Sable

In the darkness Sable saw a fire burning in the distance. Her legs felt heavy like stone, but she made them move. It felt like she was walking through water- no, something much thicker than water. It felt like she was thigh-deep in mud.

Still she kept moving and kept her eyes on her goal: that fire off in the distance. It seemed to climb higher and higher and burn brighter the closer she got to it. She felt an aching longing for it in her chest.

Whispering voices filled her ears. They grew clearer and clearer as she approached the fire. Who were they? What were they saying? She forced her legs to work harder through the mud. She needed that fire.

"...Sable," the voices were whispering her name.

The whispering grew louder and louder to the point where it was piercing her ears painfully, and then it all stopped upon her reaching the flames. The flames rose up incredibly high and then fell back down, revealing a girl her height. She looked- she looked like Sable.

"Who are you?" Sable asked.

"I am you," the girl replied. Sable's eyes furrowed. She approached the girl.

"How are you me? I'm me," Sable said quietly, looking the girl up and down. "That's impossible."

"Take my hand," the girl said. "I can give you incredible power."

The girl extended her hand to Sable. Sable looked down at the girl's hand. Exactly like hers... down to every last freckle. Sable tentatively lifted her fingers, reaching out toward the other girl's hand. She looked up at the girl's freckled face, a fire in her bright green eyes. Those eyes- exactly like hers- made Sable want to take her hand. She clasped the girl's hand with hers.

A golden wave of light spread from the other girl, wrapping itself around Sable. She felt pulling from all directions; it felt like she was in a wind tunnel. The wind went inward, and a surge of energy flowed through Sable. She felt like she was glowing- warmth spread through her, and she watched the light fade from the other girl.

"What-?" she wanted to ask what would happen to her other self, but she was pulled from her sleep.

She sat upright. Her head pounded still, but it felt a lot clearer compared to the previous day. Sunlight was streaming in through windows she hadn't known existed. She looked up over at the window, which was slightly ajar- the curtains billowing in the gentle breeze. Sable slowly turned her gaze to the door.

Were there really men standing outside her door?

She pulled the covers off her, swinging her legs out of the bed and allowing her toes to touch the floor. She waited for her head to spin, but there was nothing. She sighed and pushed herself off the bed. The floor was cold on her feet as she walked quietly to the door. After a moment of hesitation she turned the handle and pulled the door slightly open.

"Oh," a man said as his rest disappeared. He had been leaning on the door, and almost fell into the room even with the small amount Sable had cracked the door open. He turned to face her, and the other man who was with him turned to look as well. "You're awake, goddess."

Sable's face burned, and she shut the door quickly and leaned her back against it. Everyone kept calling her 'goddess'. What was up with that?

"Goddess?" the man called through the door. "Is everything alright in there? Gabe, go get the king."

There were footsteps moving away from the door then. Sable's heart pounded in her ears, and she could feel it in her head too. She groaned and held her head and looked back to the window again. Escape. Her gaze fell back to the door handle her hands rested upon.

"Goddess?" the man knocked on the door. "Open then door."

Sable turned the locks and ran over to the window, looking down. The door rattled as the man tried to pull it open. To Sable's surprise the room was on the first floor of the building she was in- if there even was more than one floor. She grinned wide and pushed the window open further. It was stuck for a bit, but she got it open wide.

"So long, suckers," Sable said. Right as she swung her leg over the window ledge, the door burst open.

"Goddess!" the man called after her.

"Shit!" Sable said. She scrambled to get through the window. Soft grass met her toes, and she looked around. Which direction should she head in?

"Stop!" the man yelled again. She looked to see that he was climbing over the windowsill too.

"Nope, I'm out," Sable took off running straight ahead. There were trees that way, and she thought she might be able to lose him through them. Her head screamed at her to rest instead of run, but she had to keep going or that man would catch her and bring her back to that room. She wouldn't have it.

"Wait, goddess!" the man called.

She glanced back to see him running after her. Perhaps she should't have looked, because her pace had slowed a little. She pumped her legs, demanding them to move faster, and breathed in deeply.

He still caught up with her, grabbing her arm and yanking her back. Sable screamed and tried to push him back away from her.

"You have to come back with me, it's not safe out here," the man said. He dragged her backward.

"No!" Sable dragged the word out, pushing at him with her free hand. There was a bright flash of light and she felt a pulse of energy through her hand, sending the man flying back away from her. Her eyes opened wide and she looked down at her hand. She shook her head. "No time to think about what the hell just happened."

Sable took off running again, away from the man and the building and into the trees. Her hand was still trembling, the energy still rippling through her, and she cradled it close to her body. Her breathing came hard from the running, and her lungs were on fire, but she had to make sure the man wouldn't be able to catch up with her again. The trees grew thicker as she continued to run.

Eventually the trees thinned out and broke open to a small clearing. She immediately regretted her decision to head into the trees.

In the center of the clearing was the blond man, on horseback. His back was to her, but only for a moment. Before she could duck back into the cover of the trees the man and his horse turned and spotted her. Sable shrieked and turned to run back through the trees.

The man quickly caught up, though he had to abandon his horse at the edge of the clearing. He followed closely behind her.

"Sable, wait," he called after her. She shook her head and kept running. "Sable, please. It isn't safe."

"How do you know my name?" Sable asked. She stopped and turned to him. He stopped several feet in front of her. "And why does everyone keep calling me goddess? Why did you kidnap me? And- and what is this?"

Sable raised her hand, which was still faintly glowing from what she had done to the other man. Blondie looked at her hand and all colour- what little there was to him- washed away from him.

"Who are you people? What did you do to me?" Sable asked. Her eyes stung with hot tears. "Can I please go home?"

"You can't go back now," blondie said quietly.

He began stepping closer to her. Sable took a step back for every step he made toward her, until she had backed into a tree. She felt behind her with her hand, never taking her eyes off blondie, and walked back around the tree.

"Why not?" she asked.

"You're shining bright like a beacon now," blondie explained.

"I'm what?" she said, her voice growing higher in pitch.

Sable's breathing didn't calm; her heart hammered in her chest. Her mind was taking a while to process everything that was happening. Her head pounded more, and she reached up to hold it.

"I don't get it, I don't get what's going on," she cried. She fell to her knees.

"Come back with me," blondie said. He continued to approach her. "Let's get you back in bed; you're not completely recovered just yet."

"No," Sable said weakly. She no longer had any strength left.

The tall blond man reached out to her, bending down. Sable made an attempt to push him off; even tried what she had done to the other man, but her power didn't seem to want to work. He lifted her up into his arms and looked down at her face.

"Just sleep," he whispered. Was it just her imagination, or had his eyes turned from blue to purple? "Rest now. The drug is still in your system."

"Okay," Sable responded, though it was against her will. Darkness took her as she was pulled back into sleep.

When she woke again, the sky beyond the window was dark. Her head no longer hurt. She got up from the bed with ease, making her way back over to the window. The window had been boarded up; there was no sky beyond.

She turned back toward the door. There were two people standing guard out there, how would she escape again? She looked down at her hands.

Glow, she thought at her fingers. Nothing happened. Had she burnt out what little magic was coursing through her veins already? She concentrated harder.

The door opened then and a lady in a black dress and white apron stepped through, carrying a tray of food with her. The scent of mashed potatoes and gravy immediately wafted through to Sable's nose. Sable's mouth watered and her stomach rumbled.

"Hello there, dear," the lady said. There was a warm smile on her face- definitely a refreshing sight compared with everything that had been happening. "I do believe it has been quite a while since you last ate."

"Yeah," Sable realized. That was probably the reason she had been feeling so weak; why her powers weren't working. That was odd to think: Sable had powers, and she had only just barely tapped into them. "I really am hungry. I think it has to have been an entire day since I last ate, at least."

"Much too long," the lady smiled politely, and placed the tray on a desk Sable had never noticed before. "There are green beans, mashed potatoes, steak, and a couple slices of bread. It's nothing too elaborate, but I was only just informed that you've been malnourished during your stay here. I hope you enjoy it."

The lady bowed and then stepped back out of the room. Sable watched her go, envying the lady's normal, straight black hair. Sable tugged a lock of her wild red hair in front of her face.

"Well, genetics can't be fair to everyone," she muttered to the empty room.

Her gaze wandered back over to the tray of food at the desk. Her stomach rumbled again, and that was enough cause for her to pounce.