CHAPTER 2: The Confusion

A raw groan shot up as the figure on the cold stone floor steered out of consciousness slowly.

She moved her head to the side and tightened her eyes as a frown adorned her weary face.

When Aella blinked open, she found herself staring out in darkness. Like a black canvas, with only a shimmer of light coming out from somewhere.

The first thing that registered in her head was that she was in unfamiliar surroundings, it wasn't like this was the first time she woke up in a foreign place, but this time was different as it was a room.

As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, she could make out that she was in a tiled room with rough walls and bars at the ending of the midget space.

How she got here, she had no idea.

She searched through her memories to find out whether she had wandered somewhere else amidst her tiredness but she didn't remember anything like that.

The last thing she recalled before blacking out was the big black beast she tried to run away from, the vicious red orbs of the creature rang in her skull to send a slight shudder down her bones.

Could it be it was the monster that brought her here? But how? That was unlikely because not only would it eat her up within a minute.

An unruly beast like that could in no way have a home, not to talk of having compassion for a flimsy human like her.

The only infrastructure around the barren area beyond the dark lands was-

Aella rose from her lying position in a single motion and ignored the pricks that vibrated round her limbs with a dull ache.

She patted the stone chilled ground, searching for any of her belongings.

When she looked up to see in between the bars at the gate, her eyes fell short from the extreme bleakness that was there.

She was getting a bad feeling from all this and she had to find a way to get out. Immediately.

When her palms touched a hard surface, she grasped it instantly and grazed over the object to make sure it was the compass she was looking for.

She dragged her knees against the ground and moved to the beam of light which shot through the window that was too high for her reach.

She tried her best not to make any noise as she did so because she didn't want to alert whoever it was that brought her here of her consciuosness.

She flicked the golden compass open and set it beneath the light. The radiance wasn't so bright but it was at least better than nothing.

She glanced up to meet the lines on the compass empty, only the numbers and a few letters remained.

Realization struck her body with severity as she froze in the still room. If the lines on the compass had dissappeared, it could only mean one thing.

She had arrived at her destination.

Her breath hitched when something within her told her that there was something standing right behind her.

She didn't know what it was or if this feeling was even right but she had to make sure of it.

Aella whipped her head back slowly and what her eyes captured amidst the darkness left her speechless and nearly dizzy.

There it was staring at her with an intensity that was enough to suck the blood out of her veins.

A pair of golden orbs pierced through the frostiness in the room and engulfed her with an unknown source of heat that she couldn't describe.

Just like it came, it faded into nothing as though it was merely a fantasy.

Aella slumped with despondence and anxiety as the events of how she ended up here rushed into her head like a gentle nightmare.