her chilled form and she looks up to smile at Goliath as he seats himself next to her. "It is beautiful here when the snow falls."

Laying her head against his shoulder she looks back out to the villages. "Winter always calms me. The first snowfall brings me such peace." Goliath wraps a protective wing around her as she begins to drift. I think that I am beginning to like him more and more. He looks out for her and he is her friend and family. I do not ever want to see her hurt but I know that I will.