Pearl of the Stars

The wind screamed outside Violet's room, and the rain poured. It managed to make its way through the eye-shaped window, filling the stone floor with a thin layer of water. Violet lay in her bed, eyes weighted and legs covered in a moist quilt. She suddenly sat up, coughing violently. Everything was so cold and the air was thick. She could barely breathe.

Not a single soul had come in to fetch her for dinner, nor breakfast. The storm continued on, and the sky remained dark. Violet could not decipher how many hours had gone by, but each moment stretched on for an unbearable amount of time. Finally, she had enough.

Pushing aside the heavy silks, Violet crawled from the safety of the bed and plopped down onto the cold floor. Water seeped into her clothes, causing her flesh to shiver. She stood shakily. Clasping her numb fingers around the brass doorknob, Violet pulled. It was... unlocked, surprisingly.

She slipped into the hallway beyond. The air there was much more dry, but the cold became even more unbearable. Leofrick must have kept the door unlocked when he had left the night before. She closed her eyes tightly. Leofrick was no friend of Violet's, that she was certain of. Then why did her heart yearn for his safety? Why did she beg the stars for him to come back alive? Why did he even come to bid her farewell in the first place? Perhaps it was only human nature to wish good will upon a fellow person.

Regardless, it was not time to think of such things. Violet carefully closed the door behind her, locking it so no one would become suspicious should they pass by. The passageways were dark, darker than they had been before. A lone candle lay to the right of Violet, hanging on the wall. She reached to grab it and held it before her. The stone walls loomed in front of her, eerily silent, and the hot wax of the candle heated her fingers. It felt nice to have them quickly unfrozen. She slowly began to tread along the hall, her head still dizzy and her stomach still ill.

Something suddenly wrapped around Violet's arm and neck, slamming her against the unforgiving wall. “Who are you?” hissed a voice above Violet's ear.

She acted quickly. Using her free arm, Violet swung it around and smashed the candle into her captor's face. She had no time to recognize him in the darkness, but she did manage to get loose. A piercing scream echoed throughout the castle, much louder than the yelling wind. The man dropped to his knees, clutching his face as it burned.

Violet spun around and fled down the passageway, her limbs nearly as swift as her pounding heart.

The drab gray walls morphed unexpectedly into looming pine trees. Surrounded by the forest, engulfed by it, Violet fell to her knees. Rain pounded down on her from every direction, so she could not determine north from south, up from down. Her limbs ached and her lungs tightened, preparing for another cough. Blood speckled her vision. Just before the darkness covered the entirety of her mind, Violet heard the faint whisper of a flute on the howling wind. “Come, follow me...”