 Skyleur opened her eyes and looked around the room. The walls were bleak stone slabs, identical to how they'd looked when she fell asleep. Above there was a skylight, and through the glare on the glass she could still make out the great star overhead, the star that nearly turned night into day.
Every night since she found herself in this strange prison, that star had grown bigger, brighter. At first, it was just a speck against the dark sky, and now it nearly filled the only window she had into the world.
She picked up the metal rod from the floor next to her and carved another notch into the wall. She was nearly out of space.
The Aisha counted them up, just like she did every night. Early on, she could remember how many days it had been. She added another notch, and remembered how many there had been before. But not now. Slowly, slowly she was losing herself to the prison, and the great star overhead.
One year. Exactly, if her marks could be believed. Tomorrow, a year and a day. The exact time the Nimmo had said she would be here for before it claimed her. The Nimmo, who had been in the cell next door when she arrived, and vanished a day later.
She looked up at the star again, and for the first time in months she felt fear. If the pattern continued, not only would she disappear tomorrow night, but sometime between then and now.
Skyleur's ears perked up. She heard singing. Vibrant, cheerful singing... |
Author: phadalusfish
Date: May 20th
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...Like the star above her, it increased in magnitude, swelling into a chorus of melodious sound. She closed her eyes and drank it in, feeling the music fill her up entirely. They were singing her name, she knew, they were calling her. This was her moment -- this was her chance to leave this prison, to feel the sun on her face and the wind in her hair.
The music came to a crescendo and it enveloped her, cocooned her. Her world was whirling.
***
It was dark when her eyes opened again. She couldn't remember the last time she had experienced darkness, for the star had nearly turned night into day and destroyed any semblance of darkness the room held.
It was dark now, though. Moving her paws in front of her face, Skyleur couldn't see them. The floor under her feet felt glassy smooth, almost liquid in its consistency, but it was the same black as everything else around her.
That's when the smallest speck of light burst to life in front of her eyes.
She gaped at it for a moment. It was no more than a pinprick in the endless darkness, but it vibrated, zipped around a few seconds, and slammed itself onto her arm. It stayed there, a dot of light on her arm, the only light in the room.
Not for long, however -- another appeared, larger than before, and it followed the same pattern as the previous one had. This one plastered itself onto her forehead. More were appearing, each sticking itself to her body, some on her arms, some on her neck and cheeks and forehead, her clothes. The air beside her was filled with whizzing flecks of light and they bombarded her, so that before long, all of her was covered in light.
Time hung suspended.
The light then exploded into brilliant rays of white, filling the spaces around her.
***
Gasping for breath, she took in her new surroundings. There was an up, and there was a down. She was at the up; when she reached out a hand, she brushed fingertips against the ceiling.
It moved. She pushed against the ceiling and felt it give away; a circular disk of metal opened up, and she managed to slide it aside, then looked out into her new world...
| Author: chocolate_lover67
Date: May 20th |
