1. The Awakening

The Awakening

   I groan against consciousness as crimson light flares across my eyelids. There is a sound I cannot place, though I find it soothing. I open my eyes and feel a jolt of fear as I realize...I have no idea where I am! Looking around, the walls of the room are marbled and elegant. The furniture appears antique. There are large round widows across from the bed; with stained glass panels on hinges that swing outward, they are open. Black velvet curtains drawn back.

    Standing and crossing to the window; a warm, soft breeze washes over me. Light glints off water from a beach; waves lapping against the shore just yards away. The scene reminds me of a fairytale. The water is so blue and clear I can see the ocean floor. The sand white, with tiny specs of color. The sun is high in the sky yet. I shake myself, pulling my attention back to my main concern; nothing I am seeing tells me where I am or how I got here.

      Turning I start scanning the room in more detail. Ahead is the bed with its antique metal frame. It is outfitted in rich purple silk and large fluffy pillows. To my right is an ornately engraved metal door with a curved handle. Depicted are runes I've never seen before surrounding a strange symbol engraved delicately into the metal. I walk over and try the handle, my heart sinks as it only jiggles in my hand.

"Fuck." I curse to myself softly.

    Crossing to the window again, I look down trying to judge if I can jump. The edge of the window stands 50 feet above the ground. The walls of the building are a grey stone flecked with black mica. There will be no jumping. Frustrated, I sit below the window, placing my head in my hands in anguish. A sense of doom settles around me and sobs fill the air as I cry.

     🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

      I jerk awake suddenly, disoriented. I realize there is a woman standing over me! I have only enough time to think,

"I must have cried myself to sleep."

The woman crouches faster than I can react and thrusts the end of a vial full of liquid in my mouth. Reflexively, I swallow tasting copper; my face scrunches and I gag. She then holds up a mirror silently showing me my own reflection.

    The mirror flashes glinting like silver and is framed with shinning gemstones. Studying the girl in the mirror; in shock I forget my surroundings. I reach out touching the mirror for she is not familiar. The girl is a pale porcelain doll, both beautiful and timeless.  She has the kind of eyes women would die for, large and youthful. Irises sapphire blue and as clear as crystals. Dark tresses, curled into soft ringlets frame her angular face. Curls brush her shoulders as I shake my head in wonder. Starting with shock, I watch her eyes,

"No..." I whisper.

"Your eyes." A lilting voice whispers in my head.

I stare harder swearing I must be seeing things.

I could have swore I saw...

The mirror clatters to the floor with a loud clang as my ears roar and darkness swallows me again.

        🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

       The first thing I notice when I next awake is scent, something near me smells delicious! I slowly open my eyes and peek around me. I sit up, realizing I am still in the room. Now there is a table in the center where there wasn't before. Sliding out of the bed with no memory of getting back into it, I approach the table. On it is a mirror, a goblet full of ruby colored liquid and a note. The note reads;

"Drink when hungry.

Don't be alarmed by your reflection.

I'll return after darkness falls."

—Kisses,

Ava

      Picking up the mirror as curiosity courses through me, I gasp. The same girl shines back at me from before. Memory returns to me of her eyes glowing with amethyst fire. My reflection stiffens with shock.

"My eyes look normal now..."

In confusion I blink, just to make sure. Nope. Still blue. Studying my reflection closer, I smile and jerk almost dropping the mirror. The eye teeth on my top jaw are now small fangs!My tongue flicks over them curiously and I nick the skin slightly. The wound heals itself so fast I don't even bleed! Running my fingers over my ears I feel the ends taper to a point and my hands start to shake. Strange lettering appears and disappears at random in many colors over my fair skin. The only thing that seems to have remained the same is my long, raven-black hair and the sapphire blue of my eyes.

    My stomach growls distracting me and almost against my will I sniff the air again. I find myself leaning closer to the goblet and it dawns on me that this is where the smell is coming from! I try to resist but soon I can think of nothing else. Retreating, I slide my back against the wall beneath the window. I stand and lean out the window desperately trying to smell something else; anything else but to no avail, the smell still assails me. I curse softly, and start to pace.

    Without knowing how, I'm standing at the table holding the goblet in my hands. I stare into the dark red liquid, feeling the cool metal of the silver goblet beneath my fingers; gingerly I bring it to my lips. I intend only a sip, but as the liquid touches my throat I groan softly!

🔹🔷Euphoria.🔷🔹

My senses intensify. I can see dust motes in the air around me. Patches of light in different colors flash in and out in the air like lightning. The lights smell like familiar and unfamiliar things: grass, campfires, incense, rain, and other smells I can't place. I can hear whispers, nothing in any language I understand.

      Nothing though, compares to the taste. I can't even begin to accurately describe it. The best I can offer is it is like all my favorite foods and a five course meal, one taste after another.

    Before long, the cup is empty and I'm left wanting more but I'm no longer hungry. I try to remember why I should be afraid, why I should be cautious, but my mind is suddenly hazy. I lay back down in the bed and fall into slumber.

       I don't sleep long, for when I wake it is just passing twilight.  Memory returns and sitting up, I tense. The woman will be coming! I sniff the air but I don't detect anything new yet. My ears prick though with the sound of footsteps which are still far off. Twenty minutes tick by on my internal clock which is almost never wrong. Her scent begins to reach me. It is subtle, but unlike anything I have ever smelled. I sniff trying to identify scents; coconut, patchouli, and palo santo. There is also something else; a musky, wild, smell I can't place. Lost in my thoughts, the knob on my door jiggles and the lock clicks. The door swings inward, opening wide.

       The woman glides through the door, this time I can see her clearly. She wears a cloak that looks velvety soft in bright emerald around slender shoulders. Her hair, thick and curly, is auburn. It seems to glow with an eerie fire. Her skin, snowy white like mine, flashes with the same script rainbows. It is her eyes, though, that hold my attention. Infinite age, Soulful depth and wild raw power look at me appraisingly through amethyst stained glass. I am instantly, hopelessly, captivated.

"Who are you?" I asked breathlessly.

Her voice is lilting and flowing like the winds as she replies,

"Your Salvation."

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷